Humor has always been a part of Jon Fisch’s life. He grew up watching stand-up performances by Jerry Seinfeld, Roseanne Barr and Dennis Wolfberg with his father. And inherited the same sense of humor from his father and brother — together the boys would always crack jokes.
“I felt bad for my mom when all three of us were together,” Fisch said in a phone interview.
Fisch, now an accomplished stand-up comedian, along with other comedians Vanessa Hollinghead, Johnny Lampert and Joe Materese will be performing Friday at 8 p.m. at The Newton Theatre in Newton.
A former Boston, Mass. native, Fisch has made appearances on NBC’s Last Comic Standing 4, Comedy Central’s Premium Blend, VH1 and 3 Men and a Chick Flick on the WE Network where he served as a host.
Highlights in his career include appearing on the David Letterman Show and NBC’s Celebrity Apprentice and being handpicked to open for Jerry Seinfeld in 2009 at Gotham Comedy Club.
“It was pretty awesome to open for him,” Fisch said. “He complemented me and talked about me on stage after I introduced him.”
Fisch has also performed at multiple festivals including the 2007 HBO Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, the 2010 Great American Comedy Festival at the Johnny Carson Theatre in Norfolk, Nebraska, Montreal “Just for Laughs” Festival and TBS’ “Just For Laughs” Comedy Festival in Chicago.
Although funny by nature, Fisch didn’t realize comedy was his calling until high school.
“I always liked being funny,” Fisch said. “I was not a class clown but more of having a line to throw out and from there I kind of fed off of getting that laugh. It became more clear in high school and college.”
After college Fisch became a Mental Health Counselor in Boston, while taking a comedy workshop couple in 1997 to 1998. Fisch says taking this profession on has helped with his stand-up routines.
“It came in handy when you are dealing with a group of people,” Fisch said. “You are used to talking in front of people and I always found some kind of thing psychologically that helped deal with audiences.”
Fisch is, for the majority, no longer nervous heading onto the stage except when entering a new venue or trying out new material. But that’s what his father is for.
“A lot of times I call my dad and he calms me down,” Fisch said. “He’s also my litmus test to find out whether or not the material is too edgy or dirty. If my dad laughs and likes it, I know its appropriate enough.”
On stage, Fisch doesn’t wing it as some believe of comedians — instead he has a routine and will interact with the audience too.
“It’s a very big misbelief that stand-up comedians will risk an entire show by winging it,” Fisch said. “Essentially I have a script that I am constantly adding to and perfecting. I have an outline so I know where I want to start or end, sometimes I meander and feed off the audience too. I for one will go into the crowd if necessary, because I like the show to be different otherwise why not listen to my CD?”
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