From The San Francisco Examiner, Publication date: 06/05/2002

Kate Rigg, rice girl

By Adam Sandel
Special to The Examiner

Just as Abercrombie & Fitch suffered a public relations nightmare by selling (then yanking) thousands of T-shirts that played on offensive Asian stereotypes, comedienne Kate Rigg blows into town with the West Coast premiere of "Kate's Chink-O-Rama," scheduled to run today through June 16 at the Brava Theater Center.

But Rigg's show takes a fundamentally different approach to Asian stereotypes than A&F's ill-conceived line of shirts. The daughter of an Indonesian mother and an Australian father, Rigg jokingly refers to herself as "a rice cracker." Her show lampoons numerous Asian stereotypes including Nike sweatshop workers, Japanese tourists and Vietnamese war brides.

With a degree in cultural theory and history, the Juilliard-trained Rigg comes by her satire honestly and with intelligence. "The word 'chink' is just a word," she says. "It makes all Asians the same because it erases their identity.

"In the show we don't celebrate the word or make fun of Asian people, we make fun of people's stereotypes," she says. "It takes power away from a person who would use the word in a negative way, 'cause I said it first, honey!"

Rigg's characters are anything but passive, including the war bride who sings (to the tune of Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive"):

So you get out! You get out now!

Just turn around now, 'cause you no welcome anyhow

Weren't you the one who knocked me up then shot my mom?

Didja think I'd crumble or kill myself like Miss Saigon?

Joining Rigg in the show is David Jung, as "MC Chink Daddy," and the "Chink-O-Rama Dancers" (many of whom Rigg met at Juilliard). The show evolved from Rigg's character-based standup act and was developed at PSNBC -- NBC's theater showcase for emerging writers, actors and comedians.

"Kate's Chink-O-Rama" has played in Toronto and at New York's Public Theatre Cabaret, Joe's Pub. Asked if there have been negative reactions to her show, Rigg admits that "some people are skeptical before they see it, but not after they've seen it."

"I first took it to mainstream comedy clubs with mostly white and black audiences, then people started bringing their Asian friends," she says. "Now the audiences are about 50% Asian and 50% everyone else."

Rigg notes that the show has played well in queer and black venues because "when you talk about marginalization in society, it speaks to lots of types of people."

The Brava Theater gig is part of the National Queer Arts Festival and marks Rigg's first trip to San Francisco. "We've been talking about bringing the show to San Francisco since its inception because our two big audience demographics are gay and Asian," she says.

The irreverent extravaganza promises to offend vigorously and cross-culturally with characters such as the Puerto Rican Welfare Mother and The Lesbian Librarian (with her lesbian-feminist interpretation of "The Owl and the Pussycat").

Not surprisingly, Rigg's performance heroes include Whoopi Goldberg, Lily Tomlin, John Leguizamo "and every drag queen I've ever seen. I use big, ballsy disco songs. I love a production number and I love a good costume."