Beer and Laughter at Lakefront Brewery

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Photo Credit: Ryan Mason

“What usually makes something funny to me is when something doesn’t turn out quite right, the classic bait and switch.”

So says Milwaukee comedian Ryan Mason of what fuels the humor he takes to the stage. His next stage is at Lakefront Brewery (1872 N. Commerce St.) for the latest of Milwaukee Comedy’s monthly Keg Stand Up show at 7 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 5. The first scenario coming to Mason’s mind as to something that went awry hits not just close to home, but in his home.   

“Take for instance potty training my kids. A lot of it was gross and not very fun. But the times when my son accidentally peed right in his own face allowed me to step back and say, ‘Hey, this isn’t so bad.’ Comedy is a great escape for when you have a problem or if you need to laugh at yourself. I usually look at the things in my life that I am ruminating on and find ways to make fun of it.”

And if he’s making fun of his boys, you can bet it’s out of fatherly affection. The record of Mason’s comedy on the clips of him available online witness that parenthood has imbued his stand up with a warmth and focus not as evident prior to his kids’ arrival. As he explains, “My kids are hilarious, and I’m obsessed with them! I think having kids opens up a part of your mind and your emotions that allows you to feel a little bit more. It has made my comedy better to have something that I care so deeply about. To write about something you’re passionate about, or to create any art, takes a special kind of obsession that being a parent really aligns with.”

The comedic benefits of having children come not only from having a perennial source of inspiration for material, but also from the manner in which the kids have forced their father to compose that material. “As a parent, you’re always in that super-tired, half-sleep zone of punchy and irritable,” Mason says, adding, “It’s a great place to write from.”

Milwaukee Comedy Culture

Mason is not in danger of becoming a comedian bound by his domestic circumstances, however. As a lifelong Milwaukeean, he sees his hometown as a source of inspiration. “We had a lion roving the streets, an alderman building weird giant mansions, and we have a cast of local celebrities from Milverine to David Gruber that make this a place that’s rife for parody.” Mason may get in some jibes at his city’s expense at Keg Stand Up, but he’s also quick to boast of it as a haven for nurturing comedy culture. “Milwaukee is pretty unique in its nature of having a comedy scene that is so supportive and constant for a smaller city.”

He adds that there are other advantages in Milwaukee. “The biggest perk with a small scene is that you can get up on stage a lot, and you can get to do more time quicker than you might in a bigger city. For example, you can get on stage at multiple open mics every night in Chicago. These are generally short sets from three to four minutes each. In Milwaukee, you might only have the chance to perform once a night, but there are fewer comedians here; so, you have a better chance at being booked for a 10-minute spot at a local show or traveling to the more rural communities to the North and West.”

Milwaukee not only provides opportunities for comedians, Mason says, but examples of hilarity and professionalism to pattern one’s comedy career after. Speaking with a kind of civic pride, he adds, “I would say that Milwaukee is lucky to have had some pillars of the comedy community that help keep the scene alive. We’ve had comedians who have spent many years in the world of comedy like Chastity Washington, Chris Barnes, Russ Martin and others that put down the playbook of how to conduct yourself and how to be a good comedy scene member.”

But that’s not to say Mason wouldn’t like to go further. Apart from making comedy his full-time employment, what’s his next ambition? “I would like to be on TV or do any sort of work that is professionally filmed. Is that so much to ask?! Tim Higgins, one of my co-producers for my monthly show, ‘Deep Space,’ was in a film last year called The Field along with Barry Bostwick and Mark Borchardt. And now, I’m jealous. So, that would be my big goal.”

Apart from his monthly sketch and improv showcase, it’s not like Mason's professional pipeline is wanting for activity, though. “I am releasing an album that I recorded last year with Milwaukee Comedy and my comedy partner, J. Tyler Menz,” he says. “It’s coming out early this spring, and I am really proud of the content, so look for that.” And traveling comedy aficionados can look for Mason on the road as well. “I’ll submit it to some festivals around the country at the start of the year here, and I’m going to push myself to get to some new clubs, different states and in front of as many audiences as I can.”

Like so many other comedians, Mason has a podcast, too. And, like many, his occupies a unique niche ripe for humor. He explains, “It is called Welcome to Reality, and my wife and I interview comedians after forcing them to watch reality TV, which my wife is a certified expert on. It has been great, and we’ve averaged about 30,000 downloads a month, which feels significant. If people like comedy or reality TV, I would recommend checking us out on iTunes or Spotify.”

If that's reason enough to hear Mason, why see him at Keg Stand Up? “All of us just got through the holidays. For sure, we need to laugh after whatever crazy trauma our families and chosen means of travel subjected us to.” Mason has been writing about his experiences of the previous month and would like you to hear what he and his fellow Keg Stand Up comedians Chelsea Hood, Carly Kane and fellow Wisconsinite Nate Craig have to say about it, too.

Here, Mason is going on about how one of his sons started cussing and plenty else in a routine recorded a couple of years ago: