1 00:00:00,210 --> 00:00:01,810 Sandra Pham: Hey y'all, I'm Sandra Pham. 2 00:00:02,170 --> 00:00:03,980 Minh Vu: And I'm Minh Vu. 3 00:00:04,040 --> 00:00:06,460 Welcome to Asian in Austin 4 00:00:22,619 --> 00:00:26,909 Sandra, have you, well, I know this answer actually. 5 00:00:26,949 --> 00:00:31,269 We started watching "Jury Duty", we watched like the first episode 6 00:00:31,489 --> 00:00:38,099 earlier this year, and I just really appreciated the like concept. 7 00:00:38,250 --> 00:00:39,720 I thought it was so funny. 8 00:00:40,239 --> 00:00:42,080 It was like very heartwarming. 9 00:00:42,129 --> 00:00:48,360 And just silly and goofy and kind of like all the characters that they had 10 00:00:48,360 --> 00:00:53,989 in the show made it really realistic but also over the top as well too. 11 00:00:53,989 --> 00:00:58,500 It's yeah this is like not real but it could be. 12 00:00:58,530 --> 00:01:00,409 It's like that edge right? 13 00:01:01,030 --> 00:01:04,070 I'm curious what you thought about the show and like what 14 00:01:04,099 --> 00:01:10,700 other comedic funny things that kind of get you in a good mood? 15 00:01:11,179 --> 00:01:14,200 Sandra Pham: Yeah, I do think I really liked Jury Duty. 16 00:01:14,200 --> 00:01:18,179 I think it's outlandish and ridiculous, but I mean a 17 00:01:18,179 --> 00:01:20,029 heartwarming kind of silly show. 18 00:01:20,029 --> 00:01:23,860 Somebody that's just oblivious to the way the jury process works. 19 00:01:23,890 --> 00:01:28,849 I don't know how much of it is real, but yeah, I do far appreciate 20 00:01:28,849 --> 00:01:30,639 comedy above any other genre. 21 00:01:30,759 --> 00:01:33,309 It's just like, how can you not enjoy comedy, right? 22 00:01:33,469 --> 00:01:37,370 who doesn't love to laugh, but I'm definitely a 90s kid. 23 00:01:37,590 --> 00:01:41,615 So I grew up with the cheese ball -Yes, I'm sorry. 24 00:01:41,655 --> 00:01:43,445 I am a fan of "Friends". 25 00:01:43,475 --> 00:01:44,305 I put it on. 26 00:01:44,315 --> 00:01:47,265 Do I watch it and I think this is not that funny? 27 00:01:47,405 --> 00:01:49,055 Yeah, but it's just nostalgic. 28 00:01:49,575 --> 00:01:53,465 "Sister, Sister", "Full House," you know, like all the super cheeseball 29 00:01:54,175 --> 00:02:00,725 comedy stuff is totally my jam and I'm sure kids of this generation is like 30 00:02:00,725 --> 00:02:03,245 "oh my god, like this is so corny." 31 00:02:03,705 --> 00:02:05,294 but I love it. 32 00:02:05,295 --> 00:02:08,354 Minh Vu: Yeah, and I'm trying to think too, because this month we 33 00:02:08,354 --> 00:02:11,275 have a comedian as our special guest. 34 00:02:11,484 --> 00:02:16,805 When I think about stand up comics too, I never really watched a lot of 35 00:02:17,025 --> 00:02:21,795 stand up comedians or any of that type of comedy until, I do remember there 36 00:02:21,795 --> 00:02:25,575 was like a reality show called "Last Comic Standing" or something like that. 37 00:02:26,150 --> 00:02:29,160 And I remember watching "Last Comic Standing" and I remember watching with 38 00:02:29,160 --> 00:02:36,710 our family and like Dat Phan was a huge moment in our-- we like would watch 39 00:02:36,729 --> 00:02:40,169 every week and we were like cheering for him and that was when I was like 40 00:02:40,210 --> 00:02:46,365 "oh wow like maybe, I do stand up comedy," I just --It never resonated 41 00:02:46,375 --> 00:02:51,651 with me before or what have you, what about you, do you like stand up comedy? 42 00:02:51,651 --> 00:02:55,155 Sandra Pham: Yes, like it is one of my all time favorite activities. 43 00:02:55,345 --> 00:02:58,404 My dream day always is to go to a comedy club. 44 00:02:58,684 --> 00:03:00,785 What's interesting though is I feel like... 45 00:03:01,519 --> 00:03:03,109 Comedy shows up so differently. 46 00:03:03,109 --> 00:03:06,530 Personally, I think I'm a really dry and sarcastic person. 47 00:03:06,530 --> 00:03:08,630 If you know me, you know this, right? 48 00:03:08,650 --> 00:03:12,589 Like I'm, I'm pretty dry, but the comedy that I enjoy, so stand up comedy, I 49 00:03:12,590 --> 00:03:16,370 enjoy really kind of more dark humor. 50 00:03:16,870 --> 00:03:22,790 "Tough topics" type of comedy and then TV shows I like the cheesy cornball stuff. 51 00:03:22,790 --> 00:03:27,280 So I think I appreciate comedy in all of its form, which is interesting. 52 00:03:27,290 --> 00:03:31,360 And I am a huge fan of TikTok because I think everyone is hilarious. 53 00:03:32,530 --> 00:03:33,870 Minh Vu: Well, and then now I'm going to be like. 54 00:03:34,040 --> 00:03:39,050 Well, Vine back in-- like Vine, pioneer of the like short form 55 00:03:39,180 --> 00:03:42,860 seconds, long comedy and all that type of stuff, which I thought also 56 00:03:43,230 --> 00:03:47,079 created a lot of like creative people and showcased a lot of funny people 57 00:03:47,079 --> 00:03:48,609 who otherwise didn't get a platform. 58 00:03:48,619 --> 00:03:53,050 But yeah, I'm really excited about who we're going to be talking to this month. 59 00:03:53,400 --> 00:04:00,180 Yola co founded an all Asian American improv troupe called Y'all We Asian 60 00:04:00,260 --> 00:04:05,120 and yeah, we'll learn a little bit more about her story and her journey 61 00:04:05,120 --> 00:04:07,780 with being a comedian and actress. 62 00:04:07,880 --> 00:04:11,029 Yeah, I can share a little bit more about her bio here and then we 63 00:04:11,029 --> 00:04:13,640 can maybe get into the interview. 64 00:04:14,170 --> 00:04:17,659 Yola Lu is a comedian and actress based out of Austin, Texas. 65 00:04:17,669 --> 00:04:21,070 She's the co founder of Y'all We Asian, Austin's first and only 66 00:04:21,230 --> 00:04:22,630 all Asian American improv troupe. 67 00:04:23,430 --> 00:04:28,820 She also is the 2022 Austin Chronicle "Best Actress" winner and is currently in 68 00:04:28,820 --> 00:04:31,130 post production of her short film "Patsy". 69 00:04:31,470 --> 00:04:36,630 You can see her perform with all her female identifying improv troupe "Garage" 70 00:04:36,679 --> 00:04:41,300 every Thursday at the Fallout Theater and with Y'all We Asian every first Friday 71 00:04:41,300 --> 00:04:43,250 of the month also at Fallout Theater. 72 00:04:43,770 --> 00:04:46,140 She also hosts a monthly stand up show called "Oops! 73 00:04:46,370 --> 00:04:49,639 All Headliners" which is every last Saturday of the 74 00:04:49,640 --> 00:04:51,270 month at Coldtowne Theater. 75 00:04:51,730 --> 00:04:56,540 I will just name that as part of our interview with her, there are topics 76 00:04:56,560 --> 00:04:59,500 related to miscarriage and depression. 77 00:04:59,780 --> 00:05:04,080 So just want to give our listeners a heads up there before we get into the interview. 78 00:05:04,820 --> 00:05:05,900 All right, let's get into it. 79 00:05:10,479 --> 00:05:13,749 Hey, Yola, welcome to Asian in Austin. 80 00:05:13,760 --> 00:05:16,260 Thank you for being here with us. 81 00:05:17,010 --> 00:05:18,380 Yola Lu: Yes, thank you for having me. 82 00:05:18,380 --> 00:05:19,300 I'm so excited. 83 00:05:19,875 --> 00:05:24,845 Minh Vu: Yeah, before we kind of get into a little bit more about your 84 00:05:24,855 --> 00:05:28,035 background in comedy and all that type of stuff, I'm wondering if you 85 00:05:28,035 --> 00:05:32,745 can share with our listeners your ethnicities, your pronouns, and any other 86 00:05:32,745 --> 00:05:36,155 identities or aspects of your background that you'd like to share with us. 87 00:05:36,605 --> 00:05:39,625 Yola Lu: Yeah, I feel very straightforward with my identity. 88 00:05:39,655 --> 00:05:41,105 I'm Taiwanese American. 89 00:05:41,495 --> 00:05:45,724 I was born and raised here, born in Los Angeles and then moved to 90 00:05:45,724 --> 00:05:49,665 Seattle when I was pretty young and then my pronouns are she, her, hers. 91 00:05:50,465 --> 00:05:53,475 And I think that's honestly it for my background. 92 00:05:54,145 --> 00:05:54,565 Minh Vu: Yeah. 93 00:05:54,924 --> 00:05:55,705 No, that's great. 94 00:05:55,715 --> 00:05:56,715 Thanks for sharing that with us. 95 00:05:56,795 --> 00:05:58,565 How's your year gone so far? 96 00:05:58,565 --> 00:06:00,665 How have you been spending your time? 97 00:06:00,675 --> 00:06:04,155 Yola Lu: It has been going, honestly, really great. 