Cover US-based stand-up comedian Leslie Liao (Photo: Andrew Max Levy)
US-based stand-up comedian Leslie Liao (Photo: Andrew Max Levy)
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Tatler gets in conversation with US-based rising Asian comedic star Leslie Liao
When it comes to Leslie Liao, her stand-up work is always referred to as relatable, oftentimes self-deprecating (but in a good way), and, most importantly, as real as it gets. Maybe it’s her deadpan expression when she whips up in her very “matter-of-factly” line or two that makes the crowd roar with laughter. Maybe it’s the way she masterfully engages with her audience while doing crowd work. Either way, the Taiwanese-American comic has a way with her audience that makes them feel like they’re having a conversation over coffee with a friend.
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In 2023, Liao was selected as a New Face of Comedy at Montreal’s prestigious Just For Laughs Comedy Festival 2023. Later that year, she was featured on Netflix’s two-part comedy special Verified Stand-Up. Her whirlwind journey has been nothing short of amazing, and now, she’s travelling and gracing stages around the world for her The Nighttime Routine Tour.
Between her stops in the US and Australia, Tatler got into conversation with the rising comedic star on her journey thus far.
Above Liao performing at her show, ‘Tired Woman’
Tell us about growing up in a predominantly white region and how it has moulded you to become who you are today.
Man, I grew up in Orange County, but you know, when you’re growing up, you just immediately accept, “This is where I live.” I don’t know where else to live, my parents live here. Out of survival instinct, I just try to adapt and fit in. That meant wearing what other white kids wore, so I wore a lot of Hollister, Roxy, Billabong, and Rainbow sandals—I crushed it. I acted like a surfer girl. I didn’t know how to surf, I still don’t know how to surf. I would be terrible at it.
Looking back, it’s sad. I didn’t know that much when I was that young, but I just looked around and copied what I thought was normal or cool. Once you get older, you look back at your childhood, and you can laugh it off… it’s funny because it isn’t who I am or who I was.
And it became material for your stand-up.
And that’s why I became stand-up because I look back on my life and I’m like, “What were we doing? Why was I doing that?” So yeah, doing stand-up is… you just have so much perspective. I’d look back and just laugh at every phase of my life.
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Speaking of stand-up, can you tell us about your first encounter with stand-up comedy as part of the audience?
It’d be when I was younger watching it on TV. My parents let me have a TV in my bedroom—which some parents don’t want kids to have, which is understandable—but they let me have one.
Every night I would watch everything on Comedy Central, all those short stand-up specials. I loved Conan O’Brien’s late-night show, Saturday Night Live—any funny show. I noticed that at a very young age, my favourite stuff to watch was funny stuff. Probably because I was so stressed in the day from trying to fit in with people and get good grades. I just wanted to go home and laugh. I was a very tired child.
Above Liao was selected as a New Face of Comedy at Montreal’s prestigious Just For Laughs Comedy Festival 2023 (Photo: Andrew Max Levy)
Liao was selected as a New Face of Comedy at Montreal’s prestigious Just For Laughs Comedy Festival 2023 (Photo: Andrew Max Levy)
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You came one full circle with Netflix. Looking back, how did your time with Netflix shape your approach to stand-up comedy?
Me having my day job at Netflix… basically, I try to not let it shape it at all. It made me feel very calm to separate the parts of my life. We all have different roles in our lives—friend, mother, father, sister, girlfriend, boyfriend, employee, boss, neighbour. We all have these roles. I saw it as… a comedian and an HR executive at Netflix are two things that have nothing in common. I just thought, that’s that, and this is this, and never the two shall meet.
Luckily before Netflix, I worked at other places within the entertainment industry, which helped me understand what gets people noticed. If they’re so good, people can’t stop talking about them. You know, you might have a favourite TV show that you’re watching right now and because you love it, you’d probably tell all your friends because you want them to watch it. Or when you go to a restaurant and at something so tasty, the first thing you think is, “You have to try this!” I just thought that I’ve to get really, really good at stand-up, hope that people notice and will talk about it, and then see what happens from there.
Can you talk us through the process of prepping materials for your show in terms of writing and practice?
Man… the process is never-ending. It basically looks like I’m always inside my brain. Sadly, everything I think, I ask myself, “Is that funny?” “I’m kind of hungry. I’m in the mood for a sandwich. Wait, is that funny?” I’m always wondering if anything I think is funny. If I do, I write it down in a document on my computer.
What I often do is I’ll take a thought or an idea and I’ll journal about it. Just write everything I think, like being single or being a single straight woman—that’s a big category. I’d journal about how I feel about it. Of course, what helps is having a lot of funny friends to talk to because if I express the thought I had, if we agree that it’s funny, and I see them laughing, then I’m like, “Oh, people are laughing at this thought. That could be funny.”
Another stage of it is going to shows, saying what I think, and trying to make it concise and clear for a stranger to understand. The process is really all over the place, but it’s me constantly talking to myself in my head and praying that if I say it out loud, people will laugh. If they don’t, I go back to the chalkboard and cross off, erase, add, or edit. It’s not fun, honestly, but it’s always fun when it works.
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What do you do right before you go on stage when you have to psyche yourself up or calm down?
Every show is different, but mostly I like to write my setlist out and kind of stare at it. I try to ask myself what type of mood I’m in and remind myself that I really love stand-up, and just have fun with whoever’s out there, whatever the crowd is. I also tend to only listen to Rage Against the Machine or house music like how athletes listen to their favourite music before a game. I listen to something that makes me want to dance or moshpit to excite me.
