Al Madrigal

Al Madrigal tells stories like a guy who just pulled you aside at a loud barbecue. He builds long routines populated by specific people he ran into on the street or at work. He drops into the voice of an aggressive neighbor or a bored receptionist, but he keeps his physical movements small. He rarely paces the stage. He simply shifts his weight, changes his pitch, and lets the dialogue carry the bit.

Off stage, he is a quiet force in the business of standup. Along with Bill Burr, he built the All Things Comedy network, running an operation that gives comics ownership of their audio and video projects.

His material plays with how strangers read him. He is half-Mexican and half-Sicilian, and his premises often stem from the friction of not matching what people expect when they hear his name. He also draws from his old career in human resources. When he recounts firing employees or managing workplace disputes, he adopts a flat, professional tone that contrasts entirely with the frantic behavior of the people he had to terminate.

He developed his pacing in the San Francisco comedy scene. He never rushes to the end of a bit, trusting that the minor details of an interaction will hold the room until he decides the story is over.