Filmography
| Year | Film |
|---|---|
| 2019 | Straight Up, Stand Up |
| 2019 | The Report (Card) |
| 2018 | The Guest List |
| 2018 | Out On Stage |
| 2017 | Take My Wife |
| 2016–2017 | The Guest List |
| 2016 | Flophouse |
Irene Tu (born 1992) is an American comedian, actor, and writer. She has appeared at comedy festivals such as SF Sketchfest, [1] the Portland Queer Comedy Festival, [2] Bridgetown Comedy Festival, and Comedy Central's Clusterfest, [3] and on shows such as Take My Wife and Funny How? In 2016, she was named one of KQED's Women to Watch [4] and SFist listed her as one of the Bay Area's 11 Best Stand Up Comics. [5] In 2017, the San Francisco Chronicle dubbed her as an "artist on the brink of fame". [6] In 2019, Vulture by New York Magazine placed her on their list The Comedians You Should and Will Know in 2019, tracking "23 comics that industry insiders are watching closely". [7] The same year, SFist listed her as one of 13 San Francisco Standup Comedians to Go See Now. [8]
Tu was born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago. [9] An only child, her grandparents would stay with the family when they were not in their home country of China. Tu's parents separated when she reached high school.
Tu sang in elementary school chorus for several years and played piano for ten years. [10] She also enjoyed running, soccer, and basketball [11] and participated in scholastic bowl as well as science club in middle school. [12] Around this time, she began teasing classmates, which she attributes to her comedic bent. She loved watching Ellen DeGeneres's The Ellen Show every day after school, which inspired Tu to google what Ellen did before she was famous for her show. She discovered that Ellen began her career as a standup comedian; this set Tu on a path toward the same profession. [13] At age 16, she began taking classes in comedy at Second City. A closeted lesbian at the time, Tu only wrote observational comedic routines that did not reflect her personal life. [14] Ellen DeGeneres was her main comedic inspiration. [9]
Tu attended Northwestern University for two years; she considered majoring in environmental science but ultimately found its subject matter too depressing. [15] She then switched to economics for a semester but found she had trouble understanding the discipline. She next considered gender studies as well as Asian-American studies. However, upon transferring to the University of California, Berkeley, [16] she found she did not care for the gender studies class offerings there, [17] but it so happened that by then she had accumulated a number of credits in Asian-American studies, so ultimately she majored in that. [18]
Tu began performing her standup while at Northwestern, which continued while she was still a student at Berkeley. [19]
Post-college, Tu worked at Eastwind Books of Berkeley, a small bookstore one of her Asian-American studies professors owned. [20] Also in the Bay, Tu co-founded and hosted a monthly comedy show at White Horse Bar in Oakland called Man Haters. It went on to tour nationally, with different comedians, including Tu, hosting. [21] Additionally, she hosted Hysteria, a weekly comedy open mic for female and queer comics, [22] which was named the East Bay Express 2016 and 2017 Best Comedy Show. In 2018, she performed at the Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center of San Francisco's 21st Annual United States of Asian America Festival. [23]
Relocating to Los Angeles later in 2018, Tu began performing at a variety of events such as Kids in the Yard, [24] Very Forward!, [25] Woman Crush Wednesdays and Gays 'R' Us at the Hollywood Improv, [26] [27] and Asian AF Los Angeles's Autumn Moon Rap Battle. She also began performing at venues ranging from Fais Do-Do [28] and Dynasty Typewriter [29] to the Ace Hotel and Geeky Teas & Games. Also in 2018, Tu was featured on Out On Stage: The Series on Pluto TV.
In 2019, Tu toured as part of Minority Retort, a Portland-based, stand-up comedy show featuring only comedians of color. [30] Also in 2019, Tu opened for Patton Oswalt on the southwest leg of his comedy tour, [8] hosted the Balboa Theatre's Oscars party, and hosted Comedy x Pop Up Food [31] on a weekly basis. She performed at Oakland Pride in September 2019. She also continued touring, performing at venues such as Cobb's Comedy Club, [32] Montgomery College's Cultural Arts Center at Silver Spring, [33] and the Brooklyn Museum, [34] [35] among others.
Tu is selected as a performer for the 2020 Southland Comedy Festival. The festival organizers consider the lineup to be "20 of the most talented comedians from around the country". [36] Tu is also slated to perform at SF Sketchfest 2020. [37]
Tu always knew she was "different" from a young age but did not recognize in what way. She finally realized she was gay while attending summer camp at the University of Chicago; a girl she had a crush on told her she was funny, and the realization was near-instantaneous. [38] She had also previously had sex with a female best friend, but neither she nor the friend ever put labels of "dating", "girlfriends", or "gay" on their experiences with one another. [39] Tu also notes that she was always drawn to female characters in cartoons and television shows [40] and had a crush on Harry Potter actress Emma Watson. [41]
| Year | Film |
|---|---|
| 2019 | Straight Up, Stand Up |
| 2019 | The Report (Card) |
| 2018 | The Guest List |
| 2018 | Out On Stage |
| 2017 | Take My Wife |
| 2016–2017 | The Guest List |
| 2016 | Flophouse |
SF Sketchfest, or The San Francisco Comedy Festival, is an American comedy festival founded in 2002 by Bay Area actor-comedians David Owen, Janet Varney and Cole Stratton. It takes place every January and February in a variety of Bay Area venues and features sketch comedy, improv comedy, film and television tributes and reunions, solo performers, music, podcasts and stand-up comedy performers.
Janet Varney is an American actress, comedian, writer and producer. She is known for voicing the character of Korra in the Nickelodeon animated television series The Legend of Korra, co-starring as Sheriff Evie Barret in the television series Stan Against Evil, and a recurring role as Becca Barbara in You're the Worst.
