China 21

Intercultural comedian Jesse Appell, founder of US-China Comedy Center in Beijing, shares his fun and educational journey of learning what makes Chinese people laugh, and bridging cultural gaps with humor. www.ChinaFocus.us hosted Jesse's performance at UC San Diego on Feb. 6 as part of his “Great LOL of China” North American tour. Jesse Appell (艾杰西) is a Fulbright Scholar alumni whose research focuses on Chinese humor and performance. He is a disciple of master Xiangsheng performer Ding Guangquan, and regularly perform Xiangsheng (a form of Chinese comedy also known as crosstalk), bilingual improv comedy, and Chinese stand-up live and on TV. Jesse creates comedic online videos intended for the Chinese audience; one of these, “Laowai Style,” gathered 2 million hits across several media platforms. Jesse’s performances, writing, and commentary on Chinese comedy, media, and culture have been seen and heard on CBS, TEDx, PBS, NPR and PRI, as well as Chinese media such as CCTV, BTV, and CRI. Jesse founded www.laug