Talk show actor Li Mengjie: Making you happy is my ideal

“Relax, there is nothing you can’t joke about”

On the evening of Saturday, May 18, a small theater on Baochu Road in Hangzhou was filled with more than 80 people audience. This is the first commercial performance of Keke Comedy. Among the six talk show actors on stage, Li Mengjie, the founder of Keke Comedy, was included. Starting from this night, actor Li Mengjie had an extra label: boss Li Mengjie. The pressure of the new label made Li Mengjie nervous from beginning to end.

"Talk Show" became known in China through online variety shows such as "Tucao Conference", "Post-80s Tonight" and "Talk Show Conference". But even the famous casts in these shows are somewhat different from the stars in other variety shows. They all love another position: offline small theaters. Even cast members such as Siwen, Cheng Lu, Liang Haiyuan, and ROCK who became famous in "Talk Show Conference" are no exception. After polishing the jokes over and over again for the 5-8 minute open mic, the actors will use the "mature works" in the 10-12 minute commercial performance. "No one is born a joker! Neither Li Dan nor Wang Jianguo. This is a very professional thing that must rely on creation and perception."

Very few people make talk shows their career. Li Mengjie lives and works in Shanghai. From Monday to Thursday, I get off work and go to two or three open mic shows, performing at least seven shows a week. Such high-density performances continue for a year to accumulate experience in 40 shows.

The interview with Li Mengjie was the happiest conversation. During the interview, because there was simultaneous video recording and radio recording, I was wearing a Little Bee microphone and could only hold back my laughter. When I couldn’t hold it in anymore, I opened my mouth in a silent giggle. I glanced at the friend who was filming the video out of the corner of my eye, and I guess I need to apply eye cream when I get home.

Li Mengjie insists on using "stand-up comedy" to replace "talk show". He feels that although using talk shows will make it easier for everyone to accept, talk shows include many program formats, such as talk shows, and they do not necessarily have to be funny. The purpose of using stand-up comedy is to emphasize "comedy" more.

"My ideal state is to go on tour across the country like some actors in the United States. I will perform for everyone in a theater. Even if there are only 50 or 60 people, you are very happy and I am very happy. ”

Oral narration: Li Mengjie

Interview: Beihang

Editor: Beihang

// Incredible, incredible

Two years ago, I became the screenwriter of Wang Zijian's "80s Tonight".

Two months ago, I was a bank teller in a town in Linfen, Shanxi.

The span is too big, like a dream. Really, I told my mother at that time: Mom, someone asked me to go to Shanghai to work as a screenwriter. He said he would give me a lot of money a month, and they would also cover the air tickets. I could fly directly from our home to Beijing... My grandma and grandpa, My mom and dad asked around and heard that this was not a pyramid scheme. After I arrived in Shanghai, they kept asking me, have you not joined MLM? Are you really not in MLM? They kept asking, and it wasn't until I arrived at the station and sent photos that they felt relieved.

When I was in college, I often watched "80's Tonight", but I never thought that I could also speak. After graduating and entering a bank, I had a party and I copied some of Wang Zijian's jokes and told them. I didn't understand the art form at the time, so I told them at his pace. It was very funny and everyone liked it. I was like, wow! I'm so awesome!

After the party, I went back to work obediently, and this matter was forgotten. ?

I am a general teller. I go to the bank to withdraw money. You take the card and hand it to the person sitting inside. Bank tellers in big cities dress modestly: Hello! (Service with a smile), our small place is not that strict, and the tie may not be worn sometimes. They are all old men and women who come to collect pensions, and everyone knows each other when they come and go. When we do business, we just chat. We don’t say: Hello, what business do you do? Are we joking: Are you here to withdraw money again? It’s only 80 yuan a month and you can withdraw it every month. Can you save it for three months and withdraw it again?

I came here to work because of my girlfriend from college, and this is her hometown. But in October 2016, we broke up. What is the point of me continuing to stay in this small county? There was only one feeling at the time: I was finished.

