UPBEAT MUSIC Captions by June Yeow. www.able.co.nz Captions were made possible with funding from NZ On Air. Copyright Able 2015 UPBEAT MUSIC CONTINUES # La, la-la, la, la, la, la, # la-la, la, la, la-la. # La, la-la, la, la-la. # UPBEAT MUSIC Please go crazy wild for the one, the only David Correos. CHEERING Hi, my name's David. MAN: Hi, David! > Hi. Um, I won the Billy T Award this year! Whoo! > Yeah. I didn't realise it was a comedy competition, though. I thought it was a lookalike competition! LAUGHTER 'I'm not a normal comedian. I don't tell jokes. I am the joke.' (GRUNTS LOUDLY) It's the only thing that I'm actually good at. Uh, you're probably wondering, 'Why does he talk like a white person?' That's cos I'm like a Bounty bar ` LAUGHTER brown on the outside, white on the inside; no one really likes me. LAUGHTER 'I'm 23 years old, I'm originally from Christchurch, but I'm a full-blooded Filipino man. 'I'm a pretty white-bred boy, so being able to reconnect with my culture 'will be a really good challenge for me. 'I would describe my presence on stage as high energy, manic, nonsensical and silly.' I just love taking my clothes off and freaking people out in the audience. I find that so funny. CHEERING, APPLAUSE So winning the Billy T James Award is probably one of the coolest things to ever happen in my life. But I've gone from being just an amateur comedian who does this for fun to now a professional comedian who actually is doing it for a living. So I think, like, the next step to becoming a better comedian is trying to work on the skills that I'm not as good at yet. So, like, being silly, being loud ` that's easy. I've done that my whole life. But being personal and telling stories that can surprise people from genuine things happening? That's something I still have to really work on. JAUNTY MUSIC I was born and grew up in Christchurch. My parents were born in the Philippines, and they migrated to NZ. Growing up, I was the only Filipino kid at school, so I felt a little bit different. I remember I got bullied quite a bit. But I learnt quickly that if you can make them laugh first, then they can't actually bully you. Hey. Hello, Dave. Hi, Dave, how are you? 'I actually haven't seen my parents since before I won the Billy T. 'So now that I'm home, I'm going to present them my award ` the Billy T James yellow towel.' You look big. I don't! Why is it`? I lost weight! Let me see. Look! Uh... Look ` I'm on my last belt buckle! BOTH LAUGH So,... you guys missed me winning. It's all good, cos... I brought it home. Wow! This is good! Oh, thank you, darling! I'm so happy for you. That's all right. I'm so happy. It's good souvenir, David. It looks like you're doing well, but please, stop taking off your clothes! I felt so embarrassed that, you know, maybe people think that, 'Oh, how she brought up her kid? When I take my clothes off, it's not offensive, you know what I mean? I'm not naked all the time, though. Like, what do you think of my other material? Like... You know, you can be a good comedian, Dave, just` just don't be vulgar. Yeah, that's the word ` it's very vulgar. > Make it simple, and everyone will be happy. Because we cannot know what you do next. That's why I can't invite your aunties, I can't invite your cousins. We're here to support whatever you are doing, Dave, as long as you won't embarrass our family. It did hurt realising how embarrassed they get whenever I got naked on stage. It really makes me want them to be proud of what I'm doing. This year at my comedy festival show, I got a couple of reviews, uh, that were saying that some of my jokes were inauthentic, and even though they were personal, they didn't feel personal. Getting a response like that to my comedy does annoy me, and it makes me want to work harder at trying to find authenticity in my work. So what I've done is I've decided I'm going to write some new material that's all going to be story-based, and hopefully, uh, can be the kind of jokes that even my parents and family can come to and enjoy. RELAXED MUSIC I'm back in Auckland. I'm going to catch up with my mate James Roque, who is also another Filipino comedian and writer, and hopefully I can get some advice from him to figure out how to really find some genuine material in my comedy. QUIRKY MUSIC Oh, hello, cat. Hey, man. What's