Interview with Bernice Ye(@bernicecomedy)
Thank you so much for joining us! What brought you to this specific career path?
Born and raised in China, I never imagined being a stand-up comedian growing up. I mean, the art form of stand-up comedy did not exist in China back then. Since I was a child, I’ve always been a “rebel”. I was not afraid to speak the truth, even when it wasn’t popular — and that didn’t go well in China, at all. Painful childhood, but it gave me the strength to never give up the fight as an underdog. Although I loved art and dance as a child, my family didn’t allow me to pursue anything creative. For me to express myself I had to first beat the odds of 4 out of 300,000 students to get into the #1 university in China. I came to the US by myself to pursue my Master’s Degree in Computer Science at Purdue, but more importantly, my freedom.
It wasn’t until after working in the tech industry for 15 years that I discovered my talent and passion for stand-up comedy.
After I was promoted to a leadership position at Hulu, oftentimes I found myself feeling so proud of and grateful for my team members that I wanted to make a speech, but I had this visceral reaction of being uncomfortable and feeling fake. I hired a career coach and we dived all the way back to my childhood and unpacked a “story” that I told myself:
When I was a kid, my mom would take me to her work lunches, and on the spot, the kids were asked to make a toast to all the adults. To me, I never liked these lunches and didn’t have anything nice to say to these people, and my mom would shame me after in front of everyone saying that I was terrible at public speaking. So for a long time, not only did I think was terrible at public speaking, I also had the association of public speaking and being phony and dishonest. But now that I can look at this story as an adult, I realize that it wasn’t that I’m bad at public speaking, if anything, I have a strong opinion about speaking the truth.
The coach suggested I try ToastMasters. At each meeting, they have a Humorous Speech Contest that people can spontaneously join, so I challenged myself — and I won every single time. Looking around the room, I was also the only one for whom English was a second language. Through that, not only did I gain confidence in public speaking, I learned that I was naturally funny. At the same time, Netflix Comedy Specials had become a thing, and I realized the things comedians talk about are the thoughts I was having in the shower, but I thought were too weird. In 2018, I set a New Year’s Resolution to just do one open mic at the end of the year, but because I started to say my goals out loud, I had my first showcase in March, and never looked back. That November, I was also accepted to perform at the Northwest Women’s Comedy Festival in Oregon, which was unheard of for someone so new.
Can you share the most interest in what exciting happened to you since you started doing this?
I want to share two stories and you can choose which one to go with.
Story 1:
I went to my first standup comedy show to see Jim Gaffigan at the Paramount Theatre. Everyone around me was laughing, having such a great time. I didn’t understand it. “What’s a hot pocket?” I felt stupid. It took me years to realize that my Iack of understanding is exactly what makes me unique. Being an outsider and underdog all my life allowed me to look at everything with a fresh eye. In my standup comedy, I made a conscious decision to use as few specific culture references as possible, so first-gen immigrants won’t have barriers to enjoy it. I recall once an Indian lady came to me after a show and said, “OMG I never come to stand up because I don’t understand it… but yours, I relate to everything you said, and I was laughing the whole time.” It further validates that there aren’t enough voices like mine but they are much needed. I also realized the power of humor to act as an escape from the struggles confronted daily by first generation immigrants, revealing an even greater purpose to my work.
Later I also realized the fact that I don’t use many American-specific references also allows my comedy to have a broader global audience. During the pandemic, I have performed to audiences from the UK, German, Spain, and Singapore and all the jokes hit. Audiences appreciated hearing something they’ve never heard before, while learning something new about my culture.
Story 2:
One of the things that I loved the most about Comedy is connecting with real people, no matter how different on the surface we are. I made a conscious effort to respond to my fan’s messages (even though it might take me a while). I made so many incredible people along the way.
One of the fans that I met through Instagram lives in San Jose — he is the first fan who reached out to me who was also born and raised in China, and he told me how much he resonated with my comedy. When I started the RV comedy tour and passed by San Jose, I was able to meet up with him and his husband, and later we became such great friends with deep connections that they came to my wedding. I just love how comedy leads me to wonderful people who I would have never met otherwise.
Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them thrive and not “burn out.”