The truth is, the audience has a very different experience than me before a show. You all go out to dinner, you get a drink, you catch up with friends, you guys are laughing, you bought the ticket weeks ago, and you’ve been waiting for this. For me, I just took a flight that day. I didn’t get to eat. I have to pretend I’m you and get excited so it’s… pumping myself up a lot.
Above Liao performing a stand-up comedy set at a show (Photo: Greg Feiner.)
Liao performing a stand-up comedy set at a show (Photo: Greg Feiner.)
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How do you decompress after a show?
Oh my gosh. I usually need to eat some form of protein after my show. I go back to my hotel room and put myself on a timeout. I think about what I’ve done and recap in my mind, “Here’s why you think you felt the way you did when you went up there, here’s why not, and here’s what you could do differently next time.”
Then I do my nighttime face routine and that’s my favourite. I put on HGTV or something on TV and I wash my face, do my lotions, and do that whole routine. Getting ready for bed is my favourite part.
How would you instinctively pivot on the fly the moment you’re not getting the laughs and how does it affect you for the rest of the show?
It depends on the show. Sometimes, if the joke doesn’t work, I move on to the next one. Sometimes, I’ll pause and ask the audience if that made sense and try to get an understanding of… maybe I said that too loud or I missed a line. Sometimes I’ll play with the audience and say, “Do you know what I’m talking about? Does that make sense?” and try to figure it out from there.
What happens in my brain is that I’m constantly doing a calculation of, “Here’s how well it’s going.” When it’s going really well, it gives me more bravery to get looser and say new thoughts, rant, ramble, or try an old joke I forgot about or a new one I thought of.
We're all not for everyone and that's okay.
If it doesn’t go well, it makes me think, “Okay, it’s not working. Maybe I should try something safe. So it’s different every show but sometimes if it’s not going well, it makes me very stubborn and want to fight and fix it immediately, which is very, very hard.
What are some of the challenges that you face not just as a female standout comedian where you are but as an Asian female standout comedian?
Sometimes, I do worry that—and this is all in my head, I don’t have any evidence for this–I worry that I’m being booked or given opportunities because I’m an Asian woman because people want a line-up on their show that’s diverse. I don’t ever want to be booked or given a job just because of that. I want to be booked or given a job because they think I’m funny. Period.
But I do feel luckier though, being an Asian comic. In LA there are a lot of Asian comics and we love each other. It’s so nice to have them, see them, and do shows together. I’m so lucky that we’re all doing this together. I don’t know who else I could talk to if I didn’t have them to relate and understand.
Above Liao is currently travelling and gracing stages around the world for her ‘The Nighttime Routine Tour’ (Photo: Andrew Max Levy)
Liao is currently travelling and gracing stages around the world for her ‘The Nighttime Routine Tour’ (Photo: Andrew Max Levy)
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Comedy is funny, but what are some things that you wish people took you seriously for?
Oh, that’s such a good question. I don’t know if they could take me seriously about anything. I know this is like a cheating answer, but… how much work it is to be a comic, seriously. It looks easy and fun, but most of the time it’s not. Most of the time it’s scary, it’s hard, and it can be sad. There are a lot of different parts of it, but I don’t know, man, because you know what? I don’t even know if I take myself that seriously.
I’m not a great cook? No, now I’m just listing things I’m not good at. My organisational skills? I think I’m good at being organised. I don’t know (laughs). Okay. I want people to take this interview seriously.
That’s a good one. What empowers you as not just an Asian female, but also as an Asian female stand-up comedian in the US? And how do you hope to empower others who want to carve the same path as you did?
It’s so crazy to think that far ahead if there are other younger comics watching me… to even think that they’d say, “Oh, that’s inspiring!” That’s such a cool and crazy thought. If that happens, that’d be amazing. I’d probably just tell people what I did to help or empower them.
You have to get to know yourself… get to know you. What do you think is funny? What do you need to have a good set? Who do you think is funny? Who are your best friends whom you love talking to, who really get you, and laughs? What do you think your strengths are? What environment makes you feel safe to write or be brave? What subjects to talk about?
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Get to know yourself and learn how to be comfortable with it because unfortunately, with stand-up, it requires so much of being yourself during your set and on stage. If you’re not comfortable with that off-stage and in real life, it might be hard to try something like that. I’m not even saying, “Love yourself.” There are parts of me that I don’t love.
Don’t be shy, ashamed, or embarrassed by the kind of comedy you like or things you like to do. And also just don’t read internet comments.
If you could go back in time and give the younger you some advice, what would that be?
Oh my gosh. Probably only do something because you love it. I’m even trying to give myself that advice now as an adult. Don’t wear a shirt because you think it’s supposed to be cool or normal. Don’t post a picture because you think it’ll get X amount of likes. Don’t date a guy just because you think he can give you something you can’t give yourself. Do something because you love it and not to impress a certain person.
Anything you do in your life—a place you want to go, people you want to see–just do it because you love it. If you don’t, ask yourself why you’re doing it.
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Lainey was the Digital Director of Tatler Malaysia. When not whiling away the hours watching documentaries, the latest K-drama, or reruns of Friends, she can be found indulging her wanderlust by stalking travel platforms or feeding her obsession with music. She loves animals, running, all things social media, a good conversation over coffee or soju or wine (often rambling on if nobody pulls the brakes on her), and is an avid fan of bursting-at-the-seams laughter.
