POPULARITY
5 episodes with improv olympic
3 episodes with improv olympic
3 episodes with improv olympic
2 episodes with improv olympic
2 episodes with improv olympic
2 episodes with improv olympic
3 episodes with improv olympic
2 episodes with improv olympic
2 episodes with improv olympic
Everyone who works in television and movie comedy knows Charna Halpern. She's trained thousands of actors, writers, and producers at her Chicago theater, founded in 1981, called the iO theater. In this episode, Charna tells personal and funny stories about actors from Chris Farley and Neil Flynn to Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. Along with actor and director Del Close, Charna invented modern improvisational theater in the 1980s. The art form known as long form improvisation—a 20 or 30-minute fully improvised one-act play—was developed at the iO theater, and is still found on their stage at seven nights a week at 1501 N. Kingsbury Street in Chicago. Charna is one of the best-known and best-loved people in comedy because she developed a system for training actors how to improvise together. Her training takes a full year and it's so effective that TV producers, like Lorne Michaels, regularly visit iO theater to audition the actors who've graduated from the program. Sometimes on Saturday Night Live, every actor was once at the iO theater. Charna created a family, a community, that she lovingly calls “my people.” Here are just a few of the famous actors and writers who we talk about in this episode (in order of mention): Lorne Michaels; Cecily Strong; Tina Fey; Amy Poehler; Mike Myers; Vanessa Bayer; Adam McKay; Brian Stack; Stephen Colbert; David Koechner; Rachel Dratch; Chris Farley; Sarah Silverman; Stephanie Ware; Neil Flynn; Larry David; Seth Myers; John Lutz; Matt Walsh; Tim Meadows. She even tells a story about how she let Adam McKay sleep on her couch before he was famous because he couldn't afford to stay in Chicago. When I was doing my research on improvisation in the early 1990s, the theater was called “Improv Olympic” and only later renamed “iO.” Don't tell anyone I said that. For more information: iO theater. https://ioimprov.com/ Truth in Comedy. Charna Halpern, Del Close, Kim Howard Johnson. Art by Committee. Charna Halpern. Music by license from SoundStripe: "Uptown Lovers Instrumental" by AFTERNOONZ "Miss Missy" by AFTERNOONZ "What's the Big Deal" by Ryan Saranich Copyright (c) 2025 Keith Sawyer
Part One.Erin Diehl dreamed of being the next Oprah but ended up becoming the queen of corporate improv instead. Now the founder and CEO of Improve It, she helps teams laugh their way to better performance. A self-declared “failfluencer,” Erin turns every faceplant into a feature. In this two-part series, we dig into her journey, her joy-first philosophy, and why bombing on stage—or in life—might be the best thing that ever happened to you.Key Highlights of Our Interview:Improv Meets the Corporate World“I didn't plan to merge improv and business. But during my nine-to-five at a recruiting firm, my nights were dedicated to stages at Second City and ImprovOlympic. Suddenly, I saw how listening, empathy, and quick thinking from improv transformed my work life. The dots connected.”United We Innovate“Pitching an improv workshop to United Airlines was a gamble, but it paid off—literally. What started as a passion experiment became a calling when United became my first paying client. Improv wasn't just for the stage anymore.”The Teacher's High“That feeling of guiding someone toward growth is intoxicating. It's a high I kept chasing, and the more I taught, the more I wanted to do it. Seeing others find joy became my own source of joy.”From ROI to ROO: The Objective Shift“We don't measure ROI; we measure ROO—Return on Objective. Every engagement starts with a consult call to pinpoint your specific challenges and objectives, ensuring everything aligns with the participants' needs.”Connect with us:Host: Vince Chan | Guest: Erin Diehl --Chief Change Officer--Change Ambitiously. Outgrow Yourself.Open a World of Expansive Human Intelligencefor Transformation Gurus, Black Sheep,Unsung Visionaries & Bold Hearts.10 Million+ All-Time Downloads.Reaching 80+ Countries Daily.Global Top 3% Podcast.Top 10 US Business.Top 1 US Careers.>>>130,000+ are outgrowing. Act Today.
Rick Mitchell joined me to discuss Carol recognizing him from TMZ; writing a performing speeches in his past ; it really not being that hard to write a good speech; giving a good speech requires you know your audience; this book can help save you from listening to bad speeches; differences in different religious weddings; worst speeches are graduation and bar mitzvah; not being Jewish and everyone thinking he is; taking a DNA test to find he's half Jewish; attending UC Davis; working at Second City and Improv Olympic; SNL being a big impetus; Norm MacDonald, Rodney Dangerfield, Mitch Hedberg, and George Carlin; his style; writing for Yakov Smirnoff; trying stand up after killing at his high school graduation; corporate gigs; his career at TMZ; writing monologues for Ellen; having her voice before being hired; her being from New Orleans; backstage gossip; what hurt her was always saying "be nice"; telling stories; guest hosts; Eugene & Dan Levy were hard; Wanda Sykes & Jennifer Anniston were easy; Robert Downey Jr, his favorite and Jason Sudeikis
Part One. Meet Erin Diehl, a woman who turned “winging it” into a career strategy. She's the founder and CEO of Improve It, a company that uses improv to help teams thrive. As a kid, Erin dreamed of being a talk show host. Instead, she became a top podcast host and business leader, blending humor and learning to help others grow. She calls herself a failfluencer—because, in her world, failure isn't an end, it's a punchline and a lesson. In this two-part series, we explore Erin's journey, her philosophy on joy, and why failing might just be your best career move yet. Key Highlights of Our Interview: Improv Meets the Corporate World “I didn't plan to merge improv and business. But during my nine-to-five at a recruiting firm, my nights were dedicated to stages at Second City and ImprovOlympic. Suddenly, I saw how listening, empathy, and quick thinking from improv transformed my work life. The dots connected.” United We Innovate “Pitching an improv workshop to United Airlines was a gamble, but it paid off—literally. What started as a passion experiment became a calling when United became my first paying client. Improv wasn't just for the stage anymore.” The Teacher's High “That feeling of guiding someone toward growth is intoxicating. It's a high I kept chasing, and the more I taught, the more I wanted to do it. Seeing others find joy became my own source of joy.” From ROI to ROO: The Objective Shift “We don't measure ROI; we measure ROO—Return on Objective. Every engagement starts with a consult call to pinpoint your specific challenges and objectives, ensuring everything aligns with the participants' needs.” Connect with us: Host: Vince Chan | Guest: Erin Diehl Chief Change Officer: Make Change Ambitiously. Experiential Human Intelligence for Growth Progressives Global Top 2.5% Podcast on Listen Notes World's #1 Career Podcast on Apple Top 1: US, CA, MX, IE, HU, AT, CH, FI 5 Million+ Downloads 80+ Countries
Part One. Today's guest is Erin Diehl, founder and CEO of Improve It, a company that uses improv to help teams grow and thrive. Like me, she's also a top podcast host! From a young age, Erin dreamed of becoming a talk show host. Why did she choose that path? And how did her journey lead her to combine improv and business? I told Erin, “You're in the business of joy.” But beyond joy, we also talked about failure. Erin calls herself a “failfluencer”—a blend of failure and influence. This two-part series dives into her unique approach to joy, failure, growth, and learning. Key Highlights of Our Interview: Improv Meets the Corporate World “I didn't plan to merge improv and business. But during my nine-to-five at a recruiting firm, my nights were dedicated to stages at Second City and ImprovOlympic. Suddenly, I saw how listening, empathy, and quick thinking from improv transformed my work life. The dots connected.” United We Innovate “Pitching an improv workshop to United Airlines was a gamble, but it paid off—literally. What started as a passion experiment became a calling when United became my first paying client. Improv wasn't just for the stage anymore.” The Teacher's High “That feeling of guiding someone toward growth is intoxicating. It's a high I kept chasing, and the more I taught, the more I wanted to do it. Seeing others find joy became my own source of joy.” From ROI to ROO: The Objective Shift “We don't measure ROI; we measure ROO—Return on Objective. Every engagement starts with a consult call to pinpoint your specific challenges and objectives, ensuring everything aligns with the participants' needs.” Connect with us: Host: Vince Chan | Guest: Erin Diehl Chief Change Officer: Make Change Ambitiously. Experiential Human Intelligence for Growth Progressives Global Top 3% Podcast on Listen Notes World's #1 Career Podcast on Apple Top 1: US, CA, MX, IE, HU, AT, CH, FI, JP 2 Millions+ Downloads 50+ Countries
In this episode of Que Bola, I had the pleasure of chatting with the hilarious Brittany Brave, a rising star in the comedy scene, originally from South Florida and now making waves in NYC. We kicked things off with some light banter about sports jerseys and the cultural phenomenon surrounding Taylor Swift, where Brittany shared her candid thoughts on pop culture and fandoms. As we delved deeper, Brittany opened up about her journey into stand-up comedy, which was sparked by her experiences as a domestic violence survivor. She discussed how her painful past became a source of material that resonated with audiences, leading her to embrace her comedic voice. We also touched on the challenges of navigating the Miami comedy scene, which she described as cliquish and immature compared to the more expansive New York environment. Brittany shared her insights on the importance of authenticity in comedy, emphasizing the need to stay true to oneself despite external pressures. We explored the dynamics of kindness versus niceness in relationships and the significance of constructive criticism among friends and peers. Towards the end of our conversation, Brittany reflected on her recent experiences performing in front of industry professionals, discussing the inevitable ups and downs of a comedian's journey. She highlighted the importance of resilience and self-acceptance, reminding us that true love for one's craft means showing up even when things get tough. This episode is packed with laughter, raw honesty, and valuable lessons for anyone in the creative field. Join us as we celebrate Brittany's achievements and the vibrant world of comedy!
Actor and writer Andy Richter is best-known for his long-running role as Conan O'Brien's announcer and sidekick throughout multiple late-night shows. He rose to fame alongside Conan in 1993 on Late Night with Conan O'Brien and reprised this role on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, which premiered in 2009. In 2010, the duo moved to TBS, where Conan ran for 11 years with Richter once again acting as announcer, writer, general sidekick and participant in comedy sketches. Richter has guest-starred in popular shows such as Arrested Development and Hulu's Love, Victor. His feature film work includes Scary Movie 2, Elf, Talladega Nights, Blades of Glory, Semi-Pro, and Marcel the Shell With Shoes On. Andy's also had a prolific voiceover career across numerous projects Mort in DreamWorks Studios' Madagascar films, as well as in the Nickelodeon series Penguins of Madagascar. Since 2019, Richter has hosted the popular podcast The Three Questions with Andy Richter, has appeared in the film 80 for Brady and recently finished production on the upcoming film First Time Female Director. Richter is a graduate of Chicago's Improv Olympic and Annoyance Theater, and a frequent performer at the Upright Citizens Brigade theater in Los Angeles. Join us for this fun, insightful, in-depth chat about Andy's life and career. Got somethin' to say?! Email us at BackroomAndy@gmail.com Leave us a message: 845-307-7446 Twitter: @AndyOstroy Produced by Andy Ostroy, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud @ Radio Free Rhiniecliff Design by Cricket Lengyel
David Pasquesi is a legendary improvisor, and accomplished actor. A Chicago native, he studied with Del Close, and performed at Improv Olympic and Second City, as well as the Annoyance Theater. He has acted in films like Groundhog Day, and TV shows like Strangers with Candy and Veep. He and fellow Second City alum T.J. Jagodowski currently perform together as TJ and Dave, which is widely considered one of the premiere long-form improv shows on the planet.David and Will talk about the creation of the Harold with mentor Del Close, the TJ and Dave book Improvisation at the Speed of Life, and the Alex Karpovski documentary Trust Us, This Is All Made Up. They also discuss the rules of improvisation, and the staying power of the Harold.Recorded at Jett Road Studios------------------LIFE IN COMEDYInstagramJETT ROAD STUDIOSWebsiteInstagramYouTube
WGN Radio's Dave Plier catches up with actor and comedian Matt Walsh on the relevance of HBO's ‘Veep' today, his latest role on ‘Manhunt' about the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln and his improv journey with Players Workshop, Upright Citizens Brigade and IO Chicago and their IOFest all weekend long. For tickets and more, visit […]
Check out Debi Bradshaw's show 'Separate Checks' at the Lyric Hyperion Sunday, May 19th @ 7:30pm! Debi Bradshaw is a comedian and filmmaker originally from St. Louis Missouri, Debi trained in the Midwest, cutting her chops in Chicago theatre basements and studying improv at Second City and Improv Olympic. Now residing in Los Angeles she has appeared in indie films, a bunch of national commercials and a couple of television shows like Veep and Grace and Frankie. She has also written and directed award winning animated and live shorts that have traveled around the world in over one hundred film festivals. Her most personal short film “Hot Cake”, was a finalist at the HBO Women's Comedy Festival and can be found on Amazon. Stand up is her biggest passion and she's currently performing around town. ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ DEBI BRADSHAW ⌲ IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1271358/ ⌲ IG: https://www.instagram.com/hiyadb/?hl=en ⌲ Website: https://www.hiyadb.com/ ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ The Moving Spotlight Podcast ⌲ iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-moving-spotlight/id1597207264 ⌲ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7cjqYAWSFXz2hgCHiAjy27 ⌲ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/themovingspotlight ⌲ ALL: https://linktr.ee/themovingspotlight ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ #Writer #Director #Actress #Standup #Veep #GraceAndFrankie #IOWest #Hiyadb #HotCakes #TheBlackList #Midwest #Chicago #Emmys #TVTime #iTunes #Actor #ActorsLife #Believe #Success #Inspiration #Netflix #Hulu #Amazon #HBO #AppleTV #Showtime #Acting #Artist #Theatre #Film #YourBestBadActing #Content #CorbinCoyle #JohnRuby #RealFIREacting #TMS_Pod --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-moving-spotlight/support
Katie Northlich is an actress, solo performer, improviser, writer, and performing arts coach. She is a Four Time National Monologue Champion, having written, performed and produced original work since 2001. Her solo shows have played to critical acclaim and sold out Off-Broadway houses in New York City, including the Cherry Lane Theatre. Her work was chosen as a premiere piece in opening Stage Left Studio's inaugural season, NYC's only Solo Repertory theatre. Katie's play "Two Of Them, Looking," was produced in New York in 2015, and Katie is on the fifth draft of her first novel. As an acting, movement, and solo performance instructor, Katie has taught upward of 1000 students over 15 years in both NYC and LA, including international TV stars as well as NBA and NFL players, and she currently teaches comedy and acting at colleges, conservatories, and privately in greater LA. Katie was a lead acting instructor at the New York Film Academy in NYC for 7 years, and was the first acting faculty member to develop and launch the academy's improvisation curriculum in the Animation and Game Design departments. Select Acting credits include: CBS, The Discovery Channel, Lifetime, AMC, VH1, and feature films. Over 20 National commercials shot over past few years. Comedy/International featured: The Groundlings, The Improv, Improv Olympic, Upright Citizen's Brigade, Comedy Central Stage, Stand Up NY, New York Comedy Club, Caroline's on Broadway, The People's Improv Theatre, The Magnet, Stage Left Studio, The Bowery Poetry Club, Gotham City Improv, Parkside Lounge, The Nuyorican Poets Cafe, Comix, The World Expo and La Sala Mirador. As a dancer, Katie toured Europe. UC Irvine: BA, Drama. Www.katienorthlich.com @KatieNorthlich
Liz has been coaching, directing and performing improv for the last 25 years. Liz coached the long-running IO (Improv Olympic) house teams Valhalla, Deep Schwa and Mission Improvable (founders of the Westside Comedy Theater in Santa Monica). Liz was IO's Training Center Director for 3 years, and an ensemble level teacher for 10 years. A founding member of The IO Roadshow, Liz has taught hundreds of workshops at colleges and corporations nationwide. In 1999, 2000 & 2001 Liz won the Del Close Coach of the Year Award at IO, now called the Liz Allen Excellence in Teaching Award. In 2006, with Jimmy Carrane, Liz co-wrote the book Improvising Better (Heinemann) and co-created their popular Individual Assessment Workshop. Liz was honored to coach The Commune, the improv ensemble in Mike Birbiglia's 2016 feature film Don't Think Twice. Liz mentors improv coaches at The Improv Shop in St Louis, and thanks to Skype, coaches faraway improv teams around the globe. In 2017 Liz and her family moved back to Chicago where she continues to write and teach. She is happy to return to her alma mater, The IO Chicago, where she currently teaches Advanced Harold. Liz is a national treasure! Give it a listen.
