By Michelle Chan
For most rowdy kids sitting restlessly in sixth grade algebra class, acting out is a one-way ticket to the principal's office. But for KT Tatara, it was the beginning of a career. Living out the class clown's ultimate dream, KT has gone from troublemaker to a staple in the comedy world.
Making the rounds on both coasts -- performing at comedic hot spots like the Laugh Factory, Improv, and Comedy Cellar -- KT has become a familiar face nationwide. In fact, most recently KT was featured in the Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal Canada, prestigiously distinguished as one of the "New Faces of Comedy." The 26-year-old has also had his fair share of television appearances, starring in the AZN channel and the ImaginAsian's various improv shows and more recently being featured on Comedy Central's new standup series, Live at Gotham. Mind you, this substantial pile of credits he has accumulated since graduating early at the age of 20. And if that still doesn't impress you, then maybe his highlighted anime-spiked hair that somehow manages to magically stand on its own will.
Finding humor in seemingly mundane events, KT jokes about everything, from hating roommates who don't refill the Brita to getting hit on by grandmas on the New York subway -- and liking it. He even draws on the many trials and tribulations associated with being Asian, something which is near and dear to the half-Japanese comic. According to KT, not everyone loves an Asian boy: "If you like me, you're probably the hot girl's best friend." Creating a signature act that is all his own, KT's style is heavy on the sarcasm, slightly self-deprecating, and always quick-witted. His edgy recipe for hilarity sometimes borders the line of what is PC, but it's that controversy that makes the comic fun to watch. Judging from the following he has gained, KT seems to be well on his way to comedic domination, conquering one laugh at a time.
APA: How did you get into comedy?
KT Tatara: People always ask me that; I guess I always liked standup comedy. I watched it when I was in middle school and a little kid in the big standup boom of the ‘80s. I usually tell people, "It's kind of bad, don't try this." I was a bad student when I was in middle school and high school so I didn't prepare for my projects as well as you should -- as well as a good Asian should. So I would always forget, and you know I noticed the best students in the class usually are prepared but nervous, you know? The girls that had straight A's would be like "Uhhh," and I'm like "I should be nervous, I didn't even read the book!" So I'd go up there and have to be funny and wing it and I got by on a couple projects and that's where I found I had the confidence to try standup. So when I was in college, I actually took a workshop where you have to go up in front of a writer and the workshop ended with a performance on stage. So I did that pretty good and just kept on doing it.
APA: Who are your comedic influences?
KT: Influences? I don't know if I would ... I guess the viewer says who I'm influenced by. I can tell you who I like: I like Dave Attell, I think he's really funny; Chris Rock; obviously George Carlin and Richard Pryor -- they influenced probably everyone; Eddie Murphy; Bill Hicks is a guy not a lot of people know about. But I don't know, you don't really study it so much like "Oh I want to be like that person." It's more like you find your own way. So there's guys I like, you probably hear it in some of my jokes, but ultimately you want to find your own voice.
APA: So you make Asian jokes: where do you get your material from?
KT: Basically anything I think of I'll write down. I'll have little pieces of paper with girls' phone numbers and emails ... I don't know.
APA: What do you have today?
KT: I didn't write anything down yet today. I was probably waiting for this interview to be over and then I was going to write something down about that. I don't know, I draw everything from some kind of opinion I have or life experience and maybe it's exaggerated a bit.
APA: You mentioned you were a bad student, but you also graduated college really quickly.
KT: Well I wasn't a bad student, I was more kind of disorganized, you know what I mean? I wasn't failing, obviously. I graduated when I was 20. I just took a lot of summer classes, that's all it was. I was a Music major in school, that was pretty cool. It was tough though, because a lot of people are like "Oh you graduated early? Oh, you were a music major." It was a lot of work. But I just took a lot of summer classes, tested out of a couple things.
APA: So you're a Music major and also a Communications major?
KT: I was a Comm minor.
APA: How do those play into what you're doing now?