There’s a Chinese saying, “一张一弛，文武之道。” It means, tension and release, is the way for any mental and physical arts. Just like shooting an arrow, you must build tension to pull the bow, but also let go and release at the right time. In fact, it’s the release that gets the result we want. Working for ourselves, we understand the grind and hustle, it’s really hard to take vacations and recharge our body and mind. But we have the remind ourselves, the “release” part is just as important as the “tension”.
Comedians might resonate this even more, like the laugh often comes from the release after tension is built.
We can only succeed with some help along the way. Is there a particular person you are grateful to who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?
Finding the right mentor is so crucial, it can make or break you. I think the right mentor is someone who is able to see something special in you (maybe a part of themselves in you), have the right knowledge and communication skills to nurture your talents, and have the connection and trust and your best interests at heart.
One mentor who made a huge impact on me is Nate Jackson. Not only is he a seasoned comedian and accomplished actor, he is also the owner of Super Funny Comedy Club, one of the four black-owned comedy clubs in the nation. After killing it at their open mic, I sent a tape and asked for a booking. He booked me as the feature act for 5 weekend shows. That was the biggest gig I had gotten to that point. Most bookers wouldn’t give me that opportunity. At the very first show, I bombed. But instead of being disappointed inme, Nate said, “F**k them. These guys got free tickets. You are funny, Bernice. Trust yourself.” That was huge and really helped me center myself. I went back out, and each show I killed harder than the previous one.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
I definitely would like to think so. I also think goodness to the world can be big, or small. It can be as small as lightening someone’s day just a little bit, or as big as uplifting the authentic voice of first-generation immigrants. After awarded a Grant for Artist Progress by Washington State, I used the funds to bring comedy to a retirement community in rural Washington. It was wonderful to bring laughters to an underserved community, while also providing a stage for a diverse, under-reprensented talents.
Now that I moved to LA, I am bringing this effort to the next level. I created a monthly show “Fine Imports” to feature cultures around the world. The goal is to put first-gen immigrant voices at the center stage, provide a stage for under-represented talents and have people from different cultures mingle and connect with each other.
I would also like to share some of the quotes from my fans:
“You are very genuine and work hard to connect with your followers. Not many take a personal approach and I really appreciate you for that. I might be a little older than most of your followers but really enjoyed my time last night. You make everyone feel special and inspire others, especially women which my wife was a huge champion as well. Thank you again.” — Doug, Whittier, CA
“I always get a lift when I see Bernice’s content in my IG feed!! It’s like getting a 5-minute vacation. I consider it treatment for the grumps after a tough day.” — Mark, Atlanta, GA
“U helped me through one of the hardest times of my life and I’ll never forget that.” — Robert, Cherry Hill, NJ
Do you have a favourite “written Quote”? Can you share a story of how that was relevant to your life?
One of my favorite quotes is, by Dr. Mae Jemison, “Never limit yourself because of others’ limited imagination; never limit others by your own limited imagination.” When I was new to Comedy, I received a lot of advice and pro tips from other industry veterans, and the reasons why it’s almost impossible for me to succeed in this field. I think their advice all came sincere from their heart and true from their experiences. But I had a vision and I’m not afraid to fail. What’s the worst if I try? Someone had to do it first.
Interestingly enough, I have learned that the biggest kung fu movie studio in Hong Kong back in the day turned down both Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan. Because both Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan were doing something new that was beyond the imagination of the industry at the time. They had to forge their own path, create their own platform and the industry will follow.
Same for me… if you worked in this industry for a long time, and you look at someone like me, it’s easy to assume that I’m not relatable to the middle of America, I’m not a “safe” choice. So I decided to create my own path. I started touring in my own RV, and I proved to the bookers who gave me a chance I can slay anywhere, whether in a small town in rural America, or a metropolitan city. When I started to post my comedy on social media, I gained a massive following in the US and around the world, further validating my universal appeal.
How can our readers follow you on social media?
Website: www.berniceye.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/berniceye/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bernicecomedy/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BerniceComedy
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bernicecomedy
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BerniceComedy/
Anything specific you’d like to have mentioned in the article?
One of the new projects that I’m working on is called “Fine Imports”, a monthly show with elevated entertainment featuring cultures around the globe. I would love more press on that too!
Here is a write up of my first show but I have shows every month, and I would like more press: https://losangelesweeklytimes.com/2023/01/05/bernice-ye-launches-multicultural-comedy-show-fine-imports-at-the-crow-in-santa-monica/