Podcasts about Second City

You don't usually think about the editor when a comedy lands its jokes, but editor Whit Conway is exactly why Never Change! moves the way it does. Mike talks with Conway about a career built on doing a little bit of everything — Chicago advertising work, Second City, SNL's pre-tape department, DP'ing for The Late Show, directing for Jimmy Kimmel Live! — and how that generalist grounding prepared him for this movie's absurd production math: shooting wrapped in late October 2025, and the finished film hit Hulu on June 17, 2026. Conway breaks down his years-long shorthand with director Marty Schousboe from three seasons of Joe Pera Talks With You, working alongside writer-star John Reynolds in the edit bay, the line-by-line organizational system that saved the cut, and the friends-and-family screening that reshaped the back half of the movie. He also gets into the one joke that made him nervous — the one where he says his own name out loud on camera.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-projection-booth--5513239/support.Become a supporter of The Projection Booth at http://www.patreon.com/projectionbooth 

Go inside the origin stories of three of the most influential sketch comedy shows ever: The Kids in the Hall, SCTV, and The State. Kids in the Hall co-founder Kevin McDonald, SCTV writer Chris Cluess, and The State with filmmaker Matthew Perniciaro (director of Long Live The State!) share how these legendary comedy groups got their start — from Second City and SCTV's Emmy-winning run, to Kevin McDonald meeting Dave Foley and catching the attention of Lorne Michaels, to David Wain helping take The State from NYU to MTV. Comedy History 101 digs into the archives for the stories behind three shows that helped shape modern sketch comedy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Actor and Second City veteran David Razowski travels the world teaching the art of Improvisation.Mentioned in this episode:Check out all of our other travel podcasts from around the worldThis podcast is part of the Voyascape Travel Network, that brings together the world's best travel podcasts. You can find all of our podcasts from around the world at Voyascape.com. If you are interested in advertising or sponsored content on any of our shows you can find out more at the link below.Voyascape Podcast Network

In this episode of Workday Playdate, Erin sits down with Emmy Award-winning writer, actor, comedian, facilitator, and longtime improve it! family member Nnamdi Ngwe to explore why the most valuable career skills often come from the places you least expect. From playing college soccer to performing with The Second City, creating viral content, facilitating workshops for global organizations, and winning an Emmy, Nnamdi's career is proof that following your curiosity can lead to opportunities you never could have planned. If you've ever wondered whether your creative interests "count," questioned whether it's too late to pursue something different, or struggled to connect your unique experiences into a meaningful career path, this conversation will inspire you to see your strengths in a whole new way. Inside This Episode: Why Your Nontraditional Skills Are Your Competitive Advantage: Nnamdi shares how the experiences that don't fit neatly on a resume often become the skills that make you indispensable in your career. From College Soccer to Comedy Stages: Hear how an unexpected path led Nnamdi from the soccer field to improv theaters, television sets, and corporate boardrooms, proving that careers rarely unfold in a straight line. What It Really Takes to Create Viral Content: With a massive following across TikTok and Instagram, Nnamdi pulls back the curtain on his creative process and explains why content that looks effortless usually comes from consistent practice and experimentation. The Workplace Lessons Hidden Inside Improv: After facilitating workshops for companies like LinkedIn, TikTok, Motorola, and T-Mobile, Nnamdi explains the powerful moment when people realize improv isn't just entertainment—it's a practical skill for communication, collaboration, leadership, and innovation. Trusting Your Scene Partner and Yourself: Nnamdi reflects on collaborating with his twin brother and creative partner, Amechi, sharing lessons about trust, flexibility, and building successful partnerships both on stage and in business. What to Do Now: Identify Your Hidden Career Skill: Think about one strength you have that doesn't appear on your resume. Whether it's calming people during stressful moments, reading a room, making others laugh, or adapting when plans change, recognize it as a real professional asset. Stop Waiting for the Perfect Career Path: Your experiences don't have to make sense to everyone else. Trust that the skills you're building today may become the foundation for opportunities you can't yet imagine. Follow What Energizes You: Instead of asking whether a creative interest is practical, ask what it's teaching you. The projects that light you up often develop the very human skills that set you apart. About the Guest Nnamdi Ngwe is an Emmy Award-winning writer, actor, comedian, facilitator, and educator. After playing collegiate soccer at the University of Alabama-Birmingham, he went on to study and perform comedy at iO Theater and The Second City. Alongside his twin brother and creative partner, Amechi Ngwe, he has written and starred in acclaimed productions including Julius, Rap Skool, and House Sitters. His television credits include The Amber Ruffin Show, A Black Lady Sketch Show, The Bold and the Beautiful, Blippi, Comedy Central's 3Peat, and the Emmy Award-winning Tab Time. Beyond entertainment, Nnamdi facilitates interactive workshops for organizations around the world, helping leaders and teams build communication, adaptability, and collaboration skills through applied improvisation. Whether performing on stage, creating viral content online, or leading a workshop, he's passionate about helping people embrace creativity, trust themselves, and discover that their most unexpected skills are often their greatest strengths. Your Freebie You're calm, capable, and composed… until things take an unexpected turn (as they tend to do)! This is exactly why we created The Clarity Under Pressure Toolkit: What to Do in the First 5 Minutes of Any Uncertain Situation. It's your go-to guide for staying grounded when it matters most. Download it here. Connect with Nnamdi Ngwe Nnamdi's Instagram Connect with Erin Diehl x improve it! Leadership Playground online membership community Erin's website Erin's Instagram Erin's TikTok Erin's LinkedIn improve it!'s website improve it!'s Instagram Connect with Erin Diehl

This episode brings together performers, educators and a neuropsychologist to explore how improvisational theatre (“improv”) can support healthy aging. Drawing on experiences across comedy, performance and research, the speakers highlight how improv may help reduce depression and anxiety, which are key risk factors for dementia. Alongside co-hosts Jay Ingram and Dr. Allison Sekuler, guests Tim Paul, Romy Teperson, Robert E. Daniel and Dr. Kristin Krueger (Rush University Medical Center, Cook County Health) share how improv promotes social connection, physical movement and cognitive engagement.  From training to community programs, the conversation underscores how humour, creativity and practice can build confidence, resilience and well-being, making improv a powerful and accessible tool for enhancing quality of life across the lifespan. Guests: Tim Paul Improv teacher and performer since 2010; Second City, Annoyance Theatre; Chicago and screen credits; psychology student focused on applied improvisation. Romy Teperson Actor-writer trained at Harvard, Yale, Juilliard; improviser with major comedy programs; credits include TV, film and comedy writing roles. Robert E. Daniel Founder and Chief Comedy Officer of Standups & Startups helping leaders communicate through comedy; trained performer, workshop leader and creator of Pitches Get Stitches®. Dr. Kristin Krueger Board-certified neuropsychologist from Rush University Medical Center and Cook County Health, studying aging and improv; leads Chicago-area groups.

There's an internal debate among us whether this is a high-concept theme or not, but just trying to title it convinced me that it is. John Candy, Rick Moranis, and Martin Short all had cartoons, and they were also on SCTV. Oh maybe that WAS easy. THIS WEEK'S EPISODES: Camp Candy Episode 2, "Small Foot, Big Trouble" Rick Moranis in Gravedale High Episode 1, "A Long Day's Gurney Into Night" The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley Episode 1, "Tall, Dark, and Hansom" Join our Discord! https://discord.gg/StaYgR7HW2 Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/satamtuesdays Our Website: http://www.satamtuesdays.com/ The Hosts: Andrew Eric Davison, Austin Bridges, Rory Voie Audio Production: Andrew Eric Davison

Judi Holler will happily tell you she is one of the biggest fraidy cats you will ever meet. She is afraid of all the things. She is also a keynote speaker, USA TODAY bestselling author of Fear Is My Homeboy and a self-described professional experimenter who has spent nearly twenty years treating fear as her most important advisor. That contradiction is precisely the point of this conversation, because as Judi sees it, the goal was never fearless. The goal is brave. Her courage was built in unlikely places. Working in corporate America by day, Judi spent her nights in the dark, dingy little theatres of Chicago’s improv scene, eventually training at the legendary Second City. She calls improv her fear yoga. With no script and no safety net, those basement stages taught her how to make mistakes, recover, listen and act before she felt ready. Then she started smuggling those lessons into the office: speaking up first in meetings, sitting in the front row, going for the promotion, asking for the raise. Small brave moves that walked new people and opportunities into her life, until the morning her boss sat her down over breakfast and told her to choose between her corporate career and her growing speaking work. She set down her fork and knife, looked at him and said, I don’t choose you. I’m going to choose me on this one. I quit. A decade later, she has never looked back. Fearless is for five-year-olds and sociopaths Judi takes issue with the word fearless, plastered as it is across t-shirts, bumper stickers and tattoos. If you were truly fearless, she points out, you would never see a doctor, you would eat poisonous food on purpose, you would punch a shark in the face. Borrowing a line from Elizabeth Gilbert, she reminds us that the only genuinely fearless people are five-year-olds and sociopaths. Fear is wisdom. The work is not to eliminate it but to fear your fear less, and bravery, like confidence and creativity, is a muscle built through daily experimentation. Your brain versus your soul At the heart of Judi’s methodology sits a tension we all live with: our brains are louder, faster and more practised than our souls. The brain has one job, safety, and it can only reference past data, endlessly auditing your life and pulling you back towards the familiar. But life does not follow old data. Life is improv. There is no script. The soul is your capacity to trust yourself and make decisions inside uncertainty, and Judi is quick to note this is no longer woo. She points to the World Economic Forum’s Future of Work research, where skills like resilience, creative thinking, motivation and self-awareness now top the list of what the world needs, and every one of them lives in the soul. Reclaim, don’t reinvent When Judi felt creatively caged five years ago, she resisted the urge to tear it all down. Reinvention, she says, whispers that what you have built is not good enough. Reclamation says the opposite: I love what you have made here, and I want to see more. Through a confrontational journey of self-discovery, she realised nothing was ever wrong with her. She had simply been painting the canvas of her life with everybody else’s brush. Out of that season came the HOLLER Method, a personal operating system for courage built letter by letter from her own surname, along with nightly rituals like her 9.30pm glitch list, where she captures the ideas her brain would rather she forgot. Judi leaves the audience with three golden nuggets: Trust it all. Every twist, delay and detour is preparing you for what comes next. Experiment with your fear. Every day. On purpose. Small brave moves compound into a courageous life. Honour the graveyard rule. As Les Brown says, the graveyard is the richest place on earth, full of dreams that were never acted on. Do not let yours be buried there. It is a funny, honest and deeply practical conversation about courage, self-trust and the experiments that bring us back to ourselves. Whatever you have been waiting to do, take the first step. Go scared. Watch the full conversation on YouTube. Find Out More About Judi Holler Website: https://judiholler.com Instagram: @judiholler Facebook: Judi Holler Fan Page YouTube: @JudiHoller

Blogger and model The Strange Goth and comedian Dave Carter joined Hannah and Mark for a fun show and found that they had a lot in common.   The Strange Goth talked about her parents recognizing the darkness within her at an early age. How she initially found he goth scene in the Bay Area but has now found a home in the Los Angeles scene. She talks about what it was like to be on the cover of LA Weekly's goth issue, why she doesn't wear black all the time, what it is like being a woman of color in the goth scene and set the scene for her future wedding where she will walk down the aisle on fire.   Dave talked about how he discovered death rock and darker music while serving in the Air Force (where he was assigned to play volleyball), his beginnings doing improv in the hallowed halls of Second City in Chicago, his work as a voice over actor as the voice of dramas on FreeForm among others, how his wife reacts to him making jokes about her in his stand up act and how he is at a point now where his 5 year old daughter gives him advice on how to audition and survive in show business.   And we discussed the eternal arguments…are The Smiths, Marilyn Manson and Depeche Mode goth?

Gemini Award winning actor Peter Keleghan talks about playing the original Lloyd Braun on Seinfeld, bureaucracy preventing him from reprising that role in future episodes, taking over Mike Myers spot at Toronto's Second City, his work on The Red Green Show and Murdoch Mysteries, working with George Clooney Jennifer Aniston Ted Danson Candice Bergen Jerry Seinfeld Michael Richards Jerry Stiller Steve Martin Hilary Duff, how at every Hollywood casting call he seemed to be up against Jon Hamm and Bryan Cranston, and keeping it all in the family with wife Leah Pinsent and father-in-law Gordon Pinsent! TORONTO LEGENDS is hosted by Andrew Applebaum at andrew.applebaum@gmail.com All episodes available at https://www.torontolegends.ca/episodes/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I met Cooper at a Dialect class and loved her teaching style and her skills! We chat about her growing up in St. Louis and her early influences. She received a degree in Theatre Arts from New Mexico and eventually made her way to Chicago. A friend suggested that she take classes at Second City and she auditioned for and was a member of the Conservatory with Michael Gellman. I know you'll enjoy this terrific episode.

Hi Everyone! My guest on this episode is Rachel Rizzuto, kidlit author and illustrator. Rachel's work makes me laugh in a good way! I'm so glad she agreed to be a guest. Here's more about Rachel:Rachel Rizzuto is an author-illustrator using character-driven storytelling to provide touchstones for anxious and inquisitive children. She's been a Chicago stage actor, a dolphin show narrator, a bookshop graphic designer, a marketing executive, and a teacher at The Second City. She infuses humor and hope into stressful situations, creating a safe environment in which readers can process their own experiences while knowing we're on our way to a happy ending.Rachel's websiteThanks for listening!

Tyler Kempf, Creative Director of Second City, joins John Landecker to talk about Second City’s partnership with Panda Express in Streeterville to perform improv for people’s fortunes in fortune cookies on Monday in honor of National Cookie Day.

Today's Sports Daily covers World Cup action this weekend, an expected Wimbledon classic semis matchup today, NCAA Tournament announces the second city to host play-in games and how seeding will work, & Lebrons next team.       Music written by Bill Conti & Allee Willis (Casablanca Records/Universal Music Group)  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

You can find more from Judi here:https://judiholler.com/https://youtu.be/pUrYjBTuRAM?si=hZVcjmTBt8zgaptghttps://holleratyourdreams.com/https://judiholler.com/book/https://www.instagram.com/judiholler/https://www.linkedin.com/in/judiholler/https://www.tiktok.com/@thejudiholler?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pchttps://stan.store/HOLLAVERSEAre you waiting to feel confident before you take action?In this episode, I sit down with keynote speaker, USA TODAY bestselling author, and creator of The HOLLER (Me)THOD™, Judi Holler, to explore why confidence isn't something you wait for—it's something you build through courageous action.Drawing on her background in corporate leadership and professional improvisation with The Second City, Judi shares practical strategies to help you overcome fear, perfectionism, overthinking, and self-doubt so you can step into the opportunities you've been avoiding.In this conversation, we discuss:• Why confidence is built through action—not before it• How to overcome fear of failure and self-doubt• The surprising lessons improv can teach us about leadership• Why perfectionism keeps high achievers stuck• How to stop overthinking and trust yourself more• Practical ways to develop courage in everyday life• The mindset shift that helps you become more visible and impactfulIf you're a high-achieving professional, entrepreneur, or leader who knows you're capable of more but keeps waiting until you feel "ready," this episode will challenge you to think differently about confidence.Because confidence doesn't come before action.It comes because of it.

1.Вариант К – Жаль 2.Negrocan - Aquela Esquina (Grant Nelson Club Mix) 3.Degrees Of Motion - Do You Want It Right Now (Haji & Emanuel Remix) 4.Алиса - Веретено (Arrival Project Progressive Remix) 5.Ian Carey – Redlight (Bingo Players remix) 6.Secondcity feat. Ali Love - What Can I Do (Original mix) 7.Moby – New York New York (Tocadisco's nypd mix) 8.Jaymo & Andy George - In My Way 9.Звери - Южная ночь (Neomaster full club mix) 10.Horse Meat Disco feat. Fi McCluskey - Love If You Need It (feat. Fi McCluskey)

In this episode, Sam speaks with Jet Eveleth, a clown teacher, performer, writer, and integrative medicine practitioner who lives at the fertile crossroads of medicine and mischief. Jet has studied integrative medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine, meditation, and psychotherapy at Harvard Medical School, while also training with legendary clown teacher Philippe Gaulier, touring with Second City, and performing in the spectacular Las Vegas show Absinthe. Together, Sam and Jet explore clowning as a spiritual practice, the power of embarrassment, and the difference between comedy and clowning. Jet reflects on her teachers, including Philippe Gaulier, Paola Coletto, Eckhart Tolle, and Wim Hof, and discusses how improvisation, Daoism, acupuncture, meditation, and the body all inform her work. They also talk about Clown Church, the ritual power of clown names, the importance of reading the room as a teacher, and why Esalen may be one of the most natural places to practice this kind of work. Links: Jet Eveleth online improv classes: https://jeteveleth.wixsite.com/my-site-2/about-2 Instagram: @Clownchurchla Jet is also launching a new company, Presence in Play, which will include her classes in Los Angeles, Clown Church, retreats, and online improv workshops. The website is expected to launch around mid-July 2026. Jet's workshop at Esalen, January 1 -3, 2027 https://www.esalen.org/workshops/sacred-clown-presence-in-play-010127

Trey and Goldie are joined by Lloyd (Andy St. Clair: The Kids Are Alright, Second City) who makes a living writing Yelp reviews for companies. Also, Trey punks Goldie big time about his Mom having to have surgery. Like the show Punk'd. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Yuehan is a designer by day and an improv nerd by evening. Originally from Shanghai, China, and now based in Stockholm, Sweden. She is the founder of English improv community - Fika Improv Group in Stockholm, where she's committed to connecting improvisers and sharing our passion for improv in a welcoming space. Graduated from Second City, she has also been training with teachers from different schools around the world like Jay Sukow, Liz Allen, Susan Messing, Aretha Sills and Billy Merritt. Yuehan is half of the Scandinavian Asian duo "Herring & Chopsticks", is a performer at BIT Comedy Network, teaches and performs at several international improv festivals as well as locally. Through her performances and teaching, Yuehan strives to create a fun, connected atmosphere and is passionate about spreading the joy and freedom that improvisation brings. Yuehan brings joy to everything she does. Don't miss this one!This episode, like all episodes of If This Is True, brings forth what drives creatives to do what they do. For more of this content and interaction, you can also go to my substack, coolmite25.substack.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Workday Playdate, Erin sits down with Catharine Savage to explore why failure might not be something to avoid after all. As an improviser, facilitator, educator, and performer, Catharine has spent years helping people discover that growth often lives on the other side of discomfort.If you've ever avoided taking a chance because you were afraid to fail, this conversation offers a refreshing perspective on why mistakes can actually be fun.Inside This Episode:Why We Fear Failure So Much: Catharine and Erin unpack the stories we tell ourselves about failure and explore why so many high achievers struggle to take risks in the first place.How Improv Changes Our Relationship with Mistakes: Drawing on her experience with The Second City and years of facilitating workplace workshops, Catharine shares how improvisation helps people build resilience, adaptability, and confidence through experimentation.The Surprising Joy of Failing: Failure doesn't have to mean defeat. Catharine explains how reframing mistakes as data, stories, and opportunities can transform both our careers and our lives.Building Psychological Safety Through Play: Erin and Catharine discuss why teams that normalize mistakes are often the most innovative, collaborative, and successful.Taking Yourself Less Seriously: Some of the best learning happens when we let go of perfectionism. Catharine shares practical ways leaders can create space for humor, curiosity, and growth even in high-pressure environments.What to Do Now:Try Something You're Bad At: Pick one small activity this week that feels uncomfortable or unfamiliar. Give yourself permission to be a beginner and notice what you learn.Celebrate a Recent Mistake: Reflect on a recent failure or setback. What did it teach you? Share the lesson with a colleague or friend.Practice "Yes, And" Thinking: The next time something doesn't go according to plan, challenge yourself to ask, "Yes, this happened...and what might be possible now?"About the GuestCatharine Savage is a facilitator, educator, improviser, and performer with extensive experience helping individuals and teams build communication, adaptability, and leadership skills through the principles of improv. She performs with The Second City National Touring Company and facilitates professional development experiences through The Second City Works, bringing humor and humanity into workplaces across industries. In addition to her performance work, Catharine teaches and coaches others to embrace experimentation, navigate uncertainty, and find growth through failure. Before pursuing improv professionally, she worked in consulting and sales enablement, giving her a unique perspective on the challenges leaders face in today's workplace. Catharine is passionate about helping people become more resilient, collaborative, and willing to take risks—both on stage and at work.Your FreebieHow do you lead through failure and uncertainty?Today's workplace demands adaptability, creative problem-solving, and leaders who can navigate uncertainty without freezing in perfectionism.This quick quiz will reveal your unique approach to failure and uncertainty, plus give you simple ways to strengthen your adaptability muscles and help your team thrive when things don't go according to plan.Connect with Catharine SavageCatharine's InstagramCatharine's LinkedInCatharine's websiteConnect with Erin Diehl x improve it!Leadership Playground online membership communityErin's websiteErin's InstagramErin's TikTokErin's LinkedInimprove it!'s websiteimprove it!'s InstagramFor more information on improve it! visit www.learntoimproveit.com. Connect with Erin Diehl

TOTAL DISCLOSURE PODCAST LIVE: Featuring SAL AMATOSal Amato—a storyteller, media pioneer, actor, producer, novelist, and one of the rare people whose career has spanned the worlds of entertainment, technology, broadcasting, and digital media for nearly five decades.From appearing in films and television shows like My Best Friend's Wedding, While You Were Sleeping, Chicago Fire, and The Big Leap, to becoming one of the earliest innovators in internet radio and streaming technology, Sal has consistently been ahead of the curve.A graduate of the Midwestern School of Broadcasting and one of the youngest performers ever accepted into The Second City, Sal has built a career around understanding people, culture, media, and the hidden forces that shape how we think.Today, he's bringing those experiences into the world of fiction with his novel Hidden Powers: Disclosure From Within—a story that explores influence, power, perception, and the unseen systems operating behind the curtain of modern society.Whether he's producing media, preserving history, writing stories, or challenging conventional narratives, Sal has spent a lifetime asking questions most people never think to ask.Sals Website & New Book: Hidden powers Book By Sal Almata: https://salamato.com/hidden-powersTOTAL DISCLOSURE WEBSITE: www.totaldisclosure.coBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/total-disclosure-podcast--5975113/support.CONTACT TDP DIRECTLY For Collaboration, Use of Segments/clips, or any other media produced by “TDP” —TY.TotalDisclosure@gmail.comSpecial Thank you to all of our PODCAST/YouTube Channel Members for your continued support, and dedication to seeking the truth, together. We can't do this WITHOUT YOU!-COPYRIGHT-2020-Copyright Disclaimer: Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, commenting, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use. Total Disclosure Podcast Copyright 2020 and …  segments, early access to interviews, and a yearly gift autographed by yours truly!thank you in advance now, Let's explore the unknown together!

This week we're talking to comedian, actor, writer, and series creator Jon Glaser who you may know from Parks & Recreation ("Jeremy Jam"), Girls ("Laird"), as a writer and performer on Late Night With Conan O'Brien and his own shows like Delocated and Jon Glaser Loves Gear. His new comedy special "Jon Glaser Live at The Bell House" will stream live on VEEPS on July 18.    We talked about what to expect from his comedy special before diving back into his long career which included Second City in Chicago, working on the infamous and influential The Dana Carvey Show and Conan in the '90s, Delocated, Jon Glaser Loves Gear, his album Jon Glaser's Soothing Meditations for Solitary Dogs, his new Substack, sports, sandwiches, drums, and more. We also discuss how he got to open for Slipknot and Belle & Sebastian -- not the same show -- in the 2000s.   You can order the Jon Glaser: Live at the Bell House VEEPS livestream HERE.   If you live in the NYC area you can get ticket see Jon Glaser Live At The Bell House HERE.

For much of our history, Chicago has called itself America's Second City. But ever since the early 80's LA has surpassed Chicago in population. And now, after decades of endless striving, LA appears to have become America's Second City of Corruption as well.

Peter Barg has spent his life building creativity in high-pressure environments. Beginning as a messenger in New York City during the final era of physical film editing, he learned every aspect of post-production before advancing into advertising production with McCann Erickson, where he worked on major campaigns for brands including Coca-Cola, AT&T, L'Oréal, and Miller Brewing. By his mid-twenties, he was producing national campaigns and later moved to St. Louis and Hollywood, where he led animation productions and eventually founded a pioneering virtual animation studio years before remote collaboration became commonplace. Throughout his career, Peter became known for solving complex creative problems, building systems, and bringing people together to produce exceptional work. Ironically, those same instincts initially made improvisation difficult. Introduced to improv through a client, Peter struggled with the uncertainty of the form but gradually discovered its deeper lessons in listening, trust, and collaboration—skills he later recognized would have made him an even stronger producer. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Peter immersed himself in online improv training with leading teachers from around the world and found a global creative community. In response, he founded Improv Dim Sum, an online workshop series that connected improvisers across cities and countries while making high-quality training accessible and affordable. The project grew into a thriving nonprofit organization dedicated to education and community building. Peter also served as President of Compass Improv in St. Louis, helping preserve the city's vital place in improv history through its connection to Compass Players, Viola Spolin, Paul Sills, and the roots of both Second City and iO Theater. Today, Peter continues to produce workshops, coach performers, and connect improvisers with outstanding teachers. Whether in advertising, animation, or improvisation, his work has always centered on the same mission: creating environments where trust, creativity, and meaningful human connection can flourish.

Welcome to a show about death. We've got some unfinished business as Alex Garday returns (from the dead?) for an all new fully improvised musical. Crashing cars, mystical mirrors, liminal limerence, and more as we put the FUN in funeral on this week's Charm Scene! Alex Garday is a performer from Phoenix, Arizona. He has performed in Chicago for the past 16 years at all of the major comedy theaters including recently as an understudy for The Second City's Mainstage production, Don't Quit Your Daydream. He regularly can be seen performing with Baby Wine at The Annoyance, Blank! The Musical at The Revival, Phony Award Winning Musical at iO, and Baby Wants Candy at the Second City. He has worked across North America as a host/emcee/facilitator for corporate events for Fortune 500 companies. He is the Talent/Product Coordinator and Marquee Host for Game Night Out a company that provides entertainment and curated in-person game nights for clients from across the Chicagoland area. He is 6'5″ and ethnically ambiguous. You can find him on social media platforms @alexgarday. Cast: Lily Ludwig, Austin Packard, Alex Garday Music Director: Sam Scheidler Drums: Chris Ditton Charm Scene is performed entirely by humans in sunny Chicago, IL. For more on the podcast, follow us @CharmScenePod on Instagram, visit us online at charmscenepod.podbean.com, or email us at CharmScenePod@gmail.com. In listening to this show, we hope you continue to support live human art wherever you find it. Stay charming!