98 00:06:04,495 --> 00:06:05,949 Like it's been, it's been a really great year. 99 00:06:06,480 --> 00:06:10,920 Here it's been really busy and I say that especially just coming from Asian 100 00:06:10,920 --> 00:06:14,880 American Heritage Month like kind of closing up like I don't know what it 101 00:06:14,880 --> 00:06:21,020 is, but it's like that month is just the busiest craziest month ever all the time. 102 00:06:21,480 --> 00:06:24,780 And then right before that I was actually in Seattle taking care of 103 00:06:24,810 --> 00:06:30,235 my mom for a month so I kind of-- it was super slow when I moved back to 104 00:06:30,235 --> 00:06:33,855 Seattle because I wasn't really doing much comedy and everything, and I 105 00:06:33,855 --> 00:06:38,924 didn't really have, my extracurriculars going on after work, so it was really 106 00:06:38,924 --> 00:06:43,424 just go to work, take care of my mom, go to work, take care of my mom, and 107 00:06:43,424 --> 00:06:45,919 then that was mostly it, and then, so. 108 00:06:46,180 --> 00:06:49,430 I think that's why I also feel a little bit more recharged and 109 00:06:49,430 --> 00:06:53,640 everything, even though I got back on like May 13th or something. 110 00:06:53,660 --> 00:06:58,509 And then it was just like, bam, right into everything like the Y'all We Asian 111 00:06:58,509 --> 00:07:02,800 showcase and then my shows and then a bunch of shows outside of Austin. 112 00:07:03,430 --> 00:07:06,460 One of the reasons for that is just because like I performed 113 00:07:06,530 --> 00:07:07,830 a few times in Dallas. 114 00:07:08,505 --> 00:07:11,955 And San Antonio and everything and that's because like they were trying 115 00:07:11,955 --> 00:07:13,685 to do some Asian American shows here. 116 00:07:14,025 --> 00:07:18,185 I think I might be the only other besides like for Ashley Sharma 117 00:07:18,214 --> 00:07:20,684 here in Austin and Lani Cuomo. 118 00:07:20,735 --> 00:07:27,164 I might be the only East Asian female comedian in Texas right now actually. 119 00:07:27,185 --> 00:07:33,745 And then so that's why people ask me to go to their cities to help perform because 120 00:07:33,745 --> 00:07:35,714 they don't have that representation there. 121 00:07:36,315 --> 00:07:40,005 So that's why it's been a little bit even extra busy for me because they're 122 00:07:40,005 --> 00:07:43,905 like trying to get some diversity on the light ups and stuff like that. 123 00:07:43,915 --> 00:07:47,525 And then so they'll pull me into some of these shows and stuff. 124 00:07:47,875 --> 00:07:51,935 And we don't have a ton of Asian comics in Austin to that do stand up. 125 00:07:51,955 --> 00:07:55,475 And then so I like also pull people from Dallas and Houston. 126 00:07:56,050 --> 00:07:57,570 to come and do shows for me. 127 00:07:57,570 --> 00:08:01,700 And then so it's kind of like we started building this community and then just 128 00:08:01,720 --> 00:08:03,420 pulling each other and helping each other. 129 00:08:03,440 --> 00:08:07,229 Even though it's like a three hour drive to do like a 10, 15 minute set, 130 00:08:07,580 --> 00:08:10,040 we still want to help each other out and 131 00:08:10,040 --> 00:08:10,560 stuff. 132 00:08:11,570 --> 00:08:12,329 Minh Vu: That's amazing. 133 00:08:12,509 --> 00:08:18,569 How does like naming being one of the few or only East Asian female 134 00:08:18,569 --> 00:08:22,855 comedians in Texas, is like, how does that impact you when you like 135 00:08:22,855 --> 00:08:24,815 go on stage or do some of these gigs? 136 00:08:24,865 --> 00:08:28,235 Is that something that you think about or that's a big thing, you know? 137 00:08:28,935 --> 00:08:29,325 Yola Lu: Right. 138 00:08:29,345 --> 00:08:33,525 Like I was on a show really recently in Dallas and there was like nine 139 00:08:33,525 --> 00:08:37,845 comics on and then I was like the only female on that lineup. 140 00:08:37,865 --> 00:08:41,254 So I do recognize that I am the only female. 141 00:08:41,254 --> 00:08:44,745 So sometimes like I will make a joke when I go up on stage and be like, "Hi, I'm 142 00:08:44,745 --> 00:08:46,665 the diversity for the lineup tonight." 143 00:08:46,975 --> 00:08:52,015 But sometimes there's like extra pressure, not even just being Asian but being 144 00:08:52,025 --> 00:08:56,365 the only female on the lineup and stuff like that because a lot of people think 145 00:08:56,365 --> 00:09:00,795 like women aren't funny It's just like a stereotype or whatever and then so 146 00:09:00,815 --> 00:09:05,655 it's like always my thing to try to be as funny as possible because I don't 147 00:09:05,655 --> 00:09:10,484 want to feed into the stereotype and I've been doing it for a long time. 148 00:09:10,484 --> 00:09:15,510 So I think I know a little bit better of how to like do jokes and things like that 149 00:09:15,510 --> 00:09:19,369 now, but I'm always like a lot happier when there's more than just one woman 150 00:09:19,369 --> 00:09:23,750 on the lineup and everything because then it's not just all on me, you know? 151 00:09:24,180 --> 00:09:28,829 Minh Vu: Yeah, that concept of kind of an undue burden to be the 152 00:09:28,829 --> 00:09:31,199 representation and leading the charge. 153 00:09:32,265 --> 00:09:37,415 It's representing, such a large swath of people, right, whether 154 00:09:37,415 --> 00:09:39,825 it's being a woman or being Asian. 155 00:09:40,025 --> 00:09:46,125 There's no way for just you to, represent all, but I can imagine there's that 156 00:09:46,125 --> 00:09:48,265 pressure, especially in such, a... 157 00:09:49,210 --> 00:09:53,470 particularly male dominated industry a little bit, right? 158 00:09:53,470 --> 00:09:56,369 And trying to just put the best foot forward. 159 00:09:56,550 --> 00:10:00,359 So hats off to you for navigating that experience. 160 00:10:00,359 --> 00:10:04,899 But also I, I want to also just share "meh, do your thing." 161 00:10:05,270 --> 00:10:10,230 That will speak for itself of what all the identities that you encapsulate and just 162 00:10:10,230 --> 00:10:15,579 who you are and then it'll trickle into the representation that I think people 163 00:10:15,579 --> 00:10:18,420 are might be looking for or what have you. 164 00:10:18,569 --> 00:10:18,849 Yeah. 165 00:10:18,849 --> 00:10:19,860 Yeah, that's awesome though. 166 00:10:20,400 --> 00:10:20,840 Yola Lu: Yeah 167 00:10:20,840 --> 00:10:26,060 Sandra Pham: I'm really glad you kind of shared that take us into I'm sure 168 00:10:26,130 --> 00:10:29,920 as you were starting to look at career paths and your passions and things like 169 00:10:29,920 --> 00:10:34,534 that-- or maybe it was a motivator, but to be like, "I want to be the only 170 00:10:34,555 --> 00:10:37,284 female East Asian comedian in Texas." 171 00:10:37,315 --> 00:10:39,264 I'm sure that wasn't top of mind for you. 172 00:10:39,625 --> 00:10:43,484 What really were your motivations and like, how did you start a career? 173 00:10:44,194 --> 00:10:47,355 Yola Lu: So do you mean start a career in comedy? 174 00:10:47,815 --> 00:10:51,074 Sandra Pham: In comedy, pursuing acting, your movie as well. 175 00:10:51,074 --> 00:10:53,384 I mean, you wear many hats, but Yeah. 176 00:10:53,385 --> 00:10:55,964 What spurred the creativity to pursue these? 177 00:10:56,470 --> 00:11:03,950 Yola Lu: Yeah, so I started doing all of this about 12 years ago in 2011 is 178 00:11:03,950 --> 00:11:06,309 when I was graduating from college. 179 00:11:06,329 --> 00:11:11,970 And then for some reason I had this really weird idea in my head 180 00:11:11,980 --> 00:11:14,940 that once you started working, you weren't going to have a life. 181 00:11:14,960 --> 00:11:18,089 You couldn't do things outside of work anymore or something. 182 00:11:18,460 --> 00:11:20,810 You couldn't really pursue your passions like you could 183 00:11:20,810 --> 00:11:22,849 like in college necessarily. 184 00:11:23,260 --> 00:11:26,289 And then so I had one more quarter before I was supposed. 185 00:11:27,399 --> 00:11:31,799 And then I was like, I didn't do anything but internships and take on 186 00:11:31,809 --> 00:11:35,579 leadership roles because all I wanted to do was get a good job outside of 187 00:11:35,589 --> 00:11:38,899 school because my parents weren't always doing very well financially. 188 00:11:39,694 --> 00:11:42,414 I always, told myself that I didn't want to, be like that. 189 00:11:42,414 --> 00:11:45,604 I wanted to, have a steady job and everything. 190 00:11:45,714 --> 00:11:49,024 So that's all I focused on when I was in college about, 191 00:11:49,244 --> 00:11:50,674 getting a job outside of school. 192 00:11:50,674 --> 00:11:55,664 And then, so, I think I read "The Alchemist", actually, was the book 193 00:11:55,684 --> 00:12:00,064 that I read that was like, "oh my gosh, I need to do something 194 00:12:00,074 --> 00:12:02,374 that like fulfills me and stuff." 195 00:12:02,404 --> 00:12:06,564 And then so I was like going through, I wrote down like a bucket list and 196 00:12:06,564 --> 00:12:08,214 inspired me to write a bucket list. 197 00:12:08,234 --> 00:12:11,084 And then there was only like five items on that bucket list. 198 00:12:11,574 --> 00:12:14,874 And it was like, one of them was be in The Vagina Monologues. 