Beginnings
675 episodes - English - Latest episode: 4 days ago - ★★★★★ - 100 ratingsWe all know the stories of how creative people get into the business of creating for a living, but how did they start using their imaginations in the first place? On the Beginnings podcast, writer and performer Andy Beckerman asks well-known and on-their-way-up comedians, musicians, writers, artists and thinkers about their earliest creative acts, their formative childhood experiences, and how they've developed both creatively and emotionally over the years. Beginnings is part therapy, part philosophy and almost all fascinating (95% according to FDA studies).
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Episodes
Beginnings episode 54: Jon Daly
June 28, 2012 02:55 - 1 hour - 60.9 MBOn today’s episode we talk to Jon Daly. Jon is an improviser and actor based in Los Angeles, who got his start on the influential improv team Mother at UCBNY in the early 2000s. Since then he’s acted on TV in Human Giant and Happy Endings and on film in Mystery Team and the forthcoming The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. He performs regularly at UCBLA and also appears on Comedy Bang! Bang! as many different characters including Bill Cosby-Bukowski and Sappity Tappity, the drunk English rollerbl...
Beginnings episode 53: Fran Kranz
June 21, 2012 04:29 - 1 hour - 36.5 MBOn today’s episode we talk to Fran Kranz. Fran is an actor based in New York and LA, and his credits include films like Jake Kasdan’s The TV Set and television shows like Welcome to the Captain with Jeffrey Tambor. In the last few years, he’s been involved in a number of Joss Whedon projects, playing Topher Brink on Dollhouse and starring in the critically-acclaimed smash The Cabin in the Woods as stoner Marty Mikalski. Recently, he played the role of Bernard in the Broadway revival of Death...
Beginnings episode 52: Live with Kurt Braunohler, Dan McCoy and Moon Hooch
June 14, 2012 04:23 - 1 hour - 43.1 MBHey, Beginzers! (Like a yinzer, but you listen to Beginnings!) We sat down with some of our favorite people on Tuesday the 12th at UCB East for a frank and somber discussion of the merits of the Spanish bank bailout. J/K! We totes just joked around and talked about our earliest creative memories. We were joined by Kurt Braunohler, the host of IFC’s fantastic new show Bunk and Dan McCoy, a writer on The Daily Show, as well as the band Moon Hooch, who played some music for us and told some ama...
Beginnings Field Guide episode 21: Christian Finnegan and Kambri Crews
June 07, 2012 04:27 - 1 hour - 38.8 MBOn today's episode of Field Guide, we talk about creativity and relationships with husband and wife performers Christian Finnegan and Kambri Crewes. Christian is a stand-up and actor who's been on Best Week Ever and has his own Comedy Central Presents. He also wrote for Colin Quinn's Tough Crowd and can be currently seen on the TBS sitcom Are We There Yet? Kambri is a writer, storyteller and producer who ran the incredible comedy room Ochi's Lounge underneath Comix and currently produces sho...
Beginnings Field Guide episode 20: Seth Reiss
May 31, 2012 04:00 - 30 minutes - 17.3 MBOn today’s show, we talk to Seth Reiss. Seth is a writer and performer based in Chicago, and is currently head writer at The Onion. He also contributes to McSweeney’s and previously wrote for the Sklar Brothers show Cheap Seats. Last week on Beginnings proper, we talked to Seth about his background in theater, and this week on Beginnings: Field Guide, we talk to him about his most favorite Onion article. Plus, don't miss us live! 6/12: Beginnings: Live at UCB East, 9:30pm w/ Kurt Braunohler...
Beginnings episode 51: Seth Reiss
May 24, 2012 06:24 - 1 hour - 49.7 MBOn today's show, we talk to Seth Reiss. Seth is a writer and performer based in Chicago, and is currently head writer at The Onion. He also contributes to McSweeney's and previously wrote for the Sklar Brothers show Cheap Seats. As well, Seth is 1/4 of the sketch group Pangaea 3000, which can be found performing all over the country. In April, Seth came over the the Brooklyn Wrestling Team apartment and talked with us about sweet Southwest PA, moms and baby dolls, and about being an asshole ...
