Not just for laughs: Comedy with a cause in Vietnam
Tuesday, October 31, 2017, 11:19 GMT+7
L.A.-based touring comedian Tony Vinh will not sell you any of his vital organs. Or will he?
The Vietnamese-American comedian, who will make his Vietnam stand-up debut on Wednesday night in Ho Chi Minh City, is staying open to offers.
A regular on the comedy club scene in Los Angeles, it is Tony’s first visit to the country of his parents’ birth.
“I keep getting honked at and yelled at every time I cross the street,” he told Tuoi Tre News last week.
“My Vietnamese isn’t great, but I’m pretty sure they’re yelling, ‘Why is there an elephant in the road? Drive around that ugly, fat elephant!’”
Plying his trade on the highly competitive stand-up circuit in America, Tony has become a crowd-favorite at U.S. comedy festivals like Second City L.A., Gilda’s Laughfest, the Funniest Person in Austin and Out of Bounds.
“L.A. and New York are where the best comics in the world come to perform,” he said. “It’s challenging trying to find stage time, because you’re always fighting with the best.”
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| Green Bamboo residents receive vocational training. Photo: Green Bamboo |
“I’m just hoping to earn a good enough living to avoid selling my kidneys,” he explained.
“But seriously, if any Tuoi Tre News readers want to make a bid, let me know. My rent is due.”
Held in support of Green Bamboo Warm Shelter, which helps underprivileged boys and at-risk teenagers, the gig is another initiative of the iLA Community Network, established by iLA in 2005.
Providing life essentials like shelter, food, and medical care for homeless and orphaned young boys, as well as life skills and vocational training to teenage boys and girls, Green Bamboo was set up in Ho Chi Minh City in 1994, and is officially recognized by the municipal People’s Committee.
Hosted by Adam Palmeter, ‘Stand Up PIU PIU’ will also feature some of Saigon Comedy’s best local openers, with 100 percent of your VND100,000 entry fee going to Green Bamboo Warm Shelter.
‘Stand Up Piu Piu’ featuring Tony Vinh is on Wednesday, November 1 at Piu Piu at 97 Hai Ba Trung Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City.
The show starts at 9:00 pm, with VND100k donations at the door.
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