199 00:12:15,244 --> 00:12:20,394 And then the other one was try standup comedy, be in a musical, go to 200 00:12:20,394 --> 00:12:22,684 Greece and then get my nose pierced. 201 00:12:22,859 --> 00:12:26,529 And then those were like the only things that I had, but I noticed that 202 00:12:26,529 --> 00:12:28,529 most of them were performance based. 203 00:12:29,209 --> 00:12:32,799 And then, so I like didn't really know where that came from because I 204 00:12:32,799 --> 00:12:37,539 didn't do anything performance wise, like in school while I was in school. 205 00:12:37,859 --> 00:12:41,529 But when I was younger, I wrote a lot of plays by myself. 206 00:12:41,559 --> 00:12:45,729 I used to put on plays for my neighborhood and I would draw flyers and go to. 207 00:12:45,854 --> 00:12:49,314 My neighbor's doors, knock on them, hand them flyers and invite them to the 208 00:12:49,314 --> 00:12:52,084 show in my parents garage and stuff. 209 00:12:52,084 --> 00:12:54,114 And I would cast my schoolmates and everything. 210 00:12:54,344 --> 00:12:58,604 And then I used to perform all the time for my temple when I was growing up also. 211 00:12:58,604 --> 00:13:01,314 And then I just kind of lost that as I got older. 212 00:13:01,754 --> 00:13:04,204 So that's kind of where I got my start. 213 00:13:04,234 --> 00:13:09,884 And then a standup comedy class was how I got into it because I just wanted to check 214 00:13:09,884 --> 00:13:12,034 a box basically and say that I did it. 215 00:13:12,769 --> 00:13:16,999 And then we had our showcase and I was so nervous about the showcase. 216 00:13:17,309 --> 00:13:20,639 I like didn't eat for like almost three days because I thought it was 217 00:13:20,639 --> 00:13:22,799 going to throw up the entire time. 218 00:13:22,839 --> 00:13:27,729 And then, so I did the showcase and I rushed it. 219 00:13:27,749 --> 00:13:29,049 It was like one of the best. 220 00:13:29,359 --> 00:13:31,219 Shows that I've ever done. 221 00:13:31,369 --> 00:13:34,429 I mean, yes, at that point it was like the only show that I had done, 222 00:13:34,434 --> 00:13:38,779 but it was so, so good and I've never felt that feeling before in my life. 223 00:13:38,779 --> 00:13:41,749 And then so I was just like, I want to continue this. 224 00:13:42,279 --> 00:13:46,839 And then I kind of dropped everything that I was doing career-wise, and then 225 00:13:46,839 --> 00:13:49,179 was like, I wanna pursue standup comedy. 226 00:13:49,569 --> 00:13:53,409 I mean, I do have a day job now and everything because you have to. 227 00:13:53,869 --> 00:13:58,199 Pay your bills somehow, but it totally changed the trajectory of my life. 228 00:13:58,369 --> 00:14:01,259 To be honest, like everything changed after that day. 229 00:14:02,359 --> 00:14:06,729 Minh Vu: I want to hear because I think a lot of people when they hear when 230 00:14:06,729 --> 00:14:10,569 someone does something that feels really meaningful and really switches something 231 00:14:10,589 --> 00:14:14,339 for them, you described it as like you felt really good after that showcase. 232 00:14:14,719 --> 00:14:18,329 I wonder if you can share a little bit more about describing some of 233 00:14:18,329 --> 00:14:21,289 that feeling or what made it so different that you're like, Oh, 234 00:14:21,289 --> 00:14:23,259 I've not really felt this before. 235 00:14:23,734 --> 00:14:28,234 Yola Lu: Yeah, it was kind of crazy, was like, I've always been very soft 236 00:14:28,234 --> 00:14:35,064 spoken in school, like I never really felt like I could say my thoughts. 237 00:14:35,104 --> 00:14:38,284 I could make my friends laugh a lot and everything, but I never 238 00:14:38,284 --> 00:14:41,524 thought I could do this like in front of people with an audience. 239 00:14:42,144 --> 00:14:45,734 And it was just, I felt like for once I had a platform. 240 00:14:46,219 --> 00:14:49,069 to say things that were important to me. 241 00:14:49,429 --> 00:14:53,299 At that time I was like going through so much heartbreak and everything too 242 00:14:53,299 --> 00:14:57,939 and it was like an opportunity for me to talk about what was hurting me. 243 00:14:58,379 --> 00:15:02,769 So it was almost like, I hate comparing oh doing stand up to like therapy or 244 00:15:02,789 --> 00:15:04,849 something because everybody should. 245 00:15:04,979 --> 00:15:06,749 go to therapy if you need it. 246 00:15:06,999 --> 00:15:10,889 You should not use stand up comedy as like a substitution for it. 247 00:15:11,089 --> 00:15:12,339 go to real therapy. 248 00:15:12,499 --> 00:15:15,149 But I at the time was not going to therapy. 249 00:15:15,149 --> 00:15:20,989 So I really did use the stage as like a therapeutic mean of getting my feelings 250 00:15:20,989 --> 00:15:26,539 out and then just being able to like, Crafting a joke is like pretty hard 251 00:15:26,619 --> 00:15:31,359 to get people to laugh and everything like it's very hard and being able to 252 00:15:31,379 --> 00:15:35,209 actually write things that were in my head that I always thought were funny 253 00:15:35,209 --> 00:15:40,389 and then put it on paper was this absolute crazy pants thing that I never 254 00:15:40,389 --> 00:15:45,309 expected that I could have done and it was just like the laughs that night were 255 00:15:45,309 --> 00:15:52,129 just electrifying and then I literally used up so much adrenaline afterwards. 256 00:15:52,129 --> 00:15:55,539 Like I almost passed out because I didn't eat for three days and everything. 257 00:15:55,539 --> 00:15:57,909 So I was like running on adrenaline the whole time. 258 00:15:58,349 --> 00:15:58,589 Yeah. 259 00:15:58,589 --> 00:16:00,869 That's kind of like what it kind of felt like. 260 00:16:01,009 --> 00:16:03,969 And I knew I had a really good set, but like everybody 261 00:16:03,969 --> 00:16:05,809 else did not have a good set. 262 00:16:05,809 --> 00:16:08,979 So that's how I could tell that I actually got like true laughter. 263 00:16:09,459 --> 00:16:13,344 Minh Vu: The other thing that I am curious about your story that you just shared 264 00:16:13,354 --> 00:16:19,014 is the neighborhood play that you did and maybe finally circled back around 265 00:16:19,014 --> 00:16:20,664 to when you started exploring stand up. 266 00:16:20,664 --> 00:16:23,934 But what was one of your first shows that you did in the neighborhood? 267 00:16:23,934 --> 00:16:28,834 Yola Lu: Yeah, so I don't know if you guys were ever into "Pokemon?" 268 00:16:29,414 --> 00:16:35,554 But I was like obsessed with "Pokemon" and then so I started writing my own episodes 269 00:16:35,594 --> 00:16:41,284 of "Pokemon" and then putting them on when my teachers found out they actually took 270 00:16:41,404 --> 00:16:46,494 all the fourth grade classes together and we had those like sliding wall doors or 271 00:16:46,494 --> 00:16:49,674 something for the classrooms that would like create the different classrooms 272 00:16:50,084 --> 00:16:54,784 and so the teachers just opened up all of the rooms and then I got to perform 273 00:16:55,194 --> 00:17:02,059 my play with my like cast members Or I don't know, 80 kids or something, because 274 00:17:02,069 --> 00:17:05,959 like I told my teachers that we were like doing this at home and stuff like that. 275 00:17:05,959 --> 00:17:09,619 And I was like producing it in my garage and stuff like that. 276 00:17:09,639 --> 00:17:13,369 And then so they were like, you guys do it for the class and everything. 277 00:17:13,379 --> 00:17:16,469 And then I just had no shame at that time. 278 00:17:16,509 --> 00:17:18,599 And then so it was just like, Oh, okay. 279 00:17:19,029 --> 00:17:19,389 Yeah. 280 00:17:19,389 --> 00:17:21,039 And then I know it was terrible. 281 00:17:21,049 --> 00:17:22,679 I know it was not good. 282 00:17:23,079 --> 00:17:26,779 It was like, I didn't know how to be like a director at that time and tell 283 00:17:26,779 --> 00:17:29,039 people how to act or do whatever. 284 00:17:29,399 --> 00:17:33,289 So I just wrote my own episodes of things that I thought were like fun 285 00:17:33,289 --> 00:17:35,689 to watch and I wanted to see more of. 286 00:17:36,109 --> 00:17:39,289 I remember like one of the first shows I produced in my garage. 