Beginnings Field Guide episode 19: Matt Ruby
May 17, 2012 04:15 - 23 minutes - 13.6 MBMatt Ruby is a stand-up based in New York whose blog Sandpaper Suit is one of the best resources for discussing the ins and outs of actually writing and performing comedy. Matt also co-hosts Hot Soup, a monthly stand-up show at UCB East and tours around the U.S. performing at clubs and festivals like SXSW and Bridgetown.Two weeks ago, we discussed his early creative experiences on Beginnings proper, and on today's Field Guide, he leads us through the origins of one of his jokes!
Beginnings episode 50: Live with Jon Glaser, Rachel Dratch, Leo Allen and James McNew
May 10, 2012 04:49 - 1 hour - 48.9 MBHoly Habitat for Humanities! This past Tuesday at UCB East we taped our 50th full episode of Beginnings, and hachi machi - our guests were so nice and funny that waves of good humor spread over the audience like a cool breeze coming from a desert oasis constructed entirely out of Ocean City, Maryland Fudge Factory brand fudge. Jon Glaser (writer on Conan, creator and star of Adult Swim's Delocated), Rachel Dratch (star of SNL, author of the new book Girl Walks into a Bar), Leo Allen (writer ...
Beginnings episode 49: Matt Ruby
May 10, 2012 04:43 - 1 hour - 52.2 MBMatt Ruby is a stand-up based in New York whose blog Sandpaper Suit is one of the best resources for discussing the ins and outs of actually writing and performing comedy. Matt also co-hosts a monthly show at the Upright Citizens Brigade's East Village Theatre and tours around the U.S. performing at clubs and festivals like SXSW and Bridgetown. A few weeks ago, Matt stopped by the Brooklyn Wrestling Team Apartment to discuss his creativity as well as cleverness and New Yorker comedy; hippies...
Beginnings Field Guide episode 18: The Jerry Seinfeld Program
April 26, 2012 04:07 - 54 minutes - 31.1 MBOn today's episode, we talk to Dan Klein and Arthur Meyer, the creators of the delightful and odd webseries The Jerry Seinfeld Program and part of the sketch group Pangaea 3000. As well, Dan is a writer for The Onion and previously wrote for Sportsdome, and Arthur is a contributor to The Onion, half of the sketch group Two Fun Men and a writer on Jimmy Fallon. Back in February, Dan and Arthur came over to the Brooklyn Wrestling Team Apartment to discuss the origins of their webseries, as wel...
Beginnings episode 48: Andy Zaltzman
April 19, 2012 03:45 - 1 hour - 35.9 MBHello, Beginningsers! On today's episode we talk to Andy Zaltzman, a writer and stand-up based in the UK. Along with the Daily Show's John Oliver, he co-writes and co-hosts the podcast The Bugle, a satirical news program. Since 1999, he's performed a new hour of stand-up almost every year at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and he's written and performed in a number of BBC Radio programs including currently 7 Day Sunday. A few weeks ago while Andy was in town to do some shows, we met up with h...
Beginnings episode 47: Live with Kevin Allison, Hallie Haglund and Savoir Adore
April 12, 2012 03:04 - 1 hour - 42.9 MBHoly crumbs, friends! On April 10th, we sat down with some amazng people for our third live episode at UCB East! I hope you're ready to have fun because we have Kevin Allison from The State and the Risk! podcast explaining how his creativity changed after coming out. We also have Daily Show writer Hallie Haglund discussing her steamy re-write of Little Woman. Plus the lovely and wonderful Savoir Adore plays a few songs and tells us tales of being hams as children. Our next live show's Tuesd...
Beginnings episode 46: Dan St. Germain
April 05, 2012 04:35 - 1 hour - 42 MBOn this episode, we talk to stand-up comedian and writer Dan St. Germain. With the force of personality of a literary heavyweight, Dan has made a name for himself appearing on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and MTV, and writing for Fuse and The Onion, among many others. He's been a "New Face" at the 2011 Montreal Just For Laughs Festival, has been nominated for multiple ECNY awards, and this year he'll be featured on John Oliver’s NY Standup Show. A few weeks ago, Dan came over to the Wrestli...
