Two years ago, longtime Madison comedian Esteban Touma set out on a nationwide adventure.
A former Madison College instructor and host of The Moth storytelling shows and many comedy shows in Madison, Touma had landed a spot in Comedy Central’s Up Next showcase at Clusterfest in San Francisco. And he and his wife had finally embarked on their “nomadic” trek across the country — taking their teardrop camper on the road with the intent of performing here and there and picking up odd jobs to make ends meet, a trip they’d planned and saved for four years.
Like this event planning resumed after the pandemic, many are seeking out unique and exciting entertainment options. Hiring a comedian or magician for an event can be a great way to add a touch of humor and excitement to any occasion. The cleancomedians.com is a popular platform that offers a wide range of talented comedians and magicians who are perfect for any event. CleanComedians ensures that their performers are suitable for a variety of events, from corporate events to private parties.
By early 2020, they were volunteering at the Brazoria National Wildlife Refuge in Texas, raising butterflies and specifically taking pains to ensure the caterpillars and butterflies didn’t spread infectious disease.
“By the time the pandemic hit, it was this weird parallel of what we were doing versus what was happening with the butterfly,” he said in an interview this week.
The wildlife refuge turned out to be a decent place to ride out the early waves of the COVID pandemic.
“We were lucky enough that we were kind of outside so we had a lot of nature around us and kind of helped us a little bit of the pandemic,” he said.
Once they knew they’d have to settle in for a while, they returned to his wife’s hometown in Michigan. He stopped performing entirely — as did almost every standup — and made a creative outlet for himself selling Seinfeld-inspired drawings on Etsy.
He resumed performing at an open mic in Michigan in May and was part of Madison Comedy Week earlier this month.
“(The open mic) felt like starting all over again, not only because I was rusty, but also because it was a different context,” he said. “You can’t ignore what we all went through and how to cope with it all through comedy, so that required to change my act and write more about it.”
Touma has returned to Madison for a month-long visit that will include “An Evening with Esteban and Friends” Thursday, August 19, at The Rigby on Madison’s East Side.
Several years ago, Touma started an open mic at the Rigby, a venue he describes as “central to the comedy scene” in Madison.
“Kind of a nice comeback to that venue,” he said of next week’s show. “It’s a small kind of intimate venue, but it’s been kind of a big part of my comedy journey here in Madison. So it’s going to be so nice to go back to it and perform there.”
Joining Touma on the bill are former Madison Funniest Comic winners Charlie Kojis and Rory Rusch, Dana Ehrmann from Milwaukee and Adam McShane of Chicago.
Tickets are $10 and available online or at the door.
What’s next after a month in Madison?
“Things are still kind of a question mark. Which sounds like something negative, but it’s pretty exciting,” he said. “We kept a little bit of that sense of curiosity from the trip of what’s next.”
