B.Batbileg: UB Comedy will become the top in Asia

Unuudur sat down with B.Batbileg, founder of the UB Comedy stand-up club...

Unuudur sat down with B.Batbileg, founder of the UB Comedy stand-up club.

When did you first start to develop an interest in stand-up comedy?

My interest in stand-up comedy began when I was 15 years old. Comedy and more specifically stand-up was a big interest of mine. I liked to watch the stand-up shows of Dave Chappelle, Russell Peters, Kat Williams, and Kevin Hart on YouTube. In 2013, I had the chance to travel to Los Angeles. Almost as soon as I landed, I went to the famous Laugh Factory comedy club to see some comics and then realized that it was possible to emulate this type of show in Mongolia. At that time, I took up even more of an interest and the desire has been my guidance ever since.

What appealed to you so much about comedy?

I don’t know if it’s whether the fact that the United States is such a melting pot, but I liked the fact that you could talk about and shine a light on anything from racial to cultural differences to the funny things that happen in somebody’s life. The way that the comics were not confined to any limits and the freedom they have on stage interested me. The fact that one person can get up on stage and talk about seemingly normal topics and still manage to leave the audience grasping their stomachs from laughter is also great.

As a child, did you like making others laugh?

Not really. Of course, I liked to tell jokes to my friends and make them laugh but I was usually quiet around strangers.

What was the first stage you performed your stand-up routine on? How many people were in attendance?

It was in the Basement Club in January 2014. Around 10 people showed up, most of them being my friends.

Were you scared initially that people might not laugh or understand your humor, seeing as there are a lot of people who still don’t understand this type of comedy?

I was very nervous. It’s not easy getting on a stage in front of a lot of people. There were a lot of moments where I would forget what I was supposed to talk about or stutter and then become embarrassed. It became easier about a year into it. But I still get nervous before a show.

You said 10 people watched your first show. Now your comedy club attracts a lot of people. You even release full shows online. The topics you cover also seem to be increasing. Where do you find ideas for your jokes?

We have comedy shows on four days a week. Our seats are filled on every show. Life is rich, so joke ideas are endless. New jokes usually hit me very suddenly, so I have to write it down quickly. I like to observe people’s behavior and their characteristics. It has become a habit. On my most recent trip through the countryside, I went to a restaurant called Dotno Buuz. There was a piece of hair in my buuz. I marked this down as buuz with piece of hair on my notepad. I can expand this topic and include it in my routine later on. I usually get ideas from the experiences in my life or the experiences of others and present that in a comedic way on stage. But you don’t get up on a stage to talk about something as soon as you have the idea. You prepare. But you don’t exactly memorize it. Who will laugh at someone who is very stiff reciting their jokes. So, I usually record myself and watch the videos to mentally add and remove things from the joke and think about the exact wording of the joke. It is also important to feel the audience once you are on stage.

Are there moments where people don’t laugh at your jokes?

Of course, it happens. At that moment, you have to just accept the circumstances you are in and talk about something else. You can’t lose the attention of the audience, you have to rope them in. In other words, you have to keep them laughing. You can make them laugh however you can. But, of course, there are things like not stealing jokes from others.

They say it is harder to make someone laugh than it is to make them cry.

Of course, it is hard. People have different senses of humor. You can tell if a person is laughing at you or sincerely laughing with you.

What do you feel when you are on stage?

It is hard to describe this feeling to someone who has not been on stage. It almost feels like you’re being violated. People will stare at you, make fun of you, not laugh. The stare of a crowd of people can be searing. Your brain begins to work faster with adrenaline. I was on vacation for about 10 days during Naadam festival and then got up on stage. My heart was pounding but it was not because I was rusty. It’s excitement. Our club has an open mic event on Mondays. People can come and register to perform on stage. The feeling

that I am having so much trouble describing, people can come experience themselves on stage.

What is your profession and do you use it in your work?

I graduated from Raffles Institute with a degree in marketing. I do use marketing in my work. Marketing is about understanding and penetrating a market and how to sell a product. We are working to promote and develop stand-up comedy to the Mongolian audience.

There are people who don’t understand stand up. How often do you face negative reactions?

It happens occasionally. These people take it as an insult to them personally. We talk about things like traffic and alcoholism. Some people seem to perceive this as a slight to them. Only people who do the things we are making fun of will be sensitive to that type of stuff. Most of the audience understands that these types of stuff happen and realize not to do whatever it is next time. Then there are people that have no sense of humor. For them it’s more about not understanding than them not liking the jokes.

Your comedy club has been expanding quickly. How many regular shows do you have now?

I first created the club in the summer of 2014 to bring together aspiring stand-up comics. At first, I prepared the stage by myself and everything. I brought on more and more people and now we have a team of 15.

Do you have another job besides running the comedy club? Is there an opportunity to make a living just doing stand-up?

Our other comics all work in banking, mining, technology, and telecommunications. There is not a single comic who majored as an actor. We do it because we like to do stand-up and because it’s a hobby. In order to develop this type of comedy even further, I am only working on the comedy club. If I am able to become the favorite comic of people and able to maintain demand, there is a possibility to make a living off of this. Of course you need a business mind on how to attract and keep attention.

How long do you plan on doing comedy?

Until I can’t, I guess. It is good to make people laugh. Mongolians like to see people race or compete. We are planning on creating “Battle show” in the future.

Recently, you have featured many foreign comics at your club. What do they say about your club?

Foreign comics have begun to take an interest. In the summer of 2016, we first invited Matt Davis. In 2017, we brought Adam Hunter. In November, we had Tom Rhodes. He will be back in mid-August. A lot of famous comics do a tour around Asia. We make a request to them and are able to book them. Adam Hunter said our comedy club was the best comedy club that gave him the warmest welcome in Asia. He told comics like Russell Peters and posted about it on his social media. Tom Rhodes also had nice things to say about us on a show that has millions of listeners.

Is it true that you are part of the Loi4ixcon hip hop group and that you came up with the name? Did you like hip hop from a young age?

My uncle and my relatives introduced me to hip hop at a young age. I like American culture in general. The rapper Ginjin is a childhood friend of mine. He is very talented. His songs have become hits among young people. I graduated from Erel School. At that time, the students of Russian schools in Ulaanbaatar had a special type of friendship. In high school, I met a group of like-minded kids in a group called Avnue that studied in Russkaya Gimnaziya. We recorded the song “Loichikhson”. We then decided to create a hip hop group. About the name, my grandfather used to scold me by using the word “loichikhson”. It means lazy. Today, we use many words to mean the opposite of what it originally meant. We had the same idea when giving the name for the group.

Do you plan your work and life ahead?

I have a work plan for a year. I plan that in more detail along the way. When I was 22, I had the goal of having my own comedy club by the time I was 25. I achieved that. It is fulfilling to accomplish one of your goals and celebrate. This year, we are planning to become the best comedy club in Asia and release a stand-up special series. We are striving to accomplish both.

...When I was 22, I had the goal of having my own

comedy club by the time I was 25. I achieved that. It is fulfilling to accomplish one of your goals and

celebrate...