Too Many Chiefs, Not Enough Punchlines

Let me start by saying something that might upset a few people:

If you want to become a great comic in Asia... leave.

No shade — just facts. Go somewhere where nobody knows you, where nobody owes you stage time, and where nobody’s impressed that you once hosted a show at a craft beer bar in Pattaya or got five fire emojis on your last crowd work clip. Go eat shit in a basement in New York. Wait three hours for five minutes in LA. Get blank stares in Melbourne from a crowd that doesn’t understand your opening line. Go to London and watch a room full of British people stare through you like your soul is buffering.

Go bomb. Go figure it out. Go earn it.

Because that kind of humility — that gut-check — makes you sharper, funnier, and way harder to shake. And it kills the little narcissist inside you saying you deserve it.

Right now, Bangkok’s got a comedy scene — not a community.

A scene has shows. A community has people who give a damn.

A scene is busy. A community is connected.

A scene is has a lot of people talking. A community has accountability.

And let’s be honest — we’ve got too many “producers” and not enough presence. Since I started producing shows I’ve had someone yell in my face:

“I built the scene, I am the scene.”

I've had someone ask why I’d schedule an open mic on the same night as theirs. I said, “Because comics asked for it.” They said I was splitting the community… but bro, you don't even go to your own show. So who exactly is splitting what?

Let’s call it what it is — some folks just want to sit on a throne they built out of old posters and half-finished WhatsApp groups.

Here’s the thing: you don’t own a community.

You earn it. You show up. You support it. You make space for others.

And if you’re not doing that? You’re not a leader — you’re just a louder narcissist with admin privileges.

Now people who call themselves comics — this part’s for you:

Start showing up for each other. Help hold people accountable. Don't believe the hype they're shoveling up your ass or the narcissists who has a podcast that's playing into your ego.

And don’t be afraid to question the self-proclaimed "leaders of the community". The ones who throw around terms like “community” without ever actually being in one.

Because there’s a reason most comics leave this region.

There’s a reason it burns people out.

There’s a reason the same few names keep circling the drain.

And they’ll keep leaving…Until there’s no reason to.

But imagine if they didn’t have to.

Imagine if comics stayed, grew, collaborated, and actually thrived here.

Imagine scenes within scenes. Crews within crews. Communities within communities.

That’s possible — but it won’t happen by accident.

It won’t happen with ego.

It won’t happen through group chats and drama.

It’ll happen when we stop worrying about status… and start getting serious about the craft.

So yeah — if you’re gonna stay in Asia? Are you going to do what everyone has done before you, which is make a stage for yourself or do something no one has been able to do here... build a community.

– Lex / FunwithLex