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The Comedy Bureau Field Report

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The Comedy Bureau Field Report Ep. 214: Caitlin Linden & Sketch Comedy Outside of SNL
May 1, 2024
News, The Comedy Bureau Field Report

Believe it or not, there is a world of sketch comedy outside of Saturday Night Live (and a thriving one at that). Hot LA sketch group Rabble Rabble and the group’s marvelous writer/performer Caitlin Linden are a splendid example of that, taking far more than a week (and rightfully so) to put together an hour-ish show of sketches that are narratively tied together and abjectly absurd in such a beautiful way, unique to Rabble Rabble. Caitlin talks to us about the whole of what goes into being part of comedy sketch team that sells out regularly as well as what she wants to do on her own.

Follow Caitlin @caitmonstar and Rabble Rabble @gorabblerabble on IG and get tix for their 5/25 show @ The Elysian here.

Produced by Jake Kroeger
Music by Brian Granillo
Artwork by Andrew Delman and Jake Kroeger
Photo by Jasper Lewis

The Comedy Bureau Field Report Ep. 213: Shane Mauss & Comedy a la Science (or Science a la Comedy)
April 24, 2024
News, The Comedy Bureau Field Report
shane mauss

As a comedian who was a science communicator who was a comedian, Shane Mauss has had a long circuitous road towards living kind of an idyllic comedy life by playing the venues he wants with crowds made up of his own fanbase (not to mention wheeling and dealing with his other passions by starting a legal drug company). Catching up with him on this episode of TCB Field Report was astounding as to see how much he has carved his very own niche and living the life he wants to live as a comedian on the road (in case you thought that was entirely extinct path in comedy).

Follow Shane @shane_mauss

Produced by Jake Kroeger
Music by Brian Granillo
Artwork by Andrew Delman and Jake Kroeger
Photo by Jon Ohia

The Comedy Bureau Field Report Ep. 212: Kate Willett & Comedy Making a Difference: Question Mark
April 17, 2024
News, The Comedy Bureau Field Report
activism, kate willett, nyc comedy

Kate Willett is not only coming out with a special that really stands out of the rest of the pack this year (and oh what a pack of dozens there is of YouTube specials uploaded every week), but is already working on her very next hour and a solo show as well as being as involved as possible in socialist communities and activism, which sometimes has its intersection in comedy. This week’s TCB Field Report talks to Kate about coming up with her keeping the tides of her comedy going as well as navigating her way between pursuits in comedy and trying to effect direct change.

Follow @kate.willett on IG and please watch and enjoy Loopholes on Apple TV+ and Amazon Prime on 4/23.

Produced by Jake Kroeger
Music by Brian Granillo
Artwork by Andrew Delman and Jake Kroeger

The Comedy Bureau Field Report Ep. 211: Jessica Svendsgaard & Starting an Improv Festival Called MILF
April 10, 2024
News, The Comedy Bureau Field Report
comedy festival, improv comedy, indie improv, jessica svendsgaard, los angeles comedy

Of all the disciplines in comedy, improv might have had the longest road back from lockdown. Connected to that, improv festivals that used to be an annual celebration to be relied on are now having to be revived from the ashes. Thus, one of the oldest indie improv nights in LA, Mach Improv, is taking up the mantle from what used to be known and beloved as The LA Indie Improv Festival and throwing their very own 12 hour improv festival, the wonderfully abbreviated MILF (Mach Improv LA Festival), later this month at what essentially is LA indie improv HQ, The Clubhouse. Mach’s very own Jessica Svendsgaard tells us all about the festival, the state of improv in spring 2024, and why all of this is important/worth doing in times like these.

Follow Jessica @thebyebyemancuckedme on IG and get all info for MILF on Sat. Apr. 27th at The Clubhouse from Noon to Midnight at milfcomedy.com.

Produced by Jake Kroeger
Music by Brian Granillo
Artwork by Andrew Delman and Jake Kroeger

The Comedy Bureau Field Report Ep. 210: Red, White & You & Everyone Else You Know
April 3, 2024
News, The Comedy Bureau Field Report

Together, Dakota Ray Hebert, Danny Knight, Dylan Jay Williamson, Ryan Moccasin, and Shawn Cuthand are the touring (mostly) indigenous sketch/stand-up comedy troupe, Red, White, & You,  hailing from up above in Canada. They all found each other/bonded/made each other laugh (i.e. the best way to form a comedy group) in Saskatoon (and hopefully will put on the map outside of being a joke reference of a city for Canadian comedians) and have really gelled into a special group touring all over North America. This week’s TCB Field Report talks to Red, White, & You about not only continue the push for indigenous representation in the arts, but showcasing, like great comedy often does, how we are all more alike than we aren’t.

Get all the info and tour dates for Red, White & You at redwhiteyou.ca and buy tickets for their Asylum NYC shows on Sat. Apr. 13th here (7:30PM) and here (9:30PM).

Produced by Jake Kroeger
Music by Brian Granillo
Artwork by Andrew Delman and Jake Kroeger

The Comedy Bureau Field Report Ep. 209: Sydney Duncan & Being Enough in All the Comedy Spaces
March 27, 2024
News, The Comedy Bureau Field Report
character comedy, nyc comedy, sketch comedy, sydney duncan

While it would seem that stand up and comedy clubs reign supreme in the NYC comedy scene, there are plenty of performers that defy that notion and not only go for alternative spaces and types of comedy, but find ways in between all of them. One such comedian is Sydney Duncan who constantly switches gears between performing in character, as herself, on stage solo, with other folks on teams, and so much more. It’s a delicate balance to strike to do try to fit in the pre-existing spaces in comedy and simultaneously make those perfectly suited to you, but Sydney has amazingly found her footing in doing so.

