There has never been a better time to delve into the YouTube video world.
Need proof? Just ask Charlie Berens.
A Wisconsin-based comedian, Berens saw one of his online routines resonate when viewers identified with the character he was playing. Then, when COVID hit, audiences couldn’t go out to see standup, so they turned to videos in fairly large numbers.
A hit? You betcha.
Now audiences are keen to see the "Manitowoc Minute” guy in person and wonder what he’ll say next.
A character is born
Berens happened onto the character while doing a standup routine in Los Angeles in 2017. He asked the audience if anyone was from the Midwest. A man raised his hand and “we had a good back and forth.” Berens asked where he was from, the guy said Manitowoc and the Wisconsin banter was born.
“I remember saying, ‘That just crushed last night but only 50 people got to see it,’” he explains. “That made me want to do the first Manitowoc Minute video,” accent and all.
While Berens’ Grandpa Bob has been a big source of inspiration, he borrowed liberally from fishing shows he watched as a child and guys he knew at the bait shop in Fond du Lac. “They’d say a funny phrase and it’d get passed down. Soon, people were saying it without thinking.”
Examples: “A horse apiece.” “Six of one, half dozen of another.” “Geez Louise.”
Because that first video did so well, Berens vowed to do a new one every week. The “Manitowoc Minute” (which is like a newscast of sorts – Berens worked in local TV following graduation) covers everything that might graze a Wisconsin guy’s radar – from fishing to the state fair.
While Berens has never given the plaid-shirt guy a name, he assumes it’s Charlie. Save for his key catchphrase (“Go Packers and ---- da Bears”), there’s little profanity in the act. That’s true to the men who inspired him. “My Grandpa Bob was always trying not to take God’s name in vain.” He offered variations, “but it wasn’t necessary. Swearing is limiting the audience. (Avoiding it) brings all kinds of people together.”
Naturally, Berens worried that Wisconsinites would misinterpret the “Manitowoc Minute.” “I was very pleasantly surprised that people took it the way I intended. I’m not laughing at you, I am you.”
Videos lead to more
Now living in Milwaukee, Berens says he can get into the groove just “going down the road a ways.”
“When I wasn’t living here, I could recognize the differences a bit better. It helps you focus.”
Those videos – which have gotten hundreds of thousands of views – are just part of his repertoire. He offers up other characters, too, and says online success often hinges on desire.
“Make sure your love is with the creating and writing and acting,” he advises. “There’s never been an easier time to get your comedic voice out there. You have all these avenues – TikTok, YouTube, standup. Open mic nights. And if there’s not an open mic night, start one.”
Berens started by writing facts about himself and adding punchlines. Then, “when I felt something was hitting, I did a video. Now, you can even skip a lot of those steps and just do TikTok. It’s a different creative prompt, but you can have fun with it.”
Participating in a “Just For Laughs” festival, he made connections that may one day lead to a film or television career. A pitch he made “got lost in development,” but it helped him read the room.
“I’m working on something now, but I can’t really dive into the details.”
Whether the Manitowoc guy figures in is anyone’s guess.
“I love that character,” Berens says. “I’m sure whatever it is, that Midwest vibe will be in there. How grounded or ungrounded that character will be is TBD.”
