Comedian, musician, and internet personality Parker Callahan makes his Fringe debut with ‘Soda Pop’ at the Assembly George Square Studios. Parker is a best known online for creating quirky, one-of-a-kind videos under the digital moniker @parkthelark, which have amassed millions of views and likes.
‘Soda Pop’ is a multimedia, stream of consciousness journey into the mind of a slightly deranged gay man. Featuring original music, Parker keeps his audience laughing and asking, with a mix of horror and delight, “is this the gay agenda?” One moment he’s singing a song about underwear being sold at the thrift shop, and the next, he’s calling the police on one of his audience members who looked at him in a weird way!
In this chaos, Soda Pop invites you to take a break from thinking too much and instead follow your dumbest, most delightful impulses. Absolutely no trauma is explored, dissected, or prodded. This is pure fun. That’s not to say there’s no substance - throughout the show, Parker explores everything from the vulgar to the divine, the mundane to the profound: the full, ridiculous spectrum of the human experience. Simply put: Soda Pop is a pop concert–Ted Talk–spectacle led by a twink in a Speedo. Any questions?
‘Soda Pop’s’ visual language is a fever dream of 2000s paparazzi shots, late-night infomercials, and watermarked stock photos no one paid for. Musically, Parker runs the gamut from absolute bangers to dramatic ballads
Parker is also a formally trained musician. He hails from Chicago, IL — a city known for its vibrant comedy scene, and in recent years, a breeding ground for extremist alt comedians like Meg Stalter, Connor O'Malley, and Sarah Squirm. Parker proudly emerges from the same swamp and stands on the shoulders of his greatest influences like Cole Escola, Tim Robinson and Sam Richardson, Maria Bamford, Tim & Eric, Pee Wee Herman and John Waters.
Parker was named a Character New Face at the 2023 Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal. He directed and starred in a sold out run of Stepmom — a lesbian-leaning reimagining of the 1998 Julia Roberts/Susan Sarandon classic— at Chicago’s prestigious Steppenwolf Theatre. Additionally, Parker co-created Ru Paul’s Drag Race winner Willow Pill’s inaugural national tour ‘God’s Child’.
Parker Callahan’s debut comedy hour ‘Soda Pop’ will be at the Assembly George Square Studio 5 from July 30 to August 24. Buy tickets here.
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 take a centering breath and mutter something inspirational like “you got this you stupid bitch.” Since I perform in a tiny little speedo I do pay extra attention to make sure my bits are secured, and I try to enter every performance with the energy I hope my audience will give me back.
What irritates you?
Nothing!!! I live a frictionless existence. JUST KIDDING I don’t care for children, religious zealots, and people who can’t figure out how to walk on a sidewalk without getting in my (very fast) way. A proselytizing 12 year old on a city corner? That’s my ultimate enemy.
What is the most dangerous thing you have ever done?
One time I went hiking in Montana with my best friend. Montana famously has grizzly bears which are apex predators. To avoid surprising them, hikers are advised to make constant noise: talking, clapping, singing. So there we were, deep in the woods, performing the entire tracklist of Lady Gaga’s Artpop (this was 2014, after all), when we saw it: the broad, ominous rear of a grizzly bear about 100 feet ahead. We froze (the worst thing you can do). We stared (the second worst thing you can do). And after a minute of paralyzed horror, our brains finally rebooted and we realized it wasn’t a bear. It was a tree. A weirdly round, suspiciously bear-like tree that had fallen by the side of the trail.
Phew! With fear chemicals still coursing through our bodies, we laughed, shook it off, and carried on singing. Now, the trail we were on was a loop trail. And on our way back, we passed a group of visibly shaken hikers who told us they had just seen a grizzly. We laughed and said, “Oh, that wasn’t a bear, it was a tree!” Rightfully confused by our response, they showed us a photo. It was not a tree. It was a mama grizzly with a cub in tow (very dangerous), and from the direction we were coming from, we most certainly should have encountered them. So, to summarize: I am alive thanks entirely to Lady Gaga’s perfect song “Venus.”
What is the most stupid thing you have ever done?
I once worked as a comedian on a cruise ship for several months. That’s not the stupid part. Cruise ships employ all kinds of performers (circus folk, singers, jazz pianists, etc) but the most formidable of them all are the ballroom dancers. These people are superhuman. They can execute elaborate choreography and death-defying lifts on a stage that’s being rocked by the raw fury of the open ocean, and somehow still look hot as hell doing it.