Boel, Hjalmar och Ida genomför under sommaren en fem veckors intensivkurs på Improv Olympic i Chicago, USA. Vi pratar om lärdomar, reflektioner och tankar från vår femte och sista vecka av Improv Olympic Summer Intensive med lärare Jonny Nelson.
Boel, Hjalmar och Ida är under sommaren på fem veckors intensivkurs på Improv Olympic i Chicago, USA. Hjalmar och Ida pratar om lärdomar, reflektioner och tankar från vår fjärde vecka av Improv Olympic Summer Intensive med lärare James Dugan.
Boel, Hjalmar och Ida är under sommaren på fem veckors intensivkurs på Improv Olympic i Chicago, USA. Vi pratar om lärdomar, reflektioner och tankar från vår tredje vecka av Improv Olympic Summer Intensive med lärare Bill Arnett.
Boel, Hjalmar och Ida är under sommaren på fem veckors intensivkurs på Improv Olympic i Chicago, USA. Vi pratar om lärdomar, reflektioner och tankar från vår andra vecka av Improv Olympic Summer Intensive.
Boel, Hjalmar och Ida är under sommaren på fem veckors intensivkurs på Improv Olympic i Chicago, USA. Vi pratar om lärdomar, reflektioner och tankar från vår första vecka av Improv Olympic Summer Intensive. Vi har även med Jesper Eriksson från Stockholm som gått på intensivkurs hos Annoyance Theatre under veckan.
Boel, Hjalmar och Ida är under sommaren på fem veckors intensivkurs på Improv Olympic i Chicago, USA. Vi pratar om vad vi har för förväntningar och förhoppningar på intensivkursen och på impron generellt i Chicago. Varje vecka är tanken att vi sammanfattar våra take-aways såsom reflektioner, insikter och lärdomar.
Let me introduce you to Bill Chott! He of the Dana Carvey Show/Second City/Improv Olympic kind of fame. Bill has been improvising and acting since he left St. Louis for Chicago back in the early nineties. He was one of the cast members of the cult favorite Dana Carvey Show in 1996. Bill is also known for his role as the Mailman in 'This Is Us.' Bill performs and teaches in Los Angeles with his corporate gig, the Improv Trick; he is also a proud father to a daughter. We talked about his role as Fred Mertz at the National Comedy Museum in Jamestown, NY and how we both deal with ADHD in our lives. It's a great listen!
Tom Farnan is an actor and comedian who primarily stars in a variety of commercials. He moved to Chicago and immersed himself in theater and improv, not to mention being a cast member of ComedySportz, The Second City, and ImprovOlympic. As a commercial actor, Tom has appeared in numerous spots, with name directors; like Miller Genuine Draft with Pete Marquis, Bosch with Bart Timmer, and Orbit Gum with Brian Lee Hughes. ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ TOM FARNAN ⌲ IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2764025/ ⌲ IG: https://www.instagram.com/tfar2far/?hl=en ⌲ Twitter: https://twitter.com/TomFarnan ⌲ Website: http://tomfarnan.com/ ⌲ Velvet Tom: http://velvettom.com/ ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ The Moving Spotlight Podcast ⌲ iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-moving-spotlight/id1597207264 ⌲ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7cjqYAWSFXz2hgCHiAjy27 ⌲ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/themovingspotlight ⌲ ALL: https://linktr.ee/themovingspotlight ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ #ComedySportz #SecondCity #ImprovOlympic #MillerGenuineDraft #Bosch #OrbitGum #Improv #MusicalImprov #Comedian #Emmys #TVTime #iTunes #Actor #ActorsLife #Believe #Success #Inspiration #Netflix #Hulu #Amazon #HBO #AppleTV #Showtime #Acting #Artist #Theatre #Film #YourBestBadActing #Content #CorbinCoyle #JohnRuby #RealFIREacting #TMS_Pod --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-moving-spotlight/support
It's back to beautiful Colorado for Adam as he talks to a chef and restaurant owner (the great Joe Nuñez) about his time at the Overlook Hotel, kitchen tips, and how to slaughter animals. Don't miss it! For more from Joseph A. Nuñez, check out his socials:https://www.instagram.com/joeythetunahttps://twitter.com/josephanunez--SHOW INFORMATION Twitter: @MyDeadNeighborsInstagram: @MyNeighborsAreDeadEmail: MyNeighborsAreDead@gmail.com Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/myneighborsaredeadMerchandise: TeePublicSubscribe: Apple PodcastsSubscribe: Spotify
Ever wondered how an improv comedy group can create a hit TV show? Join me in this captivating episode as I sit down with the incredibly talented Kate Lambert to discuss her journey from the world of improv to the creation of her show, Teachers, on TV Land. We explore the origins of Teachers, from Kate's time with The Katydids improv group and their early videos to the eventual purchase of the show by TV Land. Along the way, we delve into the creative process, the surprise of not being replaced by big-name actors, and the importance of Chicago actors in the show. We also reminisce about Kate's first job at Second City, which just so happened to be on a cruise ship. Additionally, we touch on the development of the characters in Teachers, the professional elements like costumes and makeup that brought them to life, and the sketches from the web series that made it to the TV show. Finally, I share my own experiences with the Second City theater and the incredible people I saw there, such as Tina Fey, Stephanie Weir, Rachel Dratch and Tina Fey. In this episode, we discuss the crucial lesson of treating every job, even unpaid gigs, with the utmost professionalism and dedication. We'll also chat about The Katydids journey to LA, the value of having a supportive executive on their side, and the impact of the improv community in Chicago. Don't miss our conversation on Mo Collins' work on MADtv, Kate's recent projects, and her aspirations to return to Chicago and visit the space where her journey began. Join us for this engaging and entertaining episode — you won't want to miss it! Kate Lambert co-created, executive produced, wrote, and starred on the sitcom Teachers on TV Land. She has appeared on Reno 911, The Last Show Left on Earth, The Today Show, Last Call with Carson Daly, the film How to Ruin the Holidays, and done voiceover work for American Dad. Kate has also performed at The John F. Kennedy Center; La Jolla Playhouse; and TBS Just for Laughs. During her time in Chicago, she was in The Second City Mainstage revue, Let Them Eat Chaos, and is also an alumna of The Second City Touring Company and iO. Connect with Kate Lambert on her website at: KateLambert.com Paul Vato is an actor, improvisor, comedian, poker player, podcaster & entrepreneur. Connect with Paul Vato across all social media at: PaulVato.com CHAPTERS (0:00:04) - Kate Lambert on Teachers and Second City: Kate Lambert and TV Land's Teachers, The Katydids improv group, Chicago actors, and Second City cruise ship job are discussed. (0:13:23) - Developing Characters and Second City Memories: Kate Lambert and I discussed her career in improv, the exaggerated characters for TV Land's Teachers, and the impact of The Second City Theater. (0:18:27) - From Improv to Success: Mo Collins' work on MADtv, Orange Alert, Improv Olympic's name change, Kate's family's support, and Kate's aspirations to return to Chicago are discussed. (0:27:26) - Moving to LA and Making It: Kate and her team's creative freedom, Mo Collins' work, the value of an executive, and the impact of the improv community are discussed. (0:40:05) - TV Shows and Creative Projects: Kate Lambert discussed her work on Reno 911, Teachers, Tap Time with Tabitha Brown, and an online sketch show, emphasizing the importance of taking all creative opportunities seriously. (0:45:26) - Meeting Thomas Lennon and Vegas Stories: Kate and Paul reminisce about Reno 911, exploring TV Land's creative freedom, improv, and plans for Las Vegas, plus Kate's upcoming projects. SPONSERS - Buy/rate/review his book, The Kama Sucia aka The Filthy Bed at VATO.tv. Thank you! - Win a seat to the WSOP Main Event EVERY DAY IN MAY! bit.ly/ClubGGVato - Monetize your time & knowledge w/Owwll. Enter referral code "VATO" at sign-up to get $10 to use on the app: Apple: apple.co/35HC0hd • Android: bit.ly/OwwllGooglePlay --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/paulvato/message
We're ecstatic to celebrate and nominate the phenomenal Amy Poehler for the SNL Hall of Fame! Together with our fantastic guest, Victoria Fronso, we embark on the journey of Amy's illustrious career, from her kazoo-playing ice cream parlor days to her current status as an award-winning actor, producer, writer, director, and comedian. Get ready to be inspired by her amazing accomplishments, including her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, her Golden Globe win, and her friendships with Tina Fey, Seth Meyers, and Keena Faye.Discover the incredible impact Amy Poehler has had on the world of sketch and improv comedy. Reminisce on our favorite moments from the Upright Citizens Brigade Sketch Show and how Amy's trailblazing personality inspired us to chase our comedy dreams. Listen in as we analyze her unforgettable characters and sketches, her chemistry with Maya Rudolph, and her collaboration with guests like Justin Timberlake and Katy Perry, which all contributed to her remarkable SNL legacy.Don't miss out as we discuss Amy's groundbreaking depiction of Hillary Clinton, her hilarious lines like "You know what I'm going to do? I'm going to go home. I'm going to go home, put my phone on vibrate and call myself." and how she's become an icon and role model for many. Celebrate the one and only Amy Poehler with us and make sure she gets voted into the SNL Hall of Fame!--------- EPISODE CHAPTERS ---------(0:00:08) - Amy Poehler(0:16:38) - Amy Poehler's Comedy Career(0:26:19) - Amy Poehler's SNL Impact(0:35:48) - SNL Characters With Amy Poehler(0:42:46) - SNL Sketches and Character Influences(0:53:37) - Amy Poehler's Impact on SNL(1:01:00) - Celebrating Amy Poehler's SNL Legacy(1:12:11) - Bronx BeatTranscript0:00:08 - Speaker 1It's the SNL Hall of Fame podcast with your host, jamie Dube, chief Librarian Thomas Senna, and featuring Matt Bardille At now. Curator of the Hall, jamie Dube. 0:00:41 - Speaker 2All right, thank you so much, doug Denats. It is great to be here in the SNL Hall of Fame podcast zone. Please come on inside, but before you do, wipe that spring mock off your feet. The SNL Hall of Fame podcast is a weekly affair. Each episode, we take a deep dive into the career of a former cast member, host, musical guest or writer and add them to the ballot for your consideration. Once the nominees have all been announced, we turn to you, the listener, to vote for the most deserving and help determine who will be enshrined for perpetuity in the hall. Folks, it's time. It's absolutely time. The time has come. May 23rd is tomorrow and voting opens up. Have you registered to vote? Go to SNLHofcom, click vote and click register to vote there. Your ballot will be in your hands within 24 hours. Once the 23rd begins and all bets are off, we're going to elect another class in the SNL Hall of Fame. So this is really exciting. And what makes things even more exciting is today's nominee, because if you had your ballot set, it might be thrown asunder when you hear who we are nominating today, and that is Amy Poehler. We are closing out this season by nominating Amy Poehler. This is going to be great. I can't wait to hear what our guest has to say, and really I can't wait to hear what Matt has to say. So let's go and talk to our friend Matt. Hey, matt. 0:02:22 - Speaker 3Hey, jimmy, how are you doing? I'm great. How about you, matt? I am terrific. I'm really looking forward to today's topic of discussion, amy Poehler. Yeah, she's great. Right, she is wonderful 5'2". Born September 16, 1971. So we're starting to get into the cast members that are around my age and making me feel old, since they're already retired from SNL. She has 94 acting credits, 30 producer credits, 19 writing credits, 15 soundtrack credits and six director credits. Yeah, she was born in Newton, massachusetts, to two school teachers. Her dad pushed her from day one to try new things. Prior to going to college, she worked in an old-timey themed ice cream parlor called Chadwix, where she was made to wear a costume and play the kazoo while singing Happy Birthday to customers. And that's actually what helped her realize that she wanted to be a performer, because making people laugh made her feel like a queen. Yeah, so she started improv with my mother's flea bag. While working on her bachelor's in media at Boston College, she took classes at Second City, where she studied with improv. God, del Close. There's so many people I know who are like one degree separated from Del Close. It's bonkers and it's like man. It must have been wild studying with him. But yeah, so while studying with Del, she befriended and began performing alongside Tina Fey at Improv Olympics, and she then went on to co-found Upright Citizens Brigade and helped create the ASCAT format with Matt Besser, ian Roberts and Matt Walsh In 1996, growing from just an improv sketch troupe to a school of its own, sitting side by side with Second City and the groundlings, as one of the most influential improv sketch schools in entertainment. Ucb went on to train luminaries like Aziz Ansari, donald Glover, ed Helms, ellie Kemper, aubrey Plaza, nick Kroll and Zach Woods. Basically, if you see a hot young comedian who's actually no longer that young but still hot ripping up the industry right now, they likely took a UCB class. Now she is, like my wife, a noted fan of bone stugs and harmony. In the early 90s she had a recurring role on Conan O'Brien's late night as Andy Richter's younger sister, with a disturbingly intense crush on Conan. It was a lot to watch. Even back then She brought it all Now. During the first two seasons of Arrested Development she played Willar Nett, god Bluth's accidental wife, before eventually marrying him for real in 2007, before later divorcing. She also played his sister in the film's Blades of Glory with a disturbingly wife-like energy Now while filming the movie Baby Mama with Keena Faye, she was in fact pregnant with her first child, archie. She has formed lasting friendships with both Faye and Seth Meyers, whom she considers her best friends. She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, along with a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in Television. She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame along with a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series for Parks and Rec, as well as an Emmy and Writers Guild of America Award. The award was the third SNL alumni to give a class day address to the graduating class at Harvard. Alongside Al Franken and Will Ferrell, she started a wine store called Zoolow Wines and Spirits in Brooklyn Park Slope with musician friends Amy Miles and Mike Robertson, where they sell nice bottles of wine for as little as $13. And finally, during the filming of Parks and Rec, polar started a tradition that any time the show was shot on location, the whole cast and crew would have dinner together and she would dedicate a toast to someone, often picking out a cast or crew member, and the toasts would have to continue until everyone was toasted. Mike sure called this the Polar and continued this tradition on the good place. So yeah, she's just a nice human being. Sounds that way. 0:07:21 - Speaker 2Yeah, nice human being who belongs in the SNL Hall of Fame. What do you think? 0:07:25 - Speaker 3Agreed, definitely agreed. 