Drop Cloth… a few things you might not know about

Nebulous Niang – Singapore’s Biggest Lesbian! She performs her stand-up comedy special, SLOMOSEXUAL, at the Box Office SpeakEasy Theatre this Saturday 21st March 7.30 pm.  Tickets here.

A comedian or an aspect of the comedy that you think is overrated:

The concept that more “punchlines per minute” = better comedy. (Yes, that’s an actual thing that comedians measure!)  It doesn’t hurt to make your jokes punchy, of course, but there’s so much more to enjoyable comedy than a statistic.

A comedian or an aspect of the comedy that you think is underrated: 

The positive influence you can have on someone’s life just by going up on stage and being yourself.   That’s one reason I love performing my comedy hour – yes, it is funny, and the audience has a great time – but more than that, it opens people’s minds to perspectives they may not have been closed off to otherwise.  I love that I get to go on stage and be a literal walking, talking embodiment of “Singapore’s Biggest Lesbian”. People often say to me after the show that my show helped them feel less alone.

An early comedy memory: 

Watching blurry clips of Margaret Cho online and being absolutely enchanted by her. It blew my mind that someone who looked like that – like me – could be saying such outrageous things. Before Margaret Cho, I didn’t know that Asians were “allowed” to do comedy!

The last thing you had to eat:

A green smoothie (yeah, I know).

Where did you study? 

I was a Good Singaporean Citizen and did very well in the local education system. I also got to study on the west and east coasts of the USA for my bachelor and master’s degrees – I’ve always held a deep fascination with American culture and so many of my closest friends are American.

When did you first come to Cambodia? 

This will be my very first time in Cambodia! Show me around? 🙂

A book or movie you keep going back to: 

I’ve watched Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion at least twenty times over the years. It’s charming, uncomplicated, genuinely funny, and so very 90s. (Also, I’ve always had the biggest crush on Lisa Kudrow.)

What languages do you speak? 

English, Mandarin Chinese, and some very suspect Duolingo-grade French.

A country that you would like to visit: 

Ooh! Greece – specifically, one of those desolated isles from a Murakami novel where the women inexplicably disappear into another dimension after sleeping with each other. Santorini would be a good bet. Or maybe Lesbos…?

Something people might be surprised to know about you:

I’m a huge introvert! People think that stand-up comedians must be outgoing, but off-stage, most of us are soft-spoken, sensitive, and (more often than not) socially awkward. We’re the ones standing alone in the corner of the party, holding our drinks, eyeing the hot people.

A question from the last participant: What in life gets you the most excited??  

When a supermarket voucher allows me to walk away with a full bag of groceries for 20 cents. (I am, at the end of the day, a Chinese auntie.)