Beck Drysdale (Key and Peele, Second City) talks about writing jokes as a kid, quitting school to move to Chicago, lessons from Second City, being daunted by the talent of others, the necessity of being bad, improvising vs. fast writing, where smart meets dumb, The Muppets, twoprov, unlearning, playing what’s already there, finding the unusual in the mundane, the anatomy of listening, the “and” of “yes and”, heightening vs. inventing, the origin of The Clubhouse, cross pollination, and more!

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Dan Lippert (Big Grande, ManDogPod) talks about nerves, his early practice groups, funny tour show fiascos, family dynamics informing improv choices, the why of comedy, sustaining collaborative relationships, making playable choices, committing to silliness, telling an audience what’s funny, the many dimensions of trust, why he loves hosting shows, using empathy to play jerks, his favorite coaching exercises, and more!

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Tao Yang (Dropout, UCB Harold night) talks about Improv Boston, finding balance in training styles, short form limitations, themed Harolds, a nerdy mathematical improv theorem, the improv/sketch paradox, generational humor, the movie form, Harold auditions, College Humor, a riff on the rant opening, a hot take on living rooms, selling the voice of reason to an audience and more!

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Ben Schwartz(Parks and Rec, Sonic) talks about fear of failure, his first laugh, doing what you find funny, weathering rejection, how venue sizes affect improv, his tour shows and Netflix specials, winning an audience, how he landed Parks and Rec, favorite shows from DCM, how to advance a game as the straight man, top lessons from Ian Roberts, why he loves doing restaurant scenes, and more!

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Susan Messing (Second City mainstage, iO, the Annoyance) talks about discovering Improv Olympic, earlier iterations of the Harold, adding specificity to ambiguity, working with Mick Napier, the early days of the Annoyance, loving hard notes, improv as a sociological study, playing the simple reality, finding your scene partner’s sh*t delicious, justifying vs. inventing, ditching agenda, how she accesses characters, loving to lose, and more!

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Jacquis Neal (Dropout, Comedy Bang Bang) talks about the danger of comparison, how he fell in love with theatre, going all in on UCB and the LA indie scene, acting vs, performing, bringing yourself to your improv, shows that have an angle, finding an indie team’s identity, building a form from scratch, how to produce a successful show, and more!

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Chris Gethard (The Stepfathers, The Chris Gethard Show) talks about how improv saved his life, UCBNY in the early 2000’s, feeling like the weak link on a team, identifying your improv superpower, the shadow side of curriculums, simplifying game, his public access show, straight man sleight of hand, fuel efficient improv, finding the purest play, improvising with Amy Poehler, standout shows and scenes, and more!

Please check out these plugs from Chris!

Laughingtogether.org

Podcast: Beautiful Anonymous

Logan square improv

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Jacob Wysocki (Dimension 20, Yeti) talks about starting Comedy Sportz in high school, the evolution of aspiration, falling in love with filmmaking, making the leap to long form, The Bath Boys, his UCB journey, breaking the Harold mold, Dropout, collaboration, how he finds a character, putting himself in his work, framing vs. rug-pulling, the joy of tone, and more!

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Holly Laurent (Second City Chicago, Mega) talks about growing up in a high control religion, choosing laughter over tears, identifying what’s scaring you, embracing your inner weirdo, her Second City journey, improvising with Tom Hanks, believing in the sophistication of your audience, deep characters, obsessive human study, supporting offers outside your wheelhouse, empathetic satire, and more!

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Steve Waltien (The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Improvised Shakespeare) talks about the courage of youth, Second City, marrying intellect with emotion, “killing the king”, the perceived limitations of game, tactics for clarity, reading your scene partner’s signals, escaping unintentional traps, the gift of a character’s philosophy, the beautiful rigor of Improvised Shakespeare, conveying control to an audience, and more!

Special Thanks: Alexei Shishkin

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New episodes every Tuesday!