0:07:28 - Speaker 2All right Cool, all right Yes. 0:07:54 - Speaker 4Thank you so much, matt and Jamie and I am to join here today by a wonderful first time guest here on the SNL Hall of Fame. She's a frequent guest on the Saturday Night Networks podcast. Our great friends over there, john Schneider and them Victoria, i actually heard you on John's shows and decided to poach you. That's kind of what I do here and there is all here talent on the Saturday Night Network and then just kind of get you over here on the SNL Hall of Fame, but John doesn't mind. 0:08:26 - Speaker 7No, I'm sure he doesn't mind the double dip. 0:08:29 - Speaker 4No, he does not. We are all good friends, we're all wonderful podcasting communities. So, victoria Fronso, thank you so much for joining us here on the SNL Hall of Fame. 0:08:39 - Speaker 7And thank you for having me. I'm excited to do this. I love debating Hall of Fame people and who's worthy and who may not be worthy, but we're here to discuss who's worthy. 0:08:49 - Speaker 4Yeah, absolutely, and we have a really good one today. But before we get to that, usually I go into more detail about my guest during this intro, but I want you to do it, victoria. So can you talk about your experience as a sketch and improv performer and maybe a little about being a 2023 SNL scholar? 0:09:09 - Speaker 7Yeah, i'd love to, so I always wanted to do comedy. It was kind of second nature, but my parents always told me, to quote get a real job, as a lot of performer parents tell them to do So. After college, probably around 2018, i started taking improv classes at the second city and did a lot of performances there as well, outside of my classes, and then in 2020, i auditioned for the conservatory, which I'll just pair like just for context is kind of like your masters of comedy and improv at the second city, you have to audition to get in and you have to audition to stay in, and then something called the pan pandemic is what it was called happen. 0:09:52 - Speaker 4I've heard about that. 0:09:53 - Speaker 7Yeah, I read about on Twitter and it was like, oh, it was a big deal or something. So I had to pause there. Pause there for a little bit. But last year, while living in Detroit, I was doing comedy at Go Comedy Improv Improv Theater. I don't know why I keep can't say improv for the life of me, even though I do it all the time. I was doing comedy there I was an understudy. I did a couple of sketch shows or a sketch show at the planet Aunt Theater, both theaters founded by Second City Detroit alumni, which is really cool. So you kind of get that training trickle down. And then last year I applied for the Saturday Night Live Scholarship at the second city and was one out of four people who got it, which is really cool. It's a diversity scholarship and it kind of is trying to build a pathway for folks who have a different background, whether that be ethnically racial, if they're part of the LGBTQ plus community, just to get them an opportunity to be in spaces that they may otherwise not have. And what that entails is they pay for my training and what my classes are, And I'm currently in the final stage of my classes at Second City. So it's kind of bittersweet there, But then I get to meet with a few of SNL folks and then hopefully get to audition this time next year. 0:11:12 - Speaker 4Wow, that's awesome And hopefully you won't forget all of us little people who you've interacted with when you're on the show in New York doing that. But that's Victoria, that's so awesome And I just kind of wish you really good luck and wish you well on your venture there. That's so wonderful. 0:11:32 - Speaker 7Thank you so much. I don't expect anything. I'll be very honest. I don't expect to be on SNL. I'm really just grateful to be doing this work. It's been a part of my life for such a long time And now that I'm able to kind of learn from the best and learn all these different techniques whether or not I make a SNL or whatever it is I end up doing I'm just happy to be doing it. And even being on podcasts like this one and just to share my love for comedy in different ways is awesome. 0:12:01 - Speaker 4You bring such a great perspective that we haven't had here. On the SNL Hall of Fame You're not just watching Saturday Night Live and watching sketch performers, you're doing it. You're performing sketch, you're taking the classes, you're making your way through. So I just love that perspective that you bring to this. So that's why I think you're the perfect guest to talk about Amy Poehler, because she was so influential in the sketch and improv world. So her first sketch and improv experience, just real quick, was with Improv Olympic. So can you tell us kind of about Improv Olympic and what Amy's background is with that? 0:12:41 - Speaker 7Yeah, i don't know entirely too much about her time at IO is what it is called But I do know her first class was taught by Sharna Halpern, who is an icon and a staple in the Chicago improv community and just improv everywhere, and so to have your first class in Chicago taught by her is kind of a big deal. You don't see it often. I don't think Sharna is teaching much anymore. She also learned and worked from Del Close, who's also a legend in the comedy world in Chicago and improv as well, and that's actually where she met Tina Fey. So a lot of folks think she met her at Second City, but I think it was actually IO where they met and then they moved on to Second City. But yeah, others at IO, just to name a few, was like Chris Farley was there, and so it's that institution among Second City or where they've built a lot of these great SNL cast members. 0:13:37 - Speaker 4Yeah, the roots of sketch and improv definitely go back to IO and Del Close especially. Del Close is one of those names that you hear. It's almost like hearing about if you're a baseball fan, like Babe Ruth or something like that, and they name Del Close rings like that amongst these circles. 0:13:54 - Speaker 7I was going to say, if you're a fan of improv and sketch and learning about where it all started, i highly recommend reading the book called Improv Nation, and it goes a little bit deeper. If you're a little nerd about it, like me, it goes a bit a lot deeper into it And it talks about how Chicago has become this for lack of a better term a cesspool of comedic geniuses, and that's where everyone comes to really get their foot in the door. 0:14:23 - Speaker 4I think that book delved into Mike Nichols and maybe his work in two And everybody knows Mike Nichols from his time as a director, a really famous director, but he has roots there. Improv Nation is a really good book. I second that. I suggest Improv Nation as well. So yeah, so Amy Poehler joined in 1995, she then moved on to Upright Citizens Brigade where I think most people who caught the me of the tail end are familiar with her before SNL. They know her with UCB. So she co-founded the UCB Theater in New York City in 1999. That's one of the main training grounds for aspiring and sketch improv and comedians. Like Second City and those others, The groundlings in California and LA, These are like the huge breeding grounds for sketch and improv reformers. So Victoria is someone who's currently a sketch and improv comedian. I know you're most associated with second city but you know we can put into context UCB standing in that world of sketch. So maybe let me tell us about UCB's standing in that world and Particularly Amy's influence. 0:15:34 - Speaker 7Yeah, i just take a step back to. I want to call out that Amy Polar was on second cities touring company, which has been part of second cities since, i think, 1967, and It was a way for if you weren't able to make it a second city, second city was gonna come to you and Not many people are able to do that. So I just want to call out how awesome it is and how you know Seldom it is that you get to see folks on touring company. It's very competitive. Former touring members include, like Julia Louis Dreyfus and Chris Redd, and they, her and Tina Fey, actually auditioned on the same day and got to tour together, which is really cool. But UCB, i think it was she founded in 1996 with Matt Welsh who you may know is like the doctor from the hangover. 0:16:20 - Speaker 4Mm-hmm, Yeah, yeah, yeah yeah, yeah, he's awesome. 0:16:25 - Speaker 7He's so underrated but we'll talk about him another time Among a few others, and they, you know, really found their footing in New York City and that's where they really created a foundation You know they made appearances with. Back. Then was called late night with Conan O'Brien And they played like some characters in the audience You've seen that and also like late night with Jimmy Fallon and and all that where they sit among the audience. They also had a show on County Central, which is really cool. It was improv driven sketches like hidden camera stunts, and most notable, i think, is what was called the, the prostitute Parista, where she's this like former prostitute who goes and interviews at a coffee shop and Matt Well should we just talked about is the hiring man is like I don't think you're qualified And it's very funny, and then they end up being best friends and he ends up following his dreams. It was really funny. And then eventually she was one of the co-founders of UCB theater in New York And I think they also had it in LA, which unfortunately closed during the pandemic but is reportedly back. I I'm gonna describe a moment where I kind of like you know, people peak in high school Yeah, i peaked. I peaked in this moment and then it's been downhill since. It's been stagnant downhill and stagnant a little bit. But March 2020, right before, like literally two weeks before the world shut down, i Went to New York City and I was standing outside SNL at the what's it called, the, just outside where folks can meet the, the cast members. After the show and Chris read, who I've seen numerous times previously in Chicago, recognized me and said oh hey, victoria, how are you? and He said are you here on Monday, which I was Monday was actually March 2nd, was my birthday And he goes hey, come to UCB, me and Ego are doing an improv show. I was like, uh, okay, and Got tickets. We went and that was my first time at UCB. It was really fun. They did this cool little. They were. I love the format of it. I won't spoil it, just in case they're they're doing it again, but they basically are doing. They ask questions or they do a little bit at the beginning and then it turns into an actual scene. And then afterward I got to talk to him a little bit and meet Ego, new Odom, and that was my birthday and that was the best Birthday ever, yeah, and yeah, i peaked and I'll never get. 0:18:48 - Speaker 4You got, i mean, the personal invite from Chris read for one. He didn't. It's not like you went to the show as a fan and then you happen to meet them afterward like you. You Got the personal invite. So yeah, i would. That would be Damn near the peak for me too. 0:19:04 - Speaker 7Yeah, so and I mean it was just, it was a bit. It's a very cool theater. If you're in New York City I highly recommend you go and check it out. It's you can tell like the comedy and the genius that is Amy Poehler. You know why she's an awesome contender for a Hall of Fame spot, just kind of flows through that space and She's definitely inspired me. Her and Tina Fey when I was younger always inspired me Gilda Radner, of course, but you know from my generation, the folks that I, the women I looked up to, were those two and It was because of them I even signed up for my first second city class. And you know, here We are today, a few years later. 0:19:43 - Speaker 4But yeah, so she's. She's definitely an inspiration for you, and And a lot of people and I thought what one of the things that I find fascinating about her As it relates to her time before SNL was you will, you had mentioned the the upright citizens Brigade Brigade Sketch show that was on Comedy Central. So that ran for three seasons. It was with the aforementioned Matt Walsh, matt Besser and Ian Roberts also made up the UCB and it's interesting because she's one of the few, one of the handful of people who get to SNL who Did sketch on television before that. So of course, like we had, keenan Thompson had sketched experience on TV. Darren Killam, i believe, was on mad TV before SNL. Kate McKinnon was known for for Being on a sketch show, but Amy was like that too and I'd watched the upright citizens Brigade on Comedy Central as it was airing and So cool, yeah, so it was awesome. It was like a spiritual successor. I would say to kids in the hall. It kind of had that weird out there kids in the hall vibe, also a precursor to like I think you should leave Tim Robinson's Netflix show. There was some weird elements there. But just totally up my alley, did you have you gone back or did you get to watch upright citizens Brigade on Comedy Central? 0:21:06 - Speaker 7I Wasn't cool enough to watch it. I don't think even I was allowed to watch Comedy Central. 0:21:11 - Speaker 4I was probably dating myself, because I was plenty old enough to watch it. It was airing live. 0:21:17 - Speaker 7Yeah, it was hit or miss, like sometimes they could watch MTV But like I couldn't watch other things, or like my parents let me watch a godfather with that. It was just very weird what they pick and chose of what I could see, but I don't watch it then. I have gone back a few times and and watch bits and pieces of it just to. Sometimes you just need to like get re-inspired and Remotivated so you go and watch some of the folks that you really look up to and what they did and kind of make yourself feel better About where you're at too. No, i've watched it too, like the. The prostitute Parisone was again probably most notable, but one of my favorites too. It kind of demonstrates her Ability to be so multifaceted. I don't think that some of that content stands the test of time. 0:22:03 - Speaker 4Yeah, I don't think they could push it. 0:22:05 - Speaker 7But if you just look at it like face value for the time it was in it was, it was awesome. 0:22:10 - Speaker 4Yeah, yeah, definitely Something that, like I compared it to kids in the hall, which was a Lorne Michaels produced show, of course. So definitely something that probably would have caught the attention of SNL producers and possibly Lorne her time on the upright citizens brigade show. That's a tongue twister, upright citizens brigade. 0:22:31 - Speaker 7So no, i'm a little side note. I'm really impressed that you know what kids in the hall is. 0:22:36 - Speaker 4Oh, God, no, okay, i watched kids in the hall. I was a weird eight-year-old, okay, watching kids in the hall. So I would watch SNL in the early 90s. So again, dating myself. But so I was. I was probably watching SNL as it was airing probably around 1990, 91, and after SNL finished they would show kids in the hall. So so, yeah, so if I was able to stay awake by then I would maybe catch some kids in the hall. Of course I watched kids in the hall and comedy central when I was like in middle school, high school, so that's, yeah, i don't know. Just people, probably SNL viewers of my age and generation Also love kids in the hall you. 0:23:19 - Speaker 7You know, before the show, just for context for listeners, we were talking about Sterling Heights, michigan, and how very niche it was. But Kevin McDonald of Kids in the hall did a workshop to a go comedy improv theater in Frandale, michigan. So really. Yes, it was very cool. Yeah, and Again, also like didn't realize that a lot of people knew what kids in the hall is, because usually you mentioned. If you're like, what are you talking? 