Alex Fernie (Children's Hospital, Do You Wanna See a Dead Body) had six different pilots in eight years fall through. We chat about his blind spots as a director, the frustration of seeing projects he's directed sit in purgatory, and how listening to loud music when he works is the only way that he can get out of his head. Of course we nerd out over some improv at the end.

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Mitra Jouhari (Big Mouth, High Maintenance) felt herself tanking her producer's session mid-audition for a big pilot. We chat about how her bad days are filled with a sense of desperation, the genesis of Three Busy Debras, and how putting on a staged reading of some previously passed on material helped to prove that she could write solo.

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James Adomian (Trump vs. Bernie, BoJack Horseman) tells his biggest bomb story - opening for Joan Rivers. We chat about how he approaches his impressions, why he likes mistakes and not over-polishing anything, and how he would have never have tried standup if things had worked out for him earlier in his career.

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Jonathan Braylock (Black Men Can't Jump pod, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt) takes us through a series of setbacks - from thinking he booked a pilot to realizing his sketch duo was over when his partner booked a tv show to getting lines cut from a movie after inviting a bunch of his friends to go see it. We chat about how giving himself space and reevaluating where he is at every year helps keep him focused and on track.

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Blair Socci (Ladylike, Just for Laughs) lived nine lives before trying to pursue comedy as a career. We talk about seeing her costars' careers skyrocket after her show was cancelled, the endless jobs she's had to keep her afloat, and how some rough relationships led her to Al-Anon which completely changed her life.

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Michael Hartney (School of Rock, Throwing Shade, Current AD of UCB) talks about crushing it at Just for Laughs but failing to be seen for SNL. We chat about oscillating between self-confidence and delusion after being dropped by an agent, the amazing journey to School of Rock and some subsequent performance oopsies, and how he develops a character.

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Brandon Scott Jones (Isn't It Romantic, The Good Place) had a pilot he wrote and shot passed on by a network. We chat about how his competitiveness as an adult is waning due to a childhood of intense athletics, the plethora of odd jobs he's had over the years (from Chuck-E-Cheese to AI at Microsoft), and the serendipitous moment that pushed him to sign up for classes at UCB.

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Eva Anderson (You're the Worst, Briarpatch) had three projects fall through last year. We talk about how not having an agent when everyone else on her sketch team did put her in her head, the productiveness of getting to her writer's room early and meditating, and we take a deep dive into her creative rituals and how she uses Capes Coaching methods to break down her goals.

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Joanna Bradley (SNL, The Break with Michele Wolf)took a really long time to process the feeling of not being asked back to SNL. We chat about the pros and cons of not having a brand, feeling emotionally unsafe in the entertainment industry, her deep fear of the suburbs and why writing is like watching yourself throw up.

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Jackie Johnson (Natch Beaut, Fresh Off the Boat) regales us with hilarious stories from her time as a background actress. From staring into the camera to squirting grease on her cocktail dress to accidentally tripping down a flight of stairs in a packed arena to uproarious laughter. We also chat about the crossroads she faced as an actress and comedian, the bleakness of commercial auditioning, and the many jobs and rejections that led to her creating her Natch Beaut podcast.

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THE NEED TO FAIL IS A FOREVER DOG PODCAST

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