Each May marks Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month, a fact of which the members of Austin comedy troupe Y’all We Asian are all too aware. The ten-member group likes to joke among themselves that this is the only time of year that they get corporate inquiries. Around April a few extra emails trickle in through their booking form online, “probably because they come up on corporate calendars,” says member Mary Vo, who joined the troupe in 2021.
Even if they roll their eyes in resignation of that reality, the troupe also recognizes the value in shining a spotlight on Asian culture—both for Austinites in general, as well as the city’s AAPI community. In 2017, Yola Lu and Kim Tran recognized that Austin lacked an active contingent of Asian comedians and decided to do something about it. They assembled a talented cast of players, branded the event “Y’all We Asian,” and put on a show that drew from their experiences as Asian Americans.
The show was so successful that it became an annual occurrence, and this year’s installment—“That’s Sooo Asian”—will take place at the Scottish Rite Theater in downtown Austin this Saturday, May 13. (Tickets start at $25 and are available here.) After that initial performance back in 2017, an outpouring of encouragement from friends prompted Lu and Tran to formalize the troupe. Now, Y’all We Asian hosts a performance on the first Friday of each month at Fallout Theater.
While the standing show focuses on improv, the upcoming event at Scottish Rite Theater is a broader mix of comedy, including scripted variety sketches and Asian American stand-up comedians. Vo sees the showcase as a way of getting other Asian Americans interested in doing comedy, as they book performers not only from Austin but also across the state. “We’re happy to be the consistent Asian American improv troupe but we don’t want to be the only ones,” she says.
Their “flagship” annual event…
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