Today we’d like to introduce you to Danny Tran.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I’ve always been a fan of stand up since a kid but I never saw many Asian comedians so I didn’t think people that look like me ever did it. When I was in college, I went to see a comedy show in Houston and the host was an Asian comedian named Victor Tran. He was the first person I saw that looked like me doing stand up and he was leveling the room with clever material that did not make fun of Asians. That was when I got the comedy bug and I was obsessed with watching clips but I never did an open mic because I was too shy. Fast forward to 2020, I was a 22 year old living in Peoria, Illinois because I had to move for work. I knew nobody in the city so I looked up “Comedy Open Mics” and figured I’d give it a shot. I had nothing to lose. I immediately fell in love with it and went every week. I had no idea this was a career, I truly fell in love with performing jokes and getting out the house to make a few people laugh. I did it for 2 years casually then I started imagining what life would look like if I gave stand up comedy my all so I began writing every day and submitting for festivals. I submitted to 5 festivals and got selected to all 5 so that was when I started believing I have something special. Since then, I’ve approached stand up comedy as a professional and prioritized creating high quality and unique material for shows that gives people their money’s worth!
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
My comedy career is the furthest thing from a smooth road. It’s more of a gravel road with pot holes that make you pray for your car’s alignment. A struggle for me was believing in myself as a headliner worth paying to see. When I started in Peoria, Illinois, there were phenomenal headliners that didn’t care about making money or developing a career so I had no blue print on what to do. I had to be around other comics that wanted to make this a profession so I could know it was possible. The biggest struggle was when I was growing up, I never saw any Asian comics that had material that didn’t make fun of Asians. I figured if I wanted to be an Asian comic, I had to make fun of people that looked like me. Now I put a focus on delivering clever material to represent Asians in a positive light and hopefully let the next generation know, you don’t have to be the butt of a joke to make people laugh.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a Vietnamese stand up comedian. I am proud that I represent Asian people in a positive light with my material and appearance. The Asian comics I noticed growing up were constantly making fun of their own people or represented in a weak light. I want to show the world that Asian people can be clever and confident instead of being the butt of the joke. I also work clean and I believe that separates me apart from a lot of mainstream comics that spew crass and heinous material. I believe my material has a unique perspective that is memorable and funny.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
I get so happy when I write a unique joke that resonates with people. They come up to me after shows saying they’ve never heard anything like that and it makes me feel like I’ve made them find humor in something that hasn’t crossed their mind. I enjoy making people laugh and forget about whatever they have going on in their daily lives.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.dannytrancomedy.com/shows
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dannytrancomedy/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DannyTranComedy/
- Twitter: https://x.com/DannyTranComedy
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@DannyTranComedy
