The ComedySportz Podcast

To kick off Season 2, we’ve brought back Dick Chudnow, the creator of ComedySportz. Join us for a trip down memory lane, reminiscing on the long journey from the original Milwaukee players to the establishment of dozens of other CSz locations worldwide.  Dick describes what he would do differently if he could go back in time and do the whole thing over again, and shares what it was like doing stand-up and improv with the one-and-only Robin Williams.

David Bogan is the Educational Director, Roadshow Manager, and a current performer at CSz Seattle. Prior to moving across the country, David performed, taught improvisation, and managed the ComedySportz Rec League at CSz Milwaukee for nearly twenty years, and has been co-managing CSz Seattle since 2015. He has performed in thousands of shows, and has also taught thousands of individuals the art of improvisation in a wide variety of skills, including improv comedy, Applied Improvisation for the workplace, public speaking, and CSz Seattle’s Improv For Anxiety.

To all of our listeners, thank you so much for 20 joy-filled episodes. New episodes coming 2022.

PJ Rockwell has held a broad spectrum of jobs spanning a quarter century of theatre work. First introduced to CSz in 1992 as both Field Manager and Mr. Voice, PJ would go on to play music, run the lights, perform sound effects as well as Voice, and act as stage manager—all simultaneously. In this episode we discuss the importance of a proficient production team, and their unsung ability to take CSz matches to the next level.

Tom Clark has been a member of ComedySportz since 1995, starting in Milwaukee and currently in Los Angeles. You’ve seen him do stand up on both Conan and Comedy Central, and he’s also the co-creator and host of the I’m A Rescue Podcast. Let’s dig in.

Mark Redlich is a chemist, guitarist, singer and improvisor, and has performed with CSz Milwaukee since 1992. Join us as we chart Mark’s journey from starting a High School League team with Dan Harmon, to becoming a member of The Dead Alewives, all the way to the present day.

Having performed with CSz Milwaukee since 1992, Rollie Cafaro has not only become an in-house mainstay, but also co-founded Millenium Theater in Madison (now defunct), helped develop Comedy Court (also defunct), and performed with The Dead Alewives (equally defunct). It’s safe to say Rollie has put the “fun” in defunct.

Mia Roberts is a co-founder of CSz Indianapolis and served as the CEO from 1993-2016. Tune in as we chart Mia’s thirty year comedy career, including the creation of both the Gal Pal Comedy Festival and Women’s Weekend, performances celebrating the empowerment of female and non-binary improvisers.

Holly Ignatowski started taking ComedySportz workshops, by accident, in 1989 and began playing professionally with CSz Milwaukee, on purpose, in 1990. In this episode we investigate the life-changing power of improv to open doors and knock down walls, how improv provided the best possible training for her voiceover career, and to boot, we hear Holly’s one-of-a-kind gibberish.

A founding member of CSz Madison, Brian Kapell would go on to found CSz Berlin and co-found CSz Washington, D.C. Join us as Brian shares his 35 year journey, including his experience working with the Theatre of the Deaf and creating the first-ever deaf ComedySportz team.

James Thomas Bailey is the Founder and Artistic Director of CSz Los Angeles, the longest running show in the city’s history. In this episode we dive into everything from James’ journey to Tinseltown, to CSz LA’s vast 75-school High School League, to the joyous and liberating possibilities within musical improv.