Nick Mortensen
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
and motivational speaker.
Biography
Mortensen spent his formative years in Green Bay, WisconsinGreen Bay, Wisconsin
Green Bay is a city in and the county seat of Brown County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, located at the head of Green Bay, a sub-basin of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Fox River. It has an elevation of above sea level and is located north of Milwaukee. As of the 2010 United States Census,...
. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay in 2001 and spent time working with his father at the family-owned Jones Sign Nationwide, where he gained an appreciation of his ability to make others laugh.
While he has said his job at Jones Sign was "incredible," he regarded his position with unease, feeling it based on nepotism. Eager to see if his own talents could net him recognition, he began performing comedy in 2004 on a visit to Madison, Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....
. Within a year he had collaborated on a group for young stand up comedians called the WiSUC Project, short for "Wisconsin Stand-Up Comedy Project", and won their first ever comedy contest. In 2007 Mortensen moved to Madison.
Mortensen moved through the traditional ranks of stand-up comedy with curious velocity. While many comedians linger in the house emcee or middle
Middle
Middle may refer to:*Centre , the point equally distant from the outer limits.-History:* Middle Ages , several meanings* Middle Stone Age, in African pre-history-Geography:* Middle Creek, various streams...
for years, Mortensen headlined the Majestic Theater in Madison
Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....
2008, just months after opening at the same venue for comedian Christian Finnegan
Christian Finnegan
Fletcher Christian Finnegan , better known as Christian Finnegan, is an American stand-up comedian, writer and actor based in New York City.-Early life:Finnegan was born in Albany, New York...
.
Recent events
Nick ran into some trouble in June 2007 with the Madison Comedy Club as the result of a front-page article in Madison's The Capital Times where he was quoted as saying "The club here (in Madison, WI) is super cool and a pleasure to work at, but generally speaking, comedy clubs are where comedians and comedy itself goes to die." http://www.madison.com/tct/mad/topstories/164051. The Madison Comedy Club subsequently canceled his future bookings with the club and erased his profile from the comedians section on their website. Nick was said to be unsurprised and has stated on his blog on occasion that comedy clubs often resort to punitive measures to keep comedians in line. He's further stated that it is not of tremendous importance for him to work in clubs because he prefers colleges and rock and roll clubs and sees comedy clubs as one of many different means of display while comedy clubs often see themselves as means of production.In August 2007, the experience with the Madison Comedy Club became a turning point for Nick. He decided he would no longer work in comedy clubs, instead choosing to focus on the college and corporate circuits and the Internet. One of his big issues with comedy clubs, he stated, was that they made the comedian into a glorified alcohol salesman and he no longer wanted to be a part of the alcohol paradigm, citing the fact that he'd tended bar and had seen the damage that alcohol does to the lives of those who abuse it.
Packers blog
In November 2006, Mortensen was hired to blog about his hometown Green Bay PackersGreen Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
at acclaimed Packers fan blog Nietzsche or Nitschke?