Cover Ron Josol will be performing in Menara Ken, TTDI as part of his Ron the World global tour
Ron Josol will be performing in Menara Ken, TTDI as part of his Ron the World global tour
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We caught up with Filipino funnyman Ron Josol, ahead of his show in Kuala Lumpur to find out what set him down the path of comedy
Ron Josol is a multi-talented Filipino-Canadian comedian who has been entertaining audiences globally for over 25 years. His unique brand of humor seamlessly blends cultural differences and highlights the rich diversity of modern urban life. With hilarious jokes and stories about his heritage, Josol brings laughter to crowds from one-liners to storytelling.
He was nominated for Best Male Comedian and Best Male Performance in Canada, and won the Just for Laughs competition in Ontario in 1998, leading him to perform at the Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal. Josol has also graced many international stages, including the Kings ‘n Queens festival in Malaysia and Singapore, the Magners Comedy Festival in Asia, the LOL Comedy Festival in the Caribbean, the Winnipeg Comedy Festival, and the Maui ALT Comedy Festival to name a few.
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We caught up with him ahead of his Ron the World global tour performance in Kuala Lumpur to find out what makes him tick.
What made you initially want to get into standup comedy?
Most people are kind of uncertain about what they're going to be doing for their lives, but not everyone is like that. I found out early, when I was eight that I wanted to be a comedian. Eddie Murphy was the catalyst for me wanting to be a comedian, having watched him while I was younger, and Chris Rock further solidified my determination. When I saw Rock for the first time, I remember thinking, “This guy doesn't care about anything; he's offending white people, the government, and the entire establishment, so if this black guy can do it, I can too.”
Eddie Murphy was funny, which is great, but Chris Rock was fearless. And I was doing MMA and jiu-jitsu, because my dad was a martial artist, so my brother and I were fighters. So, I thought to myself, if I can get knocked out in a fight, how can comedy be worse? But it is worse, because when you bomb, it's worst than any knockout. When you're down in the ring, you get knocked out or tap out, so technically you don't feel the embarrassment because you made the decision that you can't go on. But on stage, you can't control a crowd that boos you—and the very first time I performed, I got booed.
How do you deal with a tough crowd then?
The truth is there's always good crowds and bad crowds, and there's nothing you can really do about it; the better you are, the easier it becomes for you to steer around it.
I remember a couple of the toughest shows to do while I was in America was after 9/11 happened, and after Michael Jackson died. Those whole weeks, nobody did well—because something bad happened collectively in the mindset of the people. Michael Jackson's death in LA was really major news that upset the community there. So it's tough to gauge sometimes, you can't control the environment, and almost anything can destroy a show.
I even stopped doing shows in South Carolina, US; I walked off on stage last June, and I used to perform there for 15 years. It's a very racist audience. One instance is there was this couple right in front, 40 minutes into my show, and there's not even a single laugh. So I ask them what's wrong, and they bluntly told me, “We don't like your face.” So I said “Why don't you just leave then?” And they replied that that would have been offensive.
The only reason I put up with that place previously, was because I used to not know better. The difference began when I started getting better crowds to come see me.
How do you get the confidence to get up on stage?
I think you either have it or you don't, you can't buy confidence. And people start to feel confident differently; I was never confident when I started, but through practise, by making people laugh and getting better, my confidence built slowly. For some people, it comes naturally, but you got to make sure you're not cocky, because then you might fall harder. The good thing about not-so-confident people is that they tend to listen and learn more. So, someone who starts out unconfident, but keeps building at it and getting better, could eventually do better than someone else who started out being overconfident.
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Above The Ron the World tour sees Josol performing in Sydney, Spain, Abu Dhabi, London and more
The Ron the World tour sees Josol performing in Sydney, Spain, Abu Dhabi, London and more
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What makes a good comic?
Everyone thinks that if you're a good comedian, you should be able to make anyone laugh anywhere, but that's simply not true. There are many ways of making a crowd laugh, you could be a clown or a mime, but standup comedy is more than that. You ideally have to make people think, maybe shift their views or see things differently.
When the crowd is good, that's when you can truly judge a comic. There are three main parameters I look at: joke writing, act-outs, and reflection of society. Your material has to be good to begin with, then you need to deliver (act-out) according to the crowd. If you have a small crowd, you don't have to shout too much or do grand gestures, you need to have a conversation and insert jokes and punchlines at appropriate timings. And then you have to relate to the local crowd.
I remember my first eight years doing comedy in Canada, it was amazing. Then I got booked to do a show in Hollywood, and I had to go after Dane Cook, and I almost died on stage. The host told me I sucked, and on the way back home in my cousin's car, he asked if I had done practise performances in Hollywood? He was shocked that I came straight from Toronto to LA, and did my main act right away, without learning the vibe of the city and people. He gave the metaphor of going into a fight with Mike Tyson, you should practise with other people who are of similar build and fighting style, so you can prepare yourself for the main match.
So travelling, learning about others, and seeing the world definitely helps—you can't stay in one place doing comedy; I could only get so good if I were to have stayed in Canada.
Any other advice for those seeking a career in standup comedy?
Don't do it! I'm kidding. Part of comedy is to try everything. So while I'm not a political comic, I will sometimes try out one or two material, because you never really know what is difficult or easy until you try it out.
But you have to do the hard parts too. Arnold Schwarzenegger has a documentary where he said he had natural chest and arm muscles, but was lacking at his back, legs and calves. He said he had to work five times harder to make them equal, and that's the same for comedy, I believe. You have to work hard on things that don't come naturally to you, so your act is balanced—not too fluffy, not too serious, not too preachy but just right.
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Images: LOL Asia
If tall, dark and handsome is what you're looking for, Aaron Pereira ticks two out of three. This fine chocolate man (that is, a connoisseur of fine chocolate), enjoys the theatre, futsal, real-life conversations and of course, the English language. He believes that language should first be used to express, but the business of a sub-editor is to impress.
Check out his Instagram @aaronlpereira.
