OCTOBER 2019

Funny is funny
BY SARAH KITTLE
If you can’t laugh at yourself, you
have no business laughing at anyone
else. That is the heart of comedy.
“I’m allowed to make fun of who
I am,” says comic Eric D’Alessandro,
“and what I know.”
Comedian Vincent Oshana says
about himself and his colleagues,
“We are modern day philosophers.”
Both funny men will star in a comedy
show benefiting the Chaldean Community
Foundation (CCF) on Friday,
October 4 at the MotorCity Casino
Hotel’s Sound Board Theater.
Almost three-fourths of the way
through an $8 million campaign, the
CCF is raising money to complete the
construction of a 19,000 square foot
expansion to their center in Sterling
Heights, and begin construction on
a planned community a few miles to
the north on Van Dyke Avenue.
For almost 14 years, the Chaldean
Community Foundation has
been supporting the immigrant community
in southeast Michigan. Since
2006, they have been teaching English
as a second language, helping
with paperwork, and providing pro
bono legal assistance, medical care
and auto loans to new Americans,
mostly refugees from Iraq fleeing religious
persecution.
The brainchild of Paul Jonna and
Carlo Koza, this fundraiser hopes
to have the audience rolling in the
aisles and building funds. Ticket prices
range from $50 for a single ticket
to $7,500 for presenting sponsor,
which includes a suite with 20 meet
and greet tickets.
Oshana, the event headliner, has
his own special on Comedy Central
presented by Kevin Hart and has
been featured on HBO’s Def Comedy
Jam. He began his career in the family
living room in Yonkers, imitating cartoon
characters and TV personalities.
Raising money for the Foundation
is important to Oshana. Of
Assyrian descent, he is proud of his
Middle Eastern heritage and likes to
use his medium to poke fun at stereotypes.
“Any Middle Easterners in the
house? Yeah? SECURITY! Security,
right over here…”
Excited to return to Detroit –
where he had his best show in memory
– Oshana passed up a chance to do
a show in Dubai. Such is the power
of Carlo Koza that one phone call
persuaded Vincent to come to the
Motor City and headline the benefit.
“Chaldeans love to laugh, love
to give, love to get. It feels good to
prepare a show for them.”
There is no need to prepare material,
however. Oshana has plenty. He
is creating it in his head all the time.
It takes real talent to look at life unfiltered
and ask yourself, “How can
I make this funny?” Each day brings
new material.
Like the fact that he is Assyrian.
People don’t know what that is.
“Does that mean you’re from Syria?”
he is often asked. The subtle nuances
between Assyrian, Syriac, and
Chaldean are hard to explain, but
none of them come from Syria. A
friend told him Chaldeans were “like
the Armenians, but richer.” The differences
don’t matter to Oshana. It’s
all sand, he says.
Comedy is a calling. Jokes may be
learned and timing perfected, but true
comedy is genuine. Oshana has been
doing stand-up comedy for almost
15 years and says it is “1,000 percent
harder than it used to be. Everyone is
so easily offended nowadays.”
He likes to open with recent events,
and sometimes making that funny is
hard work. How does he make a situation
where he is busting the so-tospeak
doors down as an Air Force Staff
Sergeant in Iraq funny? By imagining
that it’s his uncle’s house and that he
gets a good dressing-down.
He has heard his share of gasps
and groans. Influenced by comedic
genius such as Dave Chappelle, Oshana
just likes to keep it real. A true
storyteller, he has found his voice.
Also lending his voice and his
own authentic, organic version of humor
for the benefit is D’Alessandro.
D’Alessandro became an internet
sensation by posting videos of himself
poking fun, doing impressions
and calling attention to the absurdity
of everyday life.
His Italian American heritage
bred a culture not unlike that of Chaldeans,
centered on faith, food, and
family. He’s relatable, personable and
Vincent Oshana
Eric D’Alessandro
personal, posting photos of his own
life on Instagram. Everything he sees
becomes fodder for his comedy.
Influenced by talent such as Jim
Carrey, D’Alessandro is a physical
comedian. His impressions are scarily
spot-on while utterly ridiculous at
the same time. He grew up with a
video camera “the size of my head” in
his hands. He always knew he wanted
to perform and thought he might
one day make a living as a musician.
Like most comedians,
D’Alessandro is a writer at heart. He
jokes about things he notices every
day, things like pop culture and materialism.
Comments on Instagram
Live told Eric there was a huge audience
in Detroit for his jokes.
The CCF is hoping that is true –
they have 1,000 seats to fill in MotorCity
Casino’s Sound Board Theater.
30 CHALDEAN NEWS OCTOBER 2019