287 00:17:39,399 --> 00:17:43,359 It was a free show because I didn't know the concept of 288 00:17:43,359 --> 00:17:45,329 charging people money at the time. 289 00:17:45,839 --> 00:17:50,369 But it was a free show and it was like these two old Japanese grandparents in my 290 00:17:50,369 --> 00:17:54,569 neighborhood that showed up and then they brought me a box of like chocolates from 291 00:17:54,569 --> 00:18:00,994 Hawaii and stuff as Uh, little thank you and stuff and then they sat in the front 292 00:18:00,994 --> 00:18:03,504 row and I think they really liked it. 293 00:18:03,574 --> 00:18:06,654 At least like it was weird now thinking about it that they would 294 00:18:06,654 --> 00:18:10,014 come out to support me because I didn't know them at all. 295 00:18:10,244 --> 00:18:15,464 I just literally went knocking on every door I could and stuff, which probably 296 00:18:15,474 --> 00:18:21,949 says so much about how I do promotion nowadays too, because I do also send a lot 297 00:18:21,949 --> 00:18:25,469 of personalized messages to people, being like, "do you want to come to my show?" 298 00:18:25,799 --> 00:18:26,789 It's like that. 299 00:18:27,279 --> 00:18:31,199 It's interesting that I had that little promotional hustler 300 00:18:31,199 --> 00:18:34,159 spirit at such a young age also. 301 00:18:34,869 --> 00:18:36,739 Minh Vu: That's such a special story too. 302 00:18:37,229 --> 00:18:42,049 Yeah that your teachers encouraged you to share and created 303 00:18:42,069 --> 00:18:43,859 space for you to share this. 304 00:18:44,049 --> 00:18:44,549 Yola Lu: Yeah. 305 00:18:44,609 --> 00:18:49,654 Minh Vu: So I'm like imagining kids being "Pokemon" and just like that's 306 00:18:49,654 --> 00:18:54,934 their line is yeah, the "Pokemon" name over and over again, right? 307 00:18:54,964 --> 00:18:55,914 I kind of love that. 308 00:18:55,914 --> 00:18:57,644 I wish that was filmed somewhere. 309 00:18:57,734 --> 00:19:01,444 I feel like it would do so well on the internet probably 310 00:19:01,534 --> 00:19:04,394 Yola Lu: Probably would I don't know if it was ever filmed. 311 00:19:04,554 --> 00:19:05,374 I don't think so 312 00:19:05,474 --> 00:19:07,734 Minh Vu: I love that you had that experience though and you were able 313 00:19:07,734 --> 00:19:11,164 to create that experience for other people and then also yeah It's sweet 314 00:19:11,164 --> 00:19:15,684 for those Japanese folks to come and support little neighborhood 315 00:19:15,954 --> 00:19:18,774 kid and yeah, bringing chocolates. 316 00:19:18,854 --> 00:19:21,244 I'm like, does that world exist anymore? 317 00:19:21,274 --> 00:19:21,814 I don't know. 318 00:19:21,834 --> 00:19:24,374 But that's so nice. 319 00:19:24,414 --> 00:19:24,734 Yeah. 320 00:19:24,734 --> 00:19:26,634 Yola Lu: People wouldn't open their doors anymore. 321 00:19:26,634 --> 00:19:28,502 I think if you knocked on your door 322 00:19:28,502 --> 00:19:30,084 Minh Vu: Was this in seattle or? 323 00:19:30,084 --> 00:19:32,244 Yola Lu: I grew up in the suburbs of Seattle. 324 00:19:32,254 --> 00:19:34,314 So it was a city called Redmond. 325 00:19:34,704 --> 00:19:38,454 It's like basically Round Rock or Pflugerville here in Austin. 326 00:19:38,504 --> 00:19:38,934 Yeah. 327 00:19:39,184 --> 00:19:39,414 Cool. 328 00:19:39,654 --> 00:19:40,144 Austin. 329 00:19:40,224 --> 00:19:40,394 Yeah. 330 00:19:40,974 --> 00:19:45,124 Sandra Pham: What were your parents reactions when you were putting on 331 00:19:45,124 --> 00:19:49,404 these plays and knocking on doors and having strangers kind of come by as 332 00:19:49,404 --> 00:19:51,024 you're, you're putting up these plays? 333 00:19:51,654 --> 00:19:55,844 Yola Lu: Surprisingly, they never said anything about it. 334 00:19:55,854 --> 00:19:59,934 Maybe they did and I forgot, but I don't know if they knew that I was 335 00:19:59,934 --> 00:20:02,314 going to every door in the neighborhood. 336 00:20:02,324 --> 00:20:04,364 It was like a huge neighborhood, by the way. 337 00:20:04,584 --> 00:20:06,804 We had like hundreds of houses there. 338 00:20:07,244 --> 00:20:09,954 I don't think they knew that I was doing that. 339 00:20:10,414 --> 00:20:14,464 We used to have a mini temple in our house and we would have people like come 340 00:20:14,464 --> 00:20:17,914 over to do prayers and stuff like that. 341 00:20:17,934 --> 00:20:21,764 So I think it was also just like they were kind of like maybe somewhat 342 00:20:21,764 --> 00:20:25,974 used to like having people just like randomly come over all the time. 343 00:20:26,219 --> 00:20:30,189 So they've always encouraged me actually to do what I want to do. 344 00:20:30,569 --> 00:20:34,709 Every class I wanted to take and stuff like I was just like, Oh, I 345 00:20:34,710 --> 00:20:39,249 want to try ballet or I want to take art classes like painting classes and 346 00:20:39,249 --> 00:20:41,069 stuff like I want to learn violin. 347 00:20:41,389 --> 00:20:44,899 They would always allow me to try out these things because they 348 00:20:44,899 --> 00:20:47,039 wanted me to find what I liked. 349 00:20:47,459 --> 00:20:52,089 But I never stuck with anything ever in my life as much as I did with stand up. 350 00:20:52,519 --> 00:20:54,509 So I thought it was like an age thing. 351 00:20:54,949 --> 00:20:59,169 But so far, like I've tried even as a grown adult, like I've tried going back 352 00:20:59,169 --> 00:21:03,939 to like dance classes or I've taken like pottery classes and stuff like that. 353 00:21:03,939 --> 00:21:09,219 And nothing just brings me the same kind of joy as stand up or comedy in general 354 00:21:09,219 --> 00:21:15,449 does it is finding what I am really into and then sticking to it and stuff so, 355 00:21:17,109 --> 00:21:18,139 Sandra Pham: Yeah, I love that. 356 00:21:18,149 --> 00:21:23,709 So as a kid, when you were developing these plays and putting them on, it 357 00:21:23,739 --> 00:21:28,214 sounds like you mentioned-- you kind of wrote things that you were interested in. 358 00:21:28,234 --> 00:21:33,214 How do you find inspiration for the jokes in the standup that you do now? 359 00:21:33,604 --> 00:21:34,644 What really drives that? 360 00:21:34,644 --> 00:21:36,474 Is that tapping into personal experience? 361 00:21:36,474 --> 00:21:40,244 I know you also mentioned some people do use it as an outlet, right? 362 00:21:40,244 --> 00:21:43,524 And we recognize lots of comedians do that. 363 00:21:43,584 --> 00:21:44,494 What inspires you? 364 00:21:45,514 --> 00:21:49,604 Yola Lu: Yeah, so Sandra, I think you were at the "Oops All Headliners" show 365 00:21:49,604 --> 00:21:54,174 that I put on, so you kind of know a little bit about my material and stuff. 366 00:21:54,204 --> 00:21:58,274 And then all my material is very true to life, and the reason for that is 367 00:21:58,274 --> 00:22:01,274 because like when I first started, I did try writing a lot of like 368 00:22:01,284 --> 00:22:06,644 observational humor, but because there's so many comedians and everything has 369 00:22:06,894 --> 00:22:08,624 been done before and stuff like that. 370 00:22:08,624 --> 00:22:11,594 I remember like a comedian pulled me aside and was like, "Hey, I've heard 371 00:22:11,594 --> 00:22:13,564 that kind of premise two times before." 372 00:22:13,894 --> 00:22:15,304 "It's not really original." 373 00:22:15,514 --> 00:22:18,744 It's like somebody else in the scene already does something like that. 374 00:22:18,764 --> 00:22:20,714 And then I was just like, "Oh, okay." 375 00:22:21,084 --> 00:22:23,144 Writing like observational comedy. 376 00:22:23,144 --> 00:22:27,274 It's like other comics already probably do it and they're maybe doing a 377 00:22:27,274 --> 00:22:29,404 better job at it than I am anyway. 378 00:22:29,734 --> 00:22:33,394 So I decided right then and there that I was only going to write about my personal 379 00:22:33,394 --> 00:22:39,274 experiences because then nobody could really copy that and then I wouldn't 380 00:22:39,274 --> 00:22:43,874 get hold aside from somebody saying "Oh, somebody also thought that they 381 00:22:43,874 --> 00:22:47,534 were pregnant because they loved their dog so much" or something like that. 382 00:22:47,904 --> 00:22:53,214 You know, so I haven't had anybody pull me aside saying that I've had a very similar 383 00:22:53,234 --> 00:22:57,914 premise to anybody ever since then, because I write so much about like my 384 00:22:57,914 --> 00:23:03,414 true life experiences, but there's also, like I said, it is also like therapeutic. 385 00:23:03,414 --> 00:23:06,844 Like I've started finally writing more about my divorce and my 386 00:23:06,844 --> 00:23:09,044 miscarriage and everything. 387 00:23:09,064 --> 00:23:09,554 And then... 388 00:23:09,799 --> 00:23:15,739 part of it isn't necessarily for therapy per se, but it's more of, I don't think 389 00:23:15,739 --> 00:23:19,979 a lot of people really talk about stuff like that, especially like sometimes like 390 00:23:19,979 --> 00:23:21,959 with Asian women and like miscarriages. 391 00:23:21,959 --> 00:23:26,089 Like I know Ali Wong has touched on it in her standup set before one of her 392 00:23:26,089 --> 00:23:28,899 specials, but it's just like such a. 393 00:23:29,049 --> 00:23:33,159 Especially like in Asian culture and divorce too is so taboo. 394 00:23:33,439 --> 00:23:36,969 For maybe about a year, my parents wouldn't tell any of their friends 395 00:23:36,969 --> 00:23:41,709 or anybody or our family that I was separated from my husband. 