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Andres Parada finding his way in the world of comedy and to the stage of America’s Got Talent

 

By Linda Baier

America’s Got Talent (AGT) reality show creator and judge Simon Cowell has a well-known fear of clowns, so it is not very often that acts such as those make it past the initial rounds of tryouts.

But during the last season, Papyaso the Chilean Clown gave a performance that even had Cowell laughing. Andres Parada, plays Papayaso, currently lives in Los Angeles but he has spent some time in Austin. His mother Kathy (Redding) Parada was born in Austin, and lives here in the family home she grew up in alongside Turtle Creek. Two of his three brothers — Renato, Nicolas and Matias live in Austin and he also has a sister, Priscilla.

For Parada, the AGT stage was the largest audience he had ever performed in front of. Sofia Vegara welcomed his character Papayaso to the stage, asking him where he is from, to which he responded Chile and that he is fluent in Spanish. Acting as a translator, Vegara tells the three other judges that he would be doing impressions.

Cowell was visibly disappointed and unimpressed when Parada’s impersonations of an elephant and puppy failed to wow the audience. But then he pleaded for another chance. His demeanor immediately changes, he crosses his arms and changes his facial expression to be one of a tough guy. Then in a completely unaccented English voice, that sounds like Jason Statham he loudly states “I got one last job for you, and this time, it ain’t gonna be easy.”

The crowd is total surprise and Papyaso is elated. He continues on with spot on impersonations of David Attenborough, Jimmy Fallon, Adam Driver and finally Simon Cowell. The four judges vote him on to the next level, with Howie Mandel saying he was one of the best impressionists that he has ever seen. Cowell, who was left almost speechless sharing that he has, “never seen or met a funny clown in the world and you might be the first.”

Unfortunately, Parada did not win the show, but it was an experience he won’t soon forget.

“It was the biggest stage I’ve performed on, and Howie Mandel was the first comedian I saw live when I was a kid,”Parada said. “My mom and dad took me to see him in Arizona and I loved it. So getting his seal of approval was like a dream.”

Parada chose to audition for AGT because he thought it was the perfect place to perform as Papayaso.

“That show loves surprises, and feels like a modern circus,” Parada said. “There’s not too many places where a clown can get TV time these days. But AGT is one of them.”

Parada said that Papayaso is based on some Chilean clowns that his dad introduced to his family. He said as kids, “we would watch old VHS tapes of weird clowns. I wanted to use that character as a vehicle to do impressions. To mislead people into thinking I’m bad, so that when I’m good their minds are even more blown.”

Other comedians have done similar things — Like Bill Hader, Phil Hartman, and Andy Kaufman,” Parada continued. “I think there’s nothing funnier than tricking an audience, thinking you’re dumb, only to discover they were the ones being dumb.”

When Parada was a child he lived in Tubac, Arizona, which is known for being an artist colony. After that his family moved to Chile for a while, and then they returned to Arizona, living in Tucson for 10 years.

“In Arizona I learned how to love art,” he said. “When we lived in Tubac, everyone around me was creative. And then later in Tucson, I felt naturally drawn to artists. I learned to listen to my gut, and be weird, because everyone around me was weird. That’s the wonderful thing about art communities — all weirdos.”

He left Arizona and toured the U.S. with folk bands, mostly singing, playing guitar, banjo and writing songs.

His father’s death inspired him to pursue comedy in 2018. His father wasn’t a comedian by trade, but, “holy moley was he funny,” Parada said.

“He would constantly mess with people in public just to make me laugh,” he continued. “He taught me to be silly and to not care what people think of me. When he passed, it just made me realize the power of joy. And that by choosing joy, we can practice acceptance and forgiveness. Learning how to be a comedian started as my mourning. I wanted to turn my pain into something else. I was also lost after my father died, and when I decided to take an improv class it was mostly just to find reason in my life. And it gave me reason. If I hadn’t lost my father, I’d be in some bar right now playing sad folk songs.”

Parada also said his mom is the best.

“She taught me how to be a freak, and I’m so grateful I got her as a mom,” he said.

When asked why he chose to live in Los Angeles rather than other places like New York or Chicago, he said his first opportunity happened in L.A. He got the chance to make a short cartoon for Nickelodeon entitled “Tennis The Good Boy,” for which he also composed the score.

“That was comedy, and was my gateway into discovering what I want to do for a living. I’d love to live in New York – and hopefully I will one day,” Parada said. “Until then, L.A. rules. It’s my new home.”

Even though Parada didn’t make it to the live shows on AGT, his appearance has helped him get on bigger shows in the L.A. area and it’s helping him break into the animation voiceover industry.

“Because I can do impressions, I can pitch myself for that, which is a dream come true,” he said.

Parada is currently a part of the Upright Citizen’s Brigade Theatre in L.A., where he performs in shows called “Harold Night: GAG and Headbutt,” and “Maude Night: Trainwreck & Wishbone.”

“On ‘Harold Night’ (my team is called Headbutt) we do all improv. We improvise a 30 minute show based on a single word suggestion from the audience,” Parada said, explaining it really helps him with idea generation. “For ‘Maude Night’ (my team is called Trainwreck) I get to perform sketch comedy. That’s where I get to perform characters that I come up with, and then the writers on my team write out the sketch. Both are so freaking fun, and I get to work with literally the funniest people in L.A.”

Parada is also a part of the Groundlings, of which there are two performance groups. The Sunday Company has had a lot of famous comedians come out of its ranks like Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Fallon and Rita Wilson. Parada is with the Sunday Company.

“I would love to be in the Main Company, but even just being on Sunday Company is a dream come true. It’s an insane experience and has been a whirlwind. I’m writing around 10 sketches a week, and then performing a show every single Sunday,” he said. “It’s more or less Saturday Night Live without the camera, which is why so many people on SNL come from Groundlings. It’s making me such a better performer and writer, and I’m so grateful to be here.”

Parada’s ultimate goal is to be on Saturday Night Live.

“It’s such a long shot, but that’s the truth. I think about it almost every day. Even if I don’t get it, that’s ok,” Parada said. “I’ve come close, and that’s more than I ever thought was actually possible. My dream may not come true, but it’s as close to a reality as I ever could have wished for.”

Parada has his own YouTube channel with almost 300 subscribers and more than 52 videos that he has uploaded. Some of those were shot during the pandemic while he was living in Austin. He said shooting here is incredible.

“You can just go outside and film, there is space and cool locations that look awesome recorded,” he said. “In L.A. it’s loud and you need permits, it’s just a hassle. Someday I would like to come back with a full crew and shoot something big. I would love to perform in Austin. I’ve gone to shows at the Paramount and holy moley, what a beautiful spot.”