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It's not a Halloween thing, really, but part of the regular ensemble.

Here's a man who regularly sends sold-out theater crowds collapsing to the aisles in laughter in upwards of 80 cities annually. Throughout his career, he's headlined his own Showtime and Comedy Central concert specials; has seen his 1997 debut CD, "Brian Regan LIVE," skyrocket to critical and lucrative acclaim, and has won the blessing of none other than Johnny Carson himself.

In August, he celebrated his 20th appearance on "The Late Show with David Letterman," ("It's a milestone," he said. "I'm proud of that"), and the culmination of an exclusive multi-platform deal with Comedy Central resulting in two one-hour specials, "Brian Regan: Standing Up," and the recently released DVD, "The Epitome of Hyperbole."

And yet, his material is instantly relatable, because it's so insanely mundane. Whether expounding upon his now iconic failure to master the "you, too" phrase, or his similarly botched congratulatory nature toward women who may not quite be pregnant, Regan manages to tap into our day to day minutiae with a comic blowtorch.

"I'm not in it for the fame," he says when asked about the absence of a status-quo sitcom at this point in his career. "I'm in it for the comedy. I like the comedy."

He may not be your average funny guy, but, boy, that "everyman" costume fits Regan just right.

I read you first became interested in comedy during a speech class in college?

"It was the first time that my brain started going, ‘I like this.' I mean, I had always been funny with friends and family, but it was just not on my radar screen as something I could do for a living. With the speeches, I figured I could make them funny. That's just how I thought. But I can remember thinking as I walked back from class, ‘Man, that was a blast. Maybe I can do something like this.' It really charged me up. It's a very exciting thing when you're 18 or 19 years old and you realize something like that."

What's it like thinking back on that class – looking out across the room at your teacher, who was your biggest fan and who laughed the hardest — in comparison to today, looking out at a packed theater?

"It's tremendous. A couple weeks ago I was standing backstage with [opening comedian] Tom Ryan. You're back there, and you can hear the murmur of the crowd and you can peek out and see their faces. And I turned to him, and I said, ‘This is really a blast, isn't it?' And he said ‘Hell yes, it is.' And it is."

"I try to be wise enough not to take it for granted. And I don't. I've been doing this for a long time, and to finally get to the point where people are aware of you is amazing. For 20 some years, I had to prove it every night. I had to go out there and prove it. Because that audience out there didn't see you the night before. They're all out there thinking, ‘We'll decide if you're funny or not, big guy.' So it's a fun feeling not to have to prove yourself anymore. To enjoy that they already know who you are. The analogy I make is that it's like being a surfer, but you're already on that wave when you start out. It's nice not to have to let seven waves pass before you catch one."

At this point in your career, does such a thing as a "tough crowd" even exist?

"It does. Not so much in venues where it's me that they're coming to see. When it's Brian Regan Live, those crowds are usually pretty good. But I still perform in situations where the audience is not necessarily there to see me. Whether it's a corporate function that just happens to have a comedian, or a charity event. Those can be more challenging."

"I like to think of myself as a fairly confident performer. Not as much as some others I've seen. I've seen confidence that so far outweighs the actual talent behind it. But I applaud them for it. I've seen guys walk out on stage, just oozing confidence, and with absolutely nothing to back it up. But crowds will hook right into confidence and go along for the ride. Maybe if I had a lot more of that earlier in my career, I may have made it a bit sooner."

What are your memories of your first appearance on the Carson show?

"Ah, my. I remember it was thrilling and agonizing at the same time. Because of how scared you are backstage. That feeling of, ‘I can't believe that I'm doing this.' But that's why you're doing it! If the fear outweighed the thrill, you would just walk out the back door, saying ‘I don't need this in my life right now.'

"It's so bizarre to stand behind that curtain and to hear his voice start to introduce you. This icon who you've watched since you were a child. It's so surreal. It's a dream-like state. Then, you walk out. I remember walking out that night, looking to my right, and seeing his desk at an angle that I never had before. I remember thinking, ‘Wow, I've never seen the back of his desk before' ... And there are 10 steps before you hit your mark. Not much, but it feels like an eternity when you don't know what you're walking into. When you don't know: Is this going to change my life or is this the last night I'm going to be alive? You have your mark, and Carson has his, like, five steps to the right. And for whatever reason, the staff tells you, ‘You do not stand on Johnny Carson's mark.' I don't think they realized what terror they instilled in every artist's mind. I remember walking out, looking down, thinking, ‘That's his. That is mine. That's his. That is mine. That's where the supreme being — the god of comedy stands. That is where I stand…'"

But you made it.

"I got fortunate. It was a lot of fun."

What's next?

"You know, I've been talking with my manager, and I'm not sure what my goals are or should be. Part of me would be completely happy and content to just do this the rest of my life. I've only been in theaters for three years now. The idea of starring in a sitcom or movie would have been to increase my visibility so I could make the leap to theaters. Now, since I've gotten to that point without it, my mind is in a state of quandary."

"If I were to do a sitcom, it would have to be something that would really represent my comedy. And I'd need to be involved creatively. To be just the lead actor in something that someone else is writing – that really wouldn't interest me very much. Unless they gave you the check and the script at the same time. ‘Here's a million —and here's your lines.' You know? ‘Are you okay memorizing those?'"

You're one of eight children. I read in a previous interview that your siblings chose their career paths in pairs: Two salesmen, two teachers, two stand-up comedians, two firefighters. What are the holidays like with the Regan family?

"They're a lot of fun. We all get along, which is great. And everybody's funny. I was watching Chris Rock the other day, and he said something about how he often thinks some of the people in his family are funnier than he is. And I've felt that way about my family, too. My oldest brother, Mike —sometimes, I think he's the funniest guy in the world. The way I describe it is: You could ask Mike a yes or no question, and it wouldn't matter which way he answered – you'd be on the floor laughing. It's all about who he is and how he says it. I've learned a lot about comedy from my family over the years."

Do you have any favorite Halloween anecdotes?

"I like Halloween a lot. My wife and I have two children, now, so it's nice to relive it for them. One year, my little boy wanted to be the shark from ‘Finding Nemo' ... The costume didn't so much look like a shark as it did a shark with a human's body somehow oddly stuffed in the middle."

"In the past, I had always walked with him up to the door. This was the first year he went by himself while I waited for him on the sidewalk. You know – to give him a little bit of independence. A proud moment as a father. But he couldn't see through the shark mask. He tripped on the stairs and I watched as he fell right into this Nerf shark head. And he started crying. And I thought, ‘Oh my gosh — this is all my fault. ‘Sure, go ahead – go up to the door by yourself.' He's going to be talking about this in therapy when he's 40-years-old.' Now, I never let go of his hand. When he's 22, I'll be holding his hand while he's boarding a plane. You know? ‘You're not going anywhere, buddy.'"

Brian Regan
When: 8 p.m. Oct. 22-23
Where: Weinberg Center for the Arts, 20 W. Patrick St., Frederick
Tickets: $46
For information:
301-600-2828
www.ticketmaster.com
www.weinbergcenter.org