Rob Chen is a Chinese-American actor, singer, and creator from New York. CSA had the privilege of inviting Chen to TCNJ on March 24, 2024 to perform his iconic one-man multilingual show, Blu Room. Rob Chen's Blu Room incorporates comedy and music to encompass issues around anti-Asian hate crimes as a talk show host's grandma tries to call him during work. During a Q&A following his performance, Chen shares that some of the characters and events that occur during the show are based on real events that happened to Asian citizens in the U.S., including a character based on the Japanese jazz pianist Tadataka Unno who was beaten on a subway after being called "Chinese" by a group of men. Unno received critical damage to his right shoulder, to which doctors told him he may never be able to play piano again, and he proved them wrong. Chen also expressed that the characters not based on real people were created as different stereotypical people that are rarely portrayed by an Asian actor in films, like a fraternity brother or a zen stoner. Chen was able to convey a powerful message on the recent implications of the COVID-19 pandemic through humor and original songs that also share the creator's strong ties to his Asian-American identity. "Rob Chen is the next Bo Burnham, he is only going up from here!" - Gianna Barone, CSA President 2023-2024 "今天晚上很有意思!也很好玩" (That night was very informative, and also very fun!) - Dr. Celia Liu, Professor of Chinese Language "I love how Rob was able to share the importance of speaking out against Asian hate in a fun, relatable way." - TCNJ student during a Q&A with Chen Watch the trailer for Blu Room below, and stay tuned for Rob Chen's future performances in the NY/NJ area, as well as future performances at TCNJ. Rob Chen's Instagram: @robchenhere
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