396 00:23:42,099 --> 00:23:45,179 And then every time people would ask "Oh, where's Yola's husband?" 397 00:23:45,189 --> 00:23:49,849 they would lie and say "Oh, he's back in San Antonio helping out his parents and 398 00:23:49,849 --> 00:23:51,679 he couldn't be here" and stuff like that. 399 00:23:51,679 --> 00:23:53,289 And they just were like, so... 400 00:23:53,809 --> 00:23:56,739 I don't know if they were ashamed or embarrassed of it and 401 00:23:56,739 --> 00:23:58,439 stuff, but they just wouldn't. 402 00:23:58,869 --> 00:24:02,579 acknowledge that I was like getting a divorce to other people. 403 00:24:03,079 --> 00:24:08,369 And then when I made "Patsy", my short film, and it talks about like 404 00:24:08,559 --> 00:24:14,439 my miscarriage and my divorce and there too, my mom was mortified. 405 00:24:14,479 --> 00:24:17,659 She was like, "I can't believe you're making a movie about 406 00:24:17,659 --> 00:24:18,839 this" and stuff like that. 407 00:24:18,859 --> 00:24:23,909 And then "I can't believe you're talking about all of these like topics" and She 408 00:24:23,909 --> 00:24:27,469 was like, "I don't think you should" because it was just like, I think she 409 00:24:27,499 --> 00:24:31,779 found it to be shocking that I was doing it, but it was also just like 410 00:24:31,789 --> 00:24:34,829 such a taboo subject to talk about. 411 00:24:34,829 --> 00:24:38,119 But that's also why I wanted to talk about it because I wanted more people 412 00:24:38,119 --> 00:24:43,549 to feel less alone or that they could share about things that happen and 413 00:24:43,609 --> 00:24:46,069 my miscarriage was like really bad. 414 00:24:46,119 --> 00:24:51,729 I was pregnant up till the first trimester and we were actually going to announce 415 00:24:51,839 --> 00:24:56,899 that day that I was pregnant publicly and then it was that day that I had 416 00:24:56,899 --> 00:25:00,469 the miscarriage like the day that we were supposed to announce it publicly. 417 00:25:00,899 --> 00:25:02,589 People don't talk about it very often. 418 00:25:02,749 --> 00:25:04,729 I didn't even know really what it was like. 419 00:25:04,729 --> 00:25:07,799 I thought it was just like you just woke up one day and you realize you had your 420 00:25:07,799 --> 00:25:13,299 period but you're actually giving birth in the miscarriage, like I was actually 421 00:25:13,299 --> 00:25:18,609 like in labor and passed something and it was probably the most painful 422 00:25:18,609 --> 00:25:21,109 thing I've ever experienced in my life. 423 00:25:21,399 --> 00:25:26,649 It was very traumatic for me, but being able to talk about it and laugh about it 424 00:25:26,649 --> 00:25:34,149 on stage really has helped me a lot move past some of the hurt that I felt with it. 425 00:25:34,849 --> 00:25:38,069 And something about having, like, all of the audience, also kind 426 00:25:38,069 --> 00:25:43,829 of be in it with you just feels, comforting, almost, in a way. 427 00:25:44,329 --> 00:25:44,899 Minh Vu: Yeah. 428 00:25:45,389 --> 00:25:51,319 I think being able to share such vulnerable and personal things that happen 429 00:25:51,319 --> 00:25:54,884 to you can be healing in that way... 430 00:25:55,024 --> 00:26:00,344 way of also creating community with other people who might have been able 431 00:26:00,894 --> 00:26:05,854 been through a similar experience or had something like that happened to them. 432 00:26:05,874 --> 00:26:08,164 So, I think it's really commendable. 433 00:26:08,164 --> 00:26:10,644 And I mean, yeah, it's hard stuff to share. 434 00:26:10,644 --> 00:26:11,304 So, brav-. 435 00:26:11,804 --> 00:26:13,114 I'm going to say, very brave. 436 00:26:13,114 --> 00:26:17,724 I feel like that might sometimes feel like a cliche of a statement, but I genuinely 437 00:26:17,724 --> 00:26:21,884 mean it because it's, I'm sure it was challenging at first, but it sounds like 438 00:26:21,884 --> 00:26:25,904 you've been in a space to be able to freely and comfortably talk about it. 439 00:26:27,054 --> 00:26:34,159 Yola Lu: Right I think when I first wrote some jokes about it, I don't 440 00:26:34,209 --> 00:26:38,709 necessarily do those jokes anymore about my miscarriage, but I remember 441 00:26:38,709 --> 00:26:41,199 I went backstage and I just bawled. 442 00:26:41,479 --> 00:26:44,839 I just started crying because it was my first time I ever mentioned 443 00:26:44,849 --> 00:26:46,919 publicly that I even had a miscarriage. 444 00:26:47,619 --> 00:26:52,779 My close friends knew because it felt very lonely at the time because, 445 00:26:53,939 --> 00:26:57,829 like I said, the like we didn't announce the pregnancy and stuff. 446 00:26:57,829 --> 00:26:59,469 So nobody knew I was pregnant. 447 00:26:59,479 --> 00:27:03,879 So nobody knew I had a miscarriage and was going through all of this. 448 00:27:03,899 --> 00:27:07,869 And then so it was kind of like news for a lot of the communities that I 449 00:27:07,869 --> 00:27:09,769 perform in front of and stuff like that. 450 00:27:09,949 --> 00:27:13,919 I like just didn't really fully know how to process it and how to 451 00:27:13,939 --> 00:27:15,519 share this like with my friends. 452 00:27:15,589 --> 00:27:19,709 It just felt like it was like you were like a failure in a way or something 453 00:27:19,709 --> 00:27:23,049 and then you like blame yourself for all these things that happen. 454 00:27:23,059 --> 00:27:26,739 And then you still wonder about, "Oh, if I didn't have the 455 00:27:26,739 --> 00:27:30,379 miscarriage, would it have saved my marriage if we had a kid instead?" 456 00:27:30,389 --> 00:27:33,269 And all these things that you think about. 457 00:27:33,739 --> 00:27:34,219 Yeah. 458 00:27:34,219 --> 00:27:37,929 So for a while I stopped telling the miscarriage jokes because it 459 00:27:37,929 --> 00:27:39,689 was just like, it was hard for me. 460 00:27:40,149 --> 00:27:45,249 And then I finally was able to kind of like do it in a better way and the 461 00:27:45,249 --> 00:27:47,639 audience is very split sometimes from it. 462 00:27:47,639 --> 00:27:52,429 Like they either laugh really hard at the joke or they're just like, "Oh my gosh," 463 00:27:52,459 --> 00:27:54,769 like worried and upset for you and stuff. 464 00:27:55,459 --> 00:27:55,609 Yeah. 465 00:27:56,304 --> 00:27:59,734 Minh Vu: Yeah, I'm sure being able to see those two different reactions 466 00:27:59,754 --> 00:28:02,324 can be an experience of itself, too. 467 00:28:02,334 --> 00:28:03,304 Yola Lu: Right, yes. 468 00:28:04,094 --> 00:28:07,914 Sandra Pham: What I think is just incredible, I think, is healing looks 469 00:28:07,954 --> 00:28:09,614 differently for everyone, right? 470 00:28:09,624 --> 00:28:15,364 And you were able to kind of define or discover the way that brought 471 00:28:15,364 --> 00:28:18,704 you, I think some healing and some comfort in a very difficult 472 00:28:19,214 --> 00:28:20,514 matter that you are dealing with. 473 00:28:20,574 --> 00:28:21,474 What is interesting... 474 00:28:21,474 --> 00:28:25,504 I think this is somewhat of a generalization, but I do feel like 475 00:28:25,614 --> 00:28:29,194 our folks are older-- our parents and things like that obviously 476 00:28:29,674 --> 00:28:32,524 came more from a generation where it's suffering in silence. 477 00:28:32,544 --> 00:28:35,834 These are not things that you openly share with others. 478 00:28:36,234 --> 00:28:37,584 Versus like the new generation. 479 00:28:37,604 --> 00:28:40,314 I mean, there we openly talk about going to therapy. 480 00:28:40,344 --> 00:28:42,524 I openly talk about going to therapy. 481 00:28:42,564 --> 00:28:46,794 I could not imagine our parents ever admitting seeking 482 00:28:46,804 --> 00:28:47,954 any sort of mental health. 483 00:28:48,924 --> 00:28:56,424 So it's just so nice that we are more so shifting our abilities to have these, 484 00:28:56,554 --> 00:29:00,214 these really challenging conversations, but being open and vulnerable. 485 00:29:00,224 --> 00:29:04,304 So definitely applaud you for that because it's, it's not an easy thing. 486 00:29:04,849 --> 00:29:07,419 Yola Lu: Yeah, it's really weird because I could tell my mom a lot of 487 00:29:07,419 --> 00:29:11,749 things, but I don't think she even knows that I go to like therapy or 488 00:29:11,749 --> 00:29:14,239 see a psychiatrist and everything. 489 00:29:14,419 --> 00:29:18,479 Not that I'm like necessarily trying to hide it from her, but it's 490 00:29:18,479 --> 00:29:22,849 more of just I feel like she would ask a lot of questions about it. 491 00:29:22,919 --> 00:29:26,319 And then maybe if she knew that I was like suffering from depression or 492 00:29:26,319 --> 00:29:30,369 something, she would just be like, I think I've mentioned it somewhat before 493 00:29:30,369 --> 00:29:31,769 that I was like feeling depressed. 