0:23:46 - Speaker 4about. Oh, yeah, i, the kids in the hall theme song was my alarm on my my phone for years. I think I maybe changed it last year, but the but the kids in the hall theme song was was my alarm that I woke up to for like year, like a decade. That's awesome. So, yeah, you're talking to a huge fan right there and it's a huge compliment to Amy that I would compare Her some of her work before SNL to kids in the hall, a show that I love Just so dearly. So we talked about her, her background before SNL Are flexing her muscles, already doing a lot in the sketch comedy world. So she was on SNL from 2001 to 2009. She debuted during a tense and confusing time in the country and SNL. So in her book yes please, which I highly recommend. Since we're recommending books on this episode, i recommend yes please by Amy Polar. So she talked about how difficult it was to start SNL right after 9-11 Because of the mood of the country. She wasn't sure if people were ready to smile, much less laugh, which is something that I remember Is. Well, that was just kind of the mood of the country in general. So, as far as her SNL stuff goes, what stood out to you about Amy as a sketch performer? 0:25:12 - Speaker 7so I know that a lot of the SNL Performers and cast members are able to take, you know, an ordinary thing and kind of exaggerate it, but I think what stood out about her is how she was able to do it and she, i think, a lot of her stuff What's the what's the word? like what? how do I phrase it? It was simple, yet like punchy, you know, like she didn't have to do a lot to get her point across, and we're gonna talk about a few of these characters, you know, coming down. But she was able to take something so ordinary and mundane and turn it into something Wild and funny and, you know, provide a different outlook. And you know she as as a woman, and especially as a woman in comedy, she was able to be a like a full-on feminist and kind of push through barriers. Not that she's the first to do it and not that she perfected it, but again, someone in my generation looking up to folks. She was right there after, you know, especially after the internet, and I think she was ahead of her time to you on some topics. I could talk about her pre SNL days forever, but she did which I'm gonna go back to really quickly here. She did a pilot, i think, with SNL slash IO called RVTV, with Del Close. You should, it's on, it's on YouTube and You know she has a line in there where she kind of calls out the establishment And she calls out the NRA and she goes it's cool to be a Republican, guns are cool, so is the NRA. Murder is hip, like she already had. She knew before we know, and she brought that perspective To SNL and to all of her, her comedy really. And so that to me, while it's general that her POV, is what stood out to me in her characters and what she wrote and how she performed them. 0:27:00 - Speaker 4Yeah, i think you brought up a good point. I think it she had like an economy of words. She didn't like it was just just just little punchy Kind of things. We would see a lot of that on weekend update, a lot of that on her UCB show, on Comedy Central. I can sell. Just kind of going through the previous seasons which I did recently, it was like, oh this is, this is Amy, and I think Victoria, you brought up just what I didn't even Consciously, i guess think that as far as Amy goes, like why did? why is she so appealing to me? Why is why, like when she was on weekend update, like why do I find her jokes more satisfying than like Seth Meyers jokes? And I like Seth Meyers? but there's a reason why I liked Amy's jokes maybe a little bit more. And then you I think what you said Perfectly encapsulates that- I mean in a word She was fearless. 0:27:52 - Speaker 7Yeah she really like she did her thing and I don't think she let much get in the way of her, you know, getting her point across and how she felt about things. It was always her point of view, which is what we need. We can't just have a shared point of view, which in some cases yes, but when she came, you know, to the writer's room or to the screen, she Was uniquely, always herself, which was brilliant. 0:28:17 - Speaker 4Yeah, and with packed with a lot of confidence To and that's the thing you can have a message and you can have ideas and what you think is a point of view. But I think you need to also really relay that with confidence and Amy had that in droves. She was super confident which is inspiring. 0:28:35 - Speaker 7I mean, we I'm, we being me. I'm gonna bring my perspective as as a woman, especially as a minority in comedy. Like we didn't have a lot of that, you know, on TV where a Woman is outspoken Like some of her character. A lot of her characters are outspoken and they weren't really a shy or reserve. She was up and center and, you know, really didn't care what people had to say. And it's inspiring to me to kind of bring That to the table too and it's allowed me to also in my comedy, to be fake confident. You know, fake it till you make it. But Yeah, she's, she's awesome in that way. 0:29:16 - Speaker 4Yeah, so as far as specific Characters and sketches from her time at SNL, where should we start? 0:29:25 - Speaker 7My goodness, that's a loaded question. I Think the most obvious is probably like what do you think Hillary Clinton? 0:29:33 - Speaker 5It has been such an honor to serve you, the citizens of my home state of New York. Oh, my kidding, this is not my home state. It never was my home state. Pack up the house a chap, a quad bill. What's that We never unpacked? 0:29:50 - Speaker 4even better, Yeah, that was one of her first recurring characters, especially she. She started that in her third season. So her depiction of Hillary Clinton. So we talked about what Amy brought to the table as a sketch performer. You saw some of that in her depiction of Hillary Clinton. 0:30:10 - Speaker 7Yes, she played, of course, an exaggerated caricature of Hillary Clinton, but again, it was this fearless confident. You know I'm calling out the sexism in politics. You know I'm calling out how insane like, especially with her. You know, with Tina Feyess, sarah Palin, calling out how kind of ludicrous it is that Sarah Palin has gotten a little well in 2008, got a little bit further in politics. And she did. And you know she brought her personality to Hillary Clinton and, you know, made it, made it really funny. 0:30:49 - Speaker 4Yeah, and as far as doing impressions and everything like that I'm preaching to the choir, probably here, but you got to find that hook right. As a performer, and I've heard, i've heard some of the masters, like Daryl Hammond, dana Carvey, love, they love talking about how they conjure up impressions. But you have to find that hook And I think with her, hillary Clinton, with Amy Pollars, hillary Clinton she started you know her mannerisms, that laugh, because Hillary didn't really laugh like that, to be honest with you, but it was something that Amy was able to grab onto and say this is an element of this character that I'm creating and let's work from there. 0:31:32 - Speaker 7Yeah, and it's funny that you mentioned that, because when she was with Hillary, which is, i think it was March, march 1st 2008. I think I forgot what season that was, but she does a call open with Hillary Clinton and Hillary Clinton asked her I don't laugh like that, do I? And she was well like, yeah, you know it was. It was just very funny that she you get to call impressions of yourself. You don't really see that And then, of course, in a cold open, which is even more rare, in Second City Saturday Night Live. So I mean, it's just iconic. She's done things that others have never done on that show. 0:32:08 - Speaker 4Yeah, she played Hillary Clinton 13 times throughout the years, from season 29 all the way up to her last season. It was season 34. So she played Hillary Clinton quite a few times. One of the sketches and I don't know if you remember this one, but it's it's what I kind of go back to as far as when Amy first announced herself with confidence something that she first led, it was in her second episode and it's it's a sketch that she wrote with Sean Williams Scott. It was the porn star sketch. 0:32:39 - Speaker 8Hey, can I ask you a question? 0:32:42 - Speaker 1You can ask me anything. You know that. 0:32:48 - Speaker 9When do you think it's a good time to mention in a relationship that you've done some porn? 0:32:56 - Speaker 10What Just like? how long do you think like in a relationship you should wait before you tell somebody you did a little porn? 0:33:05 - Speaker 7Like, first of all, what an era It was. It was again right after, you know, september 11th, unfortunately, but like those early 2000s, like when it comes to comedy, they were so out there It was almost the Wild West. 0:33:21 - Speaker 4Yeah, yeah, people were taking chances, it was. I mean, some of the bad stuff was like it was. I think it was the height of like edge lord kind of comedy which wasn't so wonderful, but then. But you also had people taking chances and delving into ideas that that that maybe are taboo or risque. 0:33:39 - Speaker 7Yeah, I mean Sean Williams, scott himself was in what American Pie Like again wouldn't go so well if it was released as is for the first time today. But yeah, i mean just having him there and then, you know, having her. Like I said, she takes simple things, which I guess being a porn star, dating is something you don't usually see, but it's a simple thing. 0:34:04 - Speaker 4She takes every day right. 0:34:06 - Speaker 7Yeah, and it is a slice of life. Yeah, and it's a different POV. We don't usually see that POV, but you know I love that. She was like downplaying. I know I was, i was in a porn movie and he's like, well, i don't care about your past. There's like, well, this afternoon I guess was my past And then you know, it was just very funny. I think again, really cool that she got to be she was fresh to SNL in the second episode, got to be in, got to be a main character with the host, her second episode. It just I don't know, man, do I? I'm preaching, i'm also preaching to the choir, but like she is doing things that are essentially unheard of in at SNL. Yeah, that's soon. Yeah, that's soon And it's your own sketch that you have co-written. But yeah, I mean, if you wanted to walk through, I guess how it how it went for the rest of folks, I don't want to ruin it for you if that's where you're going. 0:35:05 - Speaker 4Oh, no, yeah, go ahead. 0:35:06 - Speaker 7No, so I mean she's you know having I thought it was a dinner with a boyfriend or it's like. 0:35:12 - Speaker 4Yeah, And she was like Or just like it seemed like a they've maybe a first date or they were in the early stages of dating. 0:35:19 - Speaker 7Yes, Early stages of dating She's like oh, when is it a good time to mention that I've done a porn movie? And he was like what? And then you know she's like, oh, it's. She kind of does like, oh, it was like a one time thing, but she's been in multiple. And he finds out She's like oh, it's your past. And she's like well, this afternoon, i guess, is my past. And yeah, he's like I thought I thought it'd be cool to date a porn star, but it's now that I'm am. It's not fun. She was, i'm not a porn star yet. 0:35:51 - Speaker 4And I think she crossed her fingers to her. She had the mannerism like I'm not a porn star yet, Like yes, I might be looking soon And you know what? 0:36:01 - Speaker 7That's how you want to get your bag. Get your bag, like, not shaming Women for their choices. And then, of course, seth Meyers, who, like I think, was probably her top collaborator throughout her time on SNL, you know, comes in as the waiter. He's like, oh, i think I know you from somewhere, and then it turns out he casted one of her movies and then he goes and rushes to the kitchen and tell his friends And then at the end of it she's signing autographs. So, you know, josh, aka Sean Williams Scott, is just at the end, i guess, accepting of her career. 0:36:37 - Speaker 4Yeah, and I'm sure viewers at the time who knew Amy from her Comedy Central days were waiting for some kind of showcase like that And it came really soon. So she does cite that in her book too. It was just something that of course, was one of the more memorable experiences for her on the time from her time at the show. So that was, like her, basically the first Amy Polar led sketch on SNL. That was from season 27, episode two, sean Williams, scott, go check that out. I think it's a fun episode, just kind of overall. But that I think, and I think this porn star sketch I call it porn it's like porn star date sketch. I think it was like a 10 to one. So I think they kind of just put it at the end of the show. Yes, and it fit perfectly, yeah, so I'm glad it made air. 0:37:27 - Speaker 7I will plug Peacock. It's on Peacock if you want to watch it. So everything, mostly everything, is on Peacock, if I'm not mistaken. 0:37:34 - Speaker 4Yeah, So sometimes when you get to seasons like 30, 31 or so, you find like 15 minute episodes on Peacock. But I think season 27, we're still you can find mostly full episodes. 0:37:46 - Speaker 7Yeah, so go check that out If you're looking for musical performances. I think they cut a lot of those out. But other than that, if you Michael Jordan episodes on there, so just go for it and watch it. 0:37:58 - Speaker 4Another great episode as well. Yeah, and the LeBron James episodes on there too, just if you're more of a LeBron person. 0:38:05 - Speaker 7Oh, you can't say that to me. I literally live in Chicago. I know I was born in the 90s, lived in Chicago during Michael Jordan's era. What are you doing? I got it. I'm just going to start a different podcast about that. 0:38:23 - Speaker 4So what other sketches or characters could we not do the show without talking about? 0:38:32 - Speaker 7Bronx beat. 0:38:33 - Speaker 4Bronx beat Amy Poehler and Maya Rudolph Just great chemistry. 0:38:38 - Speaker 7Yeah, they were like I'm surprised it was brought. I mean Bronx. I don't listen, i don't want to offend culture here. I don't know if it's a Bronx or Staten Island. I didn't realize that it was Bronx. I thought it was like the Italians were in Staten Island. But again, i don't want to be wrong, i don't want to offend any New Yorkers. I make it ignore me, but I really loved it. They were like these disgusted, outspoken, sassy women. 0:39:06 - Speaker 10Let me ask you something, frank. You married Well. 0:39:08 - Speaker 7I have a girlfriend. 0:39:09 - Speaker 10Why haven't you asked your girlfriend to marry you? You know what? Don't get married. Listen to us. Don't get married. Your life is over Over. 0:39:15 - Speaker 11She is right. You know what? My husband? I want to kill him. I want to strangle him while he's asleep. I want to kill him. You know what I love him. 0:39:23 - Speaker 10He's in love with my life. Here we go with the waterworks. He gave me my two dollars. What am I going to do? So emotional these days, it's true, i can't help it. He gave me my two dollars. I would die without him. You know what Frank Do. Whatever you want, what am I an expert? 