Most of the American public are not aware of how much it takes to even get that far. Contestants are typically involved with this and sometimes other pageant systems for years, training and honing their individual strengths in each category of competition before ever being “Miss America ready” and contenders for the top 15.

The breakdown of the scoring for Miss America makes it tough to make it as a top 15 finalist

So how did Katie Schreckengast prepare?

Talent: The alto sax Schreckengast inherited from her father and played since 4th grade band contributed to her experience in her high school band, then the Penn State Blue Band and the talent performance at Miss America. She says her days as a competitive swimmer in high school gave her the lung power to hold high notes on her sax.

Interview & On-Stage Questions: Between the ages of 13 and 16 she was required to keep up with current events and had ample opportunities to practice speaking publicly when competing for the title of Miss Pennsylvania’s Outstanding Teen, a title she won in 2013. This led her to choosing broadcast journalism as her major at Penn State. Her mom would ask her common interview questions, but Schreckengast says the best questions are from appearances because you don’t know what you’ll be asked.

Her go-to current events news sources: The Daily Skimm, CNN, NBC and ABC.

Evening wear (and other outfits): The business owner of Showroom 56 in Wilkes-Barre, PA provided jewelry, dresses and shoes in outfits for Miss America week, a sponsor who she had connections to from her days as the Outstanding Teen.

“She gave me an outfit for the plane, an outfit for when I landed – she was so on top of the game. And truly feeling your best in great looking clothing helps you to perform your best and be your best self,” says Schreckengast.

Makeup: “There aren’t a ton of Youtube tutorials for Asian-American eye makeup. So it wasn’t until I had sponsors through the Miss PA organization… in Georgia with Matt & Meredith Boyd… helped me figure out how to do my own makeup… That was really important for me, because that step was really the first step I took as Miss PA that made me realize – you know what, this makes me look and feel like Miss America,” says Schreckengast.

Lifestyle & Fitness: Her partner was a group called F45 training that used HIIT, or High Intensity Interval Training” workouts. To mention again, the former swimmer already had the self-discipline of an athlete, easily being able to physically prep for the swimsuit portion of the competition.

“You have a partner throughout it and everyone’s cheering each other on and it felt like high school swimming again,” says Schreckengast.

Schreckengast has won around $26,000 in scholarship towards her college education from her involvement with the Miss America Organization.

The Competition Breakdown with Katie Schreckengast
Kollaboration New York - Empowerment Through Entertainment

Long before her on TV appearance, a bulk of the Miss America competition was going on behind-the-scenes. In a press conference style interview with judges Schreckengast was asked, ‘If you were to become Miss America, what would be one of your biggest challenges?” Her answer was “Racism, and the comments I receive online.” She knew this because she had dealt with a little bit of it after she won Miss Pennsylvania this summer.

But in the 24 hours following the Miss America competition, Schreckengast was still shocked by the scale of directly racist social media comments.

“About the size of my eyes, about the way that I smiled,” says Schreckengast, “Those are things that on a day-to-day basis I really don’t hear ever. So seeing the other side of it, having that kind of national exposure, understanding that racism still is very real and prevalent in our society today was a bit of a wake up call for me.”

In the same interview, Schreckengast talked about Nina Dalvuri, a judge this year who was Miss America 2014 and the first of Indian descent. Dalvuri was also the target of xenophobic and racist social media posts immediately after she won. Sadly this is nothing new to America’s oldest pageant, similar events occurred after Vanessa Williams was crowned in 1984 and after Bess Myers became Miss America 1945.

“After talking to my family and my friends. It’s just more of a motivator to me than anything else… It’s really a reflection of the people who are spreading those comments – not of me,” says Schreckengast, “It goes to show the importance of my platform and the importance of putting myself out there to be in that vulnerable position.”

Every Miss America system contestant has a platform of their choosing – similar to what a politician when they run for office. Schreckengast’s Miss PA platform, Building Families Through Adoption came from reflecting her her own personal story of adoption once she entered college.

