5 Questions with Wandi Cao
Wandi Cao is a stand-up comedian who was born and raised in China and now based in Sydney. Her comedic interests lie in exploring Asian female queer identities, as well as examining Asian family relationships.
Wandi started to do stand-up comedy in Mandarin Chinese in early 2020, and in English since May 2021.
She was the NSW Finalist of RAW Comedy 2022 and Champion of JOKE OFF Comedy Competition 2022.
Wandi’s debut solo show, Rebellious Chinese Daughter, comes to the Sydney Comedy Festival in May 2023 after a successful run in Adelaide Fringe Festival and the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.
No.1
Tell us more about your upcoming show, Rebellious Chinese Daughter. What did the process from conceptualisation to realising the idea look like?
Rebellious Chinese Daughter is my first solo show and it feels like my little biography.
In 2021, I wrote my first 5-minute set about why Chinese people are obsessed with buying property. While this may appear to be a stereotype for westerners, I believe it holds some truth, and I wanted to explore the reasons behind it. From there, I delved deeper into Chinese stereotypes and tried to understand their origins.
Last year, I entered the Joke Off comedy competition in Sydney, which forced me to write new material. I reflected on my life and wrote another 5-minute set about my life as a Chinese lesbian in Australia. From there, I continued to write about these two themes and expanded that material into a solo show.
I had this idea of doing a solo show from the very beginning when I started performing at open mics. I tried to write material that fit within a specific theme, so I didn't need to spend too much time writing transitions. Although transitions are important for a solo show, I found that having a cohesive theme helped me streamline my writing process.
Many of the stories in my show are based on my own life experiences, and I found them to be funny, so I wrote them down. However, some stories may be seen as ‘normal’ to Chinese audiences, but funny to Australians. This is a common challenge for cross-cultural comedians, as it's not easy to write jokes that will resonate with everyone, rather than with just English-speaking audiences.
‘Rebellious’ is how my parents have described me. They think that I have many ideas, and I am willing to execute them despite what others may think. I can be stubborn at times and have confidence in my own ideas. This show includes many of these rebellious stories. I use ‘daughter’ in the title because most of my stories are based on my family, and my role in the family is as the only daughter or one of the youngest grandchildren. Even though I have been an adult for ten years, I still feel I’m trapped in the identity of ‘daughter’ that ends up influencing lots of life decisions.
No.2
You first started out doing stand-up comedy in Mandarin, mostly to international students. What did you learn in those early days?
I started performing stand-up in Mandarin in March 2020, right around the time Melbourne entered what would later come to be known as the world's longest lockdown. As a result, there were few opportunities to perform and even fewer audiences willing to come out to watch live gigs.
During those early days, I learned how to stay calm and keep performing even when there were hardly any responses from the audience. It was challenging to work with such a small crowd. (To be honest, ‘small crowd’ is an exaggeration—it wasn’t even a crowd, just two ‘quiets’.)
One thing I noticed was that Chinese people tend to feel bad about ‘disturbing’ the comedians when they laugh loudly. After the show, some of the audience would come to me and say, ‘I laughed too loudly, I'm sorry.’ And I was like ‘What are you sorry for??? Thank you for laughing LOUDLY.’ Upon reflection, I realised that this reluctance to make noise may be due to Chinese cultural norms, where people are asked to be quiet and respectful during performances such as theatre or drama.
While the stand-up scene is gaining popularity among young Chinese people, many are still not used to laughing out loud. They tend to laugh inwardly instead of expressing themselves audibly. This is something that is gradually changing as more people become exposed to the art of stand-up comedy.
No.3
Now that you also do stand-up in English, I’m sure your audience has widened. When you poke fun at your own culture, how do you ensure that you don’t replicate the stereotypes White Australians have about Chinese people in Australia? How do you make it safe for yourself?
The difference between my jokes that poke fun at my culture and those of White Australians is that I understand the reasons behind certain Chinese behaviours and traditions, and I aim to explain them in my jokes. I am not trying to break stereotypes; rather, I attempt to provide an insight into the reasons behind certain behaviours, such as ‘why Chinese love money’.
I have never considered the question of how to make my jokes safe. I do not represent all Chinese people, as Chinese culture is vast and encompasses a wide range of geographic and historical elements. Instead, my stories are personal and reflect my own experiences. Interestingly, many people who are not Chinese have found my jokes relatable and have even shared similar experiences with me. For instance, Indian audiences have approached me and said, ‘We have similar things in India.’ It’s fascinating how people from different cultures can share similar traditions and observations while still being so different from each other. These similarities can bring people together, but it is the differences that make us unique individuals.
Therefore, to answer your question, I do not feel the need to make my jokes safe. I simply aim to be myself, as a Chinese person, as a woman, and as a human being.
No.4
What do you think humour does in stand-up comedy that can’t be achieved through other art forms?
Without humour, stand-up comedy would just be public speaking. Unlike drama or music, humour is essential to this art form. Stand-up comedy is a very free art form. There are no props on the stage. In most cases, it doesn't matter what makeup or clothes that performers wear. It's totally up to the performer how to craft the material and the only requirement for the show is to be funny.
No.5
How different is your stage persona from the ‘real’ you? What do you do to calm the nerves before appearing on stage?
The ‘real’ me is introverted. I am a low energy person and quiet most of the time. I don't have much social needs, so I don't meet up with friends frequently. When socialising with people, and especially with strangers, I tend to need to rehearse in my mind what to say. Even when I'm around friends, I still appear quiet.
When I am on the stage though, I feel a need to say something and make people laugh. There have been times when I’ve forgotten my lines, so I would just randomly talk about my life while trying to remember the next joke and how to transition. That would never happen in real life.
I get breathless before my shows, but I honestly don't know how to calm the nerves. I just let my heart beat fast and sweat a little. I always sit quietly in ‘low battery’ mode to conserve energy while waiting for my call time. Once I am on the stage, I focus on my performance.
Find out more
Stand-up comedy show Rebellious Chinese Daughter is to reveal secrets of Chinese obsession in buying property and having kids, and her life of being a not-come-out-yet invisible lesbian. Or “some sh!t I don’t dare to share with my family (yet)”- Wandi
Wandi was born and grew up in China. She is a stand-up comedian based in Sydney. Seen at Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Sydney Fringe Festival, SBS and ABC, Wandi was the Champion of Joke Off Competition and NSW Finalist of RAW Comedy 2022. She is ready to share her entire life (the funny part) with you.
After successful touring solo shows at Adelaide Fringe Festival and Melbourne Comedy Festival, Wandi is excited to be back in Sydney for 2 nights only! Take notes to get rich or get some laughs, or both.
Runs May 6 and 7 at Sydney Comedy Festival. Tickets here.