I could not come and showcase the live show cases

because I did not want to break my contract

with the University of Superior, University

of Wisconsin at Superior, performing in their cafeteria.

I'm like, guess these non-traditional students

are getting my Conan showcase set tonight.

So, so I appreciate you keeping up with me.

(upbeat music)

[J.P.] A lot of work goes into a short,

late night, stand up set.

Join me, J.P. Buck, as I spotlight the comedians

who came up with some of my favorite Conan sets.

This is, The Setup.

[Conan] Please welcome, the very funny Mary Mack.

I'm trying to remember when you and I first met,

like I feel like, if I go back I feel like

my mind was erased at some point

because I feel like you've always been

in my comedy world.

Yes, yeah.

Like, I can't remember a time when

I didn't know you as a comic.

Somebody recommended me for Andy Kaufman,

Andy Kaufman awards in, um, that year was

at the HBO comedy festival in Vegas that year.

The Andy Kaufman awards were established

by Andy's family years ago.

And to try and recognize people

that maybe the mainstream was ignoring.

And what was great is the show that I got to

produce was hosted, and we got co-hosts Reggie Watts

and Kristen Schaal hosted the show.

And I remember so many people afterwards came back

and were just telling me about how great you were.

I remember the first comment I ever saw of yours about me

was, she's interesting (laughing)

Whoa, yeah, encourage me no further.

Like I was like, that's the best comment I ever got.

All anybody ever said was, they'll never get it.

You won't fit, I'm like, that's strange.

They say people will never get it because

I've done shows in all the States

and seems like we all have a pretty good time.

(upbeat music)

Back then, submissions where, I had a lot

of submissions through VHS tapes.

I think that's what my first, the first things you said

to me, I think were on VHS.

After VHS it transitioned over to DVD

and that became a lot easier to keep.

Yeah.

So I have, this is book three of a library of DVD

submissions I got,

I've actually looked, there's, there's the first person

in this book.

It's the M book starts with Mary Mack and there are four.

And then there are like, there are 12.

Now total.

12! You can never throw those out

cause I don't have copies, I don't have copies.

Boy, I'm surprised I didn't send you like reel

to reel or cassette tapes or Beta.

Okay, but thanks for keeping those.

So we met 2007, you weren't on the show until 2016.

You sent me an email and apologized

The 8 years that you were busy.

You noted in here, you say the jokes

in the following set had been tried

out in 34 of the United States, Canada and Mexico

and seemed to hit in all the places.

I know, I do my own scientific experiments,

like I don't feel good about a joke going on TV.

I feel like I need to try it in at least 11 States.

Like that's my minimum States.

I need to know because it's a thing cause I grew up

as a kid in very sheltered area.

So even still some of my words aren't the right words

that people in other States understand.

So I have to do all these like trial and error.

Like I keep little logs, but that's what comedy is.

It's just this experiment.

And then, you know, yeah, it's interesting.

(upbeat music)

You know, how I warmed up to do it was we went down

and we were doing nine shows at the Clay County Fair

in Spencer, Iowa, which is the largest County Fair,

I'm sorry, sorry to brag everybody,

but the largest County Fair in the Country, J.P.

Really!

Yup. Yup. So I do three days

and I do three shows a day and clean to farmers

and the lion trainer from, there's tigers next door

to me all the time.

I have to always be more entertaining than tigers.

Otherwise nobody's going to come.

That's a lot of pressure.

So I did my Conan set up top, every show, for nine show,

three shows a day, three, three days, nine shows.

And for the first five minutes of every show,

I got complete silence to that set.

And I was like, I think it's good.

Cause I was like, I think that if they don't like it,

it's probably going to be good.

So, (laughing) That was like my rationale.

That's the good, those are the real people.

Right? So like if I do some jokes in a

a room of just comics and they like them,

I'm not going to do those jokes on TV, most likely

or even in a, like at a corporate or venue, I'm like, Oh

all the comics like these then I don't think it's okay.

Because you're not playing to the real people.

You're just playing to the other scientists.

And so I got to get those real people in there.

(upbeat music)

Uh, so excited to be here.

I have two degrees in clarinet so, that's why I do comedy.

Ah, clarinet never came in handy

for anything unless maybe like you're driving

and then you hit a deer and you don't have a crowbar

in your trunk to put it out of its misery.

Yup. Yeah.