494 00:29:31,769 --> 00:29:33,659 And she would just be like, Why? 495 00:29:33,679 --> 00:29:35,009 Why would you feel so depressed? 496 00:29:35,199 --> 00:29:39,189 You have a great job and you don't have to work outside in the sun like your 497 00:29:39,189 --> 00:29:43,899 dad and stuff like that and then you get to work from home just like all 498 00:29:43,899 --> 00:29:48,279 these things like she just thinks that everything is like very good because 499 00:29:48,279 --> 00:29:52,269 I also think that when she feels like we say that we have me and my sister 500 00:29:52,269 --> 00:29:55,479 like say that we have like depression or something I think they also kind of 501 00:29:55,479 --> 00:30:01,349 take on some of that guilt about it too wondering "What did we do as parents that 502 00:30:01,379 --> 00:30:03,779 caused you guys to turn out this way?" 503 00:30:04,009 --> 00:30:07,599 So that's why I kind of like haven't really mentioned it too much to them 504 00:30:07,599 --> 00:30:13,319 because I didn't want them to feel bad and then Even though I think my parents suffer 505 00:30:13,319 --> 00:30:18,519 from things like that too, like depression and other probably unresolved trauma 506 00:30:18,539 --> 00:30:20,379 from their lives and stuff like that. 507 00:30:20,399 --> 00:30:24,319 But it's just I don't know how to say all of that in Chinese and have 508 00:30:24,319 --> 00:30:26,189 that kind of conversation with them. 509 00:30:26,209 --> 00:30:29,679 Cause my Chinese is very limited and my parents don't speak 510 00:30:29,679 --> 00:30:32,064 anything but Chinese and stuff. 511 00:30:32,064 --> 00:30:36,694 So it's it's very hard to have these conversations with them. 512 00:30:41,724 --> 00:30:45,694 Sandra Pham: So Yola, obviously you had spent part of your childhood kind of in L. 513 00:30:45,694 --> 00:30:45,994 A. 514 00:30:46,004 --> 00:30:46,954 and Seattle. 515 00:30:47,074 --> 00:30:48,334 Now you're based in Austin. 516 00:30:48,454 --> 00:30:50,494 What kind of brought you to town and what's kept you here? 517 00:30:51,284 --> 00:30:58,439 Yola Lu: So I came to Austin, I actually started by taking one of those coding 518 00:30:58,439 --> 00:31:04,119 boot camps in Houston because I really wanted a shift in my career and I didn't 519 00:31:04,119 --> 00:31:08,129 know exactly what I wanted to do, but I was like looking at coding boot camps and 520 00:31:08,129 --> 00:31:13,329 I found this one that was like, it was just starting up and they were offering 521 00:31:13,339 --> 00:31:19,379 the first cohort to pay only $1, 000 to go to the bootcamp and everything. 522 00:31:19,389 --> 00:31:22,059 And you just had to pay for your own lodging and everything. 523 00:31:22,079 --> 00:31:25,709 And then, so I came to Houston thinking that I was only going to 524 00:31:25,719 --> 00:31:30,699 be here for the amount of time for the cohort and then go back home. 525 00:31:31,089 --> 00:31:35,149 But when I got to Houston, I realized something about the 526 00:31:35,219 --> 00:31:39,759 weather just felt really good, even though it was so hot and so humid. 527 00:31:40,059 --> 00:31:44,069 I think I suffered really badly from seasonal depression when I was in Seattle. 528 00:31:44,449 --> 00:31:48,479 And then I was just like, I just feel happier here for some reason. 529 00:31:48,489 --> 00:31:53,629 And then at that time, like 10, probably 10 years ago or something, 530 00:31:53,779 --> 00:31:57,199 there wasn't as big of a comedy scene in Houston as there is now. 531 00:31:57,699 --> 00:32:00,079 So I was just like, I still want to do comedy. 532 00:32:00,099 --> 00:32:02,169 This is still my passion and everything. 533 00:32:02,179 --> 00:32:06,839 So I heard Austin was like an artsy-er city and everything. 534 00:32:06,839 --> 00:32:11,359 So I literally just took a Greyhound and then I came here and then I 535 00:32:11,519 --> 00:32:14,809 fell in love with the city and everybody was just so friendly. 536 00:32:14,829 --> 00:32:17,249 And then I was just like, okay, I'm going to move here. 537 00:32:17,259 --> 00:32:18,889 And then I got my car shipped down. 538 00:32:18,919 --> 00:32:23,629 I didn't know a single person in Austin and I was so lonely 539 00:32:23,649 --> 00:32:26,069 and sad for the first year. 540 00:32:26,424 --> 00:32:29,724 Almost of my time here because I just didn't know anybody. 541 00:32:29,724 --> 00:32:33,674 I was just like drinking by myself at home every night and stuff. 542 00:32:34,204 --> 00:32:40,584 And what really started getting me stabilized here was like 543 00:32:40,824 --> 00:32:45,144 finding the improv scene and then the community in improv. 544 00:32:45,364 --> 00:32:50,279 Because I even though like I do stand up like I didn't really find as much 545 00:32:50,309 --> 00:32:52,989 of a community in the stand up scene. 546 00:32:53,479 --> 00:32:57,909 I have found a little bit more of it now but like back then it was very 547 00:32:57,909 --> 00:33:01,239 white and it still is very white and for some reason it was just like 548 00:33:01,239 --> 00:33:05,989 really hard for me to fit in with these other white comedians for some reason. 549 00:33:06,059 --> 00:33:09,619 I don't know why I don't understand why I feel that way. 550 00:33:10,149 --> 00:33:14,239 And then even though the improvisers were also like pretty white, they 551 00:33:14,239 --> 00:33:19,179 just like kind of included me in more things and then it wasn't until I built 552 00:33:19,359 --> 00:33:23,429 and co founded Y'all we Asian that I finally found a family that I could 553 00:33:23,459 --> 00:33:29,269 call a family in Austin and we see each other on a weekly basis and everything. 554 00:33:29,299 --> 00:33:30,549 We all hang out together. 555 00:33:30,579 --> 00:33:32,009 We go to each other's things. 556 00:33:32,009 --> 00:33:33,089 We support each other. 557 00:33:33,109 --> 00:33:35,659 They were all at my wedding, things like that. 558 00:33:35,679 --> 00:33:36,259 And then. 559 00:33:36,549 --> 00:33:40,279 Now finding the community of the greater Asian community in the 560 00:33:40,299 --> 00:33:45,229 Texas standup scene has like really started feeling like having kind of 561 00:33:45,229 --> 00:33:49,309 a family even though everybody is like kind of spread out and stuff. 562 00:33:49,569 --> 00:33:53,679 So I would say the community is really what has kept me here because 563 00:33:53,679 --> 00:33:58,449 I did think about moving to Los Angeles during the pandemic and then 564 00:33:58,519 --> 00:34:00,189 this is going to sound so crazy. 565 00:34:01,189 --> 00:34:06,434 I went to go see a psychic, and then she told me to move back to Austin, and 566 00:34:06,434 --> 00:34:12,064 then I had already packed up everything ready to go to LA, and everything 567 00:34:12,094 --> 00:34:15,994 and then she was like you're going to have more opportunities in Austin. 568 00:34:16,474 --> 00:34:19,434 And I think she was correct about that. 569 00:34:19,444 --> 00:34:24,684 Like I do have more opportunities and more stage time and no more people here. 570 00:34:25,224 --> 00:34:27,994 And it's been very good for me since I've been here. 571 00:34:27,994 --> 00:34:33,164 And I feel very, very supported by my community of people. 572 00:34:33,184 --> 00:34:37,754 And I feel like I'm really also starting to build an audience for myself here too. 573 00:34:38,444 --> 00:34:41,034 And now my parents want to move to Austin. 574 00:34:41,034 --> 00:34:43,404 So I might be here for a really long time. 575 00:34:44,884 --> 00:34:49,494 Sandra Pham: So obviously there's not much control you have over how the Austin 576 00:34:49,494 --> 00:34:54,874 comedy scene will shift and change over the years, but I'm curious when you think 577 00:34:54,884 --> 00:35:00,014 about your career 20, 30 years down the line, what do you want to be known for? 578 00:35:00,044 --> 00:35:03,854 Do you want to be closely tied to shaping the Austin comedy scene? 579 00:35:03,854 --> 00:35:08,274 And I know you're dabbling also in filmmaking and lots of other creative 580 00:35:08,274 --> 00:35:11,674 forms, but I'd love to hear what are your aspirations for yourself? 581 00:35:12,489 --> 00:35:16,959 Yola Lu: Yeah, my dream ever since I've started doing comedy 582 00:35:16,959 --> 00:35:19,639 was always to build a community. 583 00:35:20,079 --> 00:35:23,029 A lot of it when I first started was like to try to build a community for 584 00:35:23,029 --> 00:35:28,989 like Asian American voices to have a platform to be able to use their voice 585 00:35:28,999 --> 00:35:32,389 and to speak and that's one of the reasons why for like y'all we Asian. 