0:39:35 - Speaker 7Who like fond over male guests and would flirt with them. There was a line I don't know if I'm allowed to say on this podcast Go ahead and say it, and if I feel I need to cut it, i will. Okay, she, amy Poehler, was with Jake Gyllenhaal, i believe, was it Jake? No, it was with Justin Timberlake and Andy Sandberg, and she was. You know what I'm going to do? I'm going to go home. I'm going to go home, put my phone on vibrate and call myself Like so gross but like so funny, like again, kind of talking about that confidence and that fearlessness and all of her characters, like I don't know that I'd be ever confident enough to say that. And then she's like now leave before I change my mind. 0:40:19 - Speaker 4Total Amy Poehler. Just we were talking about how confident she is And these characters both the characters that both she and Maya played in these sketches were sassy, aggressive, just shameless. Yeah, absolutely Just. And they played against most of the male. It was usually a host that would come in. They were shy and just trying to. You could tell they were maybe interns on their show, just trying to learn the ropes or whatever guests who were kind of shy. So they played really well off of these sassy, aggressive women. So I think perfect Amy was like one of the perfect people to play this. 0:40:56 - Speaker 7Yeah, i think the most I mean. Correct me if I'm wrong. I would think the most notable and beloved sketch of that is with Katy Perry, where she comes in in that Elmo t-shirt and they're like whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. You know, like you know, today's episode is brought to you by the number 38 in the letter D And just like, very funny and she was in but also very empowering for women. This, this feminist POV, comes in, she goes they go never be embarrassed by your body, never, ever. And so it just yeah, it was very funny. Betty Caruso has a piece of my heart. She's America's, america's mom. 0:41:36 - Speaker 4Just wonderful, yeah, and it seemed like this Bronx beat show for these characters was like their outlet, because they do allude to just their moms and they have families at home. So it almost seems like this is their outlet just to kind of say what they want and flirt with who they want. So, yeah, the Bronx beat we don't have to tell our listeners to I'm sure they've checked this out so many times Definitely, as far as Amy Polar goes, part of her canon for sure. Yeah, so, and one another recurring character that we're volleying over here. So another recurring character that I want to mention is Caitlin Rick. 0:42:18 - Speaker 8Rick, rick, listen, rick, i know it's 16 hours until Uncle Scott's wedding And I know that you told me it was too early to put my dress on. But as co-junior bridesmaid, i really feel like I need to walk around and practice in my dress, with the heels and the head thing, and I'll be like dum dum, dum, dum, dum, dum, dum, dum, dum, dum, dum, dum, dum, dum dum. 0:42:42 - Speaker 4Oh God Which. And Amy says this character, it was the hyperchild who hung out with her uncle. I think it was usually Horatio Sands was the uncle. Yeah, and Amy says that this character was an homage to Gilda Radner and her Judy Miller character. From now And it's kind of funny when I just had that in my mind this reminds me of like the Gilda character. And Amy says that it was an homage to that Judy Miller character from Gilda's I didn't realize that. Yeah, so we're seeing Gilda's influence to an SNL Hall of Famer in her own right. She got voted in Yeah. So, yeah, we're seeing Gilda's influence And Amy, just I love that. She's paying homage to her heroes, essentially, and this was a fun character. 0:43:28 - Speaker 7No, now that you say that, that makes total sense And it comes out in the mannerisms. I mean, Caitlyn is such great birth control if you're debating whether or not you want kids. 0:43:40 - Speaker 4I just took a drink of water. I almost did a spit take. 0:43:44 - Speaker 7No, i just that's. When I think of Caitlyn, i think of great birth control. I was like, oh, i don't know if I want kids, just watch Caitlyn, you know if you're leaning. No, that'll solidify, solidify your decision there. No, i mean, she's like annoying kid with braces. I love the one with. Oh man, he retired twice. What's his name? Tom Brady, and you know, just, she puts on a dress. She's just so annoying, she's hyperactive, she's overly annoying, but that's the point. That's the whole point. 0:44:14 - Speaker 4Yeah, yeah, and I usually yeah, i usually don't love a lot of shouting in sketches. That's why I don't know, that's why I've had to. I've had to come around on Sarah Sherman. I love Sarah now and I love most of her stuff, but a lot I've had to really come around to her more shouty types of pieces that she does on SNL. But I still enjoy these Caitlyn sketches because of her interplay with her ratio And then the character feels fleshed out to me Like there's some hints for a sad home life, forcing Yeah, she's like always just kind of hints at that that she has a really sad home life. 0:44:55 - Speaker 7I think the best characters no matter if it's Saturday Night Live or Key and Peele or whatever it is always have a fleshed out POV And you can tell exactly who they are, where they came from. You can visualize their life outside of the scene that you're seeing. I think those are always made for the best characters. You don't really have to guess who they are outside of the scene. I think that was Caitlyn And I agree The shouty stuff is hard for me too, and I agree with you with Sarah Sherman. I think she's funny, yeah, And I think what she does is so unique and so niche. This is Sarah Sherman we're talking about, but yeah, no, those those louder ones are take a little bit more time for me to warm up to them, but I eventually do, and I think this was at that time, one of the few that were. So it worked because it wasn't constant. I don't think they've ever done constant shouting characters or something that I could be wrong, but I think it worked for her time there. 0:45:57 - Speaker 4Yeah, yeah, i agree, and I think part of her character which I find funny and it's, you know, hinting at how she is outside of the sketch is like her references are old. So she referenced like Dennis Leary Like what little kid references Dennis Leary? or Amadeus, the like the Amadeus? And it tells me that maybe, and this was probably by design by the writers and Amy for this character. It tells me that that that Caitlyn grew up being babysat by the TV and she probably watched a lot of adult content that she shouldn't have been in, not not like sex and violence, but just adult stuff, like like that. That's how I was when I was a kid and yeah, like I said, i'm not talking about like when I was a kid, i would watch movies with nudity. I would watch movies that had like themes of divorce and like finding yourself in midlife crisis, and I was like seven years old Sitting in front of the TV eating cocoa puffs just in my pajamas, watching like Kramer vs Kramer. Yeah, and I kind of think that's how Caitlin was with her homidaeus and Dennis Leary types of references. 0:47:09 - Speaker 7I wonder if her reference to Dennis Leary was kind of an homage to her Massachusetts upbringing as well, since they're both from Massachusetts. 0:47:17 - Speaker 4That's a good point. I'm gonna go ahead and say it was. 0:47:20 - Speaker 7Yeah, i mean, i don't know how close. I think she's from Newton, he's from Warchester, warchester. 0:47:27 - Speaker 4I don't know. You're not a person from Massachusetts, apparently Warester. 0:47:32 - Speaker 7I am a Midwestern gal, through and through from Chicago and Detroit. I call myself a chitroiter. 0:47:39 - Speaker 4Don't let somebody from Massachusetts hear you pronounce it, warchester. 0:47:44 - Speaker 7Okay, listen, i love. 0:47:44 - Speaker 4Duncan. 0:47:46 - Speaker 7I love Duncan, i love Winter, i love the movie Feverpitch Oh yeah, okay With Jimmy Fallon. Yeah, sorry, sorry to the Massachusetts community. You can't see my face. 0:48:06 - Speaker 4So I brought up. Caitlin, so I believe it's your turn. What characters sketch kind of stands out to you? 0:48:14 - Speaker 7Do we want to talk about the needlers? 0:48:16 - Speaker 4We can talk about the needlers. 0:48:18 - Speaker 8Does everyone know what they're getting? Yeah, i think I'm gonna get this beet salad. What. 0:48:24 - Speaker 2The beet salad Bee salad. 0:48:29 - Speaker 10Beet salad. Well, the first two times you said bee salad. 0:48:34 - Speaker 8Yeah, honey, i have a real craving for putting some bees in my mouth. 0:48:38 - Speaker 7I mean, we all know that couple in real life And sometimes I think that they perhaps solved those sketches back in like what 2005. And copy them on purpose, just to make all of us sad and mad. 0:48:54 - Speaker 4Yeah, just to make everybody uncomfortable for their own amusement. 0:48:57 - Speaker 7Yeah, it was. Just it was very like toxic, like the kids today would call that relationship toxic, i think I don't know. Maybe you know this. I have a question because I don't know everything about SNL. Was there a previous version of that called Dan and Sally Harrison, the couple that should be divorced? 0:49:16 - Speaker 4Yeah, so that was the first sketch. They were called Sally and Dan Harrison, the couple that should be divorced. I think they had a theme song. 0:49:24 - Speaker 1You're the horn in my side, you're the face that makes me angry. 0:49:30 - Speaker 5Nothing you ever say or do is right. Sally, and then Harrison, the couple that should be divorced. 0:49:39 - Speaker 4In SNL canon. I consider that the first Needler sketch was that, sally and Dan Harrison. I think their names are Sally and Dan Needler. Possibly going forward They changed the last name from Harrison to Needler, which of course they're needling each other, so there's a bit on the nose, but you want to remember. Sometimes it's on the nose, but yeah, we all know that couple. 0:50:03 - Speaker 7I don't know why I wrote that down when you said it. I wrote it down in my notes as if I'm going to have to retain that for a later day. 0:50:11 - Speaker 4You might. 0:50:12 - Speaker 7You might be on some SNL trivia show and it might come up, maybe that's like if I ever get to audition, they're like, hey, what was the first Needler sketch? I'm going to have to know it. 0:50:24 - Speaker 4Most people don't know that if you audition for SNL, there's a written test to go along with it. We hear stories about what it's like to be up there not getting laughs and still doing the thing, but then what we don't know is that there's a written test. Thorne Michaels is the proctor for the test and he's walking around, so this might be on SNL's written test, victoria. 0:50:46 - Speaker 7Okay, that's so good to know. I'm going to also, after this goes live, download it and like memorize everything we've said word for word, just in case. 0:50:55 - Speaker 4Yeah, just commit it to memory. So this sketch I love that you brought it up because Amy and Seth, they go from aggressive to passive aggressive just in an instant and they have really good chemistry here, that which we've seen a lot throughout SNL, throughout them in particular. 0:51:13 - Speaker 7They're a great duo. Hey, always comparing her to Tina Fey, but they were kind of each other's counterparts at the time but, like Tina Fey and Jimmy Fallon, i think, have the same energy as Seth and Amy. they just worked really well together. I think they co collaborated a lot during, you know, their time in SNL. So you see, that which we'll talk about hopefully, i mean which I'm sure we'll talk about later is, you know, we can update and the needlers and and other things that they've, you know, written together and just they did that so well together. I really couldn't see her doing that sketch with anyone else. I love the fertility, fertility clinic one with Natalie Portman because it's like it describes those quote toxic and quote couples so perfectly. we're fighting all the time and then they end up like doing it Like they were doing it in the, in the waiting room, and Jason Sudeik has come and he's like I don't think we'll have any more patients for the day and she's like why is that he goes there doing it? 0:52:16 - Speaker 4Yeah, of course, that's like often the the button to those sketches. The first one, johnny Knoxville, is the one that walks in on them and yeah, that's just perfect, and that's that's how it is with those couples. It's so intense and passionate and it's in past. It's passionate negatively and sometimes passionate very positively. 0:52:35 - Speaker 7Yeah, oh, that's maybe a good word passionate versus toxic and that's what those couples will tell you. 0:52:41 - Speaker 4We're not talks, we're just passionate. 0:52:43 - Speaker 7Yeah, you don't know him like I know him okay. Okay, yeah, like they're like little lines of like, oh, we're late because he thought it was better to take the back roads instead of, oh, the highway. And then they were at dinner and she's like oh, be salad, be salad. He's like beat salad, yeah, because I wanted a bunch of bees in my mouth, just like. Very like. We know those couples, unfortunately, and if you think you're in that couple now and you're listening, please break up and find peace, please do everybody. Yeah, for the sake of society. 0:53:21 - Speaker 4So, yeah, you brought up weekend update, so I want to talk about that now. Actually, good segue. So she, yeah, started weekend update in her fourth season. So she did it season 30 to season 34, final update. Final update was in the middle of season 34. So what did you? and I know they say comparison is the thief of joy, but that's almost Kind of what we do here. Even if we don't do it overtly, it's almost applied that we're comparing cast members and errors and all of that. So I mean, what did you think of Amy on weekend update? 0:53:55 - Speaker 7Of course, to be reckoned with. You know she was part of the first and only female duo to host week and update with Tina Fey. Then, of course, she had a successful run with Seth Myers and she's just had like really great bits. You know, one that stands out to me was you know her and Tina Fey mentoring Lindsay Lohan at the time, who was like that was such a great mean girls era and you know, for folks who are younger, like millennials, i should say that was kind of like our Like the comedy growing up of was you know mean girls and and you know the Tina Fey and Amy Polars growing up. So it was really awesome. You know it was very like. I'm confronting her about rumors they've heard about her which, like at the time everyone had a rumor was very. I think as a side we've done a little bit better, not too much better, but we've progressed a little bit how we treat women and people who are famous but just like saying, you know you have me to Barton arms. You're too skinny, are you eating? I went to the club and then The fun part of the you know the twist of Lindsay Lohan throwing it back on them. She's like well, you slept with people for Tanta movies, are you know? you're drunk right now. And Amy Polars like, yes, i am, no, i mean, she was great. She brought a lot of originality to it again. It's that POV of I am myself, i am me, i'm fearless, i'm confident, and you better listen to me, and this is what I've got to say. She brought that there too. 0:55:26 - Speaker 4Yeah, amy, on update to me, that really allowed her to display her wit and charm on the show she was out of character. Well, kind of out of character, but it was. You know she. She straddled the line is weekend update anchors Do, but she really was allowed to display her wit and charm. She did like playful crowd work in spots. That was really entertaining. She and Tina did a lot of bits amongst themselves outside of the update jokes, like you mentioned that Lindsay Lohan mentorship bit. They would rap, they would sing songs, they would have bits like the The nutbird news quiz, the bitch news quiz, kind of different things like that. So I like that she and Tina When outside of we're just gonna take turns doing jokes and then have like a cast member do a week a bit with us or whatever, like they would do bits amongst themselves, which I think, yeah, really interesting. 