After Pablo Francisco got fired from his job at Domino’s, he started going to his local comedy club and discovered that he wanted to pursue comedy.
“I saw all these guys and wondered if they had a second job, but they didn’t — comedy was their full-time job,” Francisco says.
And thus Francisco joined the comedy scene. Originally, he wanted to go to school for film, but was convinced otherwise by a club owner.
“He walked up to me and asked me, ‘I know you want to go to film school to be a movie director, but how much is that going to cost you? Why don’t you start here, you can host some shows,'” Francisco recalls.
Since then Francisco has worked for “MADtv,” has his own half-hour special on “Comedy Central Presents,” and has appeared on multiple shows including “Last Comic Standing,” “FrankTV,” and “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.”
“It was a hobby that turned into a career,” Francisco says. “I didn’t know I could get paid and tell jokes at the same time. Don’t listen to anyone else that says you can’t; just put yourself out there, upload videos to YouTube, and make it.”
Francisco’s next stop is Columbia, where he will put on multiple shows at Deja Vu Comedy Club on Friday and Saturday night.
Eccentric is an understatement when describing Francisco’s unique comedic style. He loves to rap, beatbox, and has countless famous impressions. Even during his interview with MOVE, he broke out into Joan Rivers and Bill Cosby.
When asked what his audience should expect at the show, Francisco tells us, “We’re gonna talk about Dog the Bounty Hunter, infomercials, those long disclaimers, Iggy Lasagna or whatever her name is –– you don’t need to be a fan, just come down and we’ll all bond.”
Francisco says that he dabbled a little bit in acting when he was younger, but knew that comedy was his true calling.
“I was in a traveling acting group when I was 13. Acting is fun, but with comedy you are your own writer, director, and editor.”
He also says he learned a lot from his experience working for the show “MADtv.”
“Working for MADtv was really great,” Francisco says. “It was always exciting, meeting stars, working with a different ones each week. And knowing that people are putting thousands of dollars into your ideas is just hilarious itself. You can say, ‘I want a giraffe!’ and a giraffe will pull up from the zoo.”
Francisco is teaming up with Kansas City-based comedian Steve Kramer, who shares a love of celebrity impressions, for this weekend’s shows.
“I’m excited to have Steve,” Francisco says. “ He’s like a ‘In Living Color,’ ‘Saturday Night Live,’ and ‘Robot Chicken,’ divided by the square root of ‘Family Guy.’ We’re gonna goof around and make fun of people, without being bullies. That’s what comedy is about.”
