Daily Chit Chat (Streamiversity)

With over two decades of experience in live performance, Christian Busath is a true Renaissance man: a stage actor, screen actor, director, producer and jokester. He is known for his high quality comedic videos for such companies as Universal Studios, Dreamworks, Google, Mattel, and more, gaining nearly a half billion views! He also performed alongside Cristiano Ronaldo, Tony Horton, and three time Olympic gold medalist Kerrie Walsh-Jennings in a series of comedic workout videos. He earned international attention in the YouTube video "Fruit Ninja in Real Life to Dubstep" on his friend Scott Winn's channel, which has over 1.8 million subscribers. He played the titular character, and the video has since earned more than 25 million total views. He studied improvisational comedy at the Upright Citizens Brigade theater in New York City. He graduated from BYU - Idaho in 2006 with a degree in musical theater. His involvement with Comic Frenzy is why I interviewed him today!

When talking about Comic Frenzy back in 2002 Sara Hendricks (Allsop), who hailed from Eau Claire, Wisconsin said, “I like ‘Oscar-Winning Moment,” where a normal scene suddenly turns into an emotional one. She was described as the “fearless” creature of the bunch and claimed that as comedians, “They can’t help it. Lepers can’t help that their arm falls off... Everyone [on the troupe] can’t help being so darn funny.” As acting without a script can be challenging, Sara said that, “It’s nerve wracking, terrifying, and a toll on the immune system.” Almost 20 years later, I touch base with her as she shared her memories of that wonderful time!

While studying broadcasting and advertising at Brigham Young University-Idaho, the California-native Jeff Blake formed an improv acting troupe called Comic Frenzy. His theatre experience began as early as he was six. His mom was a drama teacher at the local high school and he always enjoyed it, but didn't know he would be diving into that world as much as he had! Listen to our fun interview!

I have like, 8 podcasts right now, so I really had to talk about them all!!! Maybe the 7 listeners here will want to listen to those ones as well :-)

-Richard

Some of my favorite shows are on Paramount+ and I think more people should be watching them!!!

[email protected]

And now, the conclusion: with Zach Atherton. He founded ImprovBroadway in 2014 which is also Utah’s only comedy school. When not in Covid times, ImprovBroadway produces 400+ family-friendly comedy shows a year. Recently they also raised $20k in a Kickstarter campaign to produce a movie musical about the struggles of comedians during quarantine. Zach earned a Juris Doctorate and Master’s of Public Administration from BYU, and when he’s not on stage, he’s behind the scenes as a writer at the viral ad agency, The Harmon Brothers. As a child he wanted to be on ‘Whose Line is it Anyway?’ or ‘Saturday Night Live’ and his ultimate goal is to see more family-friendly comedians make a real living from comedy.

Again I am here with my buddy, Zach Atherton and we talk about Life and Goals. He founded ImprovBroadway in 2014 which is also Utah’s only comedy school. When not in Covid times, ImprovBroadway produces 400+ family-friendly comedy shows a year. Recently they also raised $20k in a Kickstarter campaign to produce a movie musical about the struggles of comedians during quarantine. Zach earned a Juris Doctorate and Master’s of Public Administration from BYU, and when he’s not on stage, he’s behind the scenes as a writer at the viral ad agency, The Harmon Brothers. As a child he wanted to be on ‘Whose Line is it Anyway?’ or ‘Saturday Night Live’ and his ultimate goal is to see more family-friendly comedians make a real living from comedy.

I am back with my buddy, Zach Atherton. He founded ImprovBroadway in 2014 which is also Utah’s only comedy school. When not in Covid times, ImprovBroadway produces 400+ family-friendly comedy shows a year. Recently they also raised $20k in a Kickstarter campaign to produce a movie musical about the struggles of comedians during quarantine. Zach earned a Juris Doctorate and Master’s of Public Administration from BYU, and when he’s not on stage, he’s behind the scenes as a writer at the viral ad agency, The Harmon Brothers. As a child he wanted to be on ‘Whose Line is it Anyway?’ or ‘Saturday Night Live’ and his ultimate goal is to see more family-friendly comedians make a real living from comedy.

Zach and I continue our discussion! He is the owner, founder, director, and regular main stage cast member of ImprovBroadway. He has improvised for over a decade and his improv credits include ComedySportz, The Thrillionaires, and BYU-Idaho's Academy of Comedy and Comic Frenzy. He also has his Juris Doctorate and Masters of Public Administration, which makes him the most over-qualified comedian in the universe. Mostly he is my friend and I adore him! We get really existential in this episode, and I'm here for that!  

Instagram & Twitter: @ImprovBroadway