"We have some similarities in how we grew up and what we found funny," Pera says. Melsky is played by Pera's friend and fellow comedian Conner O'Malley, who seems like the polar opposite of Pera in every way. The Adult Swim show rolls out like a toned-down Pee Wee's Playhouse with characters that come and go from Pera's life each episode, like the short-tempered and sarcastic suburban dad and husband Mike Melsky. He muses on the sound of raindrops hitting a window and why he believes "that you shouldn't waste kinetic energy." ![]() In another episode, Pera revisits his Talks You to Sleep video by trying to talk you Back to Sleep. In one episode, Pera hears The Who's "Baba O'Reilly" for the first time and exposes his audience to a life-changing moment that most music fans experience just as they begin to comprehend their musical tastes but may have forgotten. Each show has a theme like rocks and minerals, grocery shopping or simply reading church announcements. Instead of being a stand-up comedian in New York City, Joe Pera the character works as a music teacher in a small town in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Joe Pera Talks to You stars Pera as a fictionalized version of himself. "It seemed like a test along the way, and when the audience seemed to like it, they gave us bigger projects." "We did a short animation for them and that turned into a Christmas special, so we made it live action and about Christmas trees and how to pick the perfect Christmas tree and that springboarded into a show," Pera says. He produced a 10-hour ASMR-ish animated video called Joe Pera Talks You to Sleep that racked up millions of views and led to three seasons of his critically acclaimed show Joe Pera Talks to You. One mind-blowing chunk of Pera's set, in which he tries to help an audience fall asleep while telling jokes, attracted the interest of Adult Swim, the late-night comedy cable network that airs alternative and animated comedy programs like The Eric Andre Show and Metapocalypse. "I remember watching that in high school and thinking traveling around and doing stand-up with friends seemed like the best existence possible," Pera says. The two decided to pursue a life of stand-up on the road after seeing the Comedians of Comedy documentary, the title of which is a play on the "_s of Comedy" trope of live comedy screenings in movie theaters, featuring alt comedians Patton Oswalt, Maria Bamford and Brian Posehn. Pera started writing jokes in high school in his hometown of Buffalo, New York (another perfect touch for Pera's soft spoken persona), with his friend and comedian Dan Licata. ![]() He's a rare laid-back, shy and soft-spoken comic who delivers material that celebrates our commonalities rather than our differences, and in a way that makes him endearingly charming. Pera is a uniquely clever writer with a brave delivery who doesn't try to punch you in the face with his comedy. 15, for two shows, the first of which is already sold out. It will bring him to the Texas Theatre on Saturday, Oct. Pera is currently in the "Fall Everywhere Else" wing of his Summer in the Midway and Rustbelt Tour Part III (Fall Everywhere Else). "It's about being economical with words, so I think it's just about making sure that the writing is high-quality." ![]() "It's just about good-quality jokes that hit hard, because when I'm talking at a slower pace instead of doing as many jokes as I can, I give five good ones that hit really hard," Pera says. And he can still command an audience's attention. He speaks softly and doesn't carry a big stick. It's just a rule.Ĭomedian Joe Pera is the complete opposite. ![]() When a comedian tries to play a character on stage, that character usually has an over-inflated ego or is some larger-than-life specimen whose presence demands your attention by yelling into a mic or speaking with a self-appointed authority and importance.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |