While it would seem that stand up and comedy clubs reign supreme in the NYC comedy scene, there are plenty of performers that defy that notion and not only go for alternative spaces and types of comedy, but find ways in between all of them. One such comedian is Sydney Duncan who constantly switches gears between performing in character, as herself, on stage solo, with other folks on teams, and so much more. It's a delicate balance to strike to do try to fit in the pre-existing spaces in comedy and simultaneously make those perfectly suited to you, but Sydney has amazingly found her footing in doing so.

We talk to Sydney on this week's TCB Field Report all about that, this, and the other things in her lanes of NYC comedy.

Follow Sydney @sydneyduncanonem

Produced by Jake Kroeger

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2005 seems both so recent and yet so distant, but that marks the time at which a happenstance pairing of Kurt Braunohler and Kristen Schaal backstage at the Peoples Improv Theater in NYC eventually led to run of the longest running, most beloved weekly live comedy shows in comedy history, Hot Tub with Kurt and Kristen.

Coming up on its 20th anniversary (and subsequent swan song), Hot Tub has been a treasure in LA, NYC, and wherever its toured (notably, for us, in Portland & Edinburgh). Kurt joins us this week to give an oral history of what is and will always be one of the landmark comedy shows of the this part of the 21st century.

Follow Kurt @kurtbraunohler across socials and at kurtcomedy.com. Find all things Hot Tub with Kurt and Kristen @hottub_show across socials.

Produced by Jake Kroeger

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Chloe Radcliffe has been taking radical honesty and capturing of the full breadth of the human experience to a new level with, rest assured, plenty of jokes, in her astounding solo show, CHEAT. Radcliffe shares, in the hour, an in-depth journey of her pattern of cheating and really getting into the nitty gritty of perhaps why it might be happening (and that's she still human and is not solely defined by her faults). It's a hysterical, beautiful, and heart-wrenching show that really needs to be seen and heard and we're so lucky that we got to talk to Chloe on this week's TCB Field Report all about what openly talking about cheating as the sole basis for a show (and doing it so well) is really like.

Follow Chloe @chloebadcliffe across socials and get tickets to her latest performance of CHEAT if you're in LA on Tues. Mar. 26th @ 7:30PM.

Produced by Jake Kroeger

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Club Video is the latest welcoming, short film/video/sketch showcase that's as inviting and low key as it is cool and the place to be in NYC, at the intersection of film and comedy and wanting a great weekend hang with good folks. This week's TCB Field Report is dedicated to how the hell one strikes that balance and we talk to Club Video's Whitley Watson and Micah Phillips how they manage to keep Club Video in the creative and good vibes sweet spot.

Follow Club Video @clubvideoshow, Whitley Watson @videotapezzzz, Micah Phillips @micahrockandroll, and Marshall Louise @marshalllouise

Produced by Jake Kroeger

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Intrepid indie comedy producers, Sam Varela, returns to TCB Field Report to talk the state of comedy with TCB's Jake Kroeger at this juncture of (still) early 2024. Varela produces shows in both LA and NYC (including the amazing Picture This) as well as live-streams that are genuinely worth watching and definitely is one of the perfect people to weigh in on where the art form/community/scenes of comedy are right now and where they're headed going forward.

Follow all of Sam's great comedy things/happenings at nakedcomedy.org.

Produced by Jake Kroeger

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

After spending so much time in LA that it seemed like they already lived in Los Angeles, Hay Beacon has made the move on down from SF to the City of Angels and we here at TCB are personally grateful to have such a delightful addition to our ever evolving comedy scene. For this week's TCB Field Report, we talk to the freshly transplanted Hay and how they're acclimatizing and an insightful perspective on how to move up from one comedy scene to another, especially if one is considered to be the "big show".

Follow Hay @haybeacon across socials

Produced by Jake Kroeger

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Part of the magic of live comedy, especially when it comes to just putting on stand-up, is that it seems like a lone person is captivating and inspiring spontaneous laughter to a group of strangers shrouded in darkness. Of course, the ingredients as to what make that magic actually happen are elusive and ever changing (not to mention, wholly impermanent). LA comedy torchbearer and beloved comedian Paul Danke and TCB's very own Jake Kroeger dig into what makes live comedy special (when it is indeed special, of course) as well tease what they got up their sleeve to possibly make that happen.

Follow Paul @pauldanke across socials and get into his brand new album, Mad River, here.

Produced by Jake Kroeger

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

There are many folks that make the magic of comedy really snap and pop and one of those groups of people are the technical directors/operators/stage managers that take the logistics of comedy of all ilks and make it seamless. Jimmy Jatho has made himself one of the foremost names in that regard with his 40 plus years experience, tech'ing at least a guess-timated 30K shows all around the country in theaters big and small, Second City, UCB, Lyric Hyperion, and so much more.

Also, Jimmy has some of the best showbiz stories to boot. We talk to Jatho all about the world of tech in comedy and so much more on this week's TCB Field Report.

Follow Jimmy @jimmyjatho on IG

Produced by Jake Kroeger

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Not that this podcast is a stranger to taking big swings or chatting with characters that might as well be from another galaxy, but, for a podcast that ostensibly pulls back the curtain, we go above and beyond with this episode by devising a show with a comedian live on tape.

If you haven't gathered in recent episodes, TCB's Jake Kroeger is now also the Artistic Director at Lyric Hyperion and tapped the hysterical Ian Farley to do a show next month and captured the creative process of working out what the hell his show is going to be on a podcast. Ideally, coming up with this show is this crackling and fun (part of the reason we have Ian both on the pod and doing a whole show by himself).

Follow Ian at enefarley.com

Produced by Jake Kroeger

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

There's way more that goes into being a clown than just doing something wild on stage with only a few things planned and messing with the audience, especially if you want to make a legitimately living as a clown. Rising star in LA comedy's clown scene, Natasha Mercado, is not only working on her latest solo show to tour, but is also juggling teaching clown classes and guiding incarcerated youth into the world of clown and doing several other clown shows including a completely G-rated, family friendly one, and directing multiple other solo shows.

It's all in a days work for a clown and we talk to her all about it on this week's TCB Field Report.

Follow Natasha @champagnetashi and get tix to #1 Son from 1/30-2/1 here.

Produced by Jake Kroeger

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.