We talk to Sydney on this week’s TCB Field Report all about that, this, and the other things in her lanes of NYC comedy.

Follow Sydney @sydneyduncanonem

Produced by Jake Kroeger
Music by Brian Granillo
Artwork by Andrew Delman and Jake Kroeger
Photo by @enemypixels

The Comedy Bureau Field Report Ep. 208: Kurt Braunohler & 20 Years of a Weekly Comedy Show
March 20, 2024
News, The Comedy Bureau Field Report
hot tub with kurt and kristen, kurt braunohler, la comedy, live comedy, nyc comedy

2005 seems both so recent and yet so distant, but that marks the time at which a happenstance pairing of Kurt Braunohler and Kristen Schaal backstage at the Peoples Improv Theater in NYC eventually led to run of the longest running, most beloved weekly live comedy shows in comedy history, Hot Tub with Kurt and Kristen.

Coming up on its 20th anniversary (and subsequent swan song), Hot Tub has been a treasure in LA, NYC, and wherever its toured (notably, for us, in Portland & Edinburgh). Kurt joins us this week to give an oral history of what is and will always be one of the landmark comedy shows of the this part of the 21st century.

Follow Kurt @kurtbraunohler across socials and at kurtcomedy.com. Find all things Hot Tub with Kurt and Kristen @hottub_show across socials.

Produced by Jake Kroeger
Music by Brian Granillo
Artwork by Andrew Delman and Jake Kroeger
Photo by @nickgast

The Comedy Bureau Field Report Ep. 207: Chloe Radcliffe & Doing a Solo Show About You Cheating
March 13, 2024
News, The Comedy Bureau Field Report
chloe radcliffe, solo show

Chloe Radcliffe has been taking radical honesty and capturing of the full breadth of the human experience to a new level with, rest assured, plenty of jokes, in her astounding solo show, CHEAT. Radcliffe shares, in the hour, an in-depth journey of her pattern of cheating and really getting into the nitty gritty of perhaps why it might be happening (and that’s she still human and is not solely defined by her faults). It’s a hysterical, beautiful, and heart-wrenching show that really needs to be seen and heard and we’re so lucky that we got to talk to Chloe on this week’s TCB Field Report all about what openly talking about cheating as the sole basis for a show (and doing it so well) is really like.

Follow Chloe @chloebadcliffe across socials and get tickets to her latest performance of CHEAT if you’re in LA on Tues. Mar. 26th @ 7:30PM.

Produced by Jake Kroeger
Music by Brian Granillo
Artwork by Andrew Delman and Jake Kroeger

The Comedy Bureau Field Report Ep. 206: Club Video & Keeping the Club Actually Cool (and Inviting)
March 6, 2024
News, The Comedy Bureau Field Report
club video, nyc comedy, short film

Club Video is the latest welcoming, short film/video/sketch showcase that’s as inviting and low key as it is cool and the place to be in NYC, at the intersection of film and comedy and wanting a great weekend hang with good folks. This week’s TCB Field Report is dedicated to how the hell one strikes that balance and we talk to Club Video’s Whitley Watson and Micah Phillips how they manage to keep Club Video in the creative and good vibes sweet spot.

Follow Club Video @clubvideoshow, Whitley Watson @videotapezzzz, Micah Phillips @micahrockandroll, and Marshall Louise @marshalllouise

Produced by Jake Kroeger
Music by Brian Granillo
Artwork by Andrew Delman and Jake Kroeger
Photo by @allierosejokes

The Comedy Bureau Field Report Ep. 205: Sam Varela & State of Comedy 2024
February 29, 2024
News, The Comedy Bureau Field Report
sam varela

Intrepid indie comedy producers, Sam Varela, returns to TCB Field Report to talk the state of comedy with TCB’s Jake Kroeger at this juncture of (still) early 2024. Varela produces shows in both LA and NYC (including the amazing Picture This) as well as live-streams that are genuinely worth watching and definitely is one of the perfect people to weigh in on where the art form/community/scenes of comedy are right now and where they’re headed going forward.

Follow all of Sam’s great comedy things/happenings at nakedcomedy.org.

Produced by Jake Kroeger
Music by Brian Granillo
Artwork by Andrew Delman and Jake Kroeger
Photo by @heyjasperlewis

The Comedy Bureau Field Report Ep. 204: Hay Beacon & The Easier Way to Move on Up
February 21, 2024
News, The Comedy Bureau Field Report
hay beacon, la comedy

After spending so much time in LA that it seemed like they already lived in Los Angeles, Hay Beacon has made the move on down from SF to the City of Angels and we here at TCB are personally grateful to have such a delightful addition to our ever evolving comedy scene. For this week’s TCB Field Report, we talk to the freshly transplanted Hay and how they’re acclimatizing and an insightful perspective on how to move up from one comedy scene to another, especially if one is considered to be the “big show”.

Follow Hay @haybeacon across socials

Produced by Jake Kroeger
Music by Brian Granillo
Artwork by Andrew Delman and Jake Kroeger

The Comedy Bureau Field Report Ep. 203: Paul Danke & What Makes Live Comedy ALIVE
February 14, 2024
News, The Comedy Bureau Field Report
la comedy, live comedy, paul danke, stand up comedy

Part of the magic of live comedy, especially when it comes to just putting on stand-up, is that it seems like a lone person is captivating and inspiring spontaneous laughter to a group of strangers shrouded in darkness. Of course, the ingredients as to what make that magic actually happen are elusive and ever changing (not to mention, wholly impermanent). LA comedy torchbearer and beloved comedian Paul Danke and TCB’s very own Jake Kroeger dig into what makes live comedy special (when it is indeed special, of course) as well tease what they got up their sleeve to possibly make that happen.

Follow Paul @pauldanke across socials and get into his brand new album, Mad River, here.