0:56:25 - Speaker 7Yeah, i mean out of the wraps, which was your favorite. 0:56:29 - Speaker 4Oh man, not to put you on the spot. Yeah, they did one. It was either the one that I remember most and I went back and rewatched kind of Her weekend update stuff here and there and the one that always stood in my mind was I ended up being the first one that she did in season 30. And that stood out to me to watching it in sequential order because that was one of the first kind of bits that they did outside of the update jokes, so you never really saw like Kevin Niel and rapping. Or like Chevy Chase yeah yeah, jane and Bill Murray rapping together, so yeah, so I did like that first one because I maybe it was just because of the significance, as as if you are watching it how I did, but that one for sure stood out to me. 0:57:24 - Speaker 7And I'd be remiss if I didn't give Jane Curtin a shout out for being the first female weekend host. But no, the one that stood up to me wraps wise is the Sarah Palin rap. I don't know if you remember that. 0:57:53 - Speaker 5Smile, because that smile be creepy. But when I'm being all the leaders in the world gonna finally meet me, how's it go, eskimo? 0:58:02 - Speaker 7Tell me, tell me what you know Eskimo, how you feel Eskimo, tell me, tell me what you feel Eskimo Again. like that era of SNL, like 2000, like the 2008 election specifically, was so awesome to see the actual candidates come on to that show. I think now people would be like we're in such a crisis. what are you doing on SNL situation? so it's cool that we got that from then while we, while we could, and you know, sarah Palin joins the weekend update desk and then kind of like Amy Poehler kind of brings, brings the house down with a wrap about you know, about Sarah Palin like delivering her message and then Andy Sandberg and Fred Armisen as her backup. just really with like the fur coats and you know. Yeah, that was one that stood out to me. I she just man. Again, she's in a lot of things on that show that not many people got to do. I mean, i think I don't know if we're gonna end with a why she deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. But yeah, she was well, we'll get to it, but I had to, yeah, yeah, we'll get to it. So I'll leave my the rest of my thoughts there. I'll pause them for now. 0:59:10 - Speaker 4Yeah. 0:59:10 - Speaker 7so before we move on to what maybe she did after SNL and to your appeal to the voters, what else on SNL should we talk about as far as Amy Poehler goes, I would just love to give a quick honorable mention to two sketches, again also in a in the 2008 ish, you know, near the end of her time is the Bush twin secret language sketch. 0:59:38 - Speaker 8Jenna, we're twins. We have to share our most secret thoughts about everything. It's disrespectful. Just answer me in our secret twin language. 0:59:52 - Speaker 10Barbara, we haven't used that language since. We were like 19. 0:59:56 - Speaker 8Do be you, but think, but dance, but good. but president, but yes, i think, but he's, but really good. 1:00:09 - Speaker 7Like so funny there was, like you know they slapped on some Southern accents and they were drunk and you know they were using their, the secret, the language, to Figure out I'm trying to do it to figure out, like if their dad is actually like smart enough and competent enough to be president, which like was funny because I guess at the time when the rest of America was like what Is is he? and then another one was to love, honor and stock with John McCain hello, gillian. 1:00:45 - Speaker 10The conference wish cut short, so I rushed back to see you. 1:00:49 - Speaker 9David You shouldn't sneak up on people like that. You scared me half to death. 1:00:54 - Speaker 10Forgive me, darling, you know I'd never hurt you. 1:00:59 - Speaker 7That was so funny. It was just like her husband, her older husband, who was like very in love with her, invades her privacy and she's just like he's always in my space and like tries to sue him and so like you're literally married, like She's just a marriage, Yeah he's like he's just a poet and it's like kind of funny because it's like They also bring up again this feminism, feminist point of view of like if you were, if it was a rose reverse, it would be a big deal. Like we'd all be like, you know, leave him alone if she was the one doing it to him. But yeah, i think the amount of times she's gotten to play with you know politicians, especially during these Really important I mean she came during important time in in the US. I feel like that kind of set the tone for, like what she was gonna do in the years after. So I just wanted to give a shout out to those two. I now that I'm like we're talking about it. She did a lot of a lot of political stuff and good for her. I mean, she's involved politically in her personal life, so it just makes sense that she again is enough, is is authentic and genuine and says to herself, even when she's being someone else. 1:02:08 - Speaker 4Yeah, and I don't know if those lifetime movies Exist in that fashion anymore, but that was such a good parody of a lifetime movie from that area. So, that to love, honor and stock the the Jillian Woodward story, that's what that was called. It was in her second season, so that would have been about 2000, late 2002, when that's aired, and that was just Such a perfect parody of a lifetime movie from that era. They captured it so well and I don't know if there's anything Comparable now. Lifetime, does it exist? 1:02:42 - Speaker 7I think it might, but I haven't watched a lifetime movie since like 2006, yeah, so Sorry to say watched in 2006. 1:02:52 - Speaker 4This is, i'm sure. Yeah the reason why you appreciate something like that. So I think those are two excellent choices and really great examples of of her work on SNL. I also highlighted her Dakota fanning show that she did three times. That was a good one. She just was hilarious depiction of a precocious young girl. Amy, amy played that so well. Yeah, when she had Drew Barrymore Barrymore on and Drew Barrymore was playing The Abigail Breslin is a little miss. Yes, and then yeah yeah, Amy played that so well. 1:03:25 - Speaker 7How old were you when you first Scott your, when you got your first nomination? 1:03:28 - Speaker 4and she's like And she's like oh, i didn't know you were that young. 1:03:34 - Speaker 7Yeah, that's so funny. That's a good call out. That was such a. You know, dakota fanning, if you're watching this or if you're listening to this and I know that you are I hope you're doing well And I hope that you felt justice was served in your impersonation of you by Amy polar because it was done out of love. 1:03:53 - Speaker 4So yeah, and I think I think she knows that. So after SNL Amy polar, her main gig was playing Leslie nope in Parks and Recreation. I was a big fan. I imagine you were to Victoria. 1:04:09 - Speaker 7Yeah, i think it was. It just calls out a lot of the nonsense that we may or may not see in Politics, but especially, you know, local politics. A lot of like, a lot of pop culture and societal phrases that we used to like treat yourself, came from that and it's, it's made an impact on on TV and on how we speak to each other. And you know, you know again her and Tina Fey, i Think, are probably one of the few who had these successful TV shows after leaving SNL. Not only that, like producing and directing and and writing and being so successful at it and where it's So ingrained into our society, like. Another example would be like bridesmaids, you know with with Kristen Wiig and how, after SNL, you know she created this really awesome piece of piece of comedy for us to enjoy. And you know we Like I always say shit that is fresh. I pull that from from bridesmaids, but I always pull like treat yourself and you know it's, it's. They're not enough words and maybe they are, but I'm not smart enough to know them. I have a limited vocabulary. But she is Amy Poehler is She's not the first to do it. We like it. We've mentioned Gilda Radner and you know we also mentioned Jane Curtin. They're not the first but they are today's. You know they stand on shoulders but us after them are standing on their shoulders too. So We've been with, you know, parks and rec. She's opened some other doors and avenues for us to be creative and, you know, freed us a little bit to be Open about ourselves in our comedy and how we write and how we look at comedy. 1:05:58 - Speaker 4So after a very successful run on parks and recreation She returned to SNL numerous cameos throughout the years, especially at the weekend up
Adam realizes everyone has a role benefiting humankind as he talks to a shark jerker offer (Geoff Dow) whose artificial insemination work helps in research for Alzheimer's disease patients in this Deep Blue Sea themed episode. For more with Geoff check out an extended interview while supporting the show over on our Patreon. https://www.patreon.com/myneighborsaredead SHOW INFORMATIONTwitter: @MyDeadNeighborsInstagram: @MyNeighborsAreDeadEmail: MyNeighborsAreDead@gmail.comPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/myneighborsaredeadMerchandise: TeePublic
My guest today is an Emmy-nominated writer, sketch comedian, voice actor and performer. As a teenager she studied improv comedy at the famous ImprovOlympic studio in her home city of Chicago, training that prepared her for when she later starred on Whose Line Is It Anyway and the sketch comedy show Key and Peele.She has worked on the writing staff of Saturday Night Live, The Twilight Zone and, most recently, the sixth season of Rick & Morty. Throughout her career she has also written and talked about video games, not least in her current role as one of the hosts of the popular games-related podcast, Get Played. “Comedy and video-games are the same thing: fantasies within set rules,” she once said. “I love both of them, equally. When I can marry the two in some future project, I'll be complete.” Thank you for listening to My Perfect Console. Please consider becoming a supporter; your small monthly donation will help to make the podcast sustainable for the long term, contributing toward the cost of equipment, editing, and hosting episodes. https://plus.acast.com/s/my-perfect-console. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
CHARNA HALPERNCharna Halpern (born June 1, 1952) is founded the ImprovOlympic, now known as iO. Upon iO's founding, in 1983, with partner Del Close, she began teaching Harold to many students in the Chicago theater community. Many prominent comedians performed at iO, from Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Mike Myers, She and Close co-authored the book Truth in Comedy: The Manual of Improvisation with editor Kim "Howard" Johnson in 1994.She published Group Improvisation in 2003 and Art by Committee in 2006.The remaining theater in Chicago, originally located in the Wrigleyville neighborhood was forced to relocate due to neighborhood development. In 2017, the theater reopened in the Clyborn North Area. In 2020 during a forced shutdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic Charna decided to close theater and sell it. iO was then purchased and as of 2022 has reopened with new management. DEL CLOSEDel Close, an actor, improviser, and coach who taught John Belushi, Gilda Radner and Bill Murray and elevated improvisation to an art form.Close pioneered the concept of “long form” improvisation. “Long form is one suggestion and then you improvise for 25 minutes, and in short form you are constantly coming to the audience for suggestions throughout the evening and treating each improv game as its own little three- or four-minute piece,”While many comedy groups use improvisation as a tool to develop characters and sketches, Close believed that improvisation was the show. He often said there was really only one role for a director: “Light fuse and run!”His ideas, although hotly debated in the comedy world, have influenced nearly every improvisation group in America, from Chicago's legendary Second City to San Francisco's the Committee. “He was the singular most powerful force in improvisation in the world,” said Kelly Leonard, the producer of Second City, where Close acted and directed before opening his own theater. iO with Charna HalpernThe resident guru at “Saturday Night Live” during the show's early years, Close trained several generations of comics, from Belushi and Murray to Mike Myers and the late Chris Farley. Close came up with the idea for the popular early 1980s television show “SCTV,” which stood for Second City Television and was widely credited as the intellectual and spiritual force behind a recent renaissance in Chicago's hotbed of improvisation.Although groups such as Second City use improvisation as a rehearsal tool to develop characters and sketches, Close believed in improvisation as an end in itself. In collaboration with Halpern, he was constantly tinkering with the form, turning the Harold into a more elaborate tapestry of scenes with a cinematic flavor. The ImprovOlympic became the cutting-edge training ground, sending many of its graduates, such as Farley, to better-known venues like Second City and television and movie careers.STORYTELLERCharna HalpernBAND(Piano) Dave Asher(Guitar) Ross Plunkett(Drums) Mike Amandes (Saxophone) Eli V Wilson(Trumpet, Vocals) Ivan Pyzow (Bass) GordonVOCALISTS Matt GriffoDrake ShraderAmber LindeLisa Burton Joe BillSupport the showSupport the show via Matt Griffo's Patreon page at Patreon.com/mattgriffo
We're back and ready to drag our friends to see our four minutes of comedy in episode 14 of Lucha Underground titled "Open Mic Night"! Come along as we chat about fried wings, riding crops, cat trees, open mics, controversy surrounding Alberto Del Rio, wooden crosses, disingenuous Mickey Mouse, taints, the power of Katrina, Liches, confession before sinning, nepotism, Improv Olympic, iO, & more! Want to hear more from your favorite Marsh Land Media hosts? Hear exclusive shows, podcasts, and content by heading to Patreon.com/MLMpod! Buy some Shuffling the Deck / MLMpod MERCH, including our "Natty With Otters" shirt, over at redbubble.com/shop/msspod! Follow James @MarshLandMedia on Twitter, @MLMpod on Instagram, and listen to his music under "Marsh Land Monster" wherever music is found! Follow Sean on Twitter @SeanMarciniak and on Twitch @GooseVK! Join our Discord! Have fan mail, fan art, projects you want us to review, or whatever you want to send us? You can ship directly to us using "James McCollum, PO Box 180036, 2011 W Montrose Ave, Chicago, IL 60618"! Send us a voice mail to be played on the show at (224) 900-7644! Find out more about James' other podcasts "Mostly Speakin' Sentai", "Hit It & Crit It", and "This Movie's Gay" on our website, www.MLMPod.com!!! Plus, download all Marsh Land Monster albums there, too!