Schreckengast was adopted from South Korea when she was 6 months old. She grew up in Palmyra, Pennsylvania with her parents Randy and Lori and younger brother Zach. Her town is pretty small, with a population of 7,500 in a little less than two square miles. Schreckengast’s high school graduating class was about 200 kids, most of whom she had grown up with since kindergarten.

It wasn’t until college that Schreckengast recalls being outside of what she calls “her hometown bubble” for the first time. When asked “where are you from?” Schreckengast’s natural and immediate response is, “Palmyra.”

It was at Penn State she faced frequent questions about her identity and family, something she had not dealt with back in Palmyra.

(Courtesy of Instagram)

“I was not faced with those kinds of questions on a daily basis – Where are you really from? Is your brother your real brother? – People knew who I was. They knew who my family was (in Palmyra).” says Schreckengast.

She felt nervous to talk about it. But it opened the door to talking about her adoption story. She even wrote about it in blog posts. Schreckengast began to learn more about international and domestic adoption as she began to form her Miss Pennsylvania platform message: being in an adopted family doesn’t make it any less of a family.

Her message also stands to go against one of the common stereotypes of adoptees. Growing up, Schreckengast often saw the same version of an adoptee story in mainstream media. Stories about the adopted child “that felt like they were missing something, that there’s a hole in their heart that can only be fulfilled by their biological parents.” She wanted to be a voice for those adoptees who felt fulfilled, “completely loved and at peace with their journeys to be with their forever families.”

For the rest of her year as Miss Pennsylvania, Schreckengast’s hopes to blog all the shared stories from adoptees and families she meets during her appearances and from messages she has been been receiving from around the world.

“I’d love to have sort of like an archive of these stories that I can share with people, but also that I can look back at after my year,” says Schreckengast.

Miss America Aftermath & The Importance of a Platform
Kollaboration New York - Empowerment Through Entertainment

In their past EPs, Girls and Until We Die, Dizzy Bats explored romantic misadventures, the ups and downs of growing up, and everything in between. However, I Don’t Live Here Anymore takes a more serious turn focusing on darker and personal issues. In a statement, the band said harmonically, these tunes introduce “a heavier side, built on a wall of guitars in the first two songs, and switches gears entirely with a lighter, slower, and cleaner alternative on the final track.” Written and arranged during the US Presidential Election and coming out amid the current political climate, they said the three songs touches on themes of of sickness, anxiety, and identity.

Cover art for “I Don’t Live Here Anymore” (Credit: Liam Frost)

Connor Frost, frontman of Dizzy Bats, said the inspiration behind the EP and its title track stemmed from his thoughts surrounding his own racial identity as well as the conversations he’s had with friends.

“I’ve been thinking a lot about what it means to be biracial in this country and how mixed-race kids are perceived by others,” Frost said. “There seems to be a trend of being identified by your non-whiteness, and I’ve felt that, especially recently. I’ve also wrestled with the concept of “home”, and what that looks like for certain people in this country, especially with everything that is going on. This year has been particularly difficult for many, and personally I’ve felt very alone and confused. I wanted to capture that in this song and EP.”

Dizzy Bats is having their EP release show with YesGirl, Hey Girl Slow Down, and Mugen on Wednesday, November 8th at Gold Sounds located at 44 Wilson Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11237. Following the release show, the band is going on tour through the Midwest and Northeast from November 10th to the 18th. Keep up with them on their Facebook page for future events. 

Dizzy Bats release EP “I Don’t Live Here Anymore”
Kollaboration New York - Empowerment Through Entertainment

If you’re Korean American and have a story you want to tell the world, The Council of Korean Americans and KoreanAmericanStory.org are partnering once again to host their annual ROAR Storytelling Competition to shine a spotlight on Korean American storytellers and their personal stories.

Last year when Kollaboration New York spoke with H.J. Lee, the founder and president of KoreanAmerican.org, he said the purpose of the Story Slam is to encourage Korean Americans to recognize the importance and range of the community’s narratives as well as to document and preserve the history and stories that reside in those communities.