Last time I hit a deer, I had my clarinet with me

and I only got through like two songs

and he was out.

I think that was a good way to start it out.

Just tell us a little bit about ya and then

and then your humor is there.

Cause it's dry and yeah, it was, I liked,

I still that's one of the jokes they still use.

(upbeat music)

You have your own sort of way of talking.

You have your, you have, you know, you've

you've got an accent and it's like,

What accent J.P.?

I think I just tried to be as much me as possible.

And I just kind of like after years of like places saying,

can you, can you work on your O's?

No. So, I mean, just like after years of rejection

you just have to accept yourself.

The farther along I got in comedy, it was okay.

I felt it was really okay.

Just to be honest about, you know

I talk a lot about the alcoholism in my family,

growing up poor my own experiences with therapies

and stuff like that.

And, and all I can do is just be myself and

and luckily it's a little bit entertaining at times.

I had a bad critique one time that said of some other show,

it's the lady was like, "It's like she doesn't even know

what she's going to say next."

And I was like, that's the whole point!

That's what I'm trying to go for!

Well, she got it she just didn't realize she got it.

Yeah, She got it and hated it.

A lot of people don't know I have jokes because

they're just sentences, you know?

And sometimes if you said a sentence and didn't really

like ham it up on that sentence,

people wouldn't be aware that was a joke.

Like a lot of people don't believe in antidepressants,

but for a while my mom had taken them

and I felt great.

Um,um.

Like if you say it like that, sometimes people would just

be like, Oh, that's not very nice, but you know

it's a comedy set.

They're ready for comedy.

So, so they get it at night and I hammed it up enough.

(upbeat music)

And then, Ah, your cute,

That was the worst applause break ever on this show.

(applause)

Tall, tall drink of water over there. Huh? (applause)

Andy Richter. (laughing)

You can tell Conan loved the idea that you were

doing a little bit of like pulling him closer

and then hitting, you know, knocking them down.

with that tall drink of water.

And he just goes, he was just like, yes yes.

And you know Andy Richter.

In a situation like that where people

were like, is it okay to clap?

We don't know if we should laugh or clap or,

And so I'm like, Oh no, that was weird.

I got to put everybody on the same page again

like I got to restart it

so that people feel okay with whatever their response is.

So, so then I just, I just acknowledge it anytime.

And even when I'm doing a live show I'm like, Oh man

I hope something weird happens.

So that even when I'm even, I know this was a live show

but when I'm doing my regular club shows, I'm like

I hope something weird happens.

So we all have something to talk about.

I've lost track of the applause breaks by the way.

(upbeat music)

Well, let me leave you on some parting advice if I could.

Don't ever let people walk on you, okay.

I got a, I got a new motto.

(shouting) I am not the victim. You want to try it?

Yeah? Ready and I am not the victim.

I am the killer. (applause, laughing)

The tagline is you got to think positive or yeah,

cause you gotta think positive.

I didn't know how to put the tagline in there

because they enjoyed the, I am the killer part.

So I was like, okay, I guess I'm done.

Yeah. Sometimes.

I mean, you make those audibles sometimes out there

and you're like, well, this is such a good reaction.

Why go out? and go after one more line

that may have diminishing returns.

Yeah. Louie Anderson told me one time he ended

a set two jokes early because he knew

he could never follow, those jokes would never follow

the one that he did end on.

(upbeat music)

(applause)

Great, fantastic, great job, hilarious

Ah, you're great, Your space work is so good.

Oh, thank you, I'm a mime yeah.

Yeah, yeah.

Mary Mack ladies and gentlemen, that's our show,

good night everybody.

He's just very talented

and a smart guy and a gracious person.

And I just needed him to know that he does a great job.

I wanted to tell him right there

you're doing such a great job.

And I needed to tell him, cause I was like

I might never get to talk to him again.

He's got to know he's doing a good job.

That was really your moment there for him to tell you.

And I love that.

It's so you to be like, no, no, no, no.

I want to let you know how much I appreciate you.

I'm amazed by Conan.

Like I, ever since the first time to do it

I've been bragging about him because he's amazing.

Like you don't see other shows like that where

A, the host is gracious to start with and kind of nice.

And then you, the show you see on TV is so close

to the show that he does live.

Like it there's really not much change.

You know, I see other people try to do television shows

and there they make the audience stay there