Community Corner

Swisshelm Park Comedian Prepares for Summer Tour

Ron Placone is getting ready for a tour that he planned himself after honing his comedy craft since 2007.

Ron Placone is making people laugh at an absurd world as he gets ready to embark on his first extensive tour across the country.

“The cool thing about it is that it’s on my own terms and there is a little bit of everything,” he said. “I am going to Chicago, Boston and basically going to these places to introduce myself and in all these towns, I know comics and have some feature weeks in clubs I haven’t worked yet.”

Placone, 26, who grew up in Forest Hills and now lives in Swisshelm Park, has been doing standup comedy for about four years. He got his start in 2007 after moving to Seattle, where he got involved in the scene there – one that he calls “laid back,” which gave him a chance to grow.

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“I started out really weird and was really ranty, but it was hard for me to hone what it was I was going for, but you know I am still working at it,” Placone said. “When I first started, I would just go up and I bombed a lot at open mics. I would have these weird put together rants that made sense to me and no one else but people there enjoyed it because they could tell I was going after something.”

Today, Placone is a regular at open mics in Pittsburgh and spends a lot of his time on the weekends traveling the region for gigs in Ohio, West Virginia and elsewhere.

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He originally thought comedy would be a great way for him to break into his original passion – talk radio.

“When I got into it I realized what an awesome art form it is and how many different things you can do with it and I am still learning what all is out there,” Placone said. “There are a million different directions you can go, which is intimidating but also kind of cool. When I was younger I had the stereotypical idea of a standup comedian being someone in a bowtie that talked about his wife. When I was older, I discovered Bill Hicks and really got into George Carlin and stuff like that.”

Currently a graduate student at Duquesne University, where he studies rhetoric and philosophy, Placone recently began a web series called, “Thoughts, Rants and Cold Coffee,” which can be found on his website at www.ronplacone.com. The two to five minute topical episodes mirror some of his standup acts, joking about the news and other current events.

“It’s really a chance for people who are working to just take a break and laugh,” Placone said.

As he independently finalizes his tour, which he leaves for in about a month, Placone said getting onstage and telling jokes is always a personal highpoint.

“When you really connect and you can tell people are onboard with what you are doing, that still feels great. That is still really, really cool,” Placone said. “For me, I just like expressing an idea with a punch line and when it connects and people see where you are coming from, it’s a special thing to do and it’s really rewarding and kind of let’s you know you’re not alone, too, which is nice.”

Placone’s last show before leaving for the summer tour is April 30 at Corner Café in South Side Slopes. Wherever he takes the stage, his goal remains for any of the audiences he gets to perform in front of.

“Most of all I want people to enjoy themselves - you should enjoy it,” he said. “And I would like to if people are kind of into what I am doing I would hope they would check out my site, read my blogs and check out the new segment. There’s more than just standup to most comedians.”


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