'KIMCHI LIFE CRISIS' TELLS THE TRUE STORY OF AN AMERICAN COMEDIAN'S UNEXPECTED D-LIST FAME IN SOUTH KOREA
Kimchi Life Crisis
LOS ANGELES, CA — What happens when you move to South Korea for K-pop and a paycheck?
In her new solo comedy show, Kimchi Life Crisis, comedian Vickie Hayley shares the outrageous true story of how a temporary move abroad turned into a five-year adventure through South Korea’s entertainment industry, where she unexpectedly became a D-list television celebrity.
“For years I told people these stories one at a time and nobody believed me,” said Hayley. “This show is what happens when you put all of them together and realize your life accidentally became a K-drama.”Blending stand-up comedy, character work, and storytelling, the show follows Hayley’s journey through variety television appearances, culture shock, first attempts at stand-up comedy, body-image struggles, and a series of increasingly absurd situations that include eating bugs on national television, puking up Christmas cake, and being unexpectedly rescued by the Korean mafia.
What begins as a comedy about chasing a dream gradually becomes a story about identity, belonging, and learning the difference between being seen and being valued.
Written and performed by Vickie Hayley and developed and directed by Barri Tsavaris, the show combines personal storytelling with larger questions about fame, ambition, and what happens when life starts feeling like somebody else’s K-drama.
Tsavaris says, “I spent fourteen years living in Seoul, several of them overlapping with Vickie’s own wild detour through Korean entertainment. I wasn’t just hearing these stories secondhand, I was living in that world right alongside her. That gave me a way into the show that wasn’t just ‘this is funny,’ but ‘this is true, and here’s why it matters.’”
Following a packed Hollywood Fringe premiere, Kimchi Life Crisis continues its festival run at The Broadwater.
Performance Information
When: June 21st at 9:30pm, June 28th at 11pm
Where: Broadwater Black Box Theater
Ticket Link: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/13667
About Vickie Hayley
Vickie Hayley is a Los Angeles–based comedian, producer, and digital creator whose work blends character comedy with personal storytelling. A graduate of Cornell University and The Second City Conservatory, she has spent more than a decade performing stand-up and improv, while building an online community of over 100,000 subscribers through her viral comedy videos and livestreams. She co-produces and hosts the recurring comedy show Punchline Playground in West Hollywood, and is currently performing her debut solo show, Kimchi Life Crisis, at the Hollywood Fringe Festival.
Barri Tsavaris is an international director, writer, performer, and producer whose career spans three continents. After training at New York’s Gotham City Improv and Upright Citizens Brigade and earning a BS in Film from Boston University, she spent 14 years in Seoul, South Korea, where she served as Artistic Director of Seoul Players Theatre Company and built an extensive voiceover career, becoming the stadium voice of the LA Chargers and the official voice of the 2018 Winter Olympics. She now splits her time between Los Angeles, Toronto, and New York City.
Media Contact:
Vickie Hayley
[email protected]
