‘The Switch’ is back with comedian Matt Ziemak

click to enlarge ‘The Switch’ is back with comedian Matt Ziemak
Matt Ziemak hosts “The Switch” at Hotel Congress. (Matt Ziemak/Submitted)

One of Tucson’s longest-running comedy shows will be back in the mix starting Monday, June 19, at Hotel Congress, home of “Retro Game Show” and “Lady Ha Ha.” Tucson comedy veteran Matt Ziemak will host the return of “The Switch” — the first comedy show he was invited to perform on more than a decade ago.

The source of “The Switch’s” enduring popularity is audience participation. Audience members submit prompts via text to the show’s phone number. Hosts pick the best and the toughest ones and guest comedians must make up jokes about them on the spot.

The energy and spontaneity tend to trip up the featured comedians in hilarious ways. Standup comedians are forced to work in the moment, and improvisers must channel their humor without the support of an ensemble.

In an updated twist from earlier iterations of the show, Ziemak said that audience members who want to try the game can drop their names in a bucket for a chance to take the stage themselves.

Ziemak isn’t exactly sure when “The Switch” began or who started it. An early organizer, Pauly Casillas, handed the project over to him before the pandemic. The Facebook page that Ziemak inherited with the job started in 2012.

It would be another year before Ziemak stepped onto a comedy stage. He was just two months shy of 21 when he mustered the nerve to go to his first open mic at Laff’s Comedy Caffe. That night, and almost every Thursday night for two months, he sat in the green room before and after his three-minute set. He wasn’t allowed anywhere that people were drinking.

“I loved comedy since I was a kid, and eventually, I worked up the courage to do it,” Ziemak said. At the time, he worked at a yogurt shop where a coworker said that he, too, wanted to try standup. The co-worker dropped out after a couple of shows, but Ziemak pressed on as a regular.

Reflecting on his early years in comedy, he said, “I think when you start comedy, you think you know it all, but there’s a lot of good info if you’re willing to accept it.”

“In the beginning, you’re kind of doing an impression of what you think standup comedy is,” Ziemak said. “Then eventually you start delving into topics that are more specific to your interests. That’s how you find your voice and who you are. I think over the years you just kind of figure it out.”

In a new development since Ziemak started, some now enter the scene with stage-ready sets they created in standup classes at Tucson Improv Movement. But Ziemak stressed the importance of welcoming feedback from more experienced comics. “The scene has just continued to grow,” he said, “Which is good, because you get a good perspective from a lot of people.”

Even as the local scene has grown, Ziemak noted that the environment for comedy has changed radically. “I think comedy’s a little different now,” he said. “You don’t necessarily have to live in other places to have the opportunity to have a strong connection with folks you met online.

“There are a million comics, but there’s no shortage of audience online,” he said. “I’ve talked to a bunch of club owners, and they’ll bring in people who aren’t even necessarily standups. They’re the video makers of Instagram and TikTok, and these people sell out the club instantly because they just have a crazy following.”

Meanwhile, new comics are turning up at a dozen independent local open mics, and in record numbers at the Thursday open mic at Laff’s Comedy Caffe. Similarly, although “The Switch” was once one of only two or three independent shows where a new comic could perform, now there’s at least one show nearly every week.

Asked to describe how he felt about his onstage debut at “The Switch,” Ziemak couldn’t have been more candid. “I was pretty bad, I think,” he said.

And now he owns it.

The lineup for the June 19 show includes Jacob Breckenridge, Joe Tullar, Jesus Otamendi, Zo, Chris Quinn and Anthony Jenkins, plus an audience member or two drawn from the bucket.

Sharing the hosting will be Autumn Horvat, host of the open mic at Mr. Heads on the last Wednesday of every month.


More venue switches in Tucson’s Comedy Scene

Rich Gary reboots his popular “Comedy Roast Battle” at 8 p.m. Saturday, June 10, at The Rock, 136 N. Park Avenue. The show pits comedians against each other in a bracket. The audience decides who slammed the others the hardest, and Paul Fox will defend his crown. Tickets are $10 in advance via therealrichgarycomedy.ticketleap.com. Look for “Battle at the Rock: A Comedy Roast Battle.”

Rebecca Tingley will host a new, 7 p.m. Tuesday mic at Bumsted’s, 1003 N. Stone Avenue. Comedians will get 5-minute sets. She and Paul Fox previously hosted the “Blazed and Amused” open mic at Arte Bella.


Other shows this week

Coyote Trail Stage, 8000 N. Silverbell Road, 7:30 p.m. Friday, June 9, maranalaughs.com/shop, Marana Laughs Clean Comedy, tickets start at $10, Ron Morey, Hollywood improviser and Las Vegas regular, known for anecdotes, characters, impressions and physicality.

Laff’s Comedy Caffe, 2900 E. Broadway Boulevard. 8 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. Friday, June 9, and 7 and 9:30 p.m. Saturday, June 10, laffstucson.com, $15, $20 preferred seating. Patrick Garrity, “The Never-Ending Tour.”

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, June 8, “Harold Eta” and “Shatfan;” 8:30 p.m. open mic; 6:30 p.m. Friday, June 9, improv jam; 7:30 p.m. “The Soapbox”; 9 p.m. Improv vs. Stand Up; 7:30 p.m. fan;” 8:30 p.m. open mic; 6:30 p.m. Friday, June 9, improv jam; 7:30 p.m. “The Soapbox”; 9 p.m. Improv vs. Stand Up; 7:30 p.m.