Comedian Zach Zucker is the perfomer who plays comedian Jack Tucker onstage. Zucker is an American performer who studied clowning with the master of the craft Philippe Gaulier. Cult hero Tucker is a schmuck who thinks he is one of the stand-up greats. Zucker can currently be seen as Tucker at the Soho Theatre. It's a masterclass in anti-comedy, with Tucker's performance packing in verbal gags, props, high kicks, fake eggs, slapstick, collapsing sets and even a shot at topical satire. All this and a splendid routine about The Baha Men's Who Let the Dogs Out.
Read a review of Jack Tucker at Soho Theatre here.
Zach Zucker performs as Jack Tucker in Jack Tucker: Comedy Stand Up Hour until 27th July @ Soho Theatre https://sohotheatre.com/events/jack-tucker-comedy-stand-up-hour/
Read an interview with Zach Zucker below
What is the last thing you do before you go onstage (apart from check your flies and/or check your knickers aren't sticking out of your skirt and check for spinach between your teeth)
I’m pretty superstitious and diligent when it comes to my pre-show routine but I’m also an idiot which means I’m constantly forgetting things and scrambling for costumes/props moments before the show starts - sometimes even as it’s starting. Obviously I’d prefer the show goes as planned but I find that part of the process hilarious and always hope the audience does too if they catch it. But if I do have my routine down, I’m usually tucking my shirt back into my pants and yanking up my underwear as high as I can, stuffing both pistols in my waist and my back, checking to make sure I have my apples, my pockets are stuffed with money and Jack’s best friend chicken (the rubber chicken in his pocket) before pouring whatever amount of water I have left all over my body so I’m entering the stage as wet as possible.
What irritates you?
Literally, cats irritate me. I have a severe cat allergy which has caused irreparable damage to multiple friendships and romantic partnerships throughout my life. I’ve tried for over three decades to coexist with those little bastards but no matter how many inhalers I have or how many allergy meds I take, the feline species has spoken and they have decided that I am not welcome. It’s awful. Now when I meet someone and I find out they have a cat, it doesn’t matter how much we have in common or how well we work together or how much of a connection we have. It’s over. We have no shot. Sooner or later I’ll never be able to hang out with you because I won’t be able to breathe. And it’s heartbreaking every time.
What is the most dangerous thing you have ever done?
Probably when my comedy partner Dylan Woodley and I changed the Hollywood letters to read Hollywoodley last year. We had been planning this for like 4-5 years and never really thought we’d get a chance to do it. But after many many “coincidental” meet-cutes with local workers in the LA City Parks Dept, local security guards, welders, and set designers, we were able to sneak up to the Hollywood sign in the middle of the night and the 3 extra letters to the end. The scariest part was doing it at night. We’d done the journey many many times as “tourists” walking around the area and scouting out the location during the day, but doing it in pitch black was unlike anything I’d ever done. Long live the sign changing gang!!
What is the most stupid thing you have ever done?
Just so the billions of readers know, this is the last question I answered because I am struggling to narrow this down as I constantly make even stupider decisions every day. When I was 4 I used to throw rocks through windows because I didn’t understand what glass was but loved the sound it made. I used to prank call my substitute teachers from the back of the classroom and pretend to be local pizza shops demanding payment for a delivery that never arrived. And after Napoleon Dynamite came out in the early 2000s, the “back of the bus gang” led by yours truly (bragging) used to throw endless items out of my school bus windows while we were driving down the highways— brooms, police radios, decks of cards that would then explode on car windshields, it was pretty intense. I used to also steal yarn/string from the home ec classroom (suck it, Ms. Figgie!!) and tie things to one end and let them dangle out the window and our bus driver tolerated it. She was a real one, should out to Eva who had the Edgewood Middle School Route.
What has surprised you the most during your career in comedy?
You always hear stories of the “big bad industry” not taking risks on nontraditional creators that excel in a certain aspect of the industry - specifically live performers breaking into film and television, and live performance being filmed as specials and variety shows. I know I’m biased but it’s remarkable how boring and unimaginative so many of the decisions the people in charge make. As a showrunner and a booker you have to dare to take risks and make mistakes. And every time we don’t do that, we fail ourselves as creators and make our audiences dumber. Regurgitating the same shit over and over so it distracts them rather than entertains them. The worst part is they’re missing out on a whole new generation of stars with exceptional talent right in front of their eyes, who tick every box they claim they’re looking for but they can’t even see it. Sad.
interview continues here.