Beginnings Field Guide episode 17: Devin Clark
March 29, 2012 03:38 - 22 minutes - 31.6 MBOn this episode of Beginnings Field Guide (Beginnings' sister show, where we have creators walk us through a particular thing they've created), we talk again to Devin Clark, the creator, director and executive producer of Ugly Americans, and if you're not watching that show, you're a stupid ass-beast. Get it? Anyway, on this episode, Devin talks to us about a painting of his called Fire-Breathing Meat Knife that will be featured in an upcoming art show. Plus, this is our first enhanced podca...
Beginnings episode 45: Devin Clark
March 22, 2012 04:01 - 1 hour - 40.2 MBDevin Clark is the creator, executive producer and director of the fantastic Comedy Central show Ugly Americans, which began its life as an animated webseries called 5ON, which Clark created for CC's Motherload. Clark is responsible for the look and tone of the show, and he began his art career at Syracuse University, where he was a video art major and also created a thrice-weekly comic strip for the school newspaper. Eventually he realized he could combine his two loves – video and cartooni...
Beginnings episode 44: Live with Julie Klausner and Elliott Kalan
March 14, 2012 23:15 - 1 hour - 39.2 MBBeginnings Live at UCB East’s second show! On this episode we are joined by the wonderful and funny writers/performers Julie Klausner and Elliott Kalan. Klausner has written for Best Week Ever, is the author of I Don’t Care About Your Band, is host of the podcast How Was Your Week and is the writer and executive producer of a forthcoming NBC series based on the novel Apocolipstick. Kalan is an Emmy Award-winning writer on The Daily Show, has written a number of stories for Marvel Comics and ...
Beginnings episode 43: Jodi Lennon
March 08, 2012 06:14 - 1 hour - 47.8 MBJodi Lennon is a writer, performer and director based in New York City. Lennon got her start in Chicago performing at Second City, IO, and the Annoyance Theater, and studying under people like Del Close and Dave Pasquesi. In 1995, she co-created and co-starred in the Comedy Central sketch show Exit 57 with Amy Sedaris, Mitch Rouse, Stephen Colbert, and Paul Dinello. Recently, Lennon has produced a documentary about Marc Maron called The Voice of Something: A Day In the Life of A New York Com...
Beginnings Field Guide episode 16: Teen Wheels
March 01, 2012 04:10 - 45 minutes - 26.2 MBOn today’s episode we talk to two of the three creators of the insane webseries Teen Wheels. Dan Klein is currently a writer for the Onion and their Get Out of My Face videos and used to write on Sportsdome. He’s also ¼ of Pangaea 3000, one of the best sketch groups in the city. Kelly Hudson is a editor at College Humor and previously worked at Broadway Video, ONN and Vice. She’s also a UCB performer and can be found acting for the house sketch team Beige and writing for their video group Sc...
Beginnings episode 42: Live with Michael Kupperman and Sean Patton
February 23, 2012 05:40 - 1 hour - 37.8 MBOn February 12th, we sat down with Michael Kupperman and Sean Patton at the UCB's East Village theater and had a ton o' fun! Michael is one of our favorite writer/artists/funny people. He made cartoons for TV Funhouse, created the comics Snake 'n' Bacon and Tales Designed to Thrizzle, and wrote and illustrated the book Mark Twain's Autobiography 1910-2010. All are amazing! Sean is also one of our favorite stand-ups. He tours all around the US, has been on Jimmy Fallon and Conan, and hosts a ...
Beginnings Field Guide episode 15: Myq Kaplan
February 16, 2012 03:14 - 25 minutes - 14.7 MBMyq Kaplan’s a brilliant stand-up whose been on Letterman, Conan, The Tonight Show, Craig Ferguson and many other programs. Last week on Beginnings we discussed his creative past and whether comedians have any more neuroses than the average person, and this week on Field Guide we talk about a song he wrote with his music partner Micah Sherman. Why not drop us a line at [email protected] and tell us your favorite mammal?