KT: Actually, pretty well. A lot of people are like, "Oh you're not using your degree" or whatever, but I kind of feel like I am because when you're a musician you have to be very self-disciplined and self-motivated. No one can perform the instrument for you. You have so sit there and practice and work it out yourself. So same thing as a comedian, you have to sit there and write. No one can tell you how to do the joke the way you can do it, you know what I mean? So same thing, you have to have that self-motivation to get better and practice. So I felt like the tools I learned being a musician practicing and motivating yourself to get better was the same thing that applies. And the Comm thing: it's just basic communication stuff that I learned in my classes that help relate to the psychology of being a single performer. You know when you're performing by yourself in front of a lot of people, you have to think how they're going to interpret this and how should I say it so people can relate to it.
APA: What kinds of instruments did you play?
KT: Trombone was my ... don't laugh. Why's that funny? Not the rusty trombone, the regular trombone. But I learned to play other instruments and stuff too.
APA: Are you still doing that now?
KT: Well not as much. I felt that in college I practiced a lot and played in all the orchestras and jazz bands and every ensemble you could have and worked my way up to as high as you can go. I feel I achieved as far as I wanted to go with it. I still practice now and then just for fun, but not as much. Comedy takes up so much of my time I really don't have time, but I have a keyboard at home, so I'll jam out to some love songs when I'm bored.
APA: So you're half Japanese. How does your bicultural background influence your act?
KT: I don't know. I guess when you're mixed you're torn because both sides want you to pick a side. When you're around white people they're like, "Oh you're more Asian" or "Do you feel more Asian?" Or when I'm around other Asians or Japanese they're like, "Oh well you're Asian/Japanese, you're not like them" and I just kind of feel like I'm me. I'm not really one side more than the other. So I think that it actually kind of helps me carve my own path and kind of be independent and not really feel I have to be more one thing than the other.
APA: On your resume you said that you were part of Asian Street Comedy. How was that and can you explain exactly what that is?
KT: Asian Street Comedy, that's cool. It was a show for the Asian Channel which is out on digital cable and I guess it's all over the country. I was actually in Sacramento recently and I was in the gas station and this chick pulls up -- and she wasn't even Asian -- she was like, "Hey are you a comedian?" And I was like, "Yea." "I saw you on Asian Street Comedy, you're pretty funny!” and then she peeled off. I was like, "Whoa, that was crazy!" It was pretty cool. It was put together by some guys that had seen me at a show. They put together a bunch of Asian comedians and were really trying to make their own first Asian comedian television show. I was on the second season and all the comedians are friends of mine, it was really cool. It seemed to spark a lot of interest in comedy within the Asian community.
APA: Is it still in production?
KT: I'm not sure, I don't know if they're working on another thing or not. I just taped this other thing for ImaginAsian TV called Comedy's End and same thing where they featured Asian comedians and stuff like that. And that's been doing really well.
APA: You're also on Comedy Central.
KT: July 21st. If you're watching this and it's after July 21st, it's on after July 21st.
APA: How did you get involved with that?
KT: Well, that's been a long process for the last couple of years. About three years ago I was in this contest called The Laugh Riots which is put on by Comedy Central. You send in a tape and then they pick a bunch of people to be in shows all across the country and from that they pick eight people to go to the finals in LA. I was one of the semi-finalists. I didn't make it to the finals but that was cool. I got to meet some of the Comedy Central producers and talent bookers and stuff like that and when I moved to L.A. three years ago I started auditioning and showcasing for them. As I got better they kept mark on my progress. And they have this new show coming out called Live at Gotham. Comes out this summer, I think June 30 is the first episode. I'm in the fourth one. It's in this comedy club in New York, they taped it. So basically they had a show. They saw me. They said, "Hey, you're good for it." They sent me out to New York. I went out to tape it a month ago. It will be airing July 21st, I think 11 p.m., so look for the sexy face. [points to face]
APA: What happens when you don't get laughs?
