LAUGH TRACK

The GRANNY CART GANGSTAS, a rambunctious group of Asian American sketch comedy actors, gives a hilarious peck into our culture.

- NIC FELICIANO

A CHILLY 50-DEGREE SAN FRANCISCO BREEZE slapped me in the face as I exited the Powell train station in 2018. I just made the reverse rush hour commute into the city from Downtown Oakland after putting in a full eight hours at my office job. I was a little early and very anxious on my way to my first writing and improv workshop ever with Granny Cart Gangstas.

Just a few months before joining Granny Cart Gangstas, I found Bindlestiff Studios, a long-standing volunteer-run black box theater dedicated to Filipino and Filipinx American performing arts located in the heart of the SOMA PILIPINAS, San Francisco’s Filipino-American cultural district. I just returned from a trip home, where I spent a lot of time with my ailing father. Feeling lonely and alone as I often do when I return from trips to Manila, I answered an advertisement looking for a Tagalog speaking actor. I auditioned, got the part, and found my comedy family there, Granny Cart Gangstas.

Granny Cart Gangstas (GCG) is a loud, rambunctious group of 20-plus Pinay and Asian American sketch comedy actors and writers representing a diverse range of generations and gender expressions. Founded by Ava Tong and Aureen Almario in 2013, the troupe was named after the infamous granny cart: a metal basket with wheels dragged around by Asian elders to carry their belongings, often found on the streets and on public transportation. It disrupts spaces and asserts a sense of radical belonging, much like the work and ethos of Granny Cart Gangstas.