586 00:35:32,829 --> 00:35:38,569 We do like jams, BIPOC jams and everything to try to get more Asian American people 587 00:35:38,569 --> 00:35:43,819 who've never done comedy or just like any ethnicity that isn't white who like want 588 00:35:43,829 --> 00:35:48,319 to do comedy, but they don't feel safe in some certain spaces and stuff like that. 589 00:35:48,319 --> 00:35:52,619 And so we want to give them this opportunity to try out improv and 590 00:35:52,619 --> 00:35:57,019 try being funny and give them like a quick course on doing comedy. 591 00:35:57,179 --> 00:35:57,579 So. 592 00:35:57,709 --> 00:36:02,079 I hope that in 20 to 30 years, when I look back on all of this, that I could 593 00:36:02,079 --> 00:36:07,849 say that I created a space for like new voices to be discovered and learned. 594 00:36:08,229 --> 00:36:10,119 And we've always tried doing stuff like that. 595 00:36:10,119 --> 00:36:15,119 We've hosted like open mics before too, for the BIPOC community as well. 596 00:36:15,449 --> 00:36:20,189 And I always try to have a space where I make sure like everybody 597 00:36:20,189 --> 00:36:25,239 is properly paid, everybody is respected, and then that we could all. 598 00:36:25,454 --> 00:36:30,494 Kind of be like a family together in a way to feel like you could reach 599 00:36:30,494 --> 00:36:32,584 out to me for anything that you need. 600 00:36:32,594 --> 00:36:35,284 And then I could reach out to you for anything as well. 601 00:36:35,744 --> 00:36:38,524 And then so I really would like to curate a space. 602 00:36:38,764 --> 00:36:42,204 I was actually talking to a friend recently and I kind of jokingly, but 603 00:36:42,204 --> 00:36:48,299 kind of was serious, that I was like saying that I would want to open up a 604 00:36:48,309 --> 00:36:53,389 comedy club in Seattle, but I wanted to open up like an improv theater, like 605 00:36:53,389 --> 00:36:58,639 something similar to like Coldtowne or Fallout because surprisingly Seattle 606 00:36:58,639 --> 00:37:04,319 doesn't have any thing like this at all, which is crazy to me to think about. 607 00:37:04,359 --> 00:37:10,854 And then, so it makes me sad because you have all the potential talent that's 608 00:37:10,854 --> 00:37:16,034 there that is like untapped because they don't have a place to gather and 609 00:37:16,174 --> 00:37:21,284 do long form improv or learn how to put up their own shows and stuff like that. 610 00:37:21,284 --> 00:37:23,554 There's just not a space for people to grow. 611 00:37:23,584 --> 00:37:27,194 So then you feel like you have to move to the cities like L. 612 00:37:27,194 --> 00:37:30,994 A., New York, Austin, Chicago to do something like that. 613 00:37:30,994 --> 00:37:33,514 And then there's kind of like a talent drain. 614 00:37:33,799 --> 00:37:37,189 That's happening in these cities that don't have these clubs. 615 00:37:37,209 --> 00:37:42,319 And then, so, I was always thinking that I would like to, start a community there. 616 00:37:42,539 --> 00:37:47,359 Maybe if I ever decide that I hate doing what I'm doing and I want to, 617 00:37:47,629 --> 00:37:52,279 go and re expand myself, I would probably try to do something like that. 618 00:37:52,309 --> 00:37:56,469 But people have tried in the past, creating a theater space, but they've 619 00:37:56,469 --> 00:38:01,699 either, run out of money or I think sometimes it's, not knowing how to write 620 00:38:01,699 --> 00:38:04,784 a theater and stuff like hurts them too. 621 00:38:04,804 --> 00:38:09,364 So, long answer short, I would like to be known for building a 622 00:38:09,364 --> 00:38:13,154 stronger community here in Austin is what I would like to be known for. 623 00:38:13,774 --> 00:38:17,094 Minh Vu: After starting Y'all We Asian and going through kind of this 624 00:38:17,114 --> 00:38:21,244 journey, what's your relationship to your ethnic background today? 625 00:38:21,874 --> 00:38:23,184 What does that mean to you? 626 00:38:23,734 --> 00:38:26,644 Yola Lu: That's kind of a hard question because I feel like when I was younger, 627 00:38:26,644 --> 00:38:29,849 I was like, embarrassed of being Asian. 628 00:38:30,079 --> 00:38:33,769 My school was like very white growing up in the suburbs and everything. 629 00:38:34,219 --> 00:38:38,219 So I didn't have a lot of other Asian friends growing up. 630 00:38:38,339 --> 00:38:42,449 So I was like always around these what I consider like really pretty 631 00:38:42,449 --> 00:38:43,959 white kids and stuff like that. 632 00:38:43,959 --> 00:38:49,799 And I always wish that my parents knew how to speak English because it would make 633 00:38:49,799 --> 00:38:53,559 things so much easier and I wouldn't have to be translating for them all the time. 634 00:38:54,019 --> 00:38:58,949 I was like embarrassed of that from my family and then it was like 635 00:38:58,949 --> 00:39:00,479 embarrassed of a lot of things. 636 00:39:00,479 --> 00:39:04,289 Like you hear a lot about the lunchbox dilemma or something where 637 00:39:04,289 --> 00:39:05,879 people always made fun of your food. 638 00:39:05,879 --> 00:39:10,259 I remember like sometimes I would just throw away my food or not eat it and 639 00:39:10,259 --> 00:39:14,719 stuff like that because I didn't want people to make fun of me again for like 640 00:39:14,719 --> 00:39:17,359 eating something strange at school. 641 00:39:17,749 --> 00:39:24,619 But now being older, I appreciate my identity a lot more now. 642 00:39:24,619 --> 00:39:31,074 And I actually see it as being who I am now as a person and I try to 643 00:39:31,074 --> 00:39:37,184 incorporate as much of my identity with everything than I did before and that's 644 00:39:37,184 --> 00:39:41,944 also the same reason why I'm not just wanting to be a comedian but like an 645 00:39:41,954 --> 00:39:45,064 Asian American comedian and everything. 646 00:39:45,334 --> 00:39:50,354 But I would definitely say that I'm more proud of who I am now than I was 647 00:39:50,384 --> 00:39:55,434 before, and I'm so glad because that was exhausting, just hating yourself 648 00:39:55,464 --> 00:39:58,124 for so long, you know, definitely. 649 00:39:58,579 --> 00:39:59,679 Minh Vu: Yeah, that's beautiful. 650 00:39:59,689 --> 00:40:02,679 Thank you for sharing that with us because that's a big reason why we do 651 00:40:02,679 --> 00:40:06,829 this podcast as well to just creating that space and community where we can 652 00:40:06,829 --> 00:40:12,499 all feel more empowered and just prideful of where we come from our stories and 653 00:40:12,499 --> 00:40:15,979 how that shapes us to who we are today, because I think the good and the bad. 654 00:40:15,979 --> 00:40:19,429 It's like we would have been completely different people right if we didn't 655 00:40:19,439 --> 00:40:21,229 have those experiences and you. 656 00:40:21,369 --> 00:40:27,389 That's been a great source, maybe, for material for all the 657 00:40:27,399 --> 00:40:29,459 culmination of all those experiences. 658 00:40:29,489 --> 00:40:33,149 So, yeah, thank you for sharing that with us. 659 00:40:33,199 --> 00:40:35,849 Where can people find, find you? 660 00:40:35,939 --> 00:40:39,269 Where can people get involved with Y'all Be Asian? 661 00:40:39,279 --> 00:40:40,069 Do a little plug. 662 00:40:40,679 --> 00:40:46,149 Yola Lu: Yeah, you could find me on my Instagram at YOLAJLU, and I 663 00:40:46,149 --> 00:40:49,449 haven't updated my show calendar for a while, so you could find out 664 00:40:49,449 --> 00:40:53,509 more stuff on Instagram, because I keep that more up to date, but I do 665 00:40:53,509 --> 00:40:56,129 have a website called YOLALUCOMEDY. 666 00:40:56,139 --> 00:41:00,189 COM, and you could find out more about Y'all We Asian and all the events that 667 00:41:00,189 --> 00:41:06,109 we put on at our Instagram, which is just "yallweasian" no spaces or anything and 668 00:41:06,119 --> 00:41:11,619 we will regularly post if we're doing a BIPOC jam or if we're maybe gonna do like 669 00:41:11,619 --> 00:41:17,069 another open mic for people and then when we have like our showcase and things like 670 00:41:17,069 --> 00:41:19,449 that we advertise that in also our shows. 671 00:41:19,449 --> 00:41:23,559 And then people should totally come out to our monthly shows that we have 672 00:41:23,559 --> 00:41:28,019 the first Friday of every month at the Fallout Theater because I do I have met 673 00:41:28,019 --> 00:41:32,899 a lot of like other Asians that are in Austin that just like maybe moved here 674 00:41:32,899 --> 00:41:37,209 or don't know how to find a community because like after the show we always 675 00:41:37,209 --> 00:41:41,079 go out for drinks afterwards and we invite anybody who was at the show to 676 00:41:41,079 --> 00:41:45,179 come out and have drinks with us and hang out with us and also try to be 677 00:41:45,339 --> 00:41:48,059 integrated a little bit into our family. 