The guidelines and requirements for this year remain the same: You must be Korean American and at least 18 years old. All entries must be in English and must be true and reflect a Korean American experience and be no longer than six minutes in length. For initial video entries, storytellers may hold or reference scripts, but may not use any other props. The video should be filmed at half-body distance (no close-ups) and uploaded as “unlisted” on YouTube.

The newest addition this year is that there will be two categories. One for Narrative Story and one for Poetry/Spoken Word.

Finalists will be selected to perform live at the ROAR Story Slam at the CKA National Summit. If chosen, you must be available to compete in person at the event and you cannot use a script or props.

You do not need to be a member of the Council of Korea Americans or a Summit registrant to participate in the ROAR Story Slam and there is no entry fee. However, if selected to be a finalist, you must agree to sign a waiver allowing the use of the live competition video by CKA and KoreanAmericanStory.org.

The entry deadline this Sunday, Sept. 10th, 2017 at 11:59 EST. Send an email with the link to your YouTube entry to roar@koreanamericanstory.org. Click here for additional information. You still have the rest of this week to apply!

ROAR Story Slam: Call for Entries
Kollaboration New York - Empowerment Through Entertainment

“Monday” follows a day in the life of Kwan (portrayed by Kevin David Lin, in his acting debut), as he hustles drugs and weapons and navigates through the streets of Los Angeles. Through his eyes, the audience meets a variety of characters and sees the diversity and class that makes up the city in which the protagonist resides in.

This Saturday, Thai will be screening the movie at this year’s Asian American International Film Festival in New York City as a part of the “When Life Gives You Lemons” program, and Kollaboration New York had the opportunity to speak with him prior to the festival about what inspired him to become a filmmaker, the process behind creating “Monday”, and the importance of Asian American representation.

Kollaboration New York spoke with Thai about what inspired him to become a filmmaker, the process behind creating “Monday”, and the importance of Asian American representation.

Can you tell me a little bit about yourself, and how you initially got into filmmaking? What made you interested in it? 

Dinh: To be honest, after making a really terrible short in college, which I never finished I focused on commercial directing.  Over a twelve-year period I was commissioned to direct about seven or eight projects.  I’m not taking the time to count.  My work was just simply not that good, but I was lucky enough to survive mainly as a promo editor, which ultimately gave me opportunities to criticize footage and develop my sensibilities as a director.  It wasn’t until about five years ago my curiosity for filmmaking started to rise again.  I met two of my best filmmaking friends Gregg Furuoka and Fidencio Casas, solely just being an observer of their process gave me inspiration to do the same.  I then reconnected with an old friend, Josh Falcon who invited me to start our production company, Art and State giving us chances to create adverts for ad agencies.  These two events are the sparks, which led to the creation of our award-winning short film- the former being the urge and the latter being the resources.

The premise of your short film “Monday” is so intriguing and it deals with a lot of interesting and heavy themes. I read somewhere else about how you originally wanted it to be a comedy, but that shifted while you were making it. Without giving too much away, can you talk about what inspired the story behind your film, and can you talk more about how the genre changed while you were in the process of making it?

Dinh: The original idea was just a quirky farce that I jotted down years ago, but after unsuccessfully writing a high-concept short this old idea popped in my head and I ran with it. It took me about three days to get a first draft and about a month to evolve into what it is today. During the writing process I injected experiences from my past and present, trying to fulfill the racial undertones that I’ve been through as an Asian American immigrant. These influences naturally transformed the story into a more dramatic tone. As for the illegal activities, I’ll plead the 5th on that.

“Monday” placed first in HBO’s inaugural APA Visionaries Contest, which is an incredible honor. Congratulations! And it premiered at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival. This weekend, it’s premiering at the Asian American Int’l Film Festival here in New York City, which we’re all very excited for! How has the film festival circuit been so far? Is this the first time experiencing being featured at festivals?

Dinh: Yes, this is my first festival run and it’s been a priceless experience- learning, researching, submitting, attending and meeting a colorful batch of new friends. When we submitted the short to the contest we didn’t expect anything to happen. So when I was informed about the win back in January I was jumping out of my skin, but unfortunately I had to keep the good news a secret until HBO made an official announcement. Those three weeks were filled with so much anxiety. In late January for our viewing party I hoped to replicate my sense of excitement and anxiety by hiding the news inside a bunch of fortunes cookies. The idea was to slowly let people find out, but make them keep it a secret until everyone got a fortune cookie.