Communications professor Heather Barnes teaches us how to use what she learned teaching at Second City, managing the Museum of Science and Industry, and taking classes at the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science to truly engage with difficult people through the power of positive rants. Kitted Previous Episodes How Minds Change Heather Barnes Improv@Work Second City The Center for Enlightened Disagreement Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science David McRaney's Twitter David McRaney's BlueSky YANSS Twitter YANSS Facebook Newsletter Patreon Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

John Lutz is an actor, comedian, and screenwriter. He is best known for playing J. D. Lutz on the sitcom 30 Rock, and for his work as a writer on the NBC series Saturday Night Live for seven seasons. In 2014, he joined the writing staff of the NBC late-night talk show Late Night with Seth Meyers.Lutz began his professional career as a writer-performer with Chicago's ImprovOlympic and The Second City theaters. He was hired at Saturday Night Live in February 2004 after spending three years touring with Second City. We discussed life on the road and in Chicago, struggling with the Harold and succeeding with its structure, and so much more. Don't miss this one!John will be performing in 2SQUARE with Peter Grosz at Del Close Marathon (DCM) 26, Sunday, June 14, at 7:30 PM at the Theater for the New City, Stage Two. For tickets, go to https://ucbcomedy.com/dcm.This episode, like all episodes of If This Is True, brings forth what drives creatives to do what they do. For more of this content and interaction, you can also go to my substack, coolmite25.substack.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this 1911th episode of Toronto Mike'd, Mike chats with Patrick McKenna about his start at Second City, landing the role of Harold Green on The Red Green Show and Marty Stephens on Traders, winning a Gemini Award for both, and how being diagnosed with ADHD in his late-40s changed his life.Toronto Mike'd, an award-winning podcast, is proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery, Palma Pasta, Toronto Maple Leafs Baseball, Ridley Funeral Home, Nick Ainis, and RecycleMyElectronics.ca.If you would like to support the show, we do have partner opportunities available. Please email Toronto Mike at mike@torontomike.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Recapping the spring legislative session with Illinois Farm Bureau Director of State Legislation Chris Davis. Scot Loyd at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum's Oral History Project highlights circus history in Petersburg and The Second City in Chicago.  

Belmont Stakes 2026 next Saturday concludes the Triple Crown series as well as the race's three years at Saratoga. It is the focus of this week's Ron Flatter Racing Pod. Maggie Wolfendale-Morley of Fox Sports and the New York Racing Association checks in with early angles on some of the top choices in the Belmont, including likely favorite Renegade as well as Kentucky Derby 2026 winner Golden Tempo. She also has a snapshot of the Grade 1 Met Mile, where Nysos and Journalism are expected to start on the Belmont Stakes undercard. Case Clay of Wathnan Racing talks about Belmont Stakes contender Commandment and multimillionaire Hit Show, who races Saturday on Stephen Foster preview day at Churchill Downs. He also discusses the rapid rise of the Qatar-based operation and his own move from Three Chimneys Farm, which his family used to own. Clay even shares the story of how he tried his hand at comedy with Second City in Chicago. Super Screener creator Mike Shutty has early angles that he is pursuing for the Belmont Stakes as well as handicapping of two of the graded turf stakes on Saturday's card at Churchill Downs. Co-hosts John Cherwa of the Los Angeles Times and Keith Nelson of Fairmount Park have their popular chat segment and weigh in on listener and reader feedback from last week's interview with Brent Musburger and Chuck Todd. The Ron Flatter Racing Pod via Horse Racing Nation is available via free subscription from Apple, Firefox, iHeart and Spotify as well as HorseRacingNation.com.

Jack McBrayer (Zillow Gone Wild, 30 Rock, Wreck-It Ralph) is an Emmy-nominated actor, and comedian. Jack joins Armchair Expert to discuss growing up in a family of school teachers, finding his people in Chicago improv, and why he's wary of letting too much private silliness become public record. Jack and Dax talk about the early magic of Second City, his steel trap memory for dates and birthdays, and the wild houses and homeowners of Zillow Gone Wild. Jack explains why reading the room isn't the same as being inauthentic, how suntanning is his version of meditation in a chaotic world, and why sometimes your skin feeling tight is enough reason to leap into the next chapter.Sign up now in the app or at grubhub.com/plus/golddays to unlock exclusive Gold Days deals.Check Allstate first for a quote that could save you hundreds: https://www.allstate.com/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Brick's going into the archive tonight. Three tracks, three different moods. First up: August Heat and Tempers Rise, pulled from last preseason when the timeline was on fire over dropped passes and vanilla scheme. Brick logged the panic when it was loud. He's playing it back now that everyone who was loudest in August has gone quiet about what they said in August. Then: Second City Blues. Brick has nothing against the city of Chicago — beautiful architecture, great skyline, Lakeshore Drive is worth seeing before you die. Their football team, however, is a civic embarrassment. Their pizza is a casserole. The song documents both positions thoroughly. And finally: Green Bay Grotesque. Written in 7/8 time. Contains a brass section. Uses the phrase "diminished and strained" to describe a wide receiver's hamstring. Brick has been waiting for the right moment to air it. He decided tonight was the moment.

Brick's going into the archive tonight. Three tracks, three different moods. First up: August Heat and Tempers Rise, pulled from last preseason when the timeline was on fire over dropped passes and vanilla scheme. Brick logged the panic when it was loud. He's playing it back now that everyone who was loudest in August has gone quiet about what they said in August. Then: Second City Blues. Brick has nothing against the city of Chicago — beautiful architecture, great skyline, Lakeshore Drive is worth seeing before you die. Their football team, however, is a civic embarrassment. Their pizza is a casserole. The song documents both positions thoroughly. And finally: Green Bay Grotesque. Written in 7/8 time. Contains a brass section. Uses the phrase "diminished and strained" to describe a wide receiver's hamstring. Brick has been waiting for the right moment to air it. He decided tonight was the moment.

The KC Crew learned that The Kindness Chronicles was ranked #2 on Feedspot's “30 Best Kindness Podcasts for 2026,” THANK YOU, listeners! They quickly review the Masonic Children's Hospital gala that raised about $2.5 million, as an example of kindness through philanthropy. The episode then focuses on an extended discussion of The Blues Brothers, including Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi's origin story from Second City, the film's role in reviving and spotlighting blues musicians and Chicago culture, standout scenes and cast members (Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Cab Calloway, Ray Charles, Carrie Fisher, John Candy, Frank Oz, Steven Spielberg), and themes of redemption, loyalty, friendship, and joyful comedy through music. Check it out. 

Emmy-winning writer-producer Dick Blasucci joins Mark Malkoff to discuss a comedy career that spans Chicago's Second City, SCTV, The Tracey Ullman Show, The Larry Sanders Show, Mad TV, and Muppets Tonight. Along the way, he shares stories about John Belushi and Bill Murray, co-creating SCTV's Jackie Rogers Jr., doing punch-ups with Mel Brooks on Spaceballs, and discovering Jordan Peele and Keegan-Michael Key during his years running Mad TV.

