Matt Besser (improv4humans, Upright Citizens Brigade) goes through various setbacks at different stages of his career and tries to explore the definition failure within the UCB system. We chat about failing on your own terms, envy vs. inspiration, and why to not compare your improvised television show to Curb Your Enthusiasm when pitching.

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Aaron Jackson (The Opposition, Broad City) talks about not being able to land representation for many years, even while he was performing on a hit show. We chat about his novel mishaps, how a particularly brief open call drove him from musical theater, and the often embarrassing and humiliating world of commercial auditioning.

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Rob Huebel (Transparent, Do You Want to See a Dead Body) takes us through his many ups and downs in the acting and developing world. He talks about locking himself in a hotel room for five days to rewrite scripts and the necessity for creating your own little mafia. He also dishes out some auditioning and pitching advice and chats about how he deals with the uncertainty of many future projects.

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Hallie Cantor (Arrested Development, Lady Dynamite) discusses the realities writing on popular TV shows and still experiencing long droughts of employment. She talks about her awkward Emmy's experience, getting a job at a candy store to bide her time, and the importance of asking for deadlines.

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Natasha Rothwell (Insecure; Love, Simon) faces some serious imposter syndrome the more successful she gets. She discusses the key take aways auditioning and writing for SNL, the importance of protecting your solitude, and how it is vital for those that feel marginalized and underrepresented to adopt a mindset of abundance.

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It took Gil Ozeri (Big Mouth, Brooklyn 99) six times to get on a UCB house team, before he wound up being on three of the best. Gil talks about how he was motivated to Snapchat after a lot of his projects failed to get made, how sometimes to fix the cause you need to clean the symptoms, and he also flips the script and asks Don some vital questions about failure.

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Kristen Bartlett (Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, SNL) lost her husband's father and then her father within a 4 month period while pursuing her dream of working in comedy. After multiple rejections from UCB sketch teams, she decided to form her own team, and eventually turn her grief into a celebrated sketch show, The Dead Dad's Club. We also dive deep into her time writing at SNL and how she dealt with going from a successful first season to being a mid-season casualty.

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Special live episode from the UCB Franklin Theatre with Jessica St. Clair (Playing House, Veep)! Jessica shares hilarious and heartbreaking stories about being fired from two of her first pilots and also as an extra in a soap opera for a poorly timed fart. She takes us on a journey through her writing and acting process for BFF and Playing House, and how she dealt with the aftermath of show cancellations and eventually, cancer. She talks about how motherhood saved her life, how she has Julia Louis-Dreyfus to thank for her pregnancy, and how cancer has given her a perspective shift.

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Dan Gregor (How I Met Your Mother, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend) worked as a development assistant at HBO for two years and shares what he learned and failed at when trying to develop his own shows. We also talk about his first failed pilot (which led to an injury), the differences between writing for television and for movies, and the inevitable ups and downs in a writers room.

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Betsy Sodaro (Disjointed, Another Period) had particularly bad audition - she was hungover and anxious in the waiting room and things only got worse from there. We dive into her audition process, talk about an uncomfortable encounter with some mean girls, and discuss the effects of growing up Catholic as it relates to our fears, self-doubts, and performances.

CONNECT W/ THE NEED TO FAIL & DON FANELLI ON TWITTER:

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THE NEED TO FAIL IS A FOREVER DOG PODCAST

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