Arriving at the punchline can be a difficult journey

As a local comedian and musician, Lakewood Ranch’s Harris Pierce can sometimes feel like a piece of furniture. 

“The feeling of playing to silence is heartbreaking,” he said. “I’m a coat rack sitting in the corner of the bar, and nobody’s paying attention.”

Pierce has learned to turn those somewhat painful live performance moments into opportunities to push his voice to a higher octave or try out a new joke — because on the other side of that horrible feeling lies the “bullseye” when the crowd is dancing or the joke lands just right. 

It’s in those moments Pierce knows musical comedy is his calling, even though he also knows it can hurt. 

“I’ve come to terms with the fact that it’s going to be a lot of disappointment,” the 24-year-old said. “It’s a tough industry, and I don’t know how it works. So I’m working on how to make figuring it out fun instead of becoming downtrodden.” 

Not only does Pierce have a good attitude, he gets laughs. 

On Oct. 7, when The Peculiar Pub was still offering a weekly open mic night, there were a couple comedians who bombed so thoroughly on stage that the silence spread through the entire pub until you could hear beer pouring from the tap.

The thought of having to walk on stage after that kind of silence might be terrifying, but not for Pierce. He noted that comedy often builds up tension just to break it with a punchline. And if all else fails, he just laughs at himself.

“If you laugh at yourself, the audience is emboldened to laugh with you,” he said. 

Photo by Lesley Dwyer

The owners of The Peculiar Pub stopped hosting the open mic night because they felt some of the comedians were a bit too raunchy for their family-friendly pub, but Pierce won the crowd over with sheer silliness. 

He performed a series of improvised songs about dating fictional monsters. 

The first verse in his ode to a vampire began, “I love the way you look at me from across the room. I love the way you can’t have garlic in your food. And now my friends say that they don’t know if you want to drink my blood because I’m dating a vampire.” 

He went on to sing about fictional dalliances with a ghost, Bigfoot and an indomitable snowman.

While Pierce might be silly, he also has a serious side. Improvised songs are his least favorite bit because they’re just him “acting goofy.” He prefers to perform material that he’s written and prepared for the stage.

The songs about fictional characters came about as a gag about bears he likes, and for whatever reason, it was a hit that people continued to request. But coming up with lyrics solely about bears is limiting, so the idea has expanded since. 

He also kept blanking when someone would shout out “Care Bears” from the audience.

Photo by Lesley Dwyer

Pierce earned a communication degree from Richmond American University London and hones his craft daily, whether that’s by playing guitar or writing comedy.

He grew up performing with his family. A home video still exists of him and his dad, Mark Pierce, singing “Knights of the Round Table” from “Monty Python and the Holy Grail.” It’s only natural Pierce’s dream is to become a successful musical comedian. 

He’s been writing comedy for more than half his life. The first time he took that daring walk to center stage with a spotlight shining down on him, Pierce was performing in a talent show at his middle school in Dallas, Texas. 

“They weren’t very good songs,” he said. “I like to think I’ve gotten better, but this feels not just like something I want to do, but something I have to do. There’s not any other job that feels appropriate at this point.” 

That being said, Pierce also has to pay rent. So for now, he works at the Goodwill Bookstore on State Road 70.

When the store is quiet, the routine of stocking shelves with books allows his mind to wander, which is pretty much Pierce’s process for writing comedy. An idea pops into his head, he writes it down and goes from there trying to hit another bullseye.

“The audience is laughing,” Pierce said, “And it’s like being in the center of a massive movement in energy and I’m responsible for the wave of joy.”