We’re honored and privileged our film has been celebrated by HBO and it’s incredible to be part of this Asian American film community. If anyone reading this plans to attend the screening, please come and say hello! I’d be happy to chat with you.

Within the last couple of years, there has been a lot of discussion surrounding Asian American representation in film and the arts. Why do you think it’s so important for Asian Americans to be able to tell their stories and to be represented in the media in an accurate and honest way? 

Dinh: I think when any culture is misrepresented it gives us an opportunity to swing the pendulum back the other way. Some battles can be won through expression and art. I’m thankful that America is so divided right now, because I hope this fuels all Americans to sound off and create.

What is something you want your audience to take away from your film after they’ve watched it?

Dinh: Collectively, the cast and crew want the audience to be entertained as they watch a character break stereotypes while interacting with caricatures of society and culture. There are a couple of moments in the film that were purposely revealed a certain way to test the audience’s level of assumption, i.e., your instinctual prejudice. For example- in the opening scene, ask yourself what kind of person did you imagine talking on the phone?

Lastly, without sounding self-promotional, if people have seen the film we’d like to invite them to share their experiences with us on Facebook and Instagram and talk about it on social media. We’re hoping to turn the short into a TV series so any type of grassroots promotion will help our cause. I mean, how else is an immigrant Asian-American ever going to get a TV show made in America?

“Monday” can be viewed on all HBO platforms. Along with receiving first place at the HBO Visionaries short film contest, the short film has won Best Indie Short at IFS, Best Short at the Indy Film Festivals which was part of the American Spectrum program, Award of Excellence Special Mention at The Indie Fest, The Grand Jury Best Short Screenplay and Best Short Film at Playhouse West Film Festival, and Best Short at the Los Angeles Film and Script Film Festival. Follow “Monday” on Facebook and Instagram.

HBO APA Visionaries winner “Monday” to screen at NYC’s 40th AAIFF
Kollaboration New York - Empowerment Through Entertainment

A year after the EP release of “Until We Die”, Dizzy Bats is back with a music video for its title track.

Last May, Kollaboration New York caught up with Dizzy Bats frontman, Connor Frost, and bassist, Dave Ma, right before the EP release party and filled us in on the birth of their band, its ups and downs, and ultimately what influences and drives them to perform.

Their newest music video, directed and produced by Michael Chiu of JustKiddingFilms, explores just that: the progression of a band navigating through rehearsal frustrations and finding the motivation to get through practice before hitting the stage.

Kollaboration New York spoke with Michael and Connor about how they came up with the idea for the video together, their frequent collaborations, and what’s in store for the future. Oh, and zombies.

It’s been a year since Kollaboration New York last spoke with you. How have you been? Does Dizzy Bats have any shows or tours coming up this summer?

Connor: All is well here! Weird that that was over a year ago now. Summer plans are somewhat up in the air, but we’re definitely going on tour with our friends MORI in mid-June for nine days.

Since this is your first time speaking with Kollaboration New York, can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

Michael: Hey everyone, my name is Michael and I’m an aspiring filmmaker! By day I work for a popular YouTube Channel named JustKiddingFilms. I help out with management, operations and business development. By night, I work on different passion projects like my videos!

What made you want to get into filmmaking and what is your favorite thing about it?

Michael: In my senior year of high school, I took a film elective class. I knew it would involve lots of movie watching, but I didn’t know what else we’d learn then our teacher split us into small groups and told us to make our own films. We didn’t really know what we were doing, but the experience left a very long lasting impression on me, and eventually drove me to pursuing filmmaking. Favorite thing about it? That’s hard to say. But I really enjoy the process of seeing what you can do with a story and a camera!

(Courtesy of Michael Chiu)

I know you live in Los Angeles! That’s definitely different from over here in New York. How is it living out in the West Coast and what do you like about it?