up? There are so many cats here, eh? Why`? Yeah, it's a cat cafe. Yeah. Why we meeting here? Uh, because I wanted to find a place to talk to you about comedy. And I thought that, um, what more appropriate than a cat cafe? < (LAUGHS) QUIRKY MUSIC CONTINUES I am working on a new show. Yep. And I'm trying to write some more observational material. Mm-hm. And you are the king of, um, Filipino observational comedy in NZ. Well, one out of two. I'm the king by default. (LAUGHS) If I saw you perform a story at a club, right, what percentage of that actually happened, and what percentage did you twist it around to get the laugh? Uh, I'd say about 50-50. Yep. I think as long as there's` it comes from a place of truth, then the audience will vibe with it. So as long as you seem authentic about it, then the audience will feel that authenticity. Yeah, nah, that's the problem I'm having now. Maybe a lot of it comes from you not trusting it yourself. If you really wanna be a good storyteller, you need to buy into everything that you're saying. So, your true self ` you have a bit about, um, how white women never wanna date an Asian dude. Yep. How long did it take you to be able to turn that into a bit? Um, as long as it took for me to stop crying. (LAUGHS) > No, um... No, but that's what I mean, is that that's a bit that I'm, like, I feel very passionate about. So after the end of every time I do that bit, regardless of how many laughs it gets, it's true to me. Right. Right. Yeah, OK, so if we're talking Filipino material, the stuff that I'm working on with Filipino stuff ` Yeah. a lot of it, in my head, I go, 'That's really funny.' And then I try it on stage, and it (IMITATES SPLATTER) Yeah. Everyone goes, 'Nup.' (CHUCKLES) 'We're not ready for that at all.' Yeah, you know what we should do? Um, so coming up, there's a Filipino festival, and you should do a set there. Because I think that's a good chance for you to tell some stories that other people in the audience can relate to that you don't need to actually contextualise them on. Like, they'll know immediately. Yeah, I don't know how my material will go down. I guess like, what I'm scared of is that this is going to be the moment where I find out all of my material is actually racist. It's not the end of the world. Then you go back and you change your gear that you feel bad about. Should be interesting, man. I think you'll do well, man. See? This cat knows. Ooh... Oh my God. Mm... 'There is a real skill being able to take people on a journey just through telling them a story. 'Going on and performing in front of an all-Filipino crowd ` that is a really big risk for me.' I've never done that before. I don't know what they laugh at, I don't know what they're going to react to. So, I mean, there's a lot` There's a lot on the line. See how this goes. I don't think my comedy's fully there yet, but we'll see. UPBEAT MUSIC Hey, uh, it's David here. We ` I ` am about to the into the, uh, Filipino Independence Day Festival. I've been invited to, uh, go on stage. I'm really nervous, cos, uh, they know I'm a comedian, and I don't know if I'm going to be funny. I haven't been to anything like this since I was a kid. I don't know how I'm going to, like, fit in with all these guys and girls. The only Filipino I really hang out with are my family. BOTH LAUGH I'm David, by the way, man. What's your name? Sheldon. Sheldon. That's so cool. What are you doing today, Sheldon? Well, I'm part of the, um, pageant show. Did you wanna do this? Or did your parents talk you into doing this? (LAUGHS) Cos I got` I got` That's a good one. That's a good one. You obviously, uh, are familiar with the situation. < (LAUGHS) Um, there was a constant insinuation to, kind of, be part of it. Out of your friends, do you have more Filipino friends or white friends? Oh... That's actually the reason I'm here, because, unfortunately, my social circles don't allow me to, kind of, be around Filipinos, so I need to find a way to reconnect with them. It's definitely a great opportunity. That's legit the same reason I'm here right now. UPBEAT MUSIC OK, so I'm about to go onstage and do a little bit of comedy. My comedy is very, like, R16, R18. So I'm very worried about how I'm going to pull off a clean set and still win them over, because, yeah, I've never performed in front of a Filipino audience before. I don't know if they're going to accept me for being so weird and` and` and crazy. So, yeah. See how it goes. I'm really nervous. Make some noise for the fattest Filipino out ` David Correos! CHEERING, APPLAUSE SCREAMS: Yessss! Whoo! I know, it's a weird feeling, because you're all looking at me like, 'No, he's not Filipino. 