Performance Revue

Carly talks at length about Kyle Kinane's comedy, we discuss exploring open mics, talk smack about comedian Tyler Snodgrass, get personal about hair loss, and finish up on bad bosses.

Today, we're featuring the brilliant Carly Ballerini!

Carly is a touring comedian who stays extremely active in the Chicago comedy scene. She is a producer of 'The Gimmie Show', Space, and the local gem 'Ladylike' at café Mustache.

Her style of comedy is a deeply-vulnerable storytelling, often reflecting on moments from her childhood. Carly is an excels at guiding an audience, getting them onboard for each premise, and establishing punchlines you didn't even know were getting set up.

View the performance here:

https://youtu.be/pbYGuO0VRYk

View the performance with commentary:

https://youtu.be/O8Lwec1MeeI

Whitney Chitwood talks about about the existential crisis that is 'The Room', puzzles over a yard glass, and tells a story about Strip Joker that leads into a discussion about proper dildo etiquette.

Today, we're cracking up with Whitney Chitwood!

Her delivery onstage seems quite effortless and off-the-cuff, but much in the vein of influential performers like Robin Williams, many of the punchlines you'll hear are meticulously crafted. The trick is that each bit is modular, and their placement within any given set can be improvised, while the punchlines remain largely the same. This style of comedy is quite difficult to master, and requires extreme skill in joke crafting.

We discuss growing up with musical theater, how to take on a heckler, the worst first open mic story ever told, and more!

Watch the performance:

https://youtu.be/_o9cYGGE1JQ

Watch the performance with commentary:

https://youtu.be/wvskuK6rtWU

In these outtakes from Megan Brennan's episode, we both discuss our issues with weight and obsession with appearance, Megan reveals some dark moments from her childhood and why escapism became necessary, talks about the most assertive Ohio lesbian she has ever met, and I share an anecdote about the closest I ever came to being poly.

Today, we're diving in with Megan Brennan!

It's often been said that the best comedians, such as Robin Willams, Richard Pryor, or Maria Bamford, maintain a child-like perspective which allows them to tap into lines of logic that are less obvious to normal adults. This playful persona easily lends itself to comedy. Megan takes this concept of play literally, as she applies elements of improv into her personal stories.

We discuss growing up with her family, her small army of imaginary friends, coming out as a lesbian to herself in the shower, and more.

Watch the performance:

https://youtu.be/Kr_5e6QHCKY

Watch the performance with commentary:

https://youtu.be/nbEWwOmPmGM

Outtakes for Skyler Higley's episode of Performance Revue.

The outtakes are where we feature conversational cul de sacs that didn't quite fit into the main episode, and snippets that were cut for time, all with a decidedly less polished, and more podcast-y tone.

In this pile of outtakes, Skyler discuss growing up with social media, evolving, evaluating your sense of humor (i.e. how to retract terrible things posted on Twitter), we weigh in on both sides of Kevin Hart's recent controversy, the original concept for these outtakes episodes, and more.

Today we're diving deep with Skyler Higley!

A former Mormon turned comedian, Skyler is now one of the producers for The Young Hustle Show at Laugh Factory Chicago. His humor mixes social awareness with subjective personal introspection, specifically focusing on the odd racism experienced in his own upbringing. In a dawning era of "woke" comedy, Skyler's approach fits like a glove.

Watch the performance here:

https://youtu.be/eqTZPGMqsiU

Watch the performance with commentary:

https://youtu.be/r9FBJQphNNE

Welcome to the outtakes for Casey Larwood's episode of Performance Revue. The Outtakes series is where we feature conversational cul-de-sacs and bits cut for time from the original episode, with a less polished, more podcast-y tone.

In this collection of outtakes from the main episode, Casey reveals her initial thoughts about the show, her take on Louie CK, a Facebook trend that took off in the comedy scene, and I dish out a few personal stories as well.

Today we're cracking the shell of Casey Larwood!

Casey is an unapologetic feminist, using her sharp wit to shine a light on women's issues. Her greatest strength, and best material, comes from a complete, meticulous self-inventory which gives her comedy a fourth-wall breaking edge that few can match.

Watch the performance here:

https://youtu.be/uxVHY8erGgk

Watch the performance with commentary:

https://youtu.be/ZD6q_wnrX_E