Mencia is back at the Improv in Schaumburg

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Carlos Mencia was at the top of his game when he decided to step away from the spotlight.

His television show, “Mind of Mencia,” was a hit for Comedy Central. His stand-up shows were selling out.

But one day, he woke up and suddenly, nothing was funny.

“My entire life is lived for my fans. I don’t get to ride the motorcycles or do all those things everything thinks I’m doing when I’m working 48 to 50 weeks a year,” he said. “I live to make sure my family is taken care of. I just had a moment for me. It was selfish; it was something I had never done in my life before, and it was very necessary for my well-being.”

He stayed away from stand-up comedy for two years so he could turn his brain off, as he put it.

“Because if I think or know I’m going to be doing stand-up, I won’t stop thinking,” he said. “Thank God I took the time to take time off, so my brain could re-boot. It seemed like one day, nothing was funny. And then some time later, I turned on the television, and it was funny, and I realized it was time to get back into this.”

Thankfully for Chicago fans, Mencia found the funny again, and will bring his stand-up routine to The Improv comedy club in Schaumburg for four shows June 24-25.

His act consists of topical, water cooler material, he said.

“People are talking about how the economy is bad, and everything is negative, and to be honest with you, I’m on a much different kick,” he said. “I was born in Honduras, the fourth poorest country in the world. When I hear people saying, ‘America this, America that,’ I’m like, ‘You’ve never been to Honduras, or Mexico, or El Salvador, or Africa.’ You know what? Just travel and you’ll see how awesome America is.

“A lot of my material is about that, about the different perspectives,” he said. “It’s funny to remind people that you don’t need a Playstation 3, or an X-Box 360, or a Wii … to live or survive. Think about it, we have a full network when other countries don’t have food. There’s nothing wrong with that, that’s awesome, but people need to be reminded of that.”

Mencia is one of 18 children, and as a father himself, he is in awe of his own dad.

“This poor guy worked his entire life and had to feed all those mouth. I cannot imagine the harshness of having to do that. I cannot imagine the pressure of having to be that dad,” he said. “That poor guy. Plus, eight women were born in a row before we were. When I was a kid, we had to bang on the door to get in the bathroom. We had to brush our teeth outside in the backyard.”

He doesn’t talk about his upbringing too much anymore; now he is inspired by life around him.

“I think of something that I think is funny and write it down, then I forget about it. If by the time the night comes it’s still on my mind and it is still something I want to talk about, then I feel like it passes the test and it’s funny. If I forget about it, I don’t revisit it.”

He finds inspiration all around him. Everything is a potential comedic moment. In May, he was doing two shows in Fort Lauderdale, and in between the sets, the news broke that Osama bin Laden had been killed.

“So the President was about to give his speech, and I told my road manager, tell the opening act to go long, because I want to hear his speech,” he said. “And I waited ‘til the speech was over, and literally as soon as I heard Obama say, ‘God bless America,’ I heard the announcer say, ‘Carlos Mencia.’ I ran up onstage and I talked for 10 minutes about the whole thing. That’s how fresh things can be.”

Currently, he’s involved in several projects, including writing for television and movies, and doing a stand-up special for Comedy Central.

“I’m getting back into it in a big way,” he said.

As for his show in Chicago, people can expect to see him back on top of his game.

“This is the best material I’ve ever done,” he said. “Chicago is my favorite city to perform. And by the way, if you don’t get tickets, just go to Portillo’s. You’ll probably see me there.”