Using her Singaporean heritage with Bay Area quirks, she shares her international transplant tales served with a dash of tech humor. As part of We Own The Laughs.com’s Comedian of the Day, have a few laughs and get to know comedian Elisha Tan. The San Francisco native shares some of her favorite moments in stand-up comedy and explains how she always owns the laughs.
Name: Elisha Tan
Hometown: Singapore/San Francisco, CA
Instagram/Twitter/Facebook/Snapchat/Tik-Tok: @elishatan
Years in Comedy: 1
Haven’t we seen you somewhere before: You probably have only seen me on IG or clubs near you.
Comedic Influences: Ali Wong & Atsuko Okatsuka
Favorite Comedy Special: Bo Burnham “Make Happy”
Favorite Comedy TV Show: The Good Place
Favorite City to Perform In: While I’ve only been there once, Dublin was AMAZING. The crowd was so supportive, friendly, and eager to laugh!
Favorite Topics to Joke About: Living in a new country as an unmarried Asian woman in her mid-30s. Basically, my life is a joke. I just tell my story.
Favorite Type of Audience for a Comedy Show: People who laugh out loud with their entire bodies, instead of those who only vibrate in their seats giggling. I need that validation, please thank you.
Favorite Comedy Club: Punch Line San Francisco because that’s where I started, and there’s nothing like the first time.
How did you discover your passion for comedy:
When I was much younger, laughter took me out of a dark place. I remembered thinking, after a hearty laugh, “hey, maybe life ain’t that bad after all”. Laughter was the crutch I relied on until I found the light at the end of my tunnel.
This is why I do comedy – to reciprocate the gift of joy I received all those years ago. Because if I can make someone forget about all the shit that’s happening in this world and their lives and just… laugh for 5 seconds, I would have done something good in this world. Gifting people those little moments of joy brings me joy.
What do you remember most about your first time performing stand-up comedy:
People laughed, and they laughed a lot! I took a comedy course at the Punch Line San Francisco and performed for about 40 people as part of the course graduate showcase. It was very special to do something new and unfamiliar yet be fully embraced by the audience. I chase that high every time on stage now.
How would you describe your comedic style:
Personable, authentic, and a little kookoo.
Describe your process for comedic writing:
I write anecdotes and stories from my life, edit them to include some joke techniques, and then sacrifice a male software engineer to the devil. This works really well.
Describe the comedy scene in your area:
The Bay Area comedy scene wants you to succeed. We have so many open mics and shows all over the Bay every day. There are tons of opportunities for comics to start and improve their craft.
How do you judge success in the world of comedy:
The beauty of being a comedian is that there’s no fixed definition of success, and it’s fascinating to learn about the different goals my peers have. For some, success is being able to perform locally as a hobby; some want to live off comedy, some a Netflix special, some to become part of the industry, and others to be insanely famous. Success is personal – one is successful if one achieves their goal, whatever it may be.
What’s been your most memorable moment in comedy:
Making a room of about 150 people erupted in laughter at Cobb’s Comedy Club the first time I did a roast battle. It was memorable not just because of where it was, the size of the audience, nor the volume of the laughter – but because it was a comeback I thought of on the spot. That was the moment that made me go, “Wow, I think I can really do this comedy thing”. I won that roast.
What have you learned most from your failures in comedy:
Get back up there. Comedy is one of the rare fields where the path to success is paved with failures – your jokes bomb until they kill.
How do people react toward you when they realize that you can make people laugh:
“Oh, so tell me a joke.” To which I tell them to come watch me at my next show as an Uno reverse.
Describe building a career in stand-up comedy:
First, decide what you want out of comedy. Then, talk to more tenured comics about how to get to your goal, before panicking and freaking out over how different each piece of advice is. Eventually, you’d realize that it’s YOUR path – nobody can dictate how you get to where you want to go. While you’re on your path, you’ll learn how to work with late hours, manage your energy levels, and control the envy you feel when you see your peers getting more or better gigs than you. Eventually, you’ll remind yourself that everyone is on different paths with different goals and what others have may not be right for you. Then you go back to writing, performing, bombing, and killing.
If you could change one thing in the world of comedy, what would it be:
While it’s very hypocritical of me to say this, I’d like for comedians to stop policing what other comics should or shouldn’t do. In my opinion, there are only 3 things to being a good comic – did the audience laugh? Did people come out to see you? Did you have fun? Whether a comedian got laughs through crowd work, act out, or being awkward doesn’t matter.
Best advice you’ve ever received from a comedian:
“You don’t have to get ready if you stay ready,” said to me by comics from both the East and West Coasts.
If you were releasing a comedy special this week, what would it be called:
“Leftover Woman” – as an ode to the societal expectations of an unmarried woman from Asia in her mid-30s.
An Elisha Tan Fun Fact:
I’m not a stranger to failure – having failed a tech startup I founded, and then getting fired from my first job after, before achieving a great career in tech.
Where would you like your laughs to take you:
Comedy to me is personal – I’m reciprocating the gift of joy. That’s why I want to create an internationally well-received special/album – one that brings people on a journey that makes them laugh, makes them cry, makes them laugh-cry, but more importantly makes them feel that hey, maybe life ain’t that bad after all.
Yeah, I want to be a one-hit wonder.
Until then, I’ll be developing a model of comedy shows sponsored by brand deals where all ticket sales go to charity.
What would you tell a potential comedian if they ask you how they can own the laughs:
Enjoy yourself, it’s play!
What are your thoughts on the future of comedy:
I’m pretty excited about the democratization of reach in comedy. It’s so accessible for comedians to self-product a special on YouTube instead of Netflix.
If you could write an episode for ONE classic TV sitcom, which show would it be:
While it’s not a classic TV sitcom, I’d love to write an episode of my favorite comedy sitcom, The Good Place. It’ll be an episode focusing on the confusion people have when they meet their enemies in a religious war in the same heaven – only to realize that they’re in hell. Their hell is each other forever.
If you could choose ONE comedy club and THREE comedians to perform with on your perfect comedy show, how would it go:
Punch Line San Francisco because that’s my special place. I’ll pick Ali Wong, Bo Burnham, and that guy who only tells terrible dick jokes – because I don’t want to be the weakest link in my perfect show.
What’s next for you:
I’m producing and headlining at the Punch Line San Francisco on 8 Oct 2024! This show, called Good Giggles, features some of North America’s top comedians as seen on Comedy Central, Netflix, NBC, BET, Just For Laughs, and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and they’re regulars at the Comedy Cellar, Laugh Factory, Yuk Yuk’s, and Punch Line San Francisco. These stellar comedians are flying in from New York, Chicago, Vancouver, and Los Angeles just for this show!
And here’s the best part: all ticket sales go to benefit 3 local non-profits supporting LGBTQ+ seniors, youths at risk, and women experiencing housing instability and sexual violence.
Ticket Link: HERE
Why should a person always laugh at life:
Hey, maybe life ain’t that bad after all.
Follow Elisha Tan’s comedic journey on these social media websites:
Instagram/Twitter/Facebook/Snapchat/Tik-Tok: Elisha Tan
Youtube: Elisha Tan
