The Comedy Hole: English Standup in Europe

Madonna mia! That's a spicy Jimmy Pepperoni!!! The Comedy Hole gang reports live (at the time) from an AirBnB in Rome, Italy (yes - specifically that Rome) with acclaimed Berlin-based Italian comedian and highly trained clown Filippo Spreafico (@filippospreafico). Filippo joined Beatrice, Jordan, and Ariel on a mini Italian tour for a couple of raucous standup comedy shows in Napoli and Rome. In this episode, Jordan gives Filippo a brand new name motivated only by affection, Ariel grills Filippo on whether the source of all conflict in Filippo's life is - in fact - Filippo, and Bea does her best to glue the whole shebang together without offending our guest! It's a WILD episode of The Comedy Hole that is sure to haunt all of us for years to come! Ciao grazie!

The Comedy Hole is run by Beatrice Rossano (@beatricerossano), Jordan Thomas Gray (@jordanthomasgray), and Ariel Bialski (@arielbialski) - three standup comedians and comedy show hosts based in Warsaw, Poland.

Filippo's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/filippospreafico

Filippo's YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-AFP50l42c22KlWo3r6moQ

"Everything is funny, Beatrice. Everything is hilarious to me. I see the absurdity in everything. It's like a curse. I'm haunted. Day and night I'm haunted by ideas." - Ricky K

Canadian-Polish Comedian and Human Tornado Ricky Krzyzewski (@rickykrzyzewski on TikTok) joins The Comedy Hole gang to discuss his kitchen-centric writing process, that time he bombed as an Elvis impersonator on Poland's Got Talent, and Ricky's famous Zombie Grandpa joke. Ricky is a consistent crowd favorite at The Comedy Hole open mics and routinely brings down the house with his raucous, electrifying, warp speed performances. We hope you love Ricky as much as we do!

The Comedy Hole is run by Beatrice Rossano (@beatricerossano), Jordan Thomas Gray (@jordanthomasgray), and Ariel Bialski (@arielbialski) - three standup comedians and comedy show hosts based in Warsaw, Poland.

Ricky's TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@rickykrzyzewski

Ricky's Instagram: https://instagram.com/kanadyjczyk2016

Belarusian comedian and general mischief-maker Terry Marinich (@terrificcomedian and @comedyperiferal) joins The Comedy Hole Gang to discuss Belarusian dating habits, how war and turmoil have affected the Eastern European comedy scene, and that time he went to prison for 45 days for making a viral video critical of the Belarusian president. We touch on Slava Komisarenko (@slavakomissarenko) a famous - and super nice! - Belarusian comedian wanted by the Belarusian government who has been popping up and killing at The Comedy Hole open mics. We also discuss whether or not Bill Burr is funny, whether or not Bo Burnham is funny, and whether or not Jordan is funny.

The Comedy Hole is run by Beatrice Rossano (@beatricerossano), Jordan Thomas Gray (@jordanthomasgray), and Ariel Bialski (@arielbialski) - three standup comedians and comedy show hosts based in Warsaw, Poland.

Warsaw standup comedy veteran Ravi Kumar (@raav.kr and www.standupravi.com) joins The Comedy Hole gang to talk about English standup in Warsaw – and Poland as a whole – before the events of 2020 reset the table. Ravi has lived in Warsaw for 10 years and was heavily involved in starting the English standup scene along with Piotr Szumowski (@piotrek.szumowski), Filip Brymora (@filipbrymora) and many others. The gang also discusses population dynamics in Italy vs India, whether reality is a shared delusion, using social media to promote standup, why Ariel hates Jordan so much, and Ravi's famous Drunk Amazon Book reviews joke.

Jordan also brags a little bit.

The Comedy Hole is run by Beatrice Rossano (@beatricerossano), Jordan Thomas Gray (@jordanthomasgray), and Ariel Bialski (@arielbialski) - three standup comedians and comedy show hosts based in Warsaw, Poland.

Ravi's 8 minute standup set with 250k+ views on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VFlGWQznH0

In this Comedy Hole episode, Jordan Thomas Gray (@jordanthomasgray) takes on the persona of a frustrated Elementary School Teacher and walks the listener through 6 steps towards performing a 5 minute standup comedy set at your first open mic. Meanwhile, Beatrice Rossano (@beatricerossano) and Ariel Bialski (@arielbialski) do their best to distract him with antics, general mischief, and some genuinely good advice. Message us on instagram (@thecomedyhole) if you have questions you'd like us to try and answer!

Step 1: 02:50 - Finding an Open Mic in Your City

Step 2: 07:07 - Signing Up for an Open Mic

Step 3: 13:03 - Writing Your First 5 Minute Standup Set

Step 4: 24:53 - Polishing Your Set

Step 5: 31:30 - Rehearsing Your Set

Step 6: 36:13 - Performing: The Day of the Show

In this episode, Warsaw-based comedians Beatrice Rossano (@beatricerossano), Ariel Bialski (@arielbialski), and Jordan Thomas Gray (@jordanthomasgray) talk about hosting standup comedy open mics. What's the hardest part of starting a weekly open mic? What's the role of a host? What do you do when the audience won't stop interrupting comedians? How do you do crowd work outside on a noisy street? The Comedy Hole gang does their best to answer these questions and more without going off-topic every 30 seconds. Message us on instagram (@thecomedyhole) if you have questions you'd like us to try and answer!

The Comedy Hole is a podcast about Standup Comedy in English in Europe, hosted by Warsaw-based comedians Beatrice Rossano (@beatricerossano), Ariel Bialski (@arielbialski), and Jordan Thomas Gray (@jordanthomasgray). We talk about the craft of standup, how to get started as a new comedian, hosting shows, touring in Europe, and building a thriving community around standup comedy. We also have interviews with popular European comedians and Comedy Hole community members. Follow us on instagram (@thecomedyhole) for information on upcoming shows and podcast episodes.