Area Voices: Comedian Mary Mack returns to Bemidji

BEMIDJI — It’s safe to say that everyone has a different path to find the right career for them. For Mary Mack, stand-up comedy didn’t even seem like a real job when she was growing up.

“I only saw one comedy special in my life, and it was on a VHS tape and it was Louie Anderson back when I was a little kid," Mack said. " ... I didn't even think that was his job. I didn't think you could do that.”

It wasn’t until Mack formed a polka band with her roommate and performed in Nashville that stand-up entered as a possibility. They had to stall for time between songs, and Mack would talk to the crowd.

“Pretty soon, the crowd said, ‘You know what? We like the talking better than the song.’ So that's how I got into it," she said.

It took a while for Mack to find her “voice” in comedy. Eventually, she realized she could just be her honest self on stage. She grew up with a family of storytellers, so it seemed natural to translate that into stand-up.

“I guess all your life experiences help you find your voice,” Mack added.

Mack was born in Minnesota and raised in Wisconsin, where she grew up in the woods. She was a fan of the Prairie Home Companion radio show and started out singing silly folk songs. She would accompany herself with a mandolin.

“Then it just turned into what it is now, where I try to write really efficient jokes, and, if I can, weave them into a story,” Mack said.

Mack credits Minnesotans' willingness to poke fun at themselves for why there seems to be such a rich history of stand-up in Minnesota. It ebbs and flows each decade, but it seems to be at a high point lately.

This is not Mack’s first time performing in Bemidji. She thinks it’s a fantastic place for her style of comedy. She thinks of Bemidji as a place that appreciates the arts and craft culture, even if it’s a little colder than the Twin Cities.

“I feel like the colder you go, the better the sense of humor,” Mack said.

Her show is at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 7, at the Rail River Folk School. She is hoping to do two parts for the show with new material. Tickets are available on her website and the Rail River Folk School Facebook event page.

Mack finds the Rail River Folk School to be a really fitting venue for her style.

“It's a little outside of town, kind of feels sort of rural and folksy, and so I think it's a really good fit for my comedy," she said.

In addition to being a stand-up comedian, Mack also works on the show Solar Opposites, which just began its sixth season on Hulu, and she runs the multi-camera variety show North Star Comedy Hour, which comes out on Apple Podcasts.

“I call it Prairie Home Companion meets Red Green with an edge," Mack said. " ... And that's my passion project.”

Tell us about upcoming arts events where you live in Northern Minnesota by emailing psa@kaxe.org.

Area Voices is made possible by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.