Ed Hill remembers taking his wife to his folks' home in Coquitlam and flipping through his childhood photo albums with her.
When Hill landed scenes from his teenage years, his dad peered over their shoulders and pointed to an image of Hill made up as a goth with bracelets and long hair.
"All the family vacation pictures were ruined because there was this guy dressed up for rock concerts," Hill joked with the Tri-City News.
His dad wasn’t pleased with his appearance, though.
"Stupid Ed," he told Hill's wife.
The comment may have hurt many kids, but for Hill, it brought a level of acceptance about his earlier years and who he became.
Hill, a Pinetree Secondary graduate who’s best known as an award-winning stand-up comedian, will talk about his experiences as a Taiwanese–Canadian — and about his relationships with the women in his life — in a new show at the Vancouver Fringe Festival next month.
Titled Stupid Ed, the performance runs Sept. 8 to 11 at the Revue Stage (1601 Johnston St.) on Granville Island.
It is Hill’s début show with the Fringe. It's also a spin-off of his current touring material, as well as a test run for his upcoming residency in New York City.
Next spring, Hill will perform a version of his Fringe material at The Tank, an off-off-Broadway venue on 36th Street in Manhattan that supports emerging artists.
The polished show will then be filmed by Brightlight Pictures for his second comedy special and streamed online.
Hill said he'd like to explore more of the theatre format than stay on the comedy circuit.
"I love performing in comedy clubs but there’s also a limitation to them," he said.
"The Fringe allows for more flexibility. I'm also no longer chasing the laughs anymore like I used to. I'm chasing the silence — the moments when everyone is on their tip toes and there's that uncomfortable tension in the air.
"I'm learning how to be comfortable with it, and how to be comfortable on stage and being observed as to who you are."
"Self-acceptance is learning to love yourself through others," he said, adding, "I'm hoping to be authentic at the Fringe. I hope the audience can see themselves through me; my struggles and triumphs are really no different from others."
Tickets to Stupid Ed are $15 each, and you can find more information on Hill's Vancouver Fringe Festival page.
