Make Them Laugh.docVIP

Make Them Laugh 　　A deceivingly common situation appeared on the TV program Post 80s Generation Talk Show on May 30： a wedding ceremony with a bride and two grooms. 　　In this case， however， the host of the show Wang Zijian was the bride and two representatives of the audience―one man and one woman―served as the grooms， while the “wedding ceremony” was a special celebration of the third anniversary of the television show. 　　The talk show was launched in May 2012 in Shanghai. It soon became the most popular talk show program in the city， and made Wang， a Beijing native， known to the audience nationwide overnight. 　　 Thoroughly modern 　　Wang， born in 1984， has held a deep interest in crosstalk， or xiangsheng， a traditional Chinese form of stand-up comedy， since childhood. Dropping out of university after studying for one year， Wang worked for TV programs and advertising companies but finally jumped back to his first love： the stage of crosstalk. In 2007， Wang performed crosstalk with a partner in Beijing Normal University， his first formal show. 　　Wanting to share his passion， in 2010， Wang set up his own crosstalk troupe and started to perform in small theaters in Beijing. His talent was affirmed； every time the theater was packed. Wang continued to vary his shows to fit the times， for example by introducing some popular Internet terms. 　　However， despite the fact that he was quickly becoming a recognized performer in his field， he refused to attend formal crosstalk competitions. “They are more like students showing off for their masters， who are mostly over 50 years old. They would even bust out jokes that were used years ago，” said Wang. “How can such an art attract young people， especially millennials？” 　　“It is not that difficult to make people laugh，” said Wang， who claims to have read hundreds of Western novels―including Pride and Prejudice， The Red and The Black， and is more open to the Western world than the older generation. Wang proves that the t