Calling all StageSiders, welcome back to another instalment of StageSide Stories. This time aroundwe speak to the hilarious Chris Grace, an Asian-American comedian and actor who is bringing a show to the Edinburgh Fringe. If you are interested in comedy, Stand-Up or the Fringe experience, keep on reading!
Disclaimer: This post contains infrequent swearing and mentions of genitalia, viewer discretion is advised.
To begin, could you introduce yourself, tell us a little about 88%, and what audiences can expect from the show?
I’m Chris Grace, overweight Asian-American comedian and actor, also gay, also confused, and flummoxed, and bringing you a show called 88% about nuance, context, and whether or not nuance and context are actually helpful in this day and age. Prepare to laugh a lot and be disappointed in me as a human being!
The title 88% is certainly intriguing. What inspired the idea behind this new hour of stand-up?
This show is a search for the correct answers to all the burning questions of the day, but it’s also about whether or not correct answers actually exist, and what to do when your best friends have all the same answers as you except for one.
You’ve described the show as an honest look at how you actually live your life, rather than how people assume you do. What made now feel like the right time to tell that story?
I think I’ve butted up against a quandary: do I construct a public persona made of all the right things that a progressive person should say today, or do I try to tell the truth to find my way to a genuine sense of making the world better?
Your career has taken you from improv and musical comedy to television and stand-up. How has each of those experiences influenced the comedian you are today?
Improv has trained me to stay present in the moment, television to know what I have to offer as a performer, stand-up has taught me to be brutally honest about how well the show is or isn’t going, and musical comedy has given me the tools to sing my way out of any hole that I dig myself into.
You’re a familiar face to many through shows like Superstore and The Residence. How different does it feel when you’re standing on stage with nothing but a microphone and your own stories?
It actually feels more liberating! On camera I fill a pretty specific niche that is fun but not exactly me. In a stand-up show I have no barriers or artifice between my brain and the audience’s judgment.
Comedy can be a brilliant way of tackling personal subjects. How do you decide when something from your own life is ready to become part of a show?
I actually will talk about personal events in my life before they are ready to be part of a show. The act of telling the story often helps me shape its final form.
You’ve been a Fringe favourite for years through ensemble work. What has it been like developing your own voice as a solo performer?
It’s been wonderful, and the warmth of the audiences that have come to my shows year after year has been truly heartening.
Edinburgh audiences are famously up for anything. What are you most looking forward to about bringing 88% to the Fringe?
I’m looking forward to finding out exactly what it takes to piss off a room full of drunk Scotsmen. I suspect the line is a lot farther down the road than it is in America.
When people leave the show, what do you hope stays with them long after the laughter has faded?
The sense of exploration and inquiry, my attempts to be as truthful as possible, and the image of a robot vaccum backing up onto a penis.
Finally, if you could give one piece of advice to an aspiring comedian, what would it be?
Record your shows and listen back to them because it never went exactly the way you thought it did!
A huge thank you to Chris Grace for answering our questions and sharing insights into what it takes to be a comedian, actor and tv star!
You can catch Chris Grace’s show 88% at the Fringe this year, more event and ticket information can be found here.
Have your say
Are you thinking of starting a career as an actor or comedian? Are you studying comedy or stand up performance at college, University or Drama School? How are you finding the process, and do you have any tips?
Let me know in the comments!
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