Beginnings episode 41: Myq Kaplan
February 09, 2012 04:50 - 1 hour - 52.3 MBMyq Kaplan is a super-funny stand-up based in New York City. He holds an advanced degree in linguistics and his love of language is apparent in his act, which he’s performed on The Tonight Show, the past season of Last Comic Standing as well as on his own Comedy Central Presents special. His first album Vegan Mind Meld came out in 2010, and it’s great! A week ago, he stopped by the Wrestling Team apartment to talk about lingusitics, creativity and stigmata sex, and we had tons of fun joshing...
Beginnings Field Guide episode 14: Fat Guy Stuck in Internet
February 02, 2012 05:13 - 53 minutes - 36.6 MBJohn Gemberling has been a house performer at UCB for over eight years, many of them spent on the team Death by Roo Roo, who are widely recognized as one of the best improv groups in the country. John's also been featured on Adult Swim's The Heart, She Holler, the Comedy Central special This Show Will Get You High and as the voice of Blastus on the Cartoon Network show Robotomy. Today, we talk to John about the show he co-created and co-starred in for Adult Swim: Fat Guy Stuck in Internet! ...
Beginnings Field Guide episode 13: Jamie Lee
January 26, 2012 03:27 - 29 minutes - 20.1 MBJamie Lee is a writer and stand-up based in New York City. She was on the final season of Last Comic Standing, performs all over the country and has created a number of webseries including College Humor's "Kid Farm” and "Edna", which we discuss on this episode of Field Guide. And don't forget to check out last week's Beginnings interview with Jamie! Plus, Beginnings Live at UCB East on February 12th at 6pm! Come on down!
Beginnings episode 40: Jamie Lee
January 19, 2012 04:50 - 1 hour - 38.5 MBJamie Lee is a writer and stand-up based in New York City. Maybe you’ve seen her on the last season of Last Comic Standing? Or maybe on “Kid Farm” the College Humor webseries she co-created? Or when she co-hosted VH1’s Critics Choice Awards? Or the MTV show Ridiculousness that she wrote for? No matter where you’ve seen her or her writing, she’s hilarious and great! Jamie stopped by the Wrestling Team apartment last week and we talked about her ZZ Top photographic parents, overcoming your ha...
Beginnings Field Guide episode 12: Broad City
January 12, 2012 05:55 - 1 hour - 55.1 MBOn today’s show, we talk to Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson, the creators and stars of the great webseries Broad City. The two have been performing comedy in New York for many years before starting their show, and after two seasons and growing buzz, it’s now in development at FX with Amy Poehler as one of the executive producers. While hearing Ilana and Abbi’s inspiring story of their hard work paying off, we also found time to discuss the sadness of strip clubs, sneak attack feminism vs. ste...
Beginnings episode 39: Halley Feiffer
January 05, 2012 06:31 - 1 hour - 62.9 MBHalley Feiffer is a actor and playwright from New York City. She’s been in many films including The Squid and the Whale, Margot at the Wedding, and You Can Count on Me and guested on a number of television shows including Flight of the Conchords and Bored to Death. This last year, she made her Broadway debut in The House of Blue Leaves with Ben Stiller and Edie Falco and in 2012, she’ll release her film He’s Way More Famous Than You, which she co-wrote and stars in. Earlier this week, Halley...
Beginnings Field Guide episode 11: Jesse Moynihan
December 29, 2011 05:31 - 35 minutes - 24.5 MBJesse Moynihan is a storyboard artist/writer on the amazing Cartoon Network show Adventure Time. He's also an amazing comic artist and has been making his own comics for years. On last week's Beginnings episode, we talked about how his past has opened him up to new ways of seeing the world, and on this week's Field Guide, we talk to Jesse about his latest collection of comics Forming vol.1, now out on Nobrow Press!
Beginnings episode 38: Jesse Moynihan
December 22, 2011 04:07 - 1 hour - 54.5 MBJesse Moynihan is a bit of a Renaissance man. He’s a storyboard artist/writer on the amazing Cartoon Network show Adventure Time. He’s also a comic artist who’s been making hilarious, weird and thoughtful comics for years, and his latest collection Forming vol. 1 was just published on Nobrow Press. Jesse’s also a musician and plays in the experimental pop group Make a Rising, who have two fantastic albums with a third on the way. Jesse sat down with us in the Wrestling Team apartment a few w...