I can see myself at 60 and I want to leave.

At the beginning of 2017, my uncle passed away, which hit me hard.

When I was most depressed, I went to see an elder in Xi'an, and he took me cycling. We rode from Nanjing to Shanghai, and rode to a city every day for a day.

Before this ride, I thought about what I wanted to do in the future. I'm thinking of "80s Talk Show Tonight", can I talk about it? I spent two months learning about stand-up comedy and found a group of people doing this in Beijing. So I watched performance videos of foreign actors and tried to write my own jokes. After writing it, send it to the stand-up comedians you met on Weibo.

There is an actor named Zhou Qimo. After watching it, he replied to me: If you want to do this, you can only go to a big city.

When we rode to Shanghai, I happened to catch up with the 2017 Shanghai International Stand-up Comedy Festival. I saw with my own eyes that Zhou Qimo, who I was chatting with on Weibo, won the championship. I thought his performance was so funny. I want to do something like this too. I must do this!

Scene of the 2017 Shanghai International Talk Show Comedy Festival

When I left Shanghai on May 2, 2017, I already knew what I wanted to do next.

After returning home from Shanghai, I took leave and went to Beijing. It’s not that I don’t dare to resign, it’s that my parents won’t let me. Yes, a scumbag graduated and got into a bank, why do you still want to do it? What else do you want to do?

After arriving in Beijing, I have been unable to find a job. In the past two months, in addition to going to the open mic, I have been thinking about and writing something. At that time, "80s Talk Show Tonight" was looking for screenwriters. There was an actor named Robin who thought I was good at writing. After watching my performance video, he gave me some test questions, which I passed. Then I came to Shanghai to work as a screenwriter and record a show with Wang Zijian!

Those people I saw on TV two months ago, Cheng Lu, Siwen, Haiyuan, etc., now we are chatting face to face, incredible, incredible.

At that time, I thought I was too good. Now I think it is really stupid. It’s just my luck. I am especially grateful to Teacher Robin.

// Not funny, not funny, not funny... funny!

The first time I went on the open mic was in Beijing. For this 5 minutes, I prepared for more than a week before going on stage.

It was April 2017, and "Tucao Conference" was not yet popular. The talk show market in Beijing is also very sluggish. There are ten actors and only three or four audiences. This is how it goes most of the time. ?

Before that performance, I went to see Mr. Shi, the founder of Beijing Danliren. He is a very powerful actor and I like him very much. The first thing he said to me was: I advise you one thing, don’t do this. It’s so difficult! It’s so bitter! Don't do this.

On May 24, 2017, I met Boss Shi at the first open mic.

No senior would tell a newcomer not to do this.

I spoke in front of him for the first time. Those five minutes were so difficult that almost no one laughed. The only applause was from the audience when the host introduced me. ?

After I finished speaking, I told Boss Shi, it’s too difficult, can you teach me? He said that we are all still in the exploratory stage. I can't teach you many things, you can only do it yourself.

We then went to the second show. There was no audience, and there were only a group of very powerful actors, including Zhou Qimo, Brother Huanzhu, and the screenwriter and actor Zhang Boyang of Xiaoguo Culture, Dali.

I was still not funny, but they kept encouraging me. Nowadays, we often meet in Shanghai, telling jokes and chatting in the same place. I actually persisted. I think this is quite amazing. ?

It was still May, I arrived in Beijing, and it was my first open mic performance

In stand-up comedy, works are calculated by the minute. A great one-person performance lasts for 60 minutes, and the album Same. If you want to write five or ten minutes of funny content, a newcomer will probably need several months to find this point first, and then spend the five minutes and ten minutes on it. There are many open mics outside of commercial performances where you can practice this. The contents of my business speeches are all revised one by one in the open mic.

I spend a lot of time in my head. I have been thinking about how to perform this thing. I want to perform it. After I know how to perform it, I will perform it according to the state in my mind. , maybe the performance in the first performance was not good, so I will perform it in the second performance and then in the third performance.

