Let’s be honest: Dating in Los Angeles can make you feel, in a word, delusional.
Some women in their 30s may have expected modern dating to resemble an episode of “Sex and the City.” Gen-Z, brace yourselves because your time is coming. Instead, we got dating apps like Bumble, where algorithms claim to know our personalities better than we do. What could possibly go wrong?
It’s sad but it’s also funny, especially in the hands of LA comedian Chrissa Sparkles, who started doing comedy after a divorce.
“I did my first stand-up show literally two months after my breakup in 2022, and I just never stopped,” she told The LA Local.
The Filipina American performer — a former fashion designer and Pilates instructor — pivoted in her early 30s to become a content creator and stand-up comedian.
Since then Sparkles, who brands herself as a “hot divorcee,” has turned her dating experiences into material, creating millennial-focused tracks like “Pre-Teen,” “Disney Channel” and “Imaginationships,” songs that satirize romantic expectations and modern dating culture.
She’s bringing her touring comedy show “DELULU (In Progress)” to the Stray Theater in East Hollywood on June 5. “It’s a show for everyone, particularly people of color and women of color, especially the AAPI community,” she said. “There aren’t many stories like this being told.”
In 2023, Sparkles went viral with a “Filipino Barbie” video, featuring a first-generation Filipina who chooses an artistic career over more traditional expectations. The character was part of a broader series portraying personas shaped by ADHD, imposter syndrome and burnout.
“I made these Barbie comedy videos around the time the ‘Barbie’ movie was coming out, and it really shifted the trajectory of my career,” Sparkles said.
A musical theater background made performing feel natural. In college, she explored improv but did not initially see comedy as a career path. That changed after her 10-year marriage ended, when she started finding comedy in her personal experiences.
“Making comedy about my Filipino identity has allowed me to find and build a community I was seeking growing up,” Sparkles said. “I didn’t feel accepted by Filipinos as a kid, and now I have a community of women and people who share that experience.”
As her audience grew, her work shifted toward more overtly political themes. Sparkles released songs such as “F*CK ICE” and “Don’t Date a Fascist,” using humor as a form of protest and expression.
“I think my political videos have been my favorite way to connect with people,” she said. “My inner child is really proud to express myself in that way.”
You can get tickets to her Stray Theater show here.