Beginnings Field Guide episode 10: Jared Logan
December 15, 2011 05:41 - 19 minutes - 13.5 MBJared Logan is one of the most jovial, friendly stand-ups you might meet. He’s been on Comedy Central’s Live at Gotham, tours colleges all over the country, and co-hosts a fantastic weekly stand-up show called Righteous Kill. On last week’s Beginnings, we talked to Jared about growing up in West Virginia and about his theatrical roots. On this week’s Field Guide, we discuss one of his favorite recent jokes.
Beginnings episode 37: Jared Logan
December 08, 2011 05:22 - 1 hour - 41.9 MBJared Logan is a hilarious stand-up who got his start in Chicago. After being featured on Comedy Central's Live at Gotham in 2008, he moved to New York and has been tearing up the Big Apple ever since, especially with his weekly show Righteous Kill, which he co-hosts with fellow stand-up Joe DeRosa. A few weeks ago, Jared sat down with us in the Wrestling Team apartment. What transpired? Jared taught us that gay stereotypes are true if you only know one gay person! Andy explained his narciss...
Beginnings Field Guide episode 9: Wrestling Team
December 01, 2011 05:29 - 56 minutes - 39.1 MBThat's right, friends, we're doing something special on this week's Field Guide: we interview ourselves! Or, as many might call it "simply having a conversation". Coming up in the next month, we're going to do some special Field Guide episodes where we talk about specific shows and videos that we both enjoy with their creators. To kick that off, we thought we'd discuss a sketch that we perform called "The Newlyweb Game". Our discussion though quickly turns into a referendum on the state of W...
Beginnings episode 36: Eddie Pepitone
November 23, 2011 05:05 - 1 hour - 42.9 MBEddie Pepitone is a stand-up and actor who started with Chicago City Limits in New York in the late ‘90s and quickly became part of the city’s comedy scene. He’s performed on Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Kimmel and regularly on Marc Maron’s live WTFs in LA. You might recognize Eddie from season six of Last Comic Standing, as the cook on The Sarah Silverman Program or from his role in the film Old School. He also co-hosts a popular podcast called The Long Shot and has a daily comic strip video series...
Beginnings Field Guide episode 8: Tom Scharpling
November 17, 2011 03:44 - 19 minutes - 13.5 MBTom Scharpling is the host of the weekly-call in program The Best Show on WFMU. Tom is also one of the best straight men in comedy, and uses his skills in the duo Scharpling and Wurster. Recently Tom has begun to direct music videos for groups like Ted Leo and the Pharmacists and The New Pornographers, and on this episode of Field Guide we talk about the trailer he made for John Hodgman’s new book. If you want to check out Tom’s full interview, why not listen to the last episode? And we inte...
Beginnings episode 35: Tom Scharpling
November 10, 2011 03:45 - 1 hour - 47 MBTom Scharpling is the host of the critically-acclaimed weekly-call in program The Best Show on WFMU. Grounded by Tom’s sardonic glee, the show features phone calls, comedians and a weekly call between Tom and his comedy partner Jon Wurster, where Wurster plays numerous characters, usually from the made-up town of Newbridge, NJ. Tom was also a writer and executive producer on USA’s Monk, and most recently, he has been directing a number of well-received videos for everyone from The New Pornog...
Beginnings Field Guide episode 7: John Lee
November 03, 2011 03:44 - 17 minutes - 16.4 MBJohn Lee, along with his co-producer Vernon Chatman and their production/art collective PFFR, are the creators of some of the weirdest and funniest television of the last decade. They’ve been responsible for Wonder Showzen and Xavier: Renegade Angel. They executive produce and direct Jon Glaser’s show Delocated, and their new six-night miniseries The Heart, She Holler debuts this Sunday on Adult Swim. Last week, we talked to John about how Jim Jarmusch inspired him to create, and this week, ...