678 00:41:48,579 --> 00:41:48,849 Sandra Pham: Yep. 679 00:41:49,069 --> 00:41:50,459 Plus one, plus one. 680 00:41:50,489 --> 00:41:52,669 Support your local artists. 681 00:41:52,719 --> 00:41:59,079 Don't let the big, bad celebrities take over our town and our comedy club. 682 00:41:59,089 --> 00:42:01,709 So thank you so much, Yola, for spending time with us. 683 00:42:01,709 --> 00:42:06,609 Before we let you go, our favorite thing is to have a really quick, rapid round. 684 00:42:06,759 --> 00:42:09,239 First thing that comes to mind and some of these questions. 685 00:42:09,249 --> 00:42:13,399 So the first one is, what is your favorite Asian restaurant in Austin? 686 00:42:14,059 --> 00:42:16,504 Yola Lu: Xian is probably my favorite restaurant. 687 00:42:16,554 --> 00:42:19,584 Xian, they have the hand pulled noodles there. 688 00:42:19,874 --> 00:42:22,574 Or China Family is also really good. 689 00:42:22,784 --> 00:42:23,984 Sandra Pham: Recently discovered that one. 690 00:42:23,984 --> 00:42:24,874 It's a hidden gem. 691 00:42:25,154 --> 00:42:26,724 Yola Lu: Yes, it's so good. 692 00:42:26,814 --> 00:42:30,184 They have two locations now, but yes, I love it so much. 693 00:42:30,594 --> 00:42:33,489 Sandra Pham: And what was your favorite asian snack growing up? 694 00:42:33,789 --> 00:42:38,659 Yola Lu: Rice crackers or those like little jelly cups, lychee cups or 695 00:42:38,659 --> 00:42:40,839 whatever that you like push out and stuff. 696 00:42:40,899 --> 00:42:42,569 Minh Vu: Yeah, they're in the container. 697 00:42:42,589 --> 00:42:44,249 It's like a little bear like a clear. 698 00:42:44,249 --> 00:42:51,374 I guess my mom still uses that container for Leftovers, I don't know, you know, 699 00:42:52,154 --> 00:42:56,044 eating these containers that aren't for Tupperware, but somehow it's in a 700 00:42:56,054 --> 00:42:57,954 fridge, and I'm like, okay, here we go, 701 00:42:58,014 --> 00:42:58,384 Yola Lu: yeah. 702 00:42:59,284 --> 00:43:00,904 Sandra Pham: No, but when they don't talk about those things, 703 00:43:00,904 --> 00:43:01,914 they're choking hazards. 704 00:43:02,144 --> 00:43:04,064 do you remember, trying to suck this thing out? 705 00:43:04,864 --> 00:43:05,254 Yes. 706 00:43:06,694 --> 00:43:09,924 Yola Lu: I think if I ever had kids, I probably would not. 707 00:43:10,104 --> 00:43:12,184 I think I would be one of those really crazy parents. 708 00:43:12,234 --> 00:43:16,304 I would probably cut the little jellies in like smaller bite sized pieces. 709 00:43:16,764 --> 00:43:17,104 Sandra Pham: Right. 710 00:43:17,134 --> 00:43:19,164 So, last question. 711 00:43:19,184 --> 00:43:22,144 What is your favorite Austin pastime? 712 00:43:22,194 --> 00:43:23,194 What are you doing when 713 00:43:23,194 --> 00:43:23,874 you have free time? 714 00:43:24,624 --> 00:43:28,604 Yola Lu: I like to check out new restaurants and go to cocktail bars 715 00:43:28,604 --> 00:43:32,704 and try new cocktails that I'm not usually drinking, but I also just 716 00:43:32,704 --> 00:43:37,054 like to explore like new neighborhoods with my dog going on walks and stuff. 717 00:43:37,599 --> 00:43:38,539 Sandra Pham: What's your dog's name? 718 00:43:38,999 --> 00:43:39,529 Yola Lu: Chloe. 719 00:43:39,999 --> 00:43:40,829 Sandra Pham: Chloe. 720 00:43:41,039 --> 00:43:43,029 Well, thank you so much again, Yola. 721 00:43:43,039 --> 00:43:45,039 We, we love chatting with you. 722 00:43:45,049 --> 00:43:48,939 Thank you for being open and vulnerable and all the things 723 00:43:48,939 --> 00:43:50,749 and we will be cheering you on. 724 00:43:50,829 --> 00:43:52,019 Go check out Yola if you haven't. 725 00:43:52,019 --> 00:43:53,949 She's hilarious and thank you so much. 726 00:43:54,579 --> 00:43:54,819 Thank you. 727 00:43:59,949 --> 00:44:05,839 Minh Vu: Yola is such a beautiful soul and she being vulnerable and sharing 728 00:44:06,059 --> 00:44:09,629 more about her experiences with us and seeing how that shows up in her art 729 00:44:09,699 --> 00:44:16,239 and her comedy and how she is able to create community through Y'all We Asian. 730 00:44:16,249 --> 00:44:21,584 It's just all really inspiring stuff and I think one thing that stood out 731 00:44:21,584 --> 00:44:27,754 was towards the end when we were talking about being known as an Asian comedian 732 00:44:27,764 --> 00:44:33,164 or not, and what type of legacy she was looking for in addition to building 733 00:44:33,164 --> 00:44:35,114 community and a platform for others. 734 00:44:35,604 --> 00:44:38,674 And yeah, I don't know, I think I go back and forth about that too. 735 00:44:39,084 --> 00:44:44,064 We obviously have an podcast centered around the Asian American experience. 736 00:44:44,509 --> 00:44:49,429 And there are times, too, when people will, tag me in some Asian related 737 00:44:49,429 --> 00:44:54,719 content, like my non Asian friends, and they're like, "Hey, did you see this? 738 00:44:54,879 --> 00:44:55,689 What do you think about this?" 739 00:44:55,689 --> 00:44:57,909 And it's I get it, right? 740 00:44:57,909 --> 00:45:02,809 Because we've kind of carved out that, I do care about those experiences. 741 00:45:02,819 --> 00:45:08,179 And sometimes, though, I don't want that to be my only calling card. 742 00:45:08,499 --> 00:45:15,279 But, at the end of the day, too, I am who I am because of parts of my 743 00:45:15,279 --> 00:45:20,769 lived experience that's informed by, unfortunately, my identities and how I 744 00:45:20,769 --> 00:45:25,229 have to navigate the world with these identities of being Asian, being gay. 745 00:45:25,559 --> 00:45:26,429 So yeah, I don't know. 746 00:45:26,429 --> 00:45:29,269 It's I don't want to erase that part of me either. 747 00:45:29,739 --> 00:45:34,289 Sandra Pham: Yeah, no, I think that's just like the part of intersectionality, right? 748 00:45:34,289 --> 00:45:39,869 It's multi identities that you carry with you, but it's not all encompassing. 749 00:45:40,109 --> 00:45:41,369 you're not just Asian. 750 00:45:41,409 --> 00:45:45,719 And I like having these conversations, especially with artists and those that 751 00:45:45,719 --> 00:45:47,869 put out work, because it's interesting. 752 00:45:48,134 --> 00:45:52,354 We can say Asian Americans are having a moment in the creative arts today 753 00:45:52,384 --> 00:45:56,324 when it comes to film and comedians and music and things like that, you know, 754 00:45:56,384 --> 00:45:57,844 really getting elevated --Blackpink. 755 00:45:57,884 --> 00:45:58,764 I mean, you name it. 756 00:45:59,524 --> 00:46:03,664 But is it solely do you think these artists want to be known just because 757 00:46:03,714 --> 00:46:06,134 they are the Asian artists of the moment? 758 00:46:06,144 --> 00:46:06,884 No, right? 759 00:46:06,934 --> 00:46:10,524 I think most would probably say I want to be recognized for the art 760 00:46:10,524 --> 00:46:12,174 form or the work that I'm putting out. 761 00:46:12,724 --> 00:46:16,024 So it's definitely a nuanced conversation, but I love having it with our 762 00:46:16,024 --> 00:46:17,904 guests because it is so interesting. 763 00:46:17,904 --> 00:46:18,234 I. 764 00:46:19,194 --> 00:46:22,974 Obviously for us, it's a big part of our identity, but I would hate to be known 765 00:46:22,984 --> 00:46:26,524 as the Asian girl or the Asian podcast. 766 00:46:26,754 --> 00:46:30,024 It's a layer of who we are and the stories we hope to tell. 767 00:46:30,774 --> 00:46:32,214 Minh Vu: Yeah, I think that's a big part of it. 768 00:46:32,214 --> 00:46:34,684 It's, just like you said, it's a layer of us. 769 00:46:34,684 --> 00:46:36,574 It's not all encompassing of who we are. 770 00:46:36,574 --> 00:46:40,164 We have, we're multifaceted humans, everyone is. 771 00:46:40,474 --> 00:46:45,884 And yes, these are, may play major parts of our lived experience or helps 772 00:46:45,884 --> 00:46:49,584 inform some of our lived experience just because of the world we live in 773 00:46:49,584 --> 00:46:51,904 and the places that we have to navigate. 774 00:46:51,904 --> 00:46:54,664 But at the end of the day, you're Sandra. 775 00:46:54,704 --> 00:46:59,274 I'm Minh and there's a lot more to that than just our identities. 776 00:46:59,434 --> 00:47:01,004 So yeah, absolutely. 777 00:47:01,834 --> 00:47:04,384 Sandra Pham: But what an awesome episode and incredible 778 00:47:04,524 --> 00:47:07,174 conversation we had again, Yola. 779 00:47:07,174 --> 00:47:10,864 Thanks so much for, for joining us and we hope y'all enjoy the episode. 780 00:47:11,384 --> 00:47:12,554 Minh Vu: Yeah, thanks y'all. 781 00:47:12,555 --> 00:47:14,124 Bye. 782 00:47:32,404 --> 00:47:35,504 This project is supported in part by the City of Austin 783 00:47:35,524 --> 00:47:37,034 Economic Development Department.