Jamie Campbell’s ‘Big Dad Energy’

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Photo via Jamie Campbell - jamiecampbellcomedy.com

Jamie Campbell

Jamie Campbell

Ever been mistaken for someone or something you aren’t? Do you acknowledge that resemblance and run with it? Fatherly, but childless, comedian Jamie Campbell has accepted what others see in him and is advancing his career from it. 

“In recent years, I’ve noticed that a lot of people who first meet me make the assumption that I have kids,” Callahan observes. “Something about me just seems like a father. One time in a conversation, a friend noted that I gave off dad vibes.”

Campbell has employed those vibrations for his stand-up act, or at least his 2023 debut special, into what he calls Big Dad Energy. Of the concept that goes a long way in defining his comedic persona, Campbell explains, “I think Big Dad Energy is something that a lot of people harness as they enter middle age. They’ve amassed four decades of knowledge, of learning from their own mistakes, and they want to pass this wisdom on. Those who have kids pass it onto their offspring. I don’t have kids. But I have a microphone.” 

The microphones on stage at Interchange Theater 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 8 will be shared by Campbell and his Milwaukee friend and fellow funnyman, Shawn Shelnutt, for the opening date of their Kill 'Em with Kindness Comedy Tour. “Killing” in Campbell’s and Shelnutt’s profession refers to making audiences laugh, but the other k-word in their tour’s name merits equal, if not greater, importance. 

Complimentary Comedy

“Coming out of the pandemic, I really wanted to avoid cynicism in my comedy, Campbell emphasizes of the approach to shtick he shares with Shelnutt. “The world had just gone through this collective trauma, and I thought audiences could use something that lifts us up.” One genuinely refreshing aspect of Big Dad Energy Campbell endeavors to include in every show is crowd work rife with compliments. 

“Instead of roasting audience members,” Campbell remarks, “I decided to find something nice to say to them.” Those uplifting bits, still capable of eliciting chuckles, make for one of myriad ways in which he and Shelnutt want to enhance their crowds' lives. Amidst each comic’s individual set and improv incorporating, among other things, something Campbell calls the Bucket of Dumb, their interaction with attendees will venture deeper into the realm of impromptu counseling. 

“There is a point in the show where we have audience members tell us about their problems,” Campbell reveals, “and we give them our advice to overcome whatever they’re facing.” Admitting to the possible danger in this concept, he continues, “We realize that there’s potential for audience members to bring up some pretty heavy topics, and we decided that we aren’t going to shy away from getting real when the moment calls for it. We’ll still find a way to mine big laughs, but we want to take those problems seriously.” 

If his complimentary interactions with ticket buyers and offering on-the-spot advice calls for in-the-moment thinking, Campbell’s training in improvisation abets plenty to those ends. 

“Improv is a big part of my history as a comedian," Campbell recalls of his training in Second City’s grad school-like Comedy Studies program, a “full-time college program where students at other universities can travel to Chicago to learn improvisation, sketch writing, and other facets of comedy from instructors at one of the world’s most famous comedy institutions.” During his eight years of improv and stand-up in the Windy City, Campbell made a connection of sorts to the city he is soon due to play. 

Sketch-and-Talk

“Probably the most pivotal part of my experience in that city occurred with ComedySportz, which of course, was founded in Milwaukee,” he recollects of the Chicago CSz division he joined 2010. He eventually produced a weekly stand-up showcase, a sketch-and-talk show. “It was the opportunities that ComedySportz provided that allowed me to pursue comedy full time,” Campbell says gratefully. 

He also offers gratitude for the support and input of his wife, Jessica, to make his comedy career possible. “My entire world outlook would be very different without her,” he offers. “She helped me to shape the material by being a sounding board. Without her, I’d still be living in an apartment with a bullet hole in the wall.” 

Bullets can kill, but not in the way that Campbell and Shelnutt intend to do with their Kindness tour. “I love to tell stories about my own life experiences, but I can never resist a good dad joke, either. I’m still a wide-eyed kid at-heart, but I’ll occasionally surprise you with a little bit of wisdom.”

Here Campbell tells of how being liked by children doesn't necessarily equate to being an acceptable parent...