Glen Tickle will do more than just tell jokes tonight at the ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks in Bethlehem.
The comedian will be recording his first live stand-up album -- the first such event in the five-year history of the SteelStacks complex. Tickle -- yes, that is his real last name -- will be joined by fellow funnymen Jason J. Brown, of Bethlehem, and Pat Janssen. (Tickle and Brown performed in November 2015 at the State Theatre in Easton.)
"Anybody who has seen me in the last three years knows it's mostly jokes about my daughter," Tickle teased Wednesday during a phone interview. "I'm about as excited to see (Janssen) to do comedy again as I am to do an hour myself."
The Lopatcong Township resident has been performing stand-up comedy for about seven years. However, he said his material has evolved from abstract, bordering on absurd humor to using his own life as a springboard for punchlines -- including a bit about getting kicked out of a Wal-Mart and the difficulties of being a substitute teacher with the last name Tickle.
The working title of Tickle's recording is Yes, Really, he said. Tickle said the title is the same line he often finds himself repeating when audience members inquire about the legitimacy of his last name.
"I think I figured out what I want to talk about on stage," he said. "All the stuff I write now is true," he said.
Tickle said he initially wanted to be a filmmaker -- he stayed an extra year at Ramapo College so he could keep using the school equipment to make a movie. But he was lured to the stage after testing the waters of comedy at open mic nights at the Bethlehem Brew Works and the former Wardell bar in Philipsburg. (He continues to dabble in the former field by working on various film projects.)
"I didn't have to have an idea, then write a script for a movie, then shoot it, then edit it and then get an audience," Tickle said. "I like the immediacy of finding out if other people think something is funny."
Following that path led to Tickle hosting his own comedy show, "Pretending to be on TV with Glen Tickle," at the ArtsQuest Center. The show was later renamed "The Nightcap with Glen Tickle" and relocated to the Allentown Brew Works for a brief stay.
Tickle has also performed in New York City, including the Greenwich Village Comedy Club in Manhattan.
Comedian Glen Tickle performs tonight at the ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks in Bethlehem. Tickets cost $6-$8. Information: 610-332-3378, steelstacks.org