?

To achieve the effect in my head. ?

It is easier for you to laugh when watching variety shows because you are in a relaxed state without any expectations. Offline is different from online. Offline requires more laughter.

The hardest thing about our business is that you have to accept this blow every day. There are two or three lectures every night. It’s not funny, it’s not funny, it’s not funny, it’s not funny, it’s not funny, it’s not funny… We are very capable of self-comfort. When it’s not funny, let me ask first, my question? Audience questions? It's because the audience didn't understand. Of course, this is a consolation for joking, but after you come back, you have to reflect on what's not funny about this joke, why it's funny to others, and what's wrong with your joke?

Yes, I have to accept such a blow every day. every day! Even now.

Shanghai, Xiaoguo’s open mic scene. I was teasing an audience member: Look at him, although he has a girlfriend, he is definitely not happy.

One time during my first performance, I told a joke and the audience thought it was funny. I was very happy and very excited. I went to the second show and no one laughed! I was sweating at that time. The gap was too big. Why isn't it funny? Then you have to talk about the same thing the next day. After you talk about the same thing, you find that it is not funny, not funny, not funny, not funny, but the first scene is particularly funny. ?

So this thing is very strange. I have to undergo such torture every day to reflect on jokes. We actors cheer each other up and are very strong mentally. Either they are very capable of self-comfort, or they are funny. Only these two kinds of people can persevere.

Nowadays, many people say they want to do this, but I won’t say not to do it, OK! You want to do this, let me ask you, do you know what this is? ?

For example, your friends say you are very humorous. That's probably because you know where your friend's "spot" is and you try to make him laugh. But what makes your friends laugh is not necessarily what makes the audience laugh. It’s hard to make the audience laugh. Making an audience laugh on stage is a professional thing.

Many people say one or two things that are not funny, so they stop talking. But he won't think about it, why isn't it funny? Maybe his method is wrong. You just have to do some work to make it funny, but he won't do it. "Anyway, I have a job, so I'll give it a try." This is how most people lose their jobs, and very few stick around. But I understand it very well, because it doesn’t make money!

Every joke is true

The jokes we tell are true. Although there will be some processing, most of them come from real things around us and real feelings. . ?

During my first business performance, I told a joke about going to the hospital for circumcision. I really went to the hospital for an operation. This thing itself is very funny, and the nurses and doctors are even more funny. I just added some jokes to the actual operation to show it off. Many actors liked this joke very much, and one actor even asked me to go to their venue to tell it again!

Our hometown is very superstitious. If an elderly male in the family dies, some burial objects will be burned. The strangest thing is that the four beauties in ancient my country will be burned: Diao Chan, Xi Shi, Yang Yuhuan and Wang Zhaojun. My grandfather burned these four when he was away, and my uncle also burned these four, which is very strange, if you think about it, it will be very strange.

You burned these four beauties for the sake of keeping the elderly company, right? But if there really is another world, wouldn't you worry about causing family disharmony if you send it there?

The old lady has been waiting for the old man down there for a long time, right? The old man came down and brought four more. Are you here to fight (laughing)? I made up a joke to describe this thing, to expose this lie and explain to you in a humorous way how absurd this world is if there really is another world. Right? ?

Audience friends, please relax

Everyone’s impression of talk shows comes from "Tucao Conference", "Talk Show Conference" and Li Dan. Many people don't know that there are offline performances, and some even don't understand the difference between it and cross talk.

When some new audiences come, they may misunderstand some of the actors’ jokes. They think you are making fun of them, but in fact, as long as they enter the theater, everything the actors do is to make everyone laugh. Nothing is off limits as long as you are funny.

?

Once I was doing an open mic in Beijing and there were only three people in the audience, a couple and an elder brother in his 30s, so I made fun of that couple. As a result, they took it seriously. The woman was very angry and stood up and pointed at me. You are over 30, is it funny to ask such a question? Are you in your thirties? Actually I was only 25 years old at the time (laughs), maybe I was too old. I said don't be angry, I'm over 30.