So, there I am at a port in Bermuda, invited to a performer cliff-jumping excursion at a place called Spanish Point. There are three tiers: 5 feet, 15 feet, and 40 feet. (Sorry to the metric freaks out there who don’t know what I’m saying.) It took me a while to psych myself up for the 5-foot jump, but I did it, and it was fun! So I tried the 15-foot. Also fun! A little scarier. And then I noticed the ballroom dancers casually hurling themselves off the 40-foot cliff, laughing, splashing, calling out, “You can totally do it!”
So I climbed to the top, where there is no ledge, just a dirt runway- basically a pebbly chute you have to sprint down and launch off of to clear the rocks below. I wound up, sprinted, panicked, stumbled, and with the grace of a newborn giraffe, flailed my way off the cliff. It was a long enough drop that I had time to think: “You have to break the water with your feet.” Guess what I didn’t do? Yeah. I broke the fall with my scrotum. It’s a good thing I’m gay, because that ended my chances of procreating.
So, what’s the most stupid thing I’ve ever done? Trusted dancers.
What has surprised you the most during your career in comedy?
Honestly? That people like what I do. It still surprises me every time. My style of performance is kind of a gamble; it asks the audience to buy into something a little unusual, and that buy-in isn’t guaranteed. But more often than not, they do come with me. And every time they do, I’m a little bit shocked.
What do your parents think of your job?
My parents are very supportive until I swear, take the lord's name in vain, or talk about sex. Unfortunately, those are my three favourite things to do. I can’t really hold it against them; in high school I was a little bit of a 1950s all-American goody-two-shoes-baby-angel, and that’s the last time we all lived together, so in many ways, that’s who I still am to them. It must be jarring to see their little boy be such a gay freak.
What’s the worst thing about being a comedian?
I really don’t see a downside. Being a comedian has afforded me the funniest friends, brought me around the world, and provided me a very fulfilling, entertaining life. I suppose the only downside is that my bar for what is funny is very high, and sometimes I wish I could just be laughin’ at the dumbest shit.
I think you are very good at what you do (that’s why I’m asking these questions). What do you think of you?
That’s so sweet omg thank you cutie and 2) I really just try to make jokes that would make me laugh, and so I enjoy what I do. It’s a nice side effect that it makes other people laugh too.
How much do you earn and how much would you like to earn?
I’m so rich.* And no amount of money will ever be enough.**
*I am, in fact, poor as hell.
**In truth, I think limitations (financial and creative) are often the secret ingredients to making good, impactful work. So really, I just want to earn enough to live comfortably and to pay my collaborators fairly.
How important is luck in terms of career success – have you had lucky breaks?
Luck is everything. The only wisdom I feel confident enough to share is that you will find yourself in lucky situations if you treat people well and foster relationships built on mutual admiration and respect. That said, my actual luckiest break? I once found my now-favourite jacket lying on the ground outside a graveyard at midnight. So, yeah. Be kind, stay open, and occasionally check the sidewalk near haunted locations.
Alan Davies has said that comedians fall into two categories - golfers and self-harmers. The former just get on with life, the latter are tortured artists. Which are you – or do you think you fit into third category?
Oh I’m a golfer. Full stop. The tortured artist identity is heterosexual nonsense. Go to therapy, get medicated, and stop holding audiences hostage with your unprocessed anxieties.
Who is your favourite person ever and why – not including family or friends or other comedians?
JESUS! (just kidding, can you imagine?) My favourite person ever is Cher. If your reaction to that isn’t a knowing nod of agreement, we’re simply not compatible. I’m not going to grovel and explain why you should love and respect Cher (for both her career and her person.) And no, it’s not just because I’m gay. (Though gayness is a powerful antidote to the tired old “she’s just an old pop star” nonsense croaked out by the sloppy mouths of stupid men.) Some of the most respected artists of the last century (Meryl Streep, Tina Turner, Robert Altman, Mike Nichols, Elton John, shall I go on?) revere her. So if you think your opinion holds more weight than theirs…I suggest you take a long, quiet moment of self reflection followed by a viewing of Mermaids (1990).
Do you keep your drawers tidy and if not why not? (please think long and hard about this question, it's to settle an argument with my girlfriend. The future of our relationship could depend on your response).
The state of your drawers is a reflection of your own self worth, so yes, I keep my drawers an absolute mess.
Parker Callahan’s debut comedy hour ‘Soda Pop’ will be at the Assembly George Square Studio 5 from July 30 to August 24. Buy tickets here.
PICTURE CREDIT – PAUL OCTAVIOUS
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