That Pablo Francisco is full of energy should not come as a surprise to fans of the stand-up comedian’s stage act. A typical performance will have Francisco bouncing from topic to topic and in and out of his crowd-pleasing voices. He’s probably best known for his mimicking movie-guy voice-over baritone, eliciting laughs from an audience familiar with the clich?d absurdity of a deep, disembodied voice setting a movie scene with “In a world . . .”
Francisco, who performs a series of shows this Thursday through Sunday at the D.C. Improv, is touring behind his most recent stand-up special titled “They Put It Out There.” The one-hour special, his first since 2006’s “Ouch!,” initially aired on Comedy Central in November, and is now out on DVD. It tackles topics like Smart Cars, death metal and little people, and features impressions of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Michael J. Fox.
Pop culture overexposure is the theme of “They Put It Out There.” If people broadcast it, it’s fair game. Few topics are off limits.
| Onstage |
| Pablo Francisco |
| Where: D.C. Improv; 1140 Connecticut Avenue NW |
| When: 8 p.m. Thursday, 8 and 10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 8 p.m. Sunday. |
| Info: $28; dcimprov.com. |
“A lot of comics out there are putting out politics and stuff like that,” explained Francisco during a recent phone interview. “My act is basically a little bit like ‘Family Guy’ plus ‘Saturday Night Live’ divided by the square root of ‘Robot Chicken.’ If people are putting it out there, I’m going to make fun of it.”
Francisco draws inspiration from reality shows and infomercials, and well as things he finds absurd.
“It’s those little stupid things that we have fun with,” Francisco said of his take on such topics as Smart Cars.
Inspired by the realty show “Little People, Big World,” Francisco has one bit in the new special where he speculates what it must be like to be the child of little people.
“It’s OK to do it because they put it out there,” Francisco said. “They signed a contract. So we just make fun of everybody.”
What’s next for Francisco is unknown, but he certainly has options. Maybe a podcast or television show, but he is wary of something too cheesy. In the meantime, he’ll continue delivering his stand-up act.
“The new material thing only comes out if it’s a good, good laugh,” he said. “I don’t want to go up there and try, ‘Give me a topic.'”
