Medicine of laughter

Appell hopes his show can get more attention online, so he can help to raise more money for China.

"Even though I can't be in China, my heart is still there," he says.

Appell first came to China in 2010 on a study abroad program from Brandeis University, where he studied East Asia and international relations.

"We engaged in intense but fun Chinese language training in Beijing," he says.

That was when he was drawn to Chinese crosstalk performances.

"I was already into comedy performance in college and high school," Appell says.

With help from David Moser, a faculty member of the program, Appell decided to concentrate on the art form.

Then he applied for the Fulbright program and got a scholarship after graduation from Brandeis to study crosstalk art and Chinese humor in Beijing in 2012.

"I wanted to understand Chinese culture through crosstalk," he says.

Through Moser, who was one of the first disciples of Ding Guangquan, the late Chinese crosstalk artist and mentor, Appell began exploring the art form under the tutelage of Ding.

"Ding was very supportive of us on all fronts. He held our performance to the high standard that is required of an authentic crosstalk artist," Appell says.

"All of us (students) received reviews after our weekly performance and then sharpened our skills accordingly."

Appell got to practice what he learned on a weekly basis and performed on TV under Ding's arrangement. The more he learned, the more he was attracted by Chinese culture and lifestyle.

"I found out it was much more fun. China is very dynamic now, so I stayed," Appell says.

At the same time, he kept up with his beloved talk show and improvised performances. He performed Chinese and English standup shows taking such approaches as poking fun at English and Chinese accents. He also performed and put some video clips online, such as "Laowai Style－Foreigner in Beijing's Gangnam Style Parody". Some videos of his performances gathered more than 11,000 views on YouTube and 40 million hits across different Chinese websites.

He also opened a small comedy theater and ran a comedy school, trying to use the medium to bridge the cultural gaps between the US and China. Appell says he gives about 200-300 live performances a year.

"The Chinese audience has shown an increasingly broader taste and responded well to those comedy forms," Appell says, adding that not many people appreciated talk shows at the beginning of his time in Beijing.

All his performances are based on inspiration from his social life and things he deems interesting.

"You have to have an attitude in talk shows, and people who like it will enjoy your performance and laugh," he says. "It's good for me to stay true to my ideas and express them."

Speaking about his future plan, Appell says he would like to focus more on online performance in the future. Before his departure to the US, he participated in Top Funny Comedian, a Chinese reality TV show.

"It was different from live shows, where I could tell the audience' response right away," he says.

Still, Appell says he got to apply all his skills to the new scene.

"So many people supported me after the show was broadcast," he says.

For now, though, Appell misses his life in Beijing.

"I miss my friends, working and eating with them," he says.

"I'd like to host a talk show first thing when I go back and invite all my friends to have a hotpot afterwards."

Contact the writer at yangfeiyue@chinadaily.com.cn