KT: Well, I want to know what that's like. I mean a lot of comedians tell me -- I mean come on. You think no one laughs at this? Well it's tough. It sucks. It's part of the job. It's going to happen. The worst is when you're starting out because you don't have any jokes, you know it's your first set, and you don't know if you can really do it or not. But you kind of get over it; you get used to it. It's tough when it sneaks up on you, when you think it's going to be a good show. Sometimes with the Asian people it is like that. You see a lot of people and you're like, "Yea, they're going to like me!" and then you go out there and they're a little conservative and they're like "Oh! He said a bad word!" and then you're like, "Aw man." And they still liked you but they didn't give it up, you know? Black audiences go crazy, they're are like, "Aw YEAH!" so it's a really fun show. Asian people are a little less animated. But usually if people don't laugh, you just chalk it up as like, "Alright. I got to learn something from this, what can I take away to improve myself?" You can't really take it to heart because it's one show. It's this much in the grand scheme of your career.
APA: How did you get started? I know you took that class, but how did it build up to where you are now?
KT: Well, it's a long process. I first took that class and then you start to look for open mics. They have comedy open mics in various cities. You usually sign up early or pay or call ahead; each place has a different process. But basically you get on, there aren't that many people in the audience, you go on for five minutes -- a real short amount of time but it seems like forever when you haven't done anything. You go up there. You suck. You go on again. You get one laugh, and you go "Ok, I'll keep that joke" and you cross this other stuff out and try some new stuff and keep writing. You have to write a lot to find the funny. When I was in DC starting out after college, they had a pretty good comedy scene there. So basically you do those open mics and you kind of meet some other comedians. Someone says, "Hey, why don't you do this spot on this show?" You go do that. Someone says, "Hey we need someone to host this Friday show." So it takes a while but eventually you start picking up more and more shows from being seen. You get funnier and more shows come. And you really have to get on every night. I drove around all over the place. I'd drive to Philly which is about two hours away just to go to an open mic -- I wasn't getting paid, it was just for the experience. I'd drive to some music open mic which was on Mondays, which was an hour-and-a-half away in Maryland just to get on and that's stage time -- there's no substitute for that because you can't practice standup. People say "in the mirror." You can't because then you can't laugh back at yourself. You need the reaction of people to tell you if it's good or not. You just have to get out as much as possible, that's how you get good.
APA: How does the East coast scene compare to the West coast?
KT: Eh, it's all the same. I mean, there are different types of comedians but the audience tells you what's funny in general. The only thing about L.A. is that you have the Hollywood audience. People are a little more jaded. They're a little too cool -- a lot of people are just out to look cool. People are a little more like "whatever" because they can see Chris Rock or someone famous and then Dave Chappelle might walk in. They're a little bit more like "whatever." Most of the places, East coast, West coast, the comedians are a little different in terms of what they like to talk about. Like the East coast is probably more animated. The West coast probably more laid back and reserved, but what audiences laugh at is pretty much the same wherever you go.
APA: Back to your act. In your act you refer to yourself as "Poon Sensei." Where did that come from?
KT: Poon Sensei! Poonsensei.com
APA: It's a real site?
KT: Yeah. Well, it just links back to my site, kttatara.com.
APA: Where did that come from?
KT: You've never heard of that? I thought everyone -- it's like a children's book thing, isn't it? Everyone learns Poon Sensei right? No? That's not an Asian fairy tale? Damn my parents were messed up. No, uh, that was just something I was just joking around with some of my friends. We were actually talking about someone else. It just kind of turned into me saying it was me. But we were talking about someone else who hooks up with a lot of chicks and I was like, "That guy gets a lot of girls, he's like a Poon Master or Poon Sensei." And I thought it would be funny to say on stage because let's be honest, I don't look like the Poon Sensei.
APA: Why all the jokes about your appearance when you've had a career in male modeling?
