Ronny Chieng: Not quite funny business

SINGAPORE — Ronny Chieng is the ultimate third culture kid.

Just chat with the guy and you’ll notice his accent is a strange mash-up of Singaporean, Australian and American — probably because he was born in Johor Baru, raised in the United States and Singapore and now lives in Australia.

But the 29-year-old, who has degrees in Commerce and Law from the University of Melbourne, has won accolades such as the Director’s Choice Award at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival for taking the mickey out of his parents in front of a paying audience — all over the world.

“The first time my parents saw me do comedy, I think they were more nervous than I was,” said the stand-up comedian, who spent 10 years in Singapore and is an alumnus of Pioneer Secondary School and Pioneer Junior College.

“They look at other people’s reactions. Even when they don’t get some of the jokes, they are happy when everyone else gets it. But they are always asking me to swear less!”

Q: You’ve said you get irritated when people ask if you do comedy full-time. What are some other questions you hate?

A: “Do you think you’re funny?” “What’s your favourite joke?” “How did you start doing comedy?” That’s about it. I totally get it, though. If I weren’t doing comedy, I’d be curious as well.

Q: But really, how did you start doing comedy? When did you realise you were funny?

A: I didn’t discover I was funny. I took part in a campus comedy competition — that was my first game. And I won. You don’t really know whether it’s a viable or not, because it’s a long way from being on stage to something viable. So it took a while to figure that out.

Q: They say women really like funny men. Have you been hit on by your audience before?

A: My girlfriend’s right next to me, so I can’t really answer that question! (Laughs) No, I haven’t been hit on. I do the gig and get out. Maybe if I hung around, I’ll get hit on. Next time, I’ll do the gig and stand at the door, and see what happens. But I’m really obtuse — I can’t tell if people are hitting on me!

Q: Do you think people are born comedians or can comedy be acquired?

A: That is a good question. I guess with all things — like sports or even literature — it’s the classic nurture versus nature argument. Some people become good at comedy really quickly. Others take a long time to get good at it. In the US, it’s not unheard of for people to take a minimum of 10 years before they start to know what they’re doing. Some people don’t break, they just stride until 15, almost 20 years into their career. Some people take five years and can get a following and become good at it. I don’t know.

Q: Which are you?

A: What am I? It’s hard for me to say, but I’ve won every single major comedy award in Australia in the past five years. So I think I’m doing okay.

Ronny Chieng’s Chieng Reaction is on Sept 17, 7pm at the Drama Centre Theatre. Tickets from S$30 to S$40 at SISTIC.