Kelly Leonard, Vice President, Creative Strategy, Innovation and Business Development at The Second City and host of the “Getting to Yes, And…” podcast, joins John Williams to talk about his recent journey with open heart surgery. Kelly also talks about a podcast he recorded with an education expert from England, Daisy Christodoulou, about their new book […]

Kelly Leonard, Vice President, Creative Strategy, Innovation and Business Development at The Second City and host of the “Getting to Yes, And…” podcast, joins John Williams to talk about his recent journey with open heart surgery. Kelly also talks about a podcast he recorded with an education expert from England, Daisy Christodoulou, about their new book […]

Kelly Leonard, Vice President, Creative Strategy, Innovation and Business Development at The Second City and host of the “Getting to Yes, And…” podcast, joins John Williams to talk about his recent journey with open heart surgery. Kelly also talks about a podcast he recorded with an education expert from England, Daisy Christodoulou, about their new book […]

Comedian Laura Ramoso delights her millions of online followers with her larger-than-life characters, such Chiara, an acerbic Italian airline check-in agent. On this episode, Dan speaks with the rising star in the midst of a global tour (her American “Calm Down” tour starts in September) to discuss how the troupe Second City changed her life, what her own parents think about becoming recurring characters of hers, what Italian audiences think about her comedy, what Tina Fey and Amy Poehler are like in person, and much more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode Summary Danny is creator of The Art of First Impressions™ (TAFI) telephone skills mastery curriculum, and The Persuasion Blueprint communication skills mastery program. He is President of AIM Dental Marketing, which has helped grow dental practices since 1989. He is also Executive Director of Climb for a Cause, and is the American Academy for Oral Systemic Health's Founding Executive Committee Chair. He holds two MBAs, one from the University of Chicago's Graduate School of Business, and one from K.U.L., Belgium. Danny was certified as both a mediator and an arbitrator for the Center for Conflict Resolution and Better Business Bureau, respectively. He is a graduate of the Players Workshop (Improvisation Curriculum) of The Second City in Chicago. He is also an alpine patroller with the National Ski Patrol and instructor with the Professional Ski Instructor's Association. He has successfully summited 20 peaks on three continents, and is a staunch proponent of Patient Persistence and Respectful Resilience. Who's your ideal client and what's the biggest challenge they face? What are the common mistakes people make when trying to solve that problem? What is one valuable free action that our audience can implement that will help with that issue? What is one valuable free resource that you can direct people to that will help with that issue? What's the one question I should have asked you that would be of great value to our audience? When was the last time you experienced Goosebumps with your family and why? Get in touch with Daniel: Website, LinkedIn, Facebook Stakeholder Confidence Focus Turn board skepticism into enthusiastic alignment with the KAIROS assessment system. Book your 30-minute KAIROS Strategic Assessment (€147) and receive frameworks that build unwavering stakeholder trust in your strategic timing. Only 5 spots are available this week. https://www.uwedockhorn.com/research

Hey Streetwalkers. This is a throwback episode with actor John Kapelos, the janitor from The Breakfast Club! John first appeared on the show on 6.24.24It was such a compelling & fun episode, l decided it needed to be re-visited!Enjoy this throwback episode, tell a friend, and thanks for listening!John KapelosTake a walk with me down Fascination Street as I get to know John Kapelos. You may know John as 'Carl, The Janitor' from the 1984 cult classic film: The Breakfast Club; but he is so much more than that! In this episode, we chat about him spending nearly a decade with Second City, his experiences on some of the greatest John Hughes films, and even his time as 'The Sniffing Accountant' on Seinfeld. We discuss how the show must go on, even after his father unexpectedly passed. John reveals the moment he found out that Emelio Estevez was the son of Martin Sheen, stories from the set of The Breakfast Club, and his scene from Ferris Bueller's Day Off that got cut. As if all of this improv comedy and hall of fame acting isn't enough, John Kapelos also put out an album! It is called "John Kapelos: Too Hip For the Room"; and he lets me play a track from it. I think you're gonna dig it!John is a consummate professional, and he gets honest and vulnerable with me in this interview. I appreciate him for letting go, and not holding back. If you have a chance to see John in a play, or singing, or in television and film; I highly suggest you check him out. In everything he does, he BRINGS IT!

How do you find joy at work without faking positivity or losing yourself in the process? Episode Summary In this episode of the Joyosity™ Podcast, Jenn Whitmer talks with performer, teacher, and creator Tara DeFrancisco about joy at work, authenticity, leadership, creativity, trust, and self-judgment. Together, they explore how to be fully yourself at work, why presence matters, and how authenticity helps people connect more deeply in leadership, performance, and everyday life. Tara shares insights on bringing your full self to work, letting go of the need to perform for your inner critic, and learning how to enjoy the work you have already earned. Jenn and Tara also discuss improv, emotional connection, workplace joy, online identity, and what it means to lead with truth instead of control. This episode is for anyone who wants more joy in work and life without forcing positivity. If you are a leader, creative, speaker, performer, or professional trying to stay grounded, authentic, and connected, this conversation offers practical wisdom and a refreshing perspective on authentic leadership and meaningful work. In this episode, you'll learn: 03:21 What do you do with joy when energy is low, and you still have to show up. 04:52 Why presence is the reward for the work you have already done. 07:43 How trust is built through modeling rather than controlling in leadership, improv, and creative work. 12:18 What happens when people realize they are actually allowed to enjoy the way they work. 17:33 What it means to be the same person everywhere you go, and why authenticity creates deeper connection. Key takeaway: Joy at work grows when you stop performing for your inner evaluator and become present enough to enjoy the work you have already done. About Tara DeFranciscoTara is a globally respected improviser, educator, speaker, and comedic performer known for her powerful blend of humor, connection, and authenticity. She has performed more than 8,000 shows on renowned stages, including iO Chicago, The Second City, and ComedySportz, and is especially known for HERE: The (Improvised) Musical, her acclaimed two-person show performed in 24 countries and more than 90 cities. Tara is also the Co-Founder and Artistic Director of The Nest Theatre in Columbus, Ohio, and a sought-after teacher whose work has taken her around the world. Most recently, she began serving as a facilitator and artistic liaison for Cirque du Soleil. Through speaking, teaching, and performance, Tara helps people and organizations unlock more play, presence, trust, and connection. taradefrancisco.com/ Tara's Socials:Instagram: instagram.com/taradefranciscoTikTok: tiktok.com/@taradefrancisco About the Host: Jenn Whitmer Jenn is an international keynote speaker, leadership consultant, and the founder of Joyosity™, helping leaders create positive, profitable cultures through connection, curiosity, and joy. With a background in communication, conflict resolution, and team dynamics, Jenn helps leaders and organizations navigate complex people challenges, reduce burnout, and build flourishing workplaces. Her insights have resonated with audiences worldwide, blending real-world leadership expertise, engaging storytelling, and a dash of humor to make the hard stuff easier. Whether on stage, in workshops, or with coaching clients, Jenn equips leaders with the tools they need to solve conflict, cultivate communication, and lead with purpose. Her book Joyosity and the Joyosity Works Playbooks offer leaders a fresh approach to joy at work that builds real results. jennwhitmer.com Jenn's Socials: Instagram: Instagraminstagram.com/jenn_whitmer LinkedIn: Linkedinlinkedin.com/in/jennwhitmer Podcast edited by Katey Perkins, Midsouth Story Co Resources & Links: Ready to stop over-functioning and start leading with more clarity, intention, and joy? There is a program for you. Join the waitlist here: jennwhitmer.com/waitlist Get Joyosity and the Joyosity Works Playbook Joyosity: How to Cultivate Intense Happiness in Work & Life (Even If Things Are What They Are) Joy isn't extra. Joy is how you thrive. This book gives leaders the tools to turn exhaustion into resilience and build cultures where work is a joy, people are whole, and organizations flourish. Joyosity Works Playbook: Practical Plays and Strategies for Joy at Work and Beyond is the official companion workbook to Joyosity to help you practice joy every day. Find direct links to purchase at your favorite booksellers at https://jennwhitmer.com/books. Free 99: Joyosity Explorer Map → This map will guide you to understanding the deeper purpose and story you tell yourself about your work. Joy is linked to purpose and productivity increases by 20% or more when you directly link your purpose to your work. Ready to Make a Plan: Joyosity™ Jumpstart → Get crystal clear on what you want, what's in the way, and how to move forward with traction. Starting the Journey: Enneagram Navigator → Stop guessing your type. In this 1:1 session, get clarity on your motivations and blind spots. Ready to Dive In: Joyosity™ Intensive → A one-day transformative experience to realign with your values and build a practical plan for joyful leadership. A Party for More: Bring Jenn & the Joy to Speak → Bring the spark (not just the spark notes!) to your whole team with contagious joy, practical tools, and plenty of laughter. Loved this episode? Rate, review, and share with a fellow leader who's ready to ditch the drama and lead with more joy, curiosity, and clarity.