Michael: I like living on the West Coast a lot. Like most people probably mention, the weather out here is great. One thing about living on the West Coast is being so close to Hollywood and a large film industry. With so many people pursuing similar dreams and goals, this is a great place to meet like-minded people and even possible future collaborators.

Speaking of collaborators, this isn’t the first time you two have worked together before on a music video. I know–Michael–you previously produced and directed “Girls” and “Panic Attacks” back in 2014 and 2015 for Dizzy Bats. How did you two initially meet each other, and what’s it like collaborating with each other?

Connor: We met in the winter of 2010 in Beijing; we did the same study abroad program. I can’t speak for Michael, but this collaboration has been a lot of fun for me, and I feel like we’ve both learned a ton over the years. We’re also very honest with each other which makes things move a lot faster and more efficiently, even if it seems brutal and direct at times.

Michael: While [in Beijing], we sometimes hung out in a group, but I can’t say I knew him very well. I knew he was pretty serious about his music though, as he would often perform in local bars on weekends. When the semester ended–like most of the people in our program–we went our separate ways. A few years later, we reconnected on Facebook. I saw a post from Connor saying he was coming to California for a tour, and was also looking to work with someone local on a music video. I saw a previous music video he had done for “Please Stall” and I was looking to add more work to my portfolio so I decided to give this a shot. And we’ve become frequent collaborators ever since. Over the years, working together has been a good learning process. We have learned that it’s okay to be very honest in our thoughts toward the other’s ideas, and while one of us might leave the brainstorm sessions a little peeved or annoyed, both of us understand we are just trying to make the project better! And that is something I definitely appreciate.

You and your bandmates flew all the way to California to join Michael for this video shoot. What’s your favorite thing to do there when you’re not working?

Connor: Not sure about the others, but I love being near the beach during sunset, trite as that may sound. I have a few friends out there as well, and it’s always really great to see them.

Last time we spoke, you told us about the different themes explored in this EP. Can you refresh our memory on what the meaning behind the track “Until We Die” is?

Connor: I wrote it so long ago now, which is crazy! It’s all about growing up and seeing your friends start to settle down in relationships, careers, etc. Back in 2013, I made the decision to prioritize this band, which has been amazing, but hasn’t always been smooth sailing.

Behind the scenes of the “Until We Die” music video with Dizzy Bats (Credit: Marisa Nagata & Loryn Taranish)

Can you tell us about the idea behind the music video and what inspired it? How did you two work together to get the vision you both wanted for it?

Connor: The treatment for the video went through so many different transformations. At first, we were looking for something a little more focused on a storyline as opposed to performance. I think I REALLY wanted zombies in the video, which Michael wasn’t super into. Then we changed the idea a bit, while still maintaining aspects of our original storyline and concept, but shifting more towards the performance. Finally, we decided on this concept of “the development and career of a band” portrayed through rehearsal and stage shots.

Michael: I was listening to Connor’s most recent EP one day when I realized the title of one of the songs was “Until We Die.” Then I thought ”die”…“death”…how cool would it be to show the ideas of the song through “zombies”? One of the song’s themes is about pursuing one’s dreams versus the onset of increased responsibility and adulthood, so we could show Connor and a bunch of his friends and bandmates trying to fight off zombies before ultimately falling victim to the zombies of “adult life.” But the more I thought about it, the more I realized this could become a logistical challenge. Even though I had moved on, Connor asked me multiple times if we could still incorporate some of the zombie elements into the new ideas we came up with. I did think about it, but ultimately I don’t think we could have done zombies justice given the resources we were working with. After a few more brainstorm sessions, we decided to focus on the concept of performance. This eventually turned into the current video that showcases a band’s transition from practice room to the big stage.

Along with just releasing your new music video, you’ve also been recording a new EP. What can we expect from that and how is it different from the last one? 

Connor: We’re all really excited about this forthcoming EP. You can expect three tunes, all of which are relatively different from each other in terms of style and vibe. Lyrically, these tunes are much darker, touching on themes of depression, politics, and racial identity, and no longer about past romantic misadventures.