Beginnings episode 34: John Lee
October 27, 2011 03:38 - 1 hour - 45.8 MBJohn Lee, along with his co-producer Vernon Chatman and their production/art collective PFFR, have created some of the weirdest and funniest television of the past decade. Wonder Showzen, a show that shoved absurdity, politics and social commentary into a nonsensical children’s show ran on MTV2 for two seasons and Xavier: Renegade Angel, a psychosexual spirit quest wrapped up in fast-paced absurdity and N64 graphics was an Adult Swim hit. Among other projects, John currently executive produc...
Beginnings Field Guide episode 6: Henry Zebrowski
October 20, 2011 03:27 - 28 minutes - 25.8 MBHenry Zebrowski is a member of the terrifying sketch group Murderfist, who were named by the Village Voice as the “Best Sketch Comedy Group in New York.” He was an actor on the Comedy Central show Michael and Michael Have Issues, and has been in numerous College Humor videos. In the forthcoming film Gods Behaving Badly, he plays Hermes alongside Christopher Walken and Sharon Stone! On last week’s Beginnings episode, we talked about turning fear into laughter, and on this week’s Field Guide, ...
Beginnings episode 33: Henry Zebrowski
October 13, 2011 04:29 - 1 hour - 42 MBHenry Zebrowski is an actor and sketch writer living in New York City. He is part of the anarchic sketch group Murderfist, who won the ECNY awards in 2010 for Best Sketch Comedy Group and was named by the Village Voice as the “Best Sketch Comedy Group in New York.” Henry was also an actor on the Comedy Central show Michael and Michael Have Issues, and he plays Hermes in the forthcoming film Gods Behaving Badly with John Turturro, Oliver Platt and Edie Falco among many others. A few weeks ago...
Beginnings Field Guide episode 5: Mike Sacks
October 06, 2011 03:52 - 25 minutes - 23.2 MBMike Sacks is a humor writer who has contributed to numerous publications including McSweeney’s, GQ and The New Yorker. Many of those pieces were collected in his book Your Wildest Dreams, Within Reason. He’s a member of the Pleasure Syndicate, a writing group composed of writers from places like The Daily Show and The Onion and his first book, And Here’s the Kicker is an anthology of his interviews with famous humorists from Paul Feig to Bob Odenkirk. Last week on Beginnings we discussed M...
Beginnings episode 32: Mike Sacks
September 29, 2011 04:40 - 53 minutes - 36.8 MBMike Sacks is a humor writer and part of the editorial staff of Vanity Fair. He got his start writing for Cracked and Mad Magazine, and since then has written for everyone from GQ to Esquire to The New Yorker, many of those pieces being collected in his book Your Wildest Dreams, Within Reason. He co-wrote the book Sex: Our Bodies, Our Junk, and his first book, And Here’s the Kicker is an anthology of his interviews with famous humorists from Paul Feig to Bob Odenkirk. A few weeks ago, Mike ...
Beginnings Field Guide episode 4: Jena Friedman
September 22, 2011 04:39 - 20 minutes - 18.7 MBLast week on Beginnings we talked to stand-up and Letterman writer Jena Friedman about the creative spark found within the scary children's game Bloody Mary. This week on Beginnings: Field Guide, we have an in-depth discussion on serial killers, as we talk with Jena about her webseries Ted and Gracie, which you can see on our website and at www.jenafriedman.com. And hey, why not drop us a line at [email protected]? Tell us your favorite smell!
Beginnings episode 31: Jena Friedman
September 15, 2011 05:10 - 59 minutes - 40.9 MBJena Friedman is a comedian and actor based in New York City. As a stand-up, she has performed all around the world, including at The Glasgow International Comedy Festival and SXSW. She was the female lead in the independent film American Florence, and her play The Refugee Girls Revue: A Musical Parody had a successful run off-Broadway. Also, in July, she became one of the newest writers on the Late Show with David Letterman. A few weeks ago, Jena came over to the Wrestling team apartment a...