John welcomes five-time Emmy-winning writer Ali Barthwell (Last Week Tonight) to ask, can writers learn to be funny? Drawing from her time as a teacher at The Second City, they look at what writers can learn from sketch and improv, and how to reliably find ways to make an audience laugh. We also celebrate the WGA membership's ratification of the 2026 MBA, the educational future of the Scriptnotes book, and answer listener questions on the first scene of a comedy and when to stop taking assistant gigs and bet on yourself. In our bonus segment for premium members, Ali shares how she built a thriving writing career without ever having to live in New York or LA. Links: Ali Barthwell Preorder Ali's new book, Reality TV for Snobs The Second City Pre-inked star stamps The Padilla Pause: How the Breakout Star of SNL Nails Comic Timing by Jason Zinoman for NYTimes Funnier by Anne Libera Get your copy of the Scriptnotes book! Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube Follow Scriptnotes on Instagram and TikTok John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Matt Gillespie (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

We got to talk to satirist Caitlin Kunkel! Jason sits down with Caitlin to trace her journey from collegiate distance swimmer to satire expert. Caitlin delves into how being an athlete led her to naturally merge sports psychology concepts with creative practice. She recounts the experiences that formed her comedy brain, working in Chicago theater fundraising, training and teaching at Second City, discovering satire after her “drama” scripts kept getting laughs, how her satire curriculum developed, and shares teaching strategies for activating students. She also talks about her forthcoming book, "Inside Jokes," and how a viral McSweeney's piece became her book "New Erotica for Feminists." Her website: caitlinkunkel.com Pre Order "Inside Jokes" here: hachettebookgroup.com/titles/elissa-bassist/inside-jokes/9781538770771/ Her newsletter, Input/Output, about the creative process: inputandoutput.substack.com Her upcoming classes: writingworkshops.com/collections/creative-writing-classes-with-caitlin-kunkel Instagram: @KunkelTron, @ThereItIsPod, @JasonFarrPics  Threads: @ThereItIsPod, @JasonFarrPics Facebook: @ThereItIsPod  Subscribe to our comedy newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/e22defd4dee2/thereitis

Nick pays tribute to one of the most underappreciated cast members in Saturday Night Live history, the late Danitra Vance. Raised on the south side of Chicago, Vance came up through improv, earned her Master's degree, taught for a time, and eventually found her way to Second City before landing on SNL as the show's first female African American cast member. Unfortunately, she arrived during the troubled Season 11, where the writing often held her back from doing the kind of work she really wanted to showcase. Even with those limitations, her character work stood out and her writing was sharp, topical, and honest. She brought attention to the experiences of young Black women in the inner city and delivered smart satire that pushed back on stereotypes and tropes. You'll hear some of her best sketches, including multiple appearances by her unforgettable character Cabrini Green Jackson, along with stories about her life, her career, and her passing in 1994 after a battle with breast cancer. It's a well-earned spotlight on a performer who never got the recognition she deserved. [Ep 172]

9 Year Anniversary Live Show! April 24thhttps://shorturl.at/FhzCxKnock Knock Comedy April 18th @ Second City!https://shorturl.at/dzvVoPreorder your Toronto slang merch before April 16Limited run: extragravyshow.com(01:30) Being the bigger person(11:30) Kanye & Wireless Fest(22:40) Ebro Rosenberg Laura can't get guests(34:30) Write off people if they consume certain content?(47:35) Good gyal Zoie went to Jamaica(1:02:05) Akademiks still hasn't been touched(1:19:35) Jake Paul wants to do blackface(1:44:50) Not saying no to drugs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What is it like to create a Shakespeare play that's never been written—and will never be performed again? The Improvised Shakespeare Company is a long-running ensemble that performs entirely unscripted plays in the style of Shakespeare. Founded in Chicago in 2005, the company has spent two decades building a devoted following through performances in the United States and internationally. In this episode, Blaine Swen, the company's founder, and Ross Bryant discuss how their performances take shape in real time, beginning with a single audience-suggested title and unfolding into a full-length play that will never be repeated. Drawing on techniques from long-form improvisation and a deep familiarity with Shakespeare's language, structure, and themes, the ensemble creates stories that balance poetry, comedy, spontaneity, and lots of fun. They reflect on what makes Shakespeare particularly well-suited to improv, from his larger-than-life characters and emotional intensity to the flexibility of his language and cultural references. They also explore the mechanics of their process—how they listen, build on each other's ideas, and embrace mistakes as opportunities—and why committing fully to the moment often leads to the most surprising and meaningful results. From the Shakespeare Unlimited podcast. Published April 6, 2026. © Folger Shakespeare Library. All rights reserved. This episode was produced by Matt Frassica. Garland Scott is the executive producer. It was edited by Gail Kern Paster. Technical support was provided by Voice Trax West in Studio City, California. Web production was handled by Paola García Acuña. Transcripts are edited by Leonor Fernandez. Final mixing services were provided by Clean Cuts at Three Seas, Inc. Ross Bryant is a writer/performer from North Carolina. Ross is a performer on Dropout.tv and can be seen regularly at the Upright Citizen's Brigade Theater in Los Angeles. Ross also tours the country and performs monthly at The Largo in LA with The Improvised Shakespeare Company. Ross began performing in Chicago where was a member of the resident cast of The Second City Mainstage. Ross is a writer for Mystery Science Theater 3000, and has co-written original television pilots for Pop TV, Warner Bros and the Showtime network. TV credits include The Good Place (NBC), Crashing (HBO), and I Think You Should Leave (Netflix). Ross also the host of the horror/comedy/improv podcast Push the Roll with Ross Bryant. Instagram: @rossbb Blaine Swen is the creator and director of The Improvised Shakespeare Company®. He is a writer/actor based in Nashville where you can catch him in the two-person improvised musical Erica & Blaine. Blaine also performs regularly in Chicago where the Chicago Reader named him the “Best Improviser in Chicago.” His iO Chicago credits include the two-person group Blessing with Susan Messing and the one-person improvised musical BASH! Additional Chicago stage credits include Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Pegasus Players Theatre, The Back Room Shakespeare Project, and The Second City. He has appeared on Dropout.tv and has developed original pilots with NBC, Universal Cable Productions, and Pop TV. You can hear him as Arnor the Warrior on the podcast Hello, from the Magic Tavern. Blaine also has a PhD in philosophy from Loyola University, Chicago. Instagram: @blaine_swen

