On the Cusp

Ben Greene interviews one of the writers from the TV show Comedy Bang! Bang!, Lauren McGuire.

Lauren is a writer who has been writing for UCB LA’s Maude night since December, 2011 (as a member of New Money). In addition to Comedy Bang! Bang! Lauren has written a number of sketches for Wits Radio, a nationally distributed radio program on NPR.

In Ben’s interview with Lauren, you’ll get to hear her talk about her favorite dirty joke when she was a kid, why she passionately hates Steve Urkel, and getting the opportunity to write sketches for Maria Bamford.

Ben Greene interviews a member of the UCB Harold Team Cardinal Redbird (and his fiancée), Madeline Walter.

Madeline is a writer/actor/improviser who has been performing on UCB LA’s Harold night since 2009 and as a member of the UCB Maude team Bonafide since 2011. As an actress, Madeline has appeared in shows like The Birthday Boys, Children’s Hospital, and Garfunkel and Oates. Madeline is also a member of a UCB Digital Writer’s Room.

In Ben’s interview with Madeline, you’ll get to hear about a traumatic experience involving a sand-filled frog in middle school, how close she came to being a lawyer instead of an actress, and about her first memories of meeting her future husband (me).

Ben Greene interviews one of the writers from the TV show Cougar Town, Jen D’Angelo.

Jen is a writer/actor/improviser who has been writing for UCB LA’s Maude night since April, 2014. As an actress, Jen has appeared in shows like Zach Stone is Gonna Be Famous, and MTVx's Fast Food Heights. In addition to writing for Cougar Town, Jen has been a staff writer for the CBS show The Millers and FOX ADHD's Golan the Insatiable.

In Ben’s interview with Jen, you’ll get to hear her talk about how deep her voice was when she was a kid, how she got her first professional writing job, and what it was like to audition for SNL.

Ben Greene interviews the host of the news satire show The State of Us, Alex Whittington.

Alex is an actor/writer who has appeared in shorts like After Hours (which went to Cannes in 2013), TV shows like AMC’s Turn, and movies like Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.

In Ben’s interview with Alex, you’ll get to hear him talk about what it was like to improvise with Will Ferrell, having a near death experience in high school, and why he thinks Los Angeles and Las Vegas aren’t that different.

Ben Greene interviews one of the stars of the NBC show Sean Saves the World, Echo Kellum.

Echo is a writer/actor/improviser who has been performing on UCB LA’s Harold night since October, 2011 (as a member of Winslow). In addition to S.S.T.W., Echo has appeared in TV shows like Ben and Kate, Rick and Morty, and Comedy Bang! Bang! He is also on the UCB diversity committee and the Thomas Angel Foundation board.

In Ben’s interview with Echo, you’ll get to hear him talk about how his childhood in Chicago informed his perspective about the world, his trick for entertaining himself when he was a ticket guy at the nightclub Avalon, and which superheroes he would most like to play someday.

Ben Greene interviews one of the newest additions to UCB LA’s Maude night, Robert Stephens.

Robert is a writer/actor/improviser whose sketch videos have appeared on sites like TheAwesomer.com, Tastefullyoffensive.com, and Funny or Die. He is one of the hosts of the web series The State of Us, and one of the founders of the sketch team Hamilton 100.

In Ben’s interview with Robert, you’ll get to hear him talk about the time his mom invaded his health ed class, how good he was at playing cats in improv scenes in college, and why he hated doing extra work in Los Angeles.

Ben Greene interviews one of the stars of the ABC Family show The Fosters, Hannah Kasulka.

Hannah is an actor/improviser who has been performing on UCB LA’s Mess Hall night since the beginning of 2015 (as a member of Junk Science). As an actress, she’s appeared in TV shows like One Tree Hill, True Blood, and Up All Night. She was also featured in the film What To Expect When You’re Expecting.

In Ben’s interview with Hannah, you’ll get to hear her talk about writing sad poetry as a 9-year-old, being mistaken for Elle Fanning, and how she almost became famous as the pink Power Ranger.

In Ben Greene’s sixth interview with members of the UCB house team Winslow, he sits down with his longtime friend, Mano Agapion.

Mano is a writer/actor/improviser who has been performing on UCB LA’s Harold night since October, 2011. As an actor, he’s appeared in shows like Comedy Bang Bang and Newsreaders. He is also the creator of the Grindr Diaries (http://grindrdiary.tumblr.com/) and UCB’s Diversity Coordinator.

In Ben’s interview with Mano, you’ll get to hear him talk about how he dealt with coming out, doing weird German theatre, and why he’ll probably never get to be the CEO of TruTV.

Ben Greene interviews the smartest writer he knows, Ben Axelrad.

Ben Axelrad is a writer who has had multiple scripts optioned by major studios over the past few years. He’s also the founder of the blog Poop Or Chocolate, and the co-writer/director of the upcoming UCB show Helen Jr. 2.0.

In Ben G’s interview with Ben A, you’ll get to hear him talk about how he managed to get his own office in high school, doing standup on the streets of New York, and why he never wants to dunk a basketball again.

In Ben Greene’s fifth interview with members of the UCB house team Winslow, he sits down with party animal Gilli Nissim.

Gilli is a writer/actor/improviser/stand-up who has been performing on UCB LA’s Harold night since October, 2011. She has written for companies like Defy Media and TV shows like Comedy Bang Bang. As an actor, she’s appeared in shows like Children’s Hospital, You're Whole, and NTSF:SD:SUV.

In Ben’s interview with Gilli, you’ll get to hear her talk about trying to get discovered in her backyard, the period of her life when she slept in her car a bunch, and the time Judd Apatow literally spat in her face (in a socially acceptable way).