Quick Take
Clay Hausmann, a local comedian, is taking the stage once again to perform his comedy routine, “Empty Nest and All the Rest,” focusing on parents whose kids are growing up and soaring off into adulthood.
Clay Hausmann set the stage at a dinner table, fork and knife in hand, poised to feed an auditorium of comedy-goers vigorous punchlines and family-man bits.
The recent show at Santa Cruz High School was the fifth time Hausmann has performed “Empty Nest and All the Rest,” a one-man comedy routine on the ups and downs of becoming an empty nester. The four vacant chairs at the dinner table represent his family: Hausmann, his wife, Christie, and his two kids, Bode, 23 and Jade, 19, both of whom have fled the nest.
Hausmann’s witty monologue takes the audience through his ever-changing perspective on watching his kids grow up and leave the dinner table, which he said serves as the central nervous system of the family unit. Hausmann addresses his case of empty-nest syndrome with satirical twists and a dose of nostalgia, reminding parents that it’s OK to laugh and cry at the same time when reflecting on raising kids.
“A lot of what society tells us is that ‘empty nest’ is supposed to be this very grim moment in your life where you’re lost,” he told Lookout. “I look at it differently.”
After making his stage debut at The Landing performing arts center in Scotts Valley last year, Hausmann’s zest for getting a crowd to laugh didn’t stop there. With audience reactions serving as a comedic metronome, Hausmann has spent the past year tinkering and modulating his show to the cadence of his audience. He said the current show is about 30% different from last year’s.
“You can just feel as you’re delivering the material whether it’s working or not,” he said. “If you’re going for a sentimental reaction, are you getting that? If you’re going for a big laugh, are you getting that?”
Having spent the majority of his working life in the corporate world, Hausmann brings a natural showman charisma to the business. Two years ago, he started a consulting firm to help companies better position themselves to their audience, with one of his clients being the San Jose Sharks. Hausmann said there is certainly a parallel between his day job and his side gig in comedy – determining what exactly is going to resonate with a specific audience.
One of the ways Hausmann engages his corporate colleagues is by making amusing (and professionally sound) presentations with animated slides for more lax business meetings — a format he integrated into his comedic act.
“I felt like I knew how to do storytelling where the visuals were a co-performer along with me,” he said. “The timing and sequencing of that is really important and it takes a lot of back and forth with my partner, who is hitting the slides for comedic effect.”
Though his audience’s age demographics typically run the gamut from teenagers to older adults, Hausmann said his show tends to strike a chord with high school parents in particular, hence the Santa Cruz High School auditorium. Since the debut of “Empty Nest and All The Rest,” he said he received feedback from audience members on the brink of an empty nest and those who have just watched their children jet off into adulthood.
“The word that got used a lot by people was how relatable it felt to them, which was very encouraging to me,” he said. “I’m telling stories about my personal family, but I’m trying to pick the ones that I feel would be highly relatable, where anyone could say, ‘We didn’t have that exact story, but we had something quite like that.’”
To bring in the audience his content is tailor-made for, Hausmann started focusing on high schools as the fundraising beneficiary. The profits from the show on March 28 at Santa Cruz High were split 50-50 between Hausmann (and his nimble team behind the curtain) and the Santa Cruz High sports program, sponsored by the school’s Cardinal Club athletic boosters.
As he continues to chip away at the comedy industry, Hausmann has hopes for “putting a couple more lines out there” and seeing what catches, he said. While he continues to test the waters in getting on people’s radar, he said Jenny Marini with the Cardinal Club has already called for an “encore” at Santa Cruz High, date to be determined.
Meanwhile, Hausmann is set to take the stage May 8 at The Landing in a benefit for Harbor High School. Tickets for the upcoming show can be found here.
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