How do you inject humor and storytelling in your speaking?Don Colliver helps you transform your communication through the secrets of clown! He is a comedian, improvisor, director, writer and clown. He has toured internationally as clown MC of Speigelworld's Empire, has performed with Blue Man Group and is a member of the Cirque du Soleil performer database.Don has performed at festivals including Coachella and Lightning in a Bottle, is a member of the Hollywood Fringe award-winning clown troupes Wet the Hippo and Four Clowns. He is a founding member of The Innocents clown troupe and the Del Close award-winning mainstage iO sketch team DJ Faucet, performing at the Chicago and San Francisco Sketchfests. His sketches have been featured on Funny Or Die, Huffington Post and Comedy Cake. He teaches sketch comedy writing and improvisation at Google.Don originated the lead roles of Butterbeans Arbuckle in Four Clowns' The Halfwits Last Hurrah (Fringe Award for Best in Physical Theater 2015), Noah in the Four Clowns production of Noah, and Captain Buck in the 60's space sex farce Wild Space A Go Go. Don has studied clown with Sue Morrison, Avner Eisenberg, Eric Davis, John Gilkey, David Bridel, Daniel Passer, Paola Coletto and Aitor Basauri, has trained at Tim Robbins' Actors Gang, and has studied comedy at UCB Advanced Study, Improv Olympic and Second City.In his bestseller, "Wink: Transforming Public Speaking with Clown Presence", you will learn to communicate more deeply and effectively than ever before through authenticity, listening, and play: the Secrets of Clown!Seth Godin said this of the book, Wink: "This book is a breakthrough, a powerful tool for anyone who cares enough to give a speech or presentation."Listen as Don shares:- the 'fourth wall' principle when speaking- how to make audience members feel included- how to use clown to engage audiences- using self-deprecating humor appropriately- how to inject humor in your presentation- applying the 'ATM' principle if thrown a curve ball- using improv and 'clown' for better storytelling- how to give encouraging feedback to those you coach- the key elements that any good joke should have- what to focus on when speaking- the 5 Ps of public speaking from his book, "Wink"...and much more!Connect with Don:Website: https://www.doncolliver.comhttps://www.doncolliver.com/wink-exercise (for a FREE exercise)LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/doncolliver/Listen to Speaking and Communications Podcast:Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0d6NMz5txFkGu9dOwaEeJqApple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wink-transforming-public-speaking-with-clown-presence/id1614151066?i=1000584099119Additional Resources:"Wink: Transforming Public Speaking With Clown Presence" by Don Colliver"FREE exercise""How To Write Comedy For Corporate Events" w/ Jan McInnis"How To Be Edu-taining In Keynotes And Presentations" w/ Geoffrey KleinFeel free to reach out on:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/eloquentspeakersclubInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/coachandspeaker/Email: roberta4sk@gmail.com
We've put out 20 of these shows, and things are just starting to get real. Wyatt and Jackie get into it...difficulties with wigs, falling down on stage, not understanding the potty habits of their fellow performers...the deep deep stuff! Jackie is a hilarious performer, improv comedian, and writer based in Chicago. Her work at The Annoyance Theater, Improv Olympic, as well as in a bunch of writers rooms (have you heard of "Cards Against Humanity"?!) has given her experiences totally new to "Thank You, Five". IF you're in the Chicago area be on the lookout as she's always working and keep your eyes peeled for her next project (you gotta listen to the show for details!!)You HAVE to follow Jackie on all the socials a @WhatTheFelk
Mike Kauth was baptized into the world of improv in 1999 at CSz Milwaukee, where he currently works as a full-time improviser and coach. In addition to ComedySportz, he's studied and performed at Improv Olympic in Chicago, and trained at Upright Citizens Brigade in Los Angeles. In today's episode we explore the importance of supporting our teammates, celebrating our failures, and living in the moment; and to boot, we learn what Mike regards as the #1 most important thing to do before a show. The ComedySportz Podcast is an independent production made by CSz players. The views and opinions expressed by the podcast host and any guests are their own and do not represent the views and opinions of any CSz location or CSz Worldwide. Vocabulary used by the host and guests is not necessarily representative of the CSz brand.
In episode 40 I talk to actor, comedian, director, producer, and writer Matt Besser about one of his mentors, the late great Del Close, an American actor, writer, and teacher who coached many of the best-known comedians and comic actors of the late twentieth century. In addition to an acting career in television and film, he was one of the influences on modern improvisational theater. Close is co-founder of the iO, or iO Chicago, (formerly known as "ImprovOlympic").
During the past few years, comedians seemingly have become cultural avatars, their performances garnering coverage in news outlets and their perspectives becoming political sign posts. But before anyone ends up headlining a tour or hosting a late-night show, they've likely done time on much smaller stages, playing to single-digit crowds. There are endless avenues through which performers attain some sort of cultural relevance, but in Chicago, an educational system's been set up that encompasses a handful of theaters and colleges. Among those teaching the craft of comedy is Jeff Griggs, a theater and improv veteran, who's worked at Second City and Improv Olympic (two of the most venerated improv and sketch theaters in the country). His place on staff at both Depaul University and Columbia College also makes his perspective a unique one, spanning higher education and stages that dot the Windy City. On this episode of The Best of Our Knowledge, Griggs helps explain some important concepts that underpin improv comedy, as well as how different teachers might offer unique approaches to the craft. But this all begs the question: Can you teach comedy? Pertinent links Life's a Funny Scene interview "Guru: My Days with Del Close" Columbia College Chicago Comedy Studies website Jeff Griggs at Second City Jeff Griggs on Instagram Jeff Griggs on Twitter
During the past few years, comedians seemingly have become cultural avatars, their performances garnering coverage in news outlets and their perspectives becoming political sign posts. But before anyone ends up headlining a tour or hosting a late-night show, they’ve likely done time on much smaller stages, playing to single-digit crowds. There are endless avenues through which performers attain some sort of cultural relevance, but in Chicago, an educational system’s been set up that encompasses a handful of theaters and colleges. Among those teaching the craft of comedy is Jeff Griggs, a theater and improv veteran, who’s worked at Second City and Improv Olympic (two of the most venerated improv and sketch theaters in the country). His place on staff at both Depaul University and Columbia College also makes his perspective a unique one, spanning higher education and stages that dot the Windy City. On this episode of The Best of Our Knowledge, Griggs helps explain some important concepts that underpin improv comedy, as well as how different teachers might offer unique approaches to the craft. But this all begs the question: Can you teach comedy? Pertinent links Life's a Funny Scene interview "Guru: My Days with Del Close" Columbia College Chicago Comedy Studies website Jeff Griggs at Second City Jeff Griggs on Instagram Jeff Griggs on Twitter
Selena Coppock spent 15 years performing stand-up comedy, honing her skills, and appearing at comedy clubs in New York City, arguably one of the worlds' best cities for comedy. And then, shortly before she turned forty, it started to feel like the fun was gone. She wondered if there was anything left for her in comedy. But how do you walk away from a passion that you've spent 15 years working on? The onset of a global pandemic gave her the opportunity to take a break - and to rethink what made her happy. Twenty five year old Selena might think her a nerd, but forty year old Selena is pretty happy with how things are going. Guest BioSelena Coppock is a standup comedian, writer, author, and storyteller based in NYC. She is the creator and voice of @NYTVows, the parody Twitter and Instagram accounts that lampoon the New York Times Wedding section, the wedding industrial complex, WASPs, and courtship rituals of the rich and insufferable. She is also the creator and host of TWO WICK MINIMUM, America's favorite and only podcast about candles. In December 2017 she released her debut standup album, SEEN BETTER DAYS (Little Lamb Recordings) which hit #1 on the iTunes comedy chart. Selena was a guest star on the sitcom RED OAKS (Amazon) and has been seen on Bravo, Lifetime, VH1, CollegeHumor.com, RooftopComedy.com, and elsewhere. Turning 40 in Lockdown in NYCSelena turned 40 in April 2020 as the pandemic turned the world upside down. In January, her plan had been to throw a big, dress-up party at a private room in a bar for “toasts and light roasts.” She wanted to wear sequins and get all the people she loves together and celebrate. She works in publishing in NYC and they were sent home on March 11, after a case of Covid was reported in their building. Shortly thereafter, all plans, birthday and otherwise, went out the window. At the time, she lived in a 4th floor walkup in Park Slope. Even going out to get mail was scary. She didn't have any private outdoor space, so the fire escape became her way to be outdoors. She envied friends with backyards. She snuck up onto her building's roof because she needed to be in fresh air, but not around people, and that was difficult to navigate in NYC. Getting into Stand UpSelena grew up in Weston, Massachusetts and lived in South Boston for a few years after college, “as you're legally required to do.” She lived in Boston 2004-2006 and then moved to NYC. In college, she began to study improv, calling it a great onramp to comedy. After college, she moved to Chicago to study with Improv Olympic. She fell into a crippling depression and moved home and back in with her parents. That's when she started doing improv in Boston. And then, a friend was running a stand-up show where you could get 5 minutes. She tried it and, in classic beginner's luck, she crushed it. She was hooked. She says Boston is a great place to start in comedy. The audiences are smart. There's a lot of college kids who want to go out for cheap events. And it's a smaller market, so it's not like starting in New York or LA, where you could be terrible, and people who matter in your career could see you when you're terrible. She did stand up in Boston for 2 years and thought she was really “doing it,” but she was only performing about once a month. If you're serious about it, you have to perform every night. A confluence of events in Boston helped her make the jump to New York. She got laid off from a job; she felt like she was spinning her wheels in stand up and her Uncle Jimmy offered her an apartment for her first year or two in the city while she got her feet under her. She dove into the New York comedy scene, learning the hustle, and the community and who books what, and what's worth doing and what's a waste of time. It was a master class in comedy. She studied sketch writing and sketch comedy at Upright Citizen's Brigade. At night, after UCB shuts...
For this episode, Turmoil in Business, The Gateway is happy to have Christian Borkey, host of her first ever podcast, the Busted Business Bureau, which began in January 2022. Thanks to Christian's in-depth investigation and enthralling reporting, we have been able to learn about some of the most interesting companies! During it's meteoric rise in popularity, the Busted Business Bureau has examined a wide span of organizations including eBay, the Salvation Army, Chicago's own now defunct Improv Olympic, and the organization that has contributed, in my opinion, one of the most spine-wrenching commercial tunes in advertising history, Cars4Kids. Christian is an Ohio transplant in Chicago. She currently is a bartender and trivia host, but has worked as an axe throwing teacher, children's theater music director, and tour guide of Chicago's Chinatown. Christian speaks Chinese, is on a doubles tennis league, and has an upcoming dueling pianos comedy show at the Lincoln Lodge Theater with another fella named Christian on June 25th. She has owned a pair of fur-lined green crocs for 6 years. Please check out Christian's podcast, The Busted Business Bureau on all platforms or by visiting https://www.bustedbizbureau.com/
Beth Melewski has performed with CSz Milwaukee, CSz Chicago, and CSz New York City. She's also performed with Improv Olympic, including the renowned improvised musical group Baby Wants Candy, and has been a performer/writer with The Second City for nearly 15 years. What's more, she was the host of Cash Cab Chicago and has appeared on both Arrested Development and Work In Progress. She's currently finishing her MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling so she can therapize (not a word) all comedians. The ComedySportz Podcast is an independent production made by CSz players. The views and opinions expressed by the podcast host and any guests are their own and do not represent the views and opinions of any CSz location or CSz Worldwide. Vocabulary used by the host and guests is not necessarily representative of the CSz brand.