'Look at him! He's too fat! He ate a Filipino!' LAUGHTER I was able to come back down to Christchurch, hang out with my parents. So I get down there, and I say to them, 'Ma, Pa, I can take you anywhere you want for dinner. 'Where do you wanna go?' And my mum, she said her favourite restaurant. She said, (FILIPINO ACCENT) 'Let's go to the casino!' LAUGHTER And then Papa decides to run away and start looking at all the machines. He's gone. I lose him for about 20 minutes. Do you know how hard it is to find a Filipino dad in the casino?! LAUGHTER I went up to the waiter. I said, 'Hey, waiter, do you know where my father is?' And he said, 'What does he look like? I said, 'He's got glasses, he's about this tall, and he's brown.' He said, 'Oh, there's about 15 of them by the slot machines over there.' LAUGHTER Hey, my name's been David Correos. Thank you so much for having me. It's been really awesome. Thank you. CHEERING, APPLAUSE QUIRKY MUSIC (EXHALES) So that was, um, that was pretty intense. There were moments that I could definitely tell they understood what I was talking about, and then there were moments where it was straight up just a big wall between me and them. I` I definitely felt really relaxed when I could see one of my mates in the audience. Uh, James was in the audience, so I could see him laughing. (LAUGHS) So that was good. I'm going to talk to him about what it was like on stage and seeing if he thought it was all good. Hey, man. What's up, man? Thank you so much for checking that out. It was great. I thought you did really well in there. It's a big room. Everyone has lost a Filipino dad in a casino before, so people will relate. When I was on stage, I was going, 'Are they seeing a fake Filipino guy out there trying to be one of them? 'Or are they seeing someone who is relatable and going, "Hey, he is Filipino, '"and he has gone through the same stuff we've gone through."' You were just saying an experience that you had. And you're coming at it from a place of warmth and from a place of love, rather than a place of, 'Look at these stupid people, and they get lost in casinos.' You go, 'My dad's so great. I love him, but he's just this guy who's stuck in the casino all the time.' Especially after, like, seeing` meeting a lot of the people beforehand ` Sure. > it was really daunting going on stage and going, 'I hope they accept me.' (LAUGHS) 'And I hope they find this funny.' Cos them laughing is` is my way of going, 'They've accepted it.' And I'm glad that, you know, you had that moment where you went, 'Oh, I'm not` I'm not just being racist here. I'm actually genuinely part of this community.' And I don't think that you need to be worrying about that in the future. UPBEAT MUSIC Uh, so, yeah, 'Filipino dad' was really good. Really` really inspired right now. I've got a heap of new ideas I wanna try out. All the stuff I've been working on ` I feel like these stories are becoming more authentic, more genuine to who I am, and I just` I just hope that my parents like it. I don't know what they're going to think about it, but I think I'm going in the right direction. It's exciting. So, yeah, inspiration station right now. QUIRKY MUSIC I'm meeting up with Ben Hurley today. He's a great observational and storytelling comic. And, uh, just excited to pick his brain, see what he has to say. You know when you're coming in and out of the country and you have to put what your occupation is? Yeah. I think once you won the Billy T, you don't even have to hesitate to put 'comedian' in that slot. It's just a step. It's just a thing to say that you're doing something right. Like, when did you find, 'Oh, this is what people like about Ben Hurley 'so I'm going to start doing this more often'? So I never did that. I never thought about that. I just always try to be myself as much as possible. My short-term goals were paying my rent, and my medium-term goals were just get better. And