KT: A career in male modeling? Is that what you want to call it? Have you been stalking me? I know I'm pretty. I hate it. I'm actually 42 years old, did you know that? Damn. Well. I don't know. Yeah, I did a couple of print things or whatever, I guess. It wasn't like I was an underwear model or something. I'm not a supermodel; it's just a regular thing. I mean it's kind of true. I joke around. You know girls always want this rough, rugged guy. I feel like in some ways it kind of helps me but it's also a disadvantage, just in what girls like or kind of like in this manly stature. I think a lot of Asian guys have to deal with that. You have a little less ... a little more feminine ... not as striking features, as far as men go. But I mean I'm one of a kind.
APA: You integrate a lot of stereotypes, including ones about Asians in your act. Where do you draw the line between being funny and offensive? Or do you think that is even an issue?
KT: I let the audience draw the line because it's going to be different where some audiences draw the offensive line, I think. Really funny and really offensive are this close in your head. It's like the same wire, they border each other. And for the maximum impact on a joke that people really remember, if you walk that line of something that's like "Oh is that something offensive?" and "I couldn't uncontrollably stop myself from laughing," I think that's what people remember the most. So I try not to draw the line. I try to say whatever I think is the funniest and let the audience determine it. They'll let you know because they won't laugh and then you'll be "Oh maybe that is a little too far." But if you like it as a comedian, you've got to stick with it.
APA: On your blog you complain about getting gigs based on your race. Do you try to avoid those?
KT: My blog??
APA: Your myspace. It's your blog on myspace?
KT: I'm not a blogger.
APA: How do you feel about taking them? What bothers you about it?
KT: Well, what I said is that a lot of the times they have these diversity shows where they're like "Oh we want a black guy and an Asian girl and a white guy." They try to mix it up and then they're claiming it's a better show like "Oh it's a diverse show." My whole argument is why don't you make everyone funny? Like no one walks out of the show like "Wow. That was so great; every part of the world was represented because otherwise I would be offended." You know, no one is paying attention. You go see a lot of white guys, you don't really think twice about it. You may go, "Hey why is there an Asian comedian?" Well the reason is why there aren't those other minorities is that there are less of them doing it. There are less female standup comics, there are less Asians. There's a good amount of Black and Mexican comedians. So I say, "Why don't we go by who's funniest?" I have taken advantage of those, I'll admit. They've done Asian shows, they needed a token person, and I'll do it because it helps me work out my material but at the same time, I don't think it's a necessity to comedy shows.
APA: So what's coming up for you? Where do you want your career to head?
KT: More male modeling. I'd like to move onto maybe Sears catalogs or something like that. I don't know. I've been in Office Max, a thing for Alcoa on the internet, you know pouring green tea. Check it out on the website. No, I don't know. I just like doing standup so wherever the standup takes me. I've started recently auditioning for TV shows and movie stuff but that takes a while to get into. I'd love to work on some sort of project like that. Tomorrow I have a big show at the Laugh Factory. It's for the Montreal Comedy Festival, it's a pretty big thing so hopefully if I get invited to that, a lot of interesting people will see you there and that could lead to other projects. I've got a lot of ideas for a TV show, a movie, and for sketch shows and stuff like that. But that stuff doesn't really come along until you build some heat up and people start really knowing you. So we'll see. Big movie. Big TV show. Something.
APA: So they just started advertising for Fast and the Furious 3...
KT: Yeah! Why am I not in Fast and the Furious 3? How am I not in that movie? With this hair cut, are you kidding me?
APA: Why do you think you should've been in Fast and the Furious 3? What would your character be like?
KT: Well I think I should be in it just because I look like I should be in it. I have the Honda Civic with the chrome rims and the annoying exhaust that goes "vroom" and sets off car alarms or whatever. I've been practicing for the part for like, five years. Well I mean, just the normal myself, you know what I mean? I don't know what my character would be like. I'd probably be the assistant to the big leader. I'd be the guy like, "Yo" and then he'd tell me to go do something and I'm like "Alright. I'll get the b****. Let's get the chicks."
APA: Ok, one last question. How do you get your hair to do that?
KT: How do I get my hair to do that? It's a secret.
APA: It stands on its own.
KT: It's a secret I won't divulge. You'll have to find out yourself.
www.kttatara.com