Charlie Chaser
Charlie Chaser is a satirically un-funny stand-up comedian persona, initially presented as stand-up performances at the Globe Pub and High Hat Club in Chicago in April 2015. In every instance, whether live or broadcast, the persona has been intended to take place during times of crisis and tumult.
After the stand-up performances, the Charlie Chaser persona appeared in a series of audio recordings broadcast in a series of 11 Soundcloud episodes under the moniker of The Charlie Chaser Show in 2015-16.
The character was revived in 2020 as part of the Arts For Illinois initiative to offer arts for those trapped in lockdown during the covid-19 pandemic. Six additional episodes were produced as Facebook Live video broadcasts which listeners could call in to discuss the state of the pandemic, and the nation's response to it.
Charlie Chaser started off as a comedy persona I devised to try and find the funny in the unfunny, and as a way of coping with my own clinical depression after I was ordered by the state into a court-ordered psychiatric hold as a potential harm to myself. In the throes of that moment of addiction and depression, I appeared in stand-up acts with the persona at The Globe Pub and High Hat Club's now-defunct Monday night open mics, and recorded multiple Soundcloud episodes of the Charlie Chaser Show as a podcast.
In 2020, I revived the show on my personal Facebook live page with a live call-in line at 224-307-5479 to talk on-air about all things pandemic. Tell us how you're coping, things you're enjoying about your time in isolation, hopes, fears, etc.
I am a strong believer in the power of sharing and listening to help heal us body and mind, and to fortify us when we are at our most vulnerable. Now, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, I am applying the same tools that helped me struggle through my own personal crisis to my community.
All episodes of The Charlie Chaser Show are available for viewing and listening below.
Please hover your cursor over the video thumbnails for episode information, and click to watch.
Audio files thumbnails are clickable to listen.