so I got some reviews, uh, for my show this year. And it said that the stuff that is silly and that I have fun with and it's, like, full energy ` they were, like, 'Yeah, that was fun.' But my storytelling is really predictable. What you and I do could not be more different. But I love what you do. What you do, OK, is like` is like punk rock, right? It stirs a crowd up. You know, it changes what traditional stand-up is. And also, like, you've got, like, a fan base now. You've got people who come see you because of you. You go out and go, 'Hey, what's the deal with everyone's dad? Dads are weird, huh?' They're gonna go, 'What is this?' Yeah. It's baby steps. That's a huge step, to go from crazy punk rock comedy that you do to, um, Seinfeld. BOTH LAUGH That's what you're trying to do. Oh man, yeah. It's a huge leap. Yep. It's really hard to find one's voice on stage, and you found that really early. That's one of the hardest things ` some people never find it. I think you're on a good path, David, and you shouldn't stray from it too much. It's good to challenge yourself, but don't leap too far in any direction. After talking to Ben, it's really given me some doubts because I'm not sure which way to go ` if I should keep being the silly man or if I should start telling stories. Ben's telling me I can't tell stories yet, but I think I'm ready to do it. I've committed to doing a new show now, and I can't back out. So we're going to see what happens. UPBEAT MUSIC CONTINUES UPBEAT MUSIC So, I feel like things are starting to come together for this new show. And I'm feeling real super confident about this new material, but I'm still nervous, because I don't know exactly how people are going to take this. Uh, I'm about to go on The Edge breakfast show to plug my show in Christchurch, which is really exciting. They're really funny people. Now, you'd be a bit young for Billy T, wouldn't you? Yeah. Yeah, so, uh, I watched his sitcom. Yeah, you know, when you're in the bargain bin in The Warehouse ` 10 bucks. Thought, 'I'll buy that.' David Correos. Is that how you say it? > Yep, that's close enough, man. He's trying to shake up his routine and try a winning routine that doesn't involve him taking his clothes off. (LAUGHS) How often does it happen on stage? It happens enough. But, yeah, I'm doing a show in Christchurch, and, uh, I'm trying to do a full` not really a clean set, but just like, you know, find some other ways to do some crazy things without having to take my clothes off. David Correos, thank you so much for coming in, bro. > Awesome. Thank you very much for having me. You guys are awesome. Do it ` reppin' it for the Asians! You know, they can be funny too. ALL LAUGH QUIRKY MUSIC Today I will be meeting up with Reg Blackwood, who is a comedian, and he is also one of my mentors who's been around since the very beginning. You know, I mean, I remember you when you were a teenager. And you were pretty intense. So intense, eh? But, I mean, like, it was` it was always that feeling of I didn't really feel like I fit anywhere. For me, trying to make friends was just trying to impress them and go, 'He's worthy enough to hang out with.' But then that obviously got taken the wrong way. Maybe in 10 years' time you'll look back and you'll go, 'Wow, that was where my sense of humour 'really came from. It was the way to get people to accept me or to like me.' You know? At the moment, I feel like you use the weirdness and the nudity as a bit of a` Not a defence mechanism, but almost like 'It doesn't matter if my punch line's weak 'because I'll take my top off.' (LAUGHS) Yeah. Yeah. I feel like a lot of my stuff doesn't have that` doesn't have my real opinion or, um, have any real truth. What I've noticed with you is that audiences are desperate to engage with you. And that connection often involves a bit of vulnerability as well,... Yeah. ...you know? But what sets you apart is that fact that you were treated differently and you were an outsider. You need to trust you're funny. You know, your funniness extends well beyond your weirdness. Sometimes I feel like that bullied Filipino kid is still inside me, and it is hard to let go of that. So, you know, being the weird one, the odd one out - I can't push that away. I have to embrace that. Because that's who I am. That's where my comedy comes from. So I think that's how I can get to a deeper level with my comedy. Yeah, I want the audience light to be, like, 30%. Yeah, that's pretty cool. Uh, the show starts in about four hours, so nerves are starting to kick in. I think it's good nerves. 