Let’s see how we can all just chill together.
Joe Pera comes to the Rialto Friday, Feb. 24, on a trajectory that’s taken him from film school and a grinding open mic regimen through a groundbreaking indie series on Adult Swim and now on to bigger and better-known theaters.
Having committed to a comedy career as a kid, he chewed through all the open mics in his Buffalo hometown, then moved to conquer NYC’s comedy stages. Ultimately, he found traction with an animated, 11-minute short feature that promised to put us to sleep. Literally, “Joe Pera Talks You to Sleep” attracted an almost cult-like following, including the nerdiest and most popular entertainment news outlets.
The show’s draw was its novel conceit: humdrum things can be comedy gold if we just chill. Simply acknowledging them and reacting authentically can be laughable, especially when a comic can maintain an affect and tone somewhere between Mister Rogers and Garrison Keillor.
Nighttime cable TV channel Adult Swim followed the crowd drawn to that 11-minute special and underwrote the series, “Joe Pera Talks with You” for three seasons. Mind the preposition; he talks directly to the camera.
Benign and bordering on charming, the conversation is always smart, thoughtful and never banal or even ironic. It’s also very funny. The shows characters are un-stylish, natural yet remarkable, like spring water.
The hat trick is in the subtle craft of the writing. You have to know who you are talking to, for instance, when you pen a monologue about the pleasures of discovering “Baba O’Reilly” that will have a large swath of audience doubled over with laughter.
When, after three seasons, Pera broke the news on his website that the show was canceled, he said, “The more I learn how TV works, the more I realize that it’s kind of a miracle that our quiet, 11-minute show about rocks, beans, grocery stores and breakfast crews got on the air and lasted as long as it did.”
It might be a miracle, but it’s no accident. The path was laid out in childhood. “I have a nice mom and dad, and I grew up within 5 minutes of both sets of my grandparents,” he said. “That definitely affected the humor that I’m interested in and the types of characters.
“We (laughed) a lot in my family.”
Pera’s affect is that of a preternaturally centered individual. But his calm belies his discipline and unswervable drive or the exacting nature of his writing. None of these qualities are assumed of a comedian, but he’s in his happy place.
He noted that when he started out, “Comedy in general was a little bit more in your face. I remember Dane Cook was yelling a lot, and there weren’t a lot of soft-spoken comedians doing standup. There’s more variety in comedy now than I can remember, and there are more different niche areas.”
Pera took his time building his career, starting with the front row of every venue. To do the comedy he wanted to do, he needed to be quieter than most comics. He developed a technique for engaging the first few rows and letting the set roll out to the back as each row began listening. “It helped me learn how to write good sharp jokes,” he said. “People would tune in if I maintained my approach and didn’t rush. If I could connect a bunch of good jokes in a row, hopefully the attention would spread back to the rest of the room.”
For the much larger audiences who turn out for him in the wake of his success with “Joe Pera Talks with You,” he said he’s leveled up the crowd work a little and his material is entirely new.
“I’m interested in presenting a new show to them with stuff they haven’t seen. All the jokes I’m doing have tested real well in New York and around. There are spots I leave flexible to have some real interactions with the audience.
“I’m excited to get to Arizona, and Tucson in particular. I heard you have some unique rocks that you definitely can’t find on the East Coast.”
Joe Pera: “Comedy in Ice” w/Pauly Casillas, 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 24, Rialto Theatre, 318 E. Congress Street, ticketmaster.com, Tickets start at $17
Other Shows This Week
Bumsted’s, 1003 N. Stone Avenue, 6:30 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 25, ladyhahacomedy.com, $15, Sex Comedy Show with headliner Xazmin Garza, seen on HBO’s “Comedy Chingonas,” hosted by Mo Urban and Priscilla Fernandez and featuring Madi Shuman, Morgan Kuehn, Lux Shree, Kyle Verville and Jackie Carpio
Laff’s Comedy Caffe, 2900 E. Broadway Boulevard. 8 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 24, and Saturday, Feb. 25, laffstucson.com, $15, $20 preferred seating. Sean Finnerty, for those who just love laughing with an Irishman.
Tucson Improv Movement/TIM Comedy Theatre, 414 E. Ninth Street, tucsonimprov.com, $7 each show, $10 for both shows, same night, free jam and open mic. 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 23, Class Showcases Improv 301 and Standup 101; 8:30 p.m. Open Mic.; 6:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 24, Improv Jam; 7:30 p.m. “The Soapbox;” 9 p.m. Standup Showcase; 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 25, “Tootpole” Musical Improv and “Game Show Show;” 9 p.m. “The Dating Scene”
Unscrewed Theater, 4500 E. Speedway Boulevard, unscrewedtheatre.org, $8, live or remote, $5 kids. 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 24, Family-Friendly Improv; 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 25, Improv Basics Showcase (free admission), 7:30 p.m. Family Friendly Improv; 9 p.m. Uncensored Improv Comedy with house teams NBOJU (Not Burnt Out Just Unscrewed) and The Big Daddies.
