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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Sara Rose Caplan (Baby Wants Candy, XOXO) talks about playing with her dream team, learning improv as a non-performer, overcoming limitations, musical improv forms, tripling down, tips for working with accompanists, motivating game with emotion, people she’s learned from, embracing intellect, how coming out as trans helped her improv, a philosopher’s approach to teaching, and more!

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Dhruv Uday Singh (Good Trouble, Queen George) talks about being the pilot of your scene, the measure of a good show, encouraging teachers, embracing process, the importance of stage time, learning from an audience, Second City / UCB / Groundlings, breaking stereotypes, improvising on set, finding his voice, the improv scene in Mumbai, and more!

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Paul F. Tompkins (Comedy Bang Bang, Bojack Horseman) returns to the pod in this much-anticipated Part Two! He talks about blending standup and improv, his first Comedy Bang Bang episode, being funny without references, finding character voices, mimicry vs. capturing an essence, expectation and embarrassment, constructing a set, heightening gradually, having the discipline to stay out of a scene, letting go of mistakes, and more!

Nicole Byer (Nailed it, Grand Crew) talks about how she found comedy, the ephemeral nature of improv, going to acting conservatory, her early UCB days, improvising with ADHD, finding patient play, meeting Sasheer, the challenge of second beats, object work go-to’s, setting scenes in a fun location, reimagining the Harold, favorite improv memories, and more!