Although the expansive laughter found in a theater setting has kept him going for the better part of the past year, Mark Normand still loves the freedom and excitement he finds in smaller rooms. In fact, as he looks to start crafting a fresh hour ahead of a career milestone, there’s nothing he’s looking forward to more than getting up close with his fans and going a little crazy in the name of experimentation.
That’s the vibe he’s bringing along with him as he makes his way off the road with Bert Kreischer’s Fully Loaded Comedy Festival and heads to Chicopee’s Loft Comedy Club for four shows starting on Wednesday (July 12). After years on stage, Normand is still avidly not a fan of writing his jokes, but the spark of joy he holds for stand-up is found within the actual riffing and working through jokes that may or may not land. Especially in front of a Massachusetts comedy crowd, a demographic he considers to be one of the best comedy cities in the world, that’s the best scenario he could ask for as he looks to sculpt his next hour.
“I’m not very writer-y, so I’ll just come in with a bunch of ideas and let the audience take it in the right direction. I can just throw it out there and feel it out where they aren’t laughing at this, but they’re laughing at that, so I’m constantly editing and recording sets to listen back later,” Normand tells Vanyaland. “It’s a whole process, but you can only really do that in a smaller room. And of course, Massachusetts crowds are just the best for that. They don’t get offended, they get the jokes, and they enjoy comedy because they’re already funny people, so you really have to bring the heat.”
Reflecting on years passed, when he was a virtual unknown, Normand knew he had to play to the masses in order to prove that he was funny to keep crowds intrigued. Now, he’s in a much better place where he feels lucky that people are coming out to see him with prior exposure to his approach and delivery, and both fully expecting and embracing the quick-draw punchlines and unfiltered but lighthearted viewpoints that have made him an elite-tier joke writer.
“When the crowd has a better sense of who you are, that’s when it gets really fun, because then you can get down to the nitty gritty and really play around with them,” says Normand. “As a young comic, you have to earn it out of the gate, of course, where you have to prove to people that you’re funny. But now, I can just say horrible shit immediately, and they’re on board.”
His following has already reached a significant amount of loyal fans following a smattering of albums and specials like his 2020 self-produced YouTube special Out To Lunch, but he’s prepared to have that reach grow even further later this month, with the release of his first hour-long Netflix special, Soup To Nuts, which premieres on July 25.
Of course, he’s excited for the milestone achievement of scoring a special on such a massive platform, but he’s quick to admit that it’s hard for him to stop and smell the roses, per say, or even notice his own creative growth, especially after the long, grinding, and trying journey it took for him to get there.
“I equate it to when you were a kid and your dad drew the line on the door jam to show how much taller you had gotten over time. You don’t exactly realize that you’re getting taller, but then you step back and see that you’ve grown three inches since last year. You just don’t think about getting taller. You just keep going,” says Normand. “So that’s what the Netflix special feels like for me, where it feels awesome, but I’m so busy, my head is down and I’m hustling so much that I don’t always take a minute to realize that things are getting better, so I have to tell myself to stop and enjoy it.”
For anyone even remotely familiar with Normand’s work on stage, it’s known just how hard he’s hit the comedy trenches since starting out in the game over a decade ago. Whether it’s been in the form of stand-up on stages in all forms from clubs and colleges, to theaters, arenas, and even performing impromptu, stripped-down sets in Central Park during the early days of the pandemic, Normand has consistently flexed his impressive comedic drive in any way he sees fit.
At the forefront, that drive comes from a genuine love of the craft, but at a foundational level, the NOLA native doesn’t shy away from admitting that the fire in his eye also resides in a low self-esteem that makes him feel like he’ll lose everything he’s worked for if he doesn’t just keep his head down, soldier on, and continue to try new things. Seeing it as the equivalent of weightlifting in comedy, as much he shins the cliche phrase, in order to keep the edge that has catapulted him to a spot that has made him one of the most well-respected talents in the game today, Normand’s attempt to expand his creative arsenal in the new special has proven, at least to himself, that he can take some chances with the material and ultimately still stick the landing.
“In this [special], I take some bigger swings. It’s kind of ambitious. I wouldn’t say I tackle taboo subjects, but I go against the grain of what I’m used to, and I go a little deeper in this one, but that’s what I’m nervous about,” says Normand. “I always get worried that people won’t respond to it or won’t get it, because at the end of the day, I think everyone wants McDonald’s. But with this one, I feel like I’m taking some weird turns with the cooking, and I hope people like it, but it definitely is a bit more experimental for me than before.”
Aside from being able to hop on an Amtrak instead of a plane to make his way to Massachusetts, Normand is looking forward to starting over as much as he is anticipating the celebration of the new special. But above all else, he’s jazzed at the prospect of being able to take advantage of the level he’s worked to get to in the game that enables him to take the stage and just let loose and figure it out as he goes.
“It’s the beauty of this level that I’m at, where I can just take my time to figure it out instead of feeling the pressure to kill,” says Normand. “It’s fun to be in this position where you can be yourself, try new shit and experiment. I’m a very lucky guy to have that space.”
MARK NORMAND :: Wednesday, July 12 and Thursday, July 13 at The Loft Comedy Club, 92 View St. in Chicopee, MA :: 5 and 9 p.m. both nights, $45 :: Advance Tickets