Mark Moshe Kasher is an American stand-up comedian, writer and actor based in the Los Angeles area. He is the author of the 2012 memoir Kasher in the Rye: The True Tale of a White Boy from Oakland Who Became a Drug Addict, Criminal, Mental Patient, and Then Turned 16. In 2009, iTunes named Kasher "Best New Comic" and his comedy album Everyone You Know Is Going to Die, and Then You Are! was ranked one of the top 20 comedy albums on iTunes that same year. He was also named "Comic to Watch in 2010" by Punchline Magazine.
Sheng Wang is a Taiwanese American stand-up comedian and was a staff writer for ABC sitcom series Fresh Off the Boat from 2015 to 2018. He grew up in Houston, Texas.
Cole Stratton is an American actor, comedian, podcaster, writer and producer, best known as one of the Co-Founders of SF Sketchfest, the San Francisco Comedy Festival and the co-host of the Pop My Culture Podcast.
Mina Liccione is an American performing artist, comedian, tap dancer, choreographer, and arts educator.
Marc Evan Jackson is an American comedian and actor. Some of his roles include Sparks Nevada in the Thrilling Adventure Hour, Kevin Cozner in Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Trevor Nelsson in Parks and Recreation, Dr. Murphy in 22 Jump Street, Steve Woodward in Kong: Skull Island, Shawn in The Good Place, and Bradford Buzzard in the Disney series DuckTales.
April Richardson is an American stand-up comedian. She was a round table regular on the television show Chelsea Lately and a frequent contestant on @midnight. She is from Atlanta, Georgia.
Cameron Anne Young Anastasia Esposito is an American actress, comedian, and podcaster known for her show Take My Wife, as well as her stand-up comedy and her podcast, Queery. Esposito substantially focuses on topics surrounding the LGBTQ+ community, feminism, social justice, and the challenges faced by members of marginalized communities. Originally from Western Springs, Illinois, Esposito lives in Los Angeles.
Emma Willmann is an American stand-up comedian and actress. She made her televised stand up debut on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Willmann had a recurring role as "Beth" on The CW series Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.
Jessica McKenna is an American actress, comedian and singer. McKenna trained with The Groundlings and at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, where she regularly performs. McKenna was one of the stars of Fox's Party Over Here, alongside Nicole Byer and Alison Rich, and hosted the podcast Off Book: The Improvised Musical until 2023.
Danielle Perez is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and writer. She participated in CBS's 2020 Diversity Sketch Comedy Showcase and has credits on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live!, MTV's Decoded, NBC's StandUp, and A Little Late with Lilly Singh.
Manon Mathews is an American comedian, actress, and social media personality. She is best known for her videos on Vine and her appearances in film and television.
Helen Hong is an American stand-up comedian, actress, director, and producer. She has appeared in such works as Jane the Virgin, Parks and Recreation, and the Coen Brothers' Inside Llewyn Davis. She has a regular spot on NPR's Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! and hosts a trivia podcast called Go Fact Yourself. She formerly hosted the podcast Little Ethnic Girls. She has a recurring role on Nickelodeon's The Thundermans and had a recurring role as Mrs. Song in Starz's Blunt Talk. Hong is known for her comedic NowThis videos.
The Portland Queer Comedy Festival is an annual five-day comedy festival that takes place in Portland, Oregon. Multiple venues are used throughout the festival's stretch, and upwards of 50 comedians perform. Comics such as Bruce Villanch, Irene Tu, Mary Jane French, Danielle Radford, Guy Branum, Jeffery Jay, Corina Lucas, Scott Thompson, and James Adomian have participated. Drag queens such as Valerie DeVille and Bolivia Carmicheals have hosted bingo games as part of the fest.
Dhaya Lakshminarayanan is an American comedian, performance artist, TV host, and storyteller. She has performed at venues such as San Francisco's Asian Art Museum, the San Jose Museum of Art, the Siren Theater, San Francisco's Punchline Comedy Club and Cobb's Comedy Club, the Brava Theatre, Throckmorton Theatre, and others. She has also performed at comedy festivals such as SF Sketchfest 2015 and SF Sketchfest 2020; the Desi Comedy Fest, America's only South Asian comedy festival; and the Out of Bounds Comedy Festival. In 2019, Lakshminarayanan, Will Durst, and W. Kamau Bell appeared as guests on KQED in regard to the controversial proposed closure of the historic San Francisco Punchline Comedy Club. The same year, she regularly opened for Greg Proops at the Punchline.
Karinda Dobbins is an American comedian. She co-produces the monthly comedy show The Resistance! alongside Dhaya Lakshminarayanan, has regularly opened for W. Kamau Bell, and additionally opened for Trevor Noah, Gina Yashere, Michelle Wolf, and Dave Chappelle. She has performed at festivals such as the Desi Comedy Fest, the Portland Queer Comedy Festival, Bridgetown Comedy Festival, and Comedy Central's Colossal Clusterfest. In 2019, SFist named her one of their 13 San Francisco Standup Comedians to Go See Now.
Stephanie Tolev is a Canadian comedian and actress.
Ashley Gavin is an American comedian, writer, and podcast host. She has been featured on Netflix is a Joke, Hulu, Comedy Central, but is best known for her viral crowd work videos on TikTok and for her podcast, We're Having Gay Sex. She also hosts the podcast Chosen Family along with online creators Alayna Joy and Mak Ingemi.
Robin Tran is an American stand-up comedian, writer, actress, and producer. She is known for her stand-up comedy routines and roasts.
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