美式"小沈阳" 走红美利坚

Self-titled as an “all American immigrant,” Joe Wong came a long way from a rosy-eyed new immigrant to a blossoming comedian. His jokes range from ethnic, personal, political, observational to bizarre. It’s not always easy to categorize his humor, but it is always inspired.

In China, Joe enjoyed watching traditional Chinese standup comedy and sketches. He wrote and starred in two comedy sketches that won accolades from audiences. Continually fascinated by the vibrant American culture, he tried to learn about it through rock music from static-laden radio stations and a limited amount of books and movies.

Joe finally made the leap to the United States in 1994 and ended up at Rice University in Texas. In 1996, Joe honed his writing skills by becoming a columnist for the campus newspaper The Thresher. He was thrilled to find out how much people enjoyed his humor.

Moving to Boston in late 2001 to take advantage of the well-established comedy scene, Joe enrolled in standup, acting and improvisational comedy classes. He quickly became a Boston favorite among comedians and audience members alike. Joe has won the Lizard Lounge weekly comedy contest six times, thus standing out in the comedy club in Cambridge, Massachusetts noted for its smart comedians.

In 2003, Joe wrote and produced the short film, "Joe Huang For President," which won Best Short Film at the 2003 Cambridge Fringe Fest beating out nationwide competition. After the Fringe Fest, he appeared on the local television show Chowdah (Comcast).

Cheered on by his fellow comedians, Joe was a finalist in the 2003 Boston International Comedy Festival, thus making his way to the top eight of some 300 contestants from all over North America. During the competition, scouts from NBC and CBS, as well as reporters from local newspapers took notice. One of his jokes was quoted in the Boston Herald.

In the 2005 Boston Comedy Festival, Joe participated in the David Letterman Showcase show where his performance won rave reviews from the press. Later that year, he was interviewed by WBUR the public radio station who also broadcast part of his live performance.

In 2006 and 2007, Joe performed and headlined in numerous high profile shows such as the Autism Speaks Show, the ACDC Benefit Show and the Ticket to Asia Show. He was featured and interviewed in three newspapers, two magazines and the NECN and ABC TV stations.

Currently, Joe Wong performs regularly in major comedy clubs and colleges throughout the country, as well as benefits and corporate events. His volume of comedy material, his originality, and his "cut-from-a-different-kind-of-mold" character create a persona that audiences can't help but love.

今年39岁的黄西有着典型的中国留学生经历。主修化学、毕业于吉林大学的他，1994年赴美攻读博士学位，毕业后顺利找到了一份工作，接着结婚生子，留在了美国。

1999年，黄西取得得州莱斯大学生化博士学位，2000年开始到马萨诸塞州一家制药公司上班。白天，他在实验室做研究，到了晚上他摇身一变成为搞笑艺人，穿梭在新英格兰地区的酒吧、夜总会、俱乐部和大学礼堂，表演他的单口相声，波士顿是他起家的地方。

还在吉林大学读本科时，黄西就喜欢写笑话和讲笑话，平时经常看美国《读者文摘》中的笑话集锦。在得州念书时，为排遣学习生活的枯燥，黄西除了继续看《读者文摘》外，开始大量阅读笑话书，马克·吐温和著名导演伍迪·艾伦的作品对他的启发很大，让他了解了更多的美式幽默与美式笑话。

在制药公司工作后，黄西曾利用业余时间就读过当地的一个“笑话写作成人教育班”，但他自称并“没有真正学到东西”。惟一的收获是通过这个渠道接触到了波士顿的一些喜剧团，并开始了自己的表演活动。

黄西首次登台是在2002年，但相当不容易，“因为人家不愿意提供机会”。不甘放弃的他努力地进行笑话创作，有时写了100个笑话段子，只有一个是好笑的。他的第一个听众是做会计师的太太。功夫不负有心人，2003年，黄西打入了波士顿国际喜剧节决赛。

2005年，专门为《大卫·莱特曼秀》物色人才的节目制作人布瑞尔在波士顿看了黄西的表演，认为他很有潜力，并着手培养他。经过3年的观察，当布瑞尔去年在波士顿再度观看黄西的表演后，感到他为莱特曼秀试镜的时机已经成熟。布瑞尔深信，这个中国人一定能够大红大紫。

布瑞尔把黄西写的几则笑话进行次序上的整理，使其更有节奏感，同时还指导了他一些讲笑话时的技巧。4月17日，黄西在《大卫·莱特曼秀》的演出结束后，主持人莱特曼拉着黄西的手说：“你是个天才。”他还罕见地拉着笑得合不拢嘴的黄西一起谢幕。

作为独具慧眼的伯乐，布瑞尔认为黄西的表演是自己近几年来所发掘到的“最清新、最成功的演出”。黄西在制药公司实验室的同事闻讯后都大吃一惊，纷纷跑来道贺，祝他将来名利双收。

一炮而红的黄西将于近日在纽约参加“喜剧中心”频道的试镜。这将是第一位华人应邀在这个全美最热门的喜剧频道上演出。对此，黄西异常兴奋，但他还是冷静地表示，“目前这只是副业，一直到我能确定走这条路的收入充足稳定之前，还是要努力上班”。

黄西说，如果讲笑话能维持生计的话，他会考虑改行，因为“学术界不缺我这个中国人”。更重要的是，黄西已对讲美式笑话这份职业，产生了一份使命感。