Comedy in the Chaos

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Image: pattonoswalt.com

Patton Oswalt "Who's Ready to Laugh"

After months of doing comedy bits virtually, Patton Oswalt is ready to get back on the road to do standup and embrace the genuine connection a live setting provides. He will perform at Pabst Theater on April 8 as part of his aptly titled “Who’s Ready to Laugh?” tour.

“It's great to be back out in three-dimensional life,” says Oswalt during a recent phone interview. “As Bobcat Goldthwait said, ‘It reminds you that the internet is not the world.’… [People] are very anxious to get out.”

Those in attendance should expect the unexpected. The show is an hour-plus of all new material—no greatest hits here. “I want them to be surprised. That's the whole point of comedy,” says Oswalt. “I don't want them to anticipate.”

Despite still healing from a foot injury from earlier this year, Oswalt is in high spirits for his trek. He said he could hop around on it a little but also has a scooter to help him move around.

“I can't walk on it for a long time, but I feel like by the time I get to these shows, I won't be using the scooter,” he says.

“I don't get to move around as much,” he continues. “I kind of stay in one place, but I can punctuate things for the little glide here and there. But for the most part, it's made me kind of refocus and sort of stand still at the mic.”

Oswalt says he tries to be “as present and funny as I can be on stage, and just talk about whatever's going on right now.” Prior to his appearance in Milwaukee, the Shepherd Express caught up with Oswalt about being finding a variety a way to get laughs out of his fans.

Did the time off the road give you a chance to work on your comedy writing?

I tried to do some writing, but I do my best writing when I’m on stage. Like working things out. So, I didn’t do that much writing while I had my downtime. It just kind of felt more about just trying to keep my sanity and keep things together. Which I talk about on stage.

You're seemingly everywhere these days with a variety of projects. How do you find balance with it all and stay sharp as a comic and performer?

I just try to accept, I kind of embrace the chaos and know that every day's going to be different for me. Some days I’m acting, some days I’m writing on stuff. There’s no traveling on the road. But I just think of it as, it's all me getting to do creative stuff and that's what keeps me happy. So, I like working, I like making stuff. So, keeping that attitude about it, not being so specific about each project, I think is what kind of keeps it lively. That’s how I keep the balance.

As a standup comic, what are your thoughts on Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at The Oscars?

I haven’t really processed that yet. It’s still pretty fresh for me. So, I’m still kind of working that out in my head. I’ve seen so many bad takes on it that I’m reserving my judgment for a little bit.

What are some of the most interesting interactions you’ve had with fans or other performers?

Fan interaction for me is more about me just talking to people on stage and talking to the audience and kind of riffing with them. But the times when comedians get heckled aren’t memorable for us because we pretty much know how to shut that down. I’m more excited to see if the material that I’ve written actually works, that’s more my focus.

What are some of the biggest inspirations for your material for this tour?

Probably just my circle of friends. Before I started doing standup, it was people like George Carlin and Richard Pryor up there. Once I started, it was just like peers, all my other comedian friends, who I went with and build off of, and we just watch each other’s stuff. And that's always kind of energized me. That’s always been my main inspiration.

You're starring in the new season of “Mystery Science Theater 3000,” which will be on its own streaming service The Gizmoplex later this year. What was it like being back on the show and working within that DIY atmosphere?

It was really, really fun. That whole crew is really creative and original and the scripts that we got to do, both Felicia Day and I, and Baron Vaughn and getting to work with Joel again. It’s fantastic. I’ve been a fan of the show since the early ‘90s. So just getting to be on it feels like winning a contest.

Joel is originally from Wisconsin. It must be nice to have that connection with him.

Oh yeah, Joel. Joel's amazing. He used to be a standup. So, we both have kind of feet in that world so that we definitely link up on that.

On a “Parks and Recreation” episode, your character Garth Blundin imagined Boba Fett surviving. That series of events recently came true recently with “The Book of Boba Fett” series. What was it like seeing that become reality? Do you have a dream Star Wars role?

It felt pretty good. It felt surreal to have this thing that I riffed out, kind of be almost word for word. That felt pretty good.

As far as my dream Star Wars thing, it’s something that completely takes me by left field and surprises me. I don't want any more of the things that I have been wanting. I want someone to totally surprise me with a new angle that I did not see coming. That's what I want. That’s what I want the next thing to be.

It's been great watching your connection with the Marvel, with the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D And M.O.D.O.K. What’s it been like in the play around in those Marvel worlds?

It’s great. It’s an amazing toy box to get to play with, both as an actor and as a creator with M.O.D.O.K., we got huge characters that we’re hoping that they’d let us use. And then with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, you're getting to do action and you’re popping up against other iconic characters. It feels pretty great. That whole world is really, really fun to play in.

After this tour, what are some things you're most looking forward to?

There are a couple things now that I can't talk about, because of NDAs and things are in development. But I definitely have a full slate. I’m excited for people to see the show that I did for Starz, it's called Gaslit, that should be good. So, I’m excited about that. And then there's other stuff that I can't talk about yet.

For anyone that would be getting into comedy, what advice would you give for writing comedy?

As writing, just start doing it. You just start writing or start, if you want to be a comedian, start going on stage, start doing it. If you start, everything else will follow. You have to start first. You can't think about it. You just have to start doing it and then see what happens. That's always my advice. Just start.