Some viewers may have watched less and were very nervous when they came in. Should I laugh? Laughing loudly or how? I hope everyone enjoys this thing, just to have fun, let go of everything and relax.

I have a joke about old people exercising. I think it’s weird for older people to exercise, they hit themselves a lot (laughs). We just complain, why are you so stupid? Doesn’t it hurt if you hit yourself? ?

When I was telling this joke in Beijing, an old man kept laughing. He thought that was the case. He would not be angry and they would enjoy this thing. They knew that this child was making everyone laugh. I don’t really think that older people are stupid.

There are millions of young people in Hangzhou, and everyone knows about cross talk, but our audience is relatively small now. The ideal situation is not to have everyone come every week, but once every two months or three months. OK, this is a way of life.

I hope new viewers will keep coming. If the audience keeps repeating it, the actor will be very anxious. Originally, a classic joke can be repeated for a period of time, but now he has to quickly write something new, because everyone paid for it, and I have to work hard to be worthy of them. Write something new.

Actor Li Mengjie, boss Li Mengjie

The reason for starting Keke Comedy is actually very simple. My girlfriend is in Hangzhou. If I come to see her, I have nothing to do. It happens that Hangzhou is also It's not very mature, so I'll just make one. My original intention was entirely because of this. At that time, I didn’t even think about customer needs or what kind of label I wanted to become. I just thought I had something to do, but now I hope to do it well and continue this culture. ?

If I was just an actor before, I wouldn’t care how other people’s speeches were. I only had one point in my mind for every performance. I want to be the funniest today. I don’t care if they are funny or not. I don't have any relationship. I wanted the audience to like me, that was all I had in mind at the time.

When the Keke Comedy was performed for the first time, I called some actors from Shanghai to come over. When they came up to talk about it, I was even more nervous than they were. I was nervous from beginning to end. They must be funnier than me, and I have to make them funny. They are so funny. It doesn’t matter if I’m not funny. As long as you are funny and the audience likes you, OK OK OK OK.

After a performance of Delicious Comedy, the audience took a group photo with the actors.

At present, I do most of the work in the club. I do the publicity, handing out posters, and checking tickets all by myself. I didn't feel so tired before, but now I find that there are too many trivial things and they consume too much of your energy. It's not as simple as putting up a poster on the computer and introducing the actors. ?

I worry about attendance, whether the posters look good, and whether the actors can come? ?

I also have to worry about my work. After all, I work eight hours a day, and my work is still very important, so I feel a little tired. Since you choose to let everyone know something new, no one is forcing you. Anyway, just do it yourself. It will definitely be very tiring if you do it yourself. It doesn't matter, you will get used to it gradually.

All the jokes I’m telling now are what I thought of last year. I haven’t written many new jokes recently. I feel like I don’t have enough energy, so the most important thing now is to solve this problem and make myself free. a little.

I watched a variety show before and saw many people saying what I wanted to do with my music. I thought it was too funny, silly or not, fake! But since I did this, I found that if you really like it, you are really willing to devote a lot of time to it. It is everything to you, all the purpose, all the planning is for it.

My ideal situation is to do offline performances like some actors in the United States. There are special performances and tours across the country. I will perform for everyone in a large theater. I like this state very much. ?

I don’t do stand-up comedy just to be on TV. I really am not doing stand-up comedy just to be on TV.

I just want to tell you, even if there are 50 or 60 people, I am happy and you are happy, that’s OK. I want to treat it as a career, and rely on this career to support me and our actors. ?

There are many performances every day in Beijing and Shanghai, and the audiences are full. We are the only one doing it in Hangzhou. Most friends don’t know about it yet, and the actors are not mature enough. I hope that what I convey to you is authentic and good. Let everyone know that this is for offline performances, not online.

You come to see us perform, and we come to make you laugh. Trust us and it’s OK to come.

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