Photo courtesy of @seanpatrick.moore on Instagram
“I’m fairly certain I’ll die poor in my van,” Sean Patrick Moore predicts bleakly regarding his demise. “But,” he adds hopefully, “that’s kind of how I want to go. I’d prefer dying rich in my hot tub, but I prefer broke in my van to not doing comedy.”
Here’s wishing him a less dire end, but the Northern Wisconsin native will be doing what he loves this Saturday as he hosts and performs at the two drive-in stand-up shows Milwaukee Comedy and ACA Music & Entertainment will be presenting on Friday, Sept. 18 at Waukesha's North Coast Center for the Arts (705 Larry Court). Start times are 6 p.m. and 8 p.m., with Kristin Lytie, Ryan Mason, and Will Krolowitz filling out the bill.
Moore’s has attempted in the past to make people laugh for enough money to support himself and his son. His current go at it comes, in part, due to his former area of employment coming under coronavirus-related restrictions. “I quit bartending twice to become a full-time comic and was pulled back in due to unfortunate circumstances,” Moore recalls. The current pandemic may have forced his hand, though, “Then bars were shut down because of COVID. This is my third attempt at stand-up comedy being my main source of income, but stand-up at my level cannot pay the bills by itself. I made big sacrifices to my lifestyle to make this work, but it’s fine. Comedy is a thing you get into because you’re passionate about it, not because you want to make money.”
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Funny Bartending
Moore touches upon his former profession in his act, but his past as a mixologist proved more valuable for his future in comedy in another regard. As he relates, “I’ve come up with a few bits about bartending, but the real way bartending was an asset was getting to try out my material on different groups of people all the time.”
More apparent from an initial glance at Moore than his past as a barkeep is his imposing figure. He's a big guy, both vertically and horizontally. And like girthsome comics including Louie Anderson and Gabriel Iglesias, he's unafraid of making light of how heavy he is.
“I’d say it’s a relatively relatable topic that people can easily make fun of themselves about. Most people struggle with weight and being able to make jokes from hardships is one cornerstone on which stand-up was built," Moore offers. Another point many people have in common is not being raised nor living in cities as big as Milwaukee, or even Waukesha. To hear him tell it, his small town upbringing has played into his comedic pursuits, too.
“I kinda grew up in a town called Goodman. I went to most of middle and high school in Crandon and lived in a town called Hiles. I’ve always lived in small towns. I imagine it lent its hand to my developing sense of humor in that I spent more of my time watching comedy than hanging out with friends.” And though Moore claims, “I was always funny,” it took a triptych of circumstances to what was once a “someday maybe kinda thing” to the dream he’s fulfilling.
“What really made me actually do it,” Moore recollects, “was a combination of my buddy, Tommy, giving me a copy of Stand-Up Comedy: The Book, seeing Dustin ‘Screech’ Diamond perform live, and hearing about an open mic all around the same time.”
The places where Moore saw the aforementioned Saved By The Bell actor and paid dues as a fledgling comedian were likely quite different than playing outdoors to an audience in their cars and lawn chairs. But he’s game. “I’ve never done comedy like this and I’m excited to see how it works.”
Here’s Moore in self-deprecating action (though his kid isn't off the hook either) last year...
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