First Draft Episode #347: Seth Meyers Seth Meyers, host of Late Night with Seth Meyers and former head writer for Saturday Night Live, talks about his debut picture book, I'm Not Scared, You're Scared with Rob Syegh. Links to Topics Mentioned In This Episode: The Story of Babar: The Little Elephant, the first book in the Babar series by Jean de Brumhoff Spider Man: The Short Halloween written by Seth Meyers and Bill Hader Richard Scarry, author and illustrator of Trucks, A Day at the Airport, Cars and Trucks and Things That Go! and many more Jill Benjamin, Seth's writing partner from his Improv Olympic days Documentary Now! on IFC Watership Down (movie) The Secret of NIMH (movie) The Black Cauldron (movie) The Hobbit (movie) Seth Meyers on Sesame Street (with The Count and with Elmo) Sandra Boynton, author and illustrator of picture books like Snuggle Puppy: A Little Love Song, Barnyard Dance!, Pajama Time! and many more. Where's Waldo by Martin Handford
Dimitri and Khalid say “yes, and!” to a deep dive on the Chief Suslord of North American Comedy, Del Close, including: Del's puckish pranks in high school, invoking demons for improv class, creating psychedelic light shows for the Grateful Dead and Frank Zappa, becoming a witch, doing LSD astronaut experiments for the US Air Force, getting devoured by the Spider King on LSD at a mysterious mental hospital, hanging out with L. Ron Hubbard pre-Scientology, becoming “chief metaphysician” at SNL in the early 80s, switching into “Devil Mode” and reveling in evil, encouraging John Belushi to do more speedballs, getting the “Clockwork Orange treatment” at the Schick Clinic, writing “Wasteland” for DC Comics, the disturbing “Retroactive Abortion” story, Del's confusing definition of “sick humor”, becoming the Sewer Rat, dissecting your son's biology teacher, Trump getting possessed by a Catman, the pandemic-era collapse of UCB and ImprovOlympic, and why Big Improv is probably going to be on the wrong end of the vibe shift. For access to full-length premium episodes and the SJ Grotto of Truth Discord, subscribe to the Al-Wara' Frequency at patreon.com/subliminaljihad.
With the return of the iO (formerly improvOlympic), Adam wonders if the Harold will return with it, or if improv’s most famous and psychedelic form should be retired from our classrooms and our stages. Kelly Clarkson – Since You’ve Been Gone https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7UrF… Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Maps https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIIxl… Brought to you By: The Sonar Network
With the return of the iO (formerly improvOlympic), Adam wonders if the Harold will return with it, or if improv's most famous and psychedelic form should be retired from our classrooms and our stages. Brought to you By: The Sonar Network https://thesonarnetwork.com/
With the return of the iO (formerly improvOlympic), Adam wonders if the Harold will return with it, or if improv’s most famous and psychedelic form should be retired from our classrooms and our stages. Kelly Clarkson – Since You’ve Been Gone https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7UrF… Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Maps https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIIxl… Brought to you By: The Sonar Network
Peter Alberts joined CSz Milwaukee in 1990 and would go on to form The Dead Alewives alongside the likes of Dan Harmon and Rob Schrab. After moving to Los Angeles, his troupe Old Milwaukee won 67 consecutive cage matches at Improv Olympic, with an uncontested reign lasting over 2 years. Let's dig in. The ComedySportz Podcast is an independent production made by CSz players. The views and opinions expressed by the podcast host and any guests are their own and do not represent the views and opinions of any CSz location or CSz Worldwide. Vocabulary used by the host and guests is not necessarily representative of the CSz brand.
To learn more about the Enabled Disabled Podcast and share your story, please visit https://www.enableddisabled.com/ Bob Kulhan is a co-founder of Baby Wants Candy and has been performing, teaching & studying improv and sketch comedy since 1994 in Chicago and since 2009 in NYC. Bob was trained in improvisation by Del Close, Matt Besser, Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, Susan Messing and others at Chicago's ImprovOlympic theater, Mick Napier at The Annoyance Theater, and taught and mentored by Martin de Maat at The Second City (among so many other greats in all 3 fantastic schools!). Bob currently performs in NYC with Baby Wants Candy (Soho Playhouse), The Scene (The PIT), Dos Experimento! (The PIT), Mystic Improv (The PIT) and The Windy Pendejos? (The PIT and… really wherever the heck else we can play!). Bob's has created more than a dozen one-man and sketch comedy shows. You can find his characters on YouTube videos (“The BonVivant Gourmet” “SafetyMen” & the hit Holiday song “Christmas Hot Pants”) For the last 24 years Bob has performed and taught improvisation internationally. His teaching and performing credits include Chicago's famed The Second City, Improv Olympic, The Annoyance Theater, The PIT, Columbia College, London TheaterSports, The Banff Centre, The Australian Graduate School of Management, and Koç University in Istanbul, University of South Carolina's The Darla Moore School of Business, UCLA Anderson School of Management, Columbia University Business School, and Duke University's The Fuqua School of Business. In addition to all things improv, Bob is passionate about cooking, SCUBA diving, and Brazilian Jju-Jitsu. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/enableddisabled/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/enableddisabled/support
Del Close was an early member of the Compass Player (later Second City), an early proponent of “Yes, and” improv method, the “Harold” longform improv format, and an unironic “guru” of almost every major comedy player who came out of Chicago into Saturday Night Live into your favorite comedies of the last 40 years. Yet, why isn't he known to many, or all, and why do those who did knew him personally describe him as a “madman”? On this episode is Heather Ross, director and co-writer of the new Close documentary For Madmen Only, along with her co-producer and -editor George Mandl, and former Chicago improv student Dustin Levell. We discuss: - How Ross's doc work with women in Chicago kept her hearing stories about this “Close guy with a needle hanging out of his arm” who trained all her favorite comedians; - the closest Close had to an autobiography, the late-'80s pre-Vertigo comic Wasteland, and how its visual narrative contributed to the doc; - his degree of shock-seeking and self-mythologizing; - and why Chicago improvers from Mike Myers to Bill Murray have wanted to make a biopic out of Close's life; Also: - The difference between the ‘60s San Franciscan Harold versus the “Teaching” Harold; - the influence of the book Close's tri-authored book "Truth in Comedy" and its profound wisdom, both personally and artistically; - the ambivalent nature of being a great “guru” and having one's students surpass in levels of fame; - and why the 4-20% of genuine good improv is ephemerally like the being around your funniest friends at the lunch table in high school — you had to be there, and it can never be recreated. Heather Ross is an Emmy-Ward winning documentarian for her film "Girls on the the Wall," along with producing on the genealogy series "Who Do You Think You Are." She also directed several shorts in the “It Gets Better” series of advocacy films. George Mandl is a film editor based out of Los Angeles. He and his work can be found at his website. https://www.georgemandl.com Dustin Levell is a Chicago-based comedy writer, performer, and stage director who trained at Second City and Improv Olympic. "For Madmen Only: The Stories of Del Close" is currently available to rent or buy on VOD. And, also, on Kanopy. https://www.kanopy.com/product/madmen-only
David Nieker comedy is uncommon and unflinching, landing punchlines that span an emotional distance between his heroes, Rodney Dangerfield and Mr. Mike. I get no respect but I try to fight back with my wit,” he says. "I'm proud to finally be able to defend myself with my words.” Since 2010, he's been busy doing that and what he's wanted to do his whole life—making audiences laugh at stand up comedy at clubs and festivals throughout the United States. As an undergrad at the University of Illinois, Chicago, he first walked on screen 1986 as Goon #2 in Goldie Hawn's football classic, Wildcats. He also trained at the early ImprovOlympic with legends Charna Halpern and Del Close. After graduation, he embarked on an introverted creative path as an advertising copywriter at ad agencies and Fortune 500 companies in Chicago, Seattle, Miami and Los Angeles. He became a member of SAG-AFTRA in 2014, and has since been seen in sketches on Jimmy Kimmel Live and CONAN, as an imposter on To Tell The Truth, and as a Woodsman in David Lynch's Twin Peaks: The Return, 2017. He's also been featured in a Justin Timberlake music video, and in a commercial for Mercedes-Benz. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mostlyjuststories/support
improve it! Podcast – Professional Development Through Play, Improv & Experiential Learning
Failed it! Fam – Have you heard of Yes, And? On today's minisode, our improve it! Lead Facilitator- Rosie Moan, is here to talk to us about the importance of Yes, And within your team. Listen in to hear how it can open up a safe space for your team to explore new ideas, boost creativity and enhance morale. Yes it works, AND we are here to spill the beans on how! About the Guest: Empirical evidence has shown that improvisational training has the ability to improve an employee's trust, teamwork, communication, presentation skills, creative problem solving, and can improve a company's overall corporate culture. No one knows that better than Rosie Moan, a North Carolina native with a Midwest heart. She has lived in Chicago since 2011 and in that time has trained at Second City, iO (formerly Improv Olympic), and the Annoyance theater. On top of regularly performing and teaching at all three, she is also an on-camera coach and actor mentor. Outside of the stage, she has 7 years of Corporate experience, 5 of which are in recruiting. Rosie has trained thousands of corporate professionals all over the country and can say with confidence, she is a master of the chicken dance. Rosie has conducted workshops with improve it! across the country leveraging improvisational techniques to improve employees' soft skills in corporate settings, including PepsiCo and American Marketing Association. improve it! has worked with clients such as United Airlines, Motorola Solutions, Groupon, Deloitte, The PrivateBank and the Illinois CPA Society. improve it! earned the Chicago RedEye Big Idea Award in 2014 and has been nominated for the Chicago Innovation Award for the past four consecutive years. Rosie will be sharing her thoughts on how to effectively communicate by using the methodologies of improvisation. We invite you to join us for this unforgettable experiential learning opportunity! Favorite improv quote: “Change is the only constant. Learn to surf your life instead of planting your feet.” - Amy Poehler About the Host: Erin Diehl is the founder and Chief “Yes, And” officer of improve it! and host of the failed it! Podcast. She's a performer, facilitator and professional risk-taker who lives by the mantra, “get comfortable with the uncomfortable.” Through a series of unrelated dares, Erin has created improve it!, a unique professional development company that pushes others to laugh, learn and grow. Her work with clients such as United Airlines, PepsiCo, Groupon, Deloitte, Motorola, Walgreens, and The Obama Foundation earned her the 2014 Chicago RedEye Big Idea Award and has nominated her for the 2015-2019 Chicago Innovations Award. This graduate from Clemson University is a former experiential marketing and recruiting professional as well as a veteran improviser from the top improvisational training programs in Chicago, including The Second City, i.O. Theater, and The Annoyance Theatre. When she is not playing pretend or facilitating, she enjoys running and beach dates with her husband and son, and their eight pound toy poodle, BIGG Diehl. You can follow the failed it! podcast on Instagram @learntoimproveit and facebook, and you can follow Erin personally on Instagram @keepinitrealdiehl here. You can also check out improve it! and how we can help your organization at www.learntoimproveit.com. We can't wait to connect with you online!
Join Rush and Zapata Talk for a sure fire and classic episode with guest, comedian Erica Clark. We talk politics, all things life and comedy! Erica shares about her upbringing with her father Mr. T. Erica also shares the story about how Mr. T discovered Eddie Murphy's classic bit about him on Delirious. This is a story you will want to hear and classic history for Eddie Murphy fans! Erica Nicole Clark is a chicago native who studied at the famed Improv Olympic before deciding to venture out into Stand up. Her unique upbringing and her day job make for a style all her own in comedy. She has performed at Laugh Factory, Comedy Store, the Improv and TBS Just For Laughs Festival. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/rushandzapata/message
Join Jane Baker and Micah Sherman as we talk death, dying and murder with Mark Beltzman. Mark Beltzman wears a bunch of hats as an ACTOR - TEACHER- DIRECTOR - WRITER TUBAPLAYER and PRIVATE ACTING COACH He is the Co-Founder of Maui Improv in 2014 and also one of the founding members of Improv Olympic in Chicago where he worked with the legendary group, Barons Barracudas. Mark has worked and directed at the famed Second City in Chicago. find out all about Mark at http://www.Markbeltzman.com
It's Tuesday and... Will Luera is our guest! Will is the Director of Improvisation at Florida Studio Theatre, Director of Big Bang Improv and serves as the Artistic Director Emeritus of ImprovBoston, Artistic Director of the Pilsen Improv Festival, Artistic Associate of the Chicago Improv Festival, Artistic Advisor to the Women in Comedy Festival and Part-time Faculty at Boston College. He has appeared in numerous improv festivals around the world and have studied improvisation with ImprovOlympic, The Second City, The Annoyance Theater, The Upright Citizens Brigade, and Keith Johnstone. He has been working with Florida Studio Theatre since 2014. Before that he was with ImprovBoston where he had worked since 1997 directing the Mainstage cast and developing the nationally renowned productions of Sitcom, Secret Society, Blue Screen, Playbook and Quest. In 2004, Will was the Boston and national winner of PAX-TVs World Cup Comedy. I am also a producer and actor in Strange Faculty, which was accepted to the 2007 New York Television Festival, the 2008 Los Angeles Independent Television Festival and was a winner of the 2008 NBC Comedy Short Cuts competition. He tours globally as improv and theater actor, director and instructor that performs and teaches regularly all across North America, South America, Europe and Asia. Will is the lucky husband of a beautiful woman and proud father of two. You can reach him at me@will-luera.com.
Tim Lally stops by the After Improv Podcast this week to share the story of a life that has taken him from Ohio to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to homelessness and beyond. He also talks about honing his craft at ImprovOlympic (now iO) in Chicago, being a private investigator, why he chose to be homeless, his multiple stints in college and his improv philosophy. And if you behave, Frank Strawberry might visit, too. * Scott Icenogle sits in * Undercover veteran * Ohio, meh * U.P., U.P. and away * The parent trapper * School daze * ImprovOlympic * First job at 25 * Back to school * “I'm going to make a chicken” * A three-year break * Close reading * Diploma trickery * Being homeless * Tim Lally, P.I. * Detroit-bound * The Lally Improv Method * Keep it moving * The launch cast * Shrag * No mistakes * Trolling * Handicap dreams * Tim is bitten by a dog * Frank Strawberry * Oregon advice * Sketch show auditions * Heather the procrastinator * Fact of the week Comments or whatever: @tonyaugusty
© 2020-2025 Ivy Podcast Discovery LLC
