Born in Beijing, Helen Chu moved to California in the sixth grade and has lived, studied and worked there ever since. She graduated from UC Berkeley and worked in the technology industry for over twenty years before stepping away from her tech marketing job earlier this year to focus on performing stand-up comedy.
Helen’s story gets more interesting when we shift the spotlight to her 9-year-old son, Evan Ho, who is due to perform with his mother in a one-night comedy special in Beijing! We speak to Helen about the duo’s inspiration and their shared experience in performing stand-up together as mother and son.
JKI: What inspired the both of you to do comedy shows together?
Helen: For me, I had grown up watching xiangsheng (crosstalk) on CCTV in the ’80s and always wanted to be one of the comedians. But when I was a young girl in Beijing, I didn’t think it was a viable profession because it looked like it was only for men. Watching live stand-up shows in the US was a big step for me to get inspired. I did my first open mic seven years ago and never looked back.
For Evan, he grew up watching me perform comedy. The first comedy show he attended was actually in Paris two years ago, where I did a set at a comedy show in the basement of a Turkish restaurant. He always enjoyed telling jokes to his friends and has performed dance on stage before. It was a natural progression for him to try to do stand-up on stage. He liked it after he went up the first time and has kept it going ever since.
JKI: Please tell us about the experience of doing comedy shows with your son.
Helen: It’s been incredible to have this bonding experience with Evan. Writing is very personal, and writing stand-up comedy with Evan helped me get to know him a lot as a child. We had deeper conversations and reflections about our journey as mother and son than we did before. Doing shows together allows us to spend quality time together and share our passion; so, in some ways, I see him as one of my best friends now. He gives me feedback on my jokes and I do that for him.
Evan and I both performed at Sketchfest Comedy Festival in San Francisco this year. I’ve performed at Cobb’s in San Francisco, The Comic Strip in NY, and Ice House in Los Angeles.
Together, we’ve performed in Paris, Lisbon, San Francisco, and will now be adding Beijing and Tokyo to our list this summer. The international comedy community has been very warm and welcoming to us, offering us generous stage time, and, in my hometown, Beijing, a dedicated show.
JKI: What can we expect in this upcoming show?
Helen: For Evan, he will talk a lot about his upbringing as an only child attending a bilingual elementary school in San Francisco, where he learns both English and Chinese. He shares his hobbies, challenges, and yearnings as a 10-year-old, along with his outlook on the future. I like to describe his comedy as authentic, witty and passionate!
For myself, I talk about my upbringing in Beijing and adjusting to US culture as a pre-teen, the journey of being a mom who wanted to maintain a career and a family life, [and]my travel stories going around the world as a comedian and as a Chinese American. Evan says my comedic style is interesting, funny and true to life.
Helen and Evan will also perform with other local mother-son comedy duos Charlene Ng & Asher and Summer Zhang & Luke. Grab your early bird tickets by scanning the QR code in the poster above!
Images: Courtesy of Helen Chu
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