Photo Credit: Matt Misisco
Some comics arrive in the world surrounded by a family whose funny antics becomes a career path to stand-up comedy. Others have personal or professional circumstances thrust upon them that reveal their gift of humor. Then there are those like Michael Palascak, for whom an attraction to eliciting laughter from others was simply intuitive.
“I just really liked it as a kid,” Palascak recalls, adding, “I liked making people laugh a lot. I was kind of stupid; like I never really considered whether I had a talent. I just knew I really enjoyed it. And that when it worked, it felt effortless. And, so I went to try and do it as a job. "
Palascak gives himself too little intellectual credit, as his material belies wits that don’t sacrifice warmth, transparency and vulnerability. And though he’s has had 16 years of experience behind the comedic mic, he says that his appearances on Friday, December 11 at The Laughing Tap (706B S. Fifth St.; 414-885-0129) for both online streaming and in-person attendance and Saturday December 12 for a strictly in-person event are “my greatest accomplishment.”
Some of his prior experience includes a stint on NBC’s “Last Comic Standing” that landed him in the top five among the show's contest among stand-ups. “It’s exciting being in a competition like ‘Last Comic’ because it’s very finite.” In contrasting his experience on reality TV to life as a touring comedian, he adds, “When you’re on the road doing multiple sets a night in different cities every week, you have to focus a little more on remembering to enjoy it.”
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The Beauty of Performance
One of his “Last Comic” judges remarked that Palascak possesses an enjoyability that would translate well to television sitcoms, too, but he’s not inclined to take that route, “Stand-up always seems much more concrete. I write material and then go and perform it. I see a great beauty in performing for audiences and not being a TV and movie star, and I will enjoy that as long as I get to.” If a viewer notices Palascak’s frequent smiles during his performances on late-night talk shows and Comedy Central, they are likely due in good part to his musing on his good fortune at being able to engage in work he enjoys and brings others enjoyment. Some of those grins may also come from his being the father of his two-year old son, Jackson.
Parenthood has provided comedic fodder for pretty much forever; and though Palascak’s approach to relating life as a dad is affably, sometimes exasperatedly, candid, he’s plainspoken in describing how shares his parental trials and triumphs: “I focus on my specific experience.” Though he’s not evangelistic about it, Palascak is actually more effusive about life with his heavenly father as experienced through his Roman Catholic faith.
“Before the pandemic I went to mass every Sunday or Saturday. It was definitely a part of my childhood, and I held onto it as I grew up and it grew to define me as a person. It’s reflected in my humor in that I’m pretty clean. I don’t swear at all.” That last point doubles as a professional courtesy, as he explains, “I always wanted everyone to be able to enjoy my comedy, and I wanted to make sure people wouldn't avoid it because they were really offended by language or anything. Also, a career in comedy can be really stressful, and God alleviated that for me.”
And though it’s not quite divine intervention, Palascak acknowledges that his talent can provide some decompression for his audiences, too. “Live entertainment, especially stand-up comedy, can just really turn someone's day around.” By turning out for him at The Laughing Tap in person or catching him online there, you can help Palascak fulfill his wish for little Jackson as well.
Or, as proud Papa Palascak puts it, “I’d like to be able to give my son the best opportunities to pursue whatever dreams he wants to when he’s older because that's what my parents gave me, and the best way to repay them is to do that for my son. Or actually repay them.”
Here’s Palascak speaking of a woman in his life prior to Jackson’s mom and the trouble in saying “I love you” too soon to a significant other-to-be...