Frost promoting t-shirts benefitting The Trevor Project

It looks like a lot has happened both in the world and with Dizzy Bats since we last spoke. At the beginning of the year, you started donating all profits from merchandise to ACLU and recently, you had t-shirts made to benefit The Trevor Project. Can you tell me about your decision to become more active in giving back to the community?

Connor: I feel very blessed that our music can influence people, especially young people, in a positive way. When you have the tools and means at your disposal, I think it’s important to help lift each other up, whether it’s emotionally, financially, or otherwise. It’s crucial to stay engaged, outraged, and active.

Do you have any other projects you’re currently working on that you want to share and let people know about?

Michael: This isn’t exactly film-related, but right now I’m trying to start a business with a few of my friends. We’re going to teach people how to make videos through a series of online courses.

Do you two have plans on working together on another music video in the future?

Connor: Again, I can’t speak for Michael, but I would obviously love to work with him again. I’m always thinking of concepts for future videos, and I’m sure the same goes for Michael, but as of now we don’t have anything set in stone.

Michael: Recently, Connor sent me over a few demos of tracks he is currently recording and he told me to start thinking of “weird” concepts. I hope this means another collaboration in the future.

From left to right: Dave Ma, Stephen Ranellone, Connor Frost (Credit: Marisa Nagata & Loryn Taranish)

Anything else you want people reading to know?

Connor: Thanks to you, Saleah, for your support over the years! It really means a lot. Shoutout to Jersey City.

Michael: Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy the video!

Dizzy Bats release “Until We Die” music video
Kollaboration New York - Empowerment Through Entertainment

Early on a Thursday last October, “Daily Show” Correspondent Ronny Chieng was on his way to Chinatown to get a response to a cringe-inducing segment from Fox’s “O’Reilly Factor”. Fox correspondent Jesse Watters had put out five minutes of clipped interviews with non-native English speakers in Chinatown, juxtaposed with stereotypical snippets of 80s movies featuring yellow-faced actors, a mock karate fight, and tunes like “Kung Fu Fighting.” Chieng was worried it would be tough to get people to speak on camera.

He underestimated.

People lined the street, waiting to voice their reactions. Chieng and his “Daily Show” team seized the moment, conferencing the first few hours of that morning to produce a response piece that called out the Fox segment. The Washington Post called it “a masterful takedown.”

Within 24 hours of Chieng’s piece airing on “The Daily Show” that night, social media reactions and messages flooded his phone. Since then, the YouTube version of his clip has over a million and half views. Chieng has become an unsung hero of the Asian-American community, yelling loudly on national television what we were all thinking in our living rooms. The funny thing is, Chieng isn’t Asian-American. But he’s got plenty of international experience to understand what the minority group may face every day.

Born and raised in Malaysia and Singapore, with a brief stint in Manchester, New Hampshire, Chieng moved to Australia for law school. But upon graduating, he found it hard to find a job. When his university hosted a comedy competition during his senior year, on a whim, he decided to give it a go. He won.

To see how far his skills in comedy could go, he tested himself. He started doing stand-up publicly outside of the school, eventually landing himself in the top Australian Comedy festivals in Melbourne and Sydney. He won them all too. The booming voice of a host shouting , “Ronnnnnnnnnyyyy Chieeennnnnggg!!!,” became his regular introduction. His style casual, he would enter stage left at a comfortable pace and immediately grab the microphone off the stand, wasting no time diving right into his stand-up routine.

Between 2012 and 2014, regulars on the comedy circuits of Melbourne, Sydney, Montreal and Edinburgh came to know his name. He was invited back to the renowned Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal for a second time in 2015. And that was when Chieng received a phone call from New York. He was tapped to join “The Daily Show” as a correspondent and work alongside their new host, Trevor Noah.

Fast forward two years, and Chieng is living out his dream job at Comedy Central. He’s also a regular stand-up comic on the New York City scene. As a correspondent, he gets to write his own scripts, just as he would for his stand-up work. Between his unique accent and his insightfully smart comedic material, the audience can hear the culmination of his life so far.

“I’ve done maybe four 1-hour comedy shows now. In each of them I’ll talk about law school a little bit and the international perspective, definitely. We’re all the sum of our experiences, so for me coming from living in Singapore, Australia, and now living in America – all that finds its way into my comedy,” says Chieng. 

Chieng says Australia has a much more restrained comedy environment, and as a result he’s used to being very politically correct. But in New York, he’s embracing the “say what you want” environment. Because comedy and race can be a pretty grey area in any country, Chieng sets some loose rules for himself, not wanting to restrict his performance too much.

“I’ll do jokes that are funny to me and if they happen to touch upon race that’s okay. As long as I’m not going out of my way to joke about race, I’m comfortable with that,” says Chieng. 

As a fellow comedian, Chieng gives Jesse Watters’ Chinatown debacle a fair critique: Watters tried something he thought could work, but his jokes were outdated for 2016 and it just wasn’t funny.  Chieng says that the nature of the comedy environment contains that risk. It could easily be him making the same mistake next.

“I do avoid certain controversial topics, because I don’t feel like I have the comedic ability to make the taboo funny. If you’re gonna go somewhere, it better pay off. Obviously you don’t go try something (untested) on national television,” says Chieng.

Chieng’s approach to comedy differs starkly from Watters who has a history of repeating his segments with the same format and comedic approach without much creative variation. Even critics who believe all topics or people are fair game in comedy seem to agree with Chieng’s assessment of Watters’ piece.

“I was bothered by the complete lack of wit and true comedic talent in presenting (Watters’) points. All comedians know that the #1 rule in comedy, the only rule in comedy, is that it has to be funny,” writes Karith Foster, a comedian who wrote for thehill.com.

Though his response piece went viral, Chieng hasn’t lingered on it, not even using it for any self-promotion. If you follow him on the Daily Show, you’ll see that his work has continued forward, following with the latest U.S. and world news events.

“If we do a good show, we don’t spend a lot of time patting ourselves on the back. If we do a bad show, we don’t spend a lot of time commiserating. That’s how I like working, so I am happy to be a part of an organization that operates that way. It’s very Bill-Belichick-New-England-Patriots, onto the next, every day is onto the next,” says Chieng.

Ronny Chieng lives in New York City and regularly performs stand-up in Manhattan and Brooklyn clubs. You can find information on his upcoming shows, listen to his podcast, or follow him on social media at ronnychieng.com. Recently, it was announced that he has been casted in the film adaptation of Kevin Kwan’s bestselling novel, “Crazy Rich Asians”, where he will be acting alongside Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Michelle Yeoh, Awkwafina, and many others. 

KNY Exclusive: An Interview with Ronny Chieng the Comedy Vehicle
Kollaboration New York - Empowerment Through Entertainment

Whether you’re looking for a fast read or something to make you laugh, cry, and keep you guessing until the end, we complied a list of books to get you through the summer by some of our favorite Asian American writers.

Crazy Rich Asians, Kevin Kwan
 
With the movie adaptation currently in pre-production (Rumor has it, Constance Wu is in talks to play the lead!), there has been a lot buzz surrounding Kwan’s novel about a woman from New York, Rachel Chu, who travels to Singapore with her handsome boyfriend, Nicholas Young, for the summer only discover that he comes from a family of extreme wealth. This book has the perfect amount of drama and comedy, and its a part of a trilogy that Kwan created. Its sequel China Rich Girlfriend came out in 2015 while the third book, Rich People Problems, is set to be released later this year.

The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan
 
If you’re looking for a more classic read, look no further than Tan’s 1989 novel about four Chinese American immigrant families in San Francisco who start a club named after the book’s title, and play mahjong for money while eating a variety a food. At the heart of the story is its heartfelt portrayal of mother-daughter relationships that will make you reminisce about your own mom. 

A Little Life, Hanya Yanagihara
 
Yanagihara’s award-winning novel A Little Life about four young men—Malcolm, JB, Willem, and Jude—who move to New York City after graduating from college is not your typical coming of age tale. The book focuses on these four characters as they struggle with money, addiction, and their own relationships. While this book tackles a lot of heavy issues, Yanagihara’s beautiful prose will surely mesmerize you and make it worth the read.  Just don’t forget to pack a box of tissues along with the sunscreen.

Dear Jenny, We Are All Find, Jenny Zhang
 
If prose isn’t your thing, you can always venture in the world of poetry. Zhang’s poems are raw, honest, relatable, and at times vulnerable as she explores and opens herself up through her writing. Jenny is the fierce, badass friend we all need in our lives and we’re oh so glad we have her poems to get us through the season!

Queen of the Night, Alexander Chee
 
Lilliet Berne is a legendary soprano at the Paris Opera, except she’s never performed an original role which proves one’s immorality as a singer. One is finally offered to her. However, she realizes it’s based on a dark secret in her past that only four people know about. Who betrayed her? Part mystery, part historical fiction, Chee’s unique writing style mixed with the book’s suspense and interesting characters will be sure to keep you on the edge of your seat until the end. 

The Refugees, Viet Thanh Nguyen
 
Nguyen’s first novel, The Sympathizer, about an agent living a double life in America after the Fall of Saigon, was one of the most critically acclaimed books of 2015 earning him a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Now he’s back with his short story collection, The Rufugees, which follows the lives of different Vietnamese refugees as they adjust to their new lives in America. With the current political climate, there has never been a more appropriate time for this book’s release.

KNY’s Summer Reading List
Kollaboration New York - Empowerment Through Entertainment

Kollaboration New York is excited to announce our latest co-production partnership with comedic duo, SJ & Ginny, of Drive-by Street Harassment and “Urban Teach Now” fame.

Written by SJ Son and directed by Ginny Leise, the first episode of “Quiet Tiny Asian”  opens with SJ speaking with the series’ tiniest star, Ahri, on her third birthday. From there, SJ teaches her about what it means to be Asian in America. And well, you can see the rest for yourself—

Lesson 1- People see you in a very specific way:

Son said “Quiet Tiny Asian” is a truthful depiction of racism today—casual, slight, and tiny—and added that the comedy is just a side effect.

“It’s amazing and sad to me that Americans—of all colors—today still insist that Asians, and I focus on my east Asian experience, that we are not, cannot be American,” Son said. “We are exotic, alien, other, and if you forget, don’t worry we’ll let you know. This sentiment dates back to the first Asians from the “Orient” coming to the U.S. in the mid-18th century and it is still with us today in 2017.”

Son and Liese said that if their filmmaking is correct, the series should be difficult to watch because they have packaged some of the microaggressions they hate and over time have learned to ignore—which Son describes as an honest survival technique.

“The more you start to ignore something for your own sanity, there’s a huge risk of people—you included—doubting it existed in the first place,” Son said. “Complacency kills, so let’s put it on YouTube.”

She said “Quiet Tiny Asian” is a neat sampler platter of things she has been labeled to exhaustion, and for some time, believed.

“It’s truthful, scary and a call to action,” she added. “If you laugh at it for the wrong reasons, I’ll kill you.”

Lesson 2- Your problems are tiny:

Lesson 3- Everything is an “Asian” thing:

Lesson 4-All Asians are together:

Lesson 5-You can’t win: 

SJ & Ginny and Kollaboration New York presents “Quiet Tiny Asian”
Kollaboration New York - Empowerment Through Entertainment

Last year was the first time I had experienced Chinese New Year with none of my relatives. I was more than two-thousand miles away from home, in Los Angeles. My friends and I prepared a small gathering, all away from our homes and our families. We hadn’t seen each other in quite a while, but found Chinese New Year to be the occasion to meet, and share this festive holiday in our, not as festive NYU Dormitories. We went to M2M and purchased various ingredients for our potluck. These included fishcakes, dumplings, fish, oranges, boba, and sweet rice balls.

This was quite an experience for me as an Asian-American, to be invited to a more international-student based event. I imagined Chinese New Year to be calm, and subtle with maybe a friend or two, but found that my international friends also saw the importance of gathering on this day.

Celebrating Far From Home
Kollaboration New York - Empowerment Through Entertainment