9 Year Anniversary Live Show! April 24th https://shorturl.at/FhzCxKnock Knock Comedy April 18th @ Second City!https://shorturl.at/dzvVoPreorder your Toronto slang merch before April 16Limited run: extragravyshow.com(01:05) Jamaica vs Congo(02:50) Cardi B concert review(12:45) Ye - Bully review(17:35) J Cole's making it worse(39:00) Tyrese vs Tank(48:05) Druski's new skit(52:20) The Junos review(57:20) Cabbie on the Street(1:05:00) Kobe Bryant stories(1:22:20) Is betting going too far? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On today's AUDIO ONLY show we talk about the value of anonymity, how to try and not let The Simpsons take over your life, being writers and actors, bad auditions, the value of improv, The Tracey Ullman Show, Chicago (the city), singing dancing, the thoughts behind jokes, being actors and writers, the origin of The Simpsons, how actors often know their characters better than writers, being a creative couple, improvising plays, how to not be precious about your ideas, visual art, do we need an audience, the joys of being a character actor, Krusty the Clown, John Waters, and Marlon Brando! Bio: DAN CASTELLANETA is Co-Executive Producer and four-time Emmy recipient for his work (Homer, Grandpa, Krusty, etc.) on The Simpsons. Besides acting in numerous film, TV, and theater roles, he has written for The Simpsons (WGA Nominated “Kiss Kiss Bang Bangalore”), and The Tracey Ullman Show. He performed his acclaimed one-man show WHERE DID VINCENT VAN GOGH? in LA, NYC, Chicago, Edinburgh Theatre Festival, Aspen HBO Comedy Festival. He starred as the acerbic Oscar Levant, in his play FOR PIANO AND HARPO (Garry Marshall Theater, Burbank). His play A PURPLE DAWN premiered at Geneva College and Northwestern College, Iowa, BINKY PETUNIA (Little Renegade Theatre, LA). Other plays, co-written with Deb Lacusta: THE BANANA TREE (Telluride Playwrights Festival, Adirondack Theater Festival, Bloomington Playwrights Project), FRANKENSTEIN'S DAUGHTER (Here for Now Theatre, Stratford, Ontario), FORTUNES, as well as FOOD COURT, and THE SONS OF MOTHERS. A Second City alum, Dan co-founded the improv scenario group Instant Theater Chicago and the Improv Co-op LA. He also co-wrote and co-directed the award-winning film The Long Isolation. DEB LACUSTA is a writer, improvisational actress, and video artist. She has written numerous episodes of The Simpsons (WGA Nominated “Kiss Kiss Bang Bangalore”). Co-writing with Dan Castellaneta: THE BANANA TREE (Telluride Playwrights Festival, Bloomington Playwrights Project, Adirondack Theater Festival), SHOCK & AWW (Sci-Fest LA, Outstanding Short Plays, Vol. 4), ROSEBUD and DYNAMITE SALES (UCSB, Dramatic Publishing); EARTHERS and PIECES OF EIGHT (Organic Theater/Chicago, Theatre 6470/LA), FRANKENSTEIN'S DAUGHTER (Here for Now Theatre, Stratford, Ontario), FORTUNES, and OLD MAN IN A BIG CAR (Fanatic Salon Theatre, starring Paul Dooley).  She starred in and produced Castellaneta's play FOR PIANO AND HARPO premiering at the Garry Marshall Theatre LA. She co-founded, with Castellaneta, the improv scenario group Instant Theater Chicago, and the Improv Co-op LA. She also co-wrote, co-directed and produced The Long Isolation, which has won numerous film festivals awards, and the art film Starring Marlon Brando. BGS University of Michigan, BFA Otis College of Art, MFA Art Center College of Design. Her art and video performance work has been seen in museums and art galleries here and abroad. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this engaging episode, Shai Davidai sits down with Ryan Turkienicz, co-founder of The Daily Brine, a satirical news platform often described as “the Jewish Onion,” focused on Israel and the Jewish diaspora. Ryan shares how his background in real estate investment and development, combined with years of experience in music, improv, and comedy, set the stage for launching a humor-driven advocacy project in the wake of October 7, 2023, an “activating moment” that pushed him to step up as a Jewish voice. He explains how he and his brother Eric (a practicing lawyer trained at Second City with decades of satire-writing experience) chose satire as a “force multiplier,” not to trivialize tragedy, but to expose hypocrisy and empower a community that had struggled to laugh again. Throughout the conversation, Ryan breaks down the “rules” behind The Daily Brine's content, including red lines like not punching down, avoiding hate, and satirizing actions and power rather than identity or suffering, while also sharing how the project grew quickly through community support and relatable, accessible humor. Ryan also discusses the tension of being “moderate” in a polarized era, his involvement in Israel President Herzog's Voices of the People Council (focused on Israel-diaspora relations), and the next chapter for The Daily Brine, including building a more structured writers room and expanding into YouTube. Tune in for a thoughtful look at how comedy, when done with intention, can build resilience, strengthen community, and create a shared language in difficult times.Guest: Satirist Writer Ryan TurkieniczConsider DONATING to help us continue and expand our media efforts. If you cannot at this time, please share this video with someone who might benefit from it. We thank you for your support!https://gofund.me/30c00151c COMING SOON BUY MERCH!SUPPORT SHAI ON PATREON!https://www.patreon.com/shaidavidai/about?utm_source=campaign-search-results

President Trump keeps undermining his administration's own talking points about the combat operations against Iran, Israel's foreign minister threatened “elimination” to anyone selected as Iran's next supreme leader, and the CEO of McDonald's is making food influencer videos.  “Rooster” star Steve Carell stops by to help Stephen Colbert raise some cash for World Central Kitchen by auctioning off one-of-a-kind pieces of television history ahead of the series finale of The Late Show. Learn more about what's up for grabs at colbertlateshow.com/ebay. Beloved comedian and actor Steve Carell recalls his Second City pal Chris Farley as “a force of nature” and says it was impossible to succeed as his understudy, especially in scenes like Farley's signature character Matt Foley who lived “in a van down by the river.” To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices