The Other Side

Bob Marley started his comedy career in New England, then found a bunch of success after moving to Los Angeles. But more than a decade ago, he took his family back to his home state of Maine. We talk about where that path has led, how his family enjoys starring in his routines, and how he creates their on-stage "characters."

Plus Bob name-drops a famous waterskier. Naturally.

This episode is a treat for us -- Bob was the first ever guest on the DC Improv podcast in 2008, and we're thrilled to have him back.

Cindy Kaza talks to dead people -- for a living. As an evidential medium, she helps people communicate with the spirit world, conveying messages from loved ones.

We had her on our stage in June, and she's back on November 18. In this interview, we talk about her view of the spirit world, whether ghosts can be jerks, and her long-term relationships with spirits.

If you think this is cool, check out Episode 20 for another chat with Cindy, where she describes her show.

We're honored to be joined by Tommy Davidson, a showbiz icon and DC native! Tommy tells us about his first stand-up gig in DC (at a strip club), the friend who convinced him to do stand-up, and what it takes to succeed as an entertainer. Not bad for a 20-minute podcast.

Tommy is headlining the club Halloween weekend, October 29 through November 1.

Donnell headlines the club Thanksgiving weekend (Nov. 27-29), so we're setting you up with this throwback interview from 2009. We talked about all kinds of stuff, including his DC roots.

Check out this podcast, then come see the shows!

We've got two great comics sharing some of their experiences traveling for their art, whether it's through the Midwest or to Abu Dhabi.

Nikki Glaser is making her DC Improv headlining debut October 16-18. We talk about her Midwestern roots, and the joys of putting 250,000 miles on a Honda Civic as you cruise the country between gigs. 

Rob Maher features on shows with Tommy Davidson on Halloween weekend. He gives us his latest overseas travel report, after entertaining troops in Korea, Japan and the Middle East. And also, we talk about that time he performed at a nudist colony.

On October 23 the Improv hosts the third edition of Comedy Kumite, a one-night tournament featuring eight tremendous local comics. Before the madness begins, contestants Jared Stern and Benjy Himmelfarb stop in to talk about fighting, competition, and bar mitzvahs.

RUMBLE!

Steve Byrne just became a dad for the second time - and on top of that, he's also delivering a new hour-long comedy special. After a Thursday night show at the Improv, we chat about his new material and his new son.

As an added bonus, we're joined by Gary Cannon. Gary is opening shows all weekend for Steve, he co-hosts "The Gentleman's Dojo" podcast with Steve, and he does audience warmup for "Conan."

Here's the concept: A comic does a seven minute set in a room by themselves, wearing noise-canceling headphones. A live video feed of their performance is watched by an audience they can't see or hear.

The guy who invented this experiment is comic Ian Abramson, and he brought it to the Improv on October 3 as part of the Bentzen Ball comedy festival. In an interview that afternoon, he told us what he's learned about stand-up by taking "Seven Minutes in Purgatory" on the road.

Greg Giraldo passed away on September 29, 2010. Five years later, we're remembering him and listening to chats he had with us in 2008 and 2009. 

Chris Ulrich teaches improv classes at the DC Improv -- and on top of that, he's an expert in the study of body language, a former political aide and an acquaintance of Fred Rogers. We talk about all those things (and their intersections) on a very cool episode of The Other Side.

You can see Chris performing long-form improv on September 25, as part of the "Jive Turkey and Friends" show in our lounge.