Beginnings Field Guide episode 3: Matt Besser
September 08, 2011 14:08 - 18 minutes - 12.7 MBLast week on Beginnings we talked to UCB founder Matt Besser about how punk rock and Andy Kaufman helped influence his love of pranks and playing with reality. This week on Beginnings Field Guide, we have an in-depth discussion about teaching, as we discuss his recent web series Inside the Master Class, which you can see in its entirety on mattbesser.com!
Beginnings episode 30: Matt Besser
September 01, 2011 03:27 - 1 hour - 44.1 MBMatt Besser is one of the founding members of the Upright Citizens Brigade, whose sketch show, along with other programs like Mr. Show, helped define comedy in the 1990s. Since then, the UCB have founded two schools in NY and LA, which are renowned as the training grounds for the next generation of comedians. Since the end of the UCB show, Matt has worked on a number of projects including creating the Comedy Central show Crossballs and writing and directing the forthcoming film Freak Dance, ...
Beginnings Field Guide episode 2: Christine Nangle
August 25, 2011 11:47 - 19 minutes - 13.4 MBLast week on Beginnings we talked to Saturday Night Live staff writer Christine Nangle about how growing up in Philadelphia and how attending Catholic School helped make her a creative person. This week on Beginnings Field Guide, we have an in-depth discussion of her web video "Surrogate Mother for Hire", which will be debuting as a web series this September!
Beginnings episode 29: Christine Nangle
August 18, 2011 05:17 - 53 minutes - 36.8 MBHailing from Pennsylvania, Christine Nangle began her comedy career in Pittsburgh, performing with improv group Hustlebot. In 2007, Christine moved to New York where she began taking classes at The Upright Citizens Brigade Theater, eventually working her way up to writing and performing on a number of different house sketch and improv teams. In 2009, Christine was hired as a staff writer on Saturday Night Live and has been responsible for sketches like Snooki, Wikileaks and more. Last week, ...
Beginnings Field Guide episode 1: Will Hines
August 11, 2011 02:13 - 26 minutes - 12.2 MBWill Hines is the Associate Academic Supervisor and a teacher at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre and a performer on the house team The Stepfathers, the winners of the Friars Club 2010 Improv Competition. He’s written and directed a number of stage shows and videos, and his acting work includes parts in the Adult Swim series Fat Guy Stuck in Internet and the Derrick movie Mystery Team. Most recently, he co-starred with Michael Cera in the webseries Bad Dads. Will sat down with us last we...
Beginnings episode 28: Joe Mande
August 04, 2011 04:42 - 45 minutes - 21 MBJoe Mande is a nationally touring stand-up who’s been on Best Week Ever and Live at Gotham. He’s also the man behind the blog and book Look at This Fucking Hipster. Along with his co-host Noah Garfinkel, he hosts a monthly comedy show at UCB called Totally J/K, and he’s written and performed in a number of stage shows including most recently, his adaptation of Glenn Beck’s The Overton Window. Joe’s also one of the newest writers on the Adult Swim show Delocated. A few weeks ago, we sat down...
Beginnings episode 27: David Cope
August 03, 2011 01:49 - 49 minutes - 22.8 MBDavid Cope is a super-funny and absurdist comic based in New York City. Rather than some put-on stage persona, however, his weirdness is an honest extension of his personality. He curates the weekly stand-up show Hot Soup at O’Hanlon’s Bar alongside Andy Haynes, Mark Normand and Matt Ruby, and he’s been featured at the Bumbershoot festival, on the last season of NBC’s Last Comic Standing and in numerous TV commercials. A few weeks ago, he came over to the (always hot) Wrestling Team apartmen...
Beginnings episode 26: Hari Kondabolu
August 01, 2011 00:04 - 1 hour - 27.8 MBHari Kondabolu is a highly-accomplished stand-up who discusses race and class in a manner that is both funny and enlightening. He’s performed on numerous shows including Jimmy Kimmel, Live at Gotham and John Oliver’s New York Standup Show. He has his own Comedy Central Presents special and hosts a live monthly talk show with his younger brother Ashok, a member of the hip hop group Das Racist. He also has academic roots and earned his Masters in Human Rights from the London School of Economic...