'So I've got some last-9minute rehearsals and some fine-tuning to do. 'Uh, but it's all looking pretty good.' I'll know if it's a success if I'm looking to the audience and seeing my parents smiling and laughing along without seeing that little cringe-y face they make when I take my clothes off. Hello, Dave. Oh, hey. How are you? Good. Are you excited for the show tonight? Yeah. I invited all our friends and family, and they're so excited. I promise I won't be taking my clothes off tonight. Uh, won't be naked. But hopefully the laughs will still be there. Hope you guys will still enjoy it. Yeah, I-I know you can do it. Yeah. (CHUCKLES) Good luck, son. Thanks, Ma. Thanks. Come here. Good luck. QUIRKY MUSIC Ladies and gentlemen, crank the music, please! Welcome to the stage your headliner and Billy T winner ` David.... Correos! Hi, everyone. So, you all know who I am, so I'm not going to introduce myself. My name's David. Just introduced myself. (LAUGHS) I just got a part in the new movie Moana. AUDIENCE EXCLAIMS, CHEERS Um, I'm playing the Pacific Ocean. LAUGHTER (LAUGHS) I bought this new shirt, and I'm, like, 'Yep.' TAPE RIPS I'm a unicorn! LIGHT LAUGHTER My dad ` he's the dude that's really been around since the start of my comedy. Because I used to think that comedy was just swearing. So I used to just do this in my living room, just swear all the time. My dad hated this, to the point where he'd run into the lounge and be, like, FILIPINO ACCENT: 'David! If all you're going to do is say "buck, buck, buck" all the time, 'you're going to the backyard with the chickens, huh?' (LAUGHS) Like, Pa, I don't wanna be NZ's best livestock comedian, OK? I wanna take this seriously. And he said to me this, (FILIPINO ACCENT) 'Anyone ` anyone ` can make a person laugh. 'But if you can make the chicken laugh,...' LIGHT LAUGHTER '...doesn't that make you the greatest comedian in the world?' LAUGHTER 'Go practise!' Uh, my dad also helped me out a lot when I was a kid. He tried to give me a haircut when I was 14 years old. He said to me, 'David, I'm going to make you look like Enrique Iglesias. 'Do you want to look exactly like Enrique Iglesias?' I said, 'No.' LAUGHTER You still gave me the haircut! For the next two weeks, my nickname was Nacho Enrique. And I told you` I told you, 'Pa, people are bullying me. People are bullying me. 'What do I do about this?' Your advice was, (FILIPINO ACCENT) 'You know, bullies are like crabs, David. They're like crabs, OK? 'They can pinch you, but they can only walk sideways.' LAUGHTER Yeah. And you know what? Pa, to this day, I still have no clue what that means. I still` I still struggle. What does that mean? 'I was really honest tonight. (LAUGHS)' And, I mean, that was the thing. I was very vulnerable on stage, and I definitely felt it. 'This experience has been really really great. It's been really eye-opening for me. 'This whole journey has made me really have to look at myself, 'just made me have to be very critical in what I do on stage 'and, um, really push myself in a new direction.' What did you guys think? Very good. Better than what I saw before. Really? Yep. (LAUGHS) It's more clean. I've never seen her laugh that much before. (LAUGHS) Oh my gosh. They were good. Not too much vulgar, no stripping off. Good. Yeah. Thank you. Yeah. All our friends and family are happy. Yeah. Yeah. > I'm so glad you guys enjoyed it. Awesome. Nice. Nice, David. Oh yes. (LAUGHS) Mm! I love you guys! OK, love you too, son. Proud of you. The way that my mum and dad talked about the show was really empowering for me. Like, it just gave me a lot of confidence in what I'm doing. I feel like I'm a lot more authentic in the way I tell a story. Um, I definitely had to draw from different places than I` than I thought I would have to at the start. And, um, it's great. I really like it. Uh, I like that it's becoming more 'David'. So I'm just excited to see where I go next. Captions by June Yeow. www.able.co.nz Captions were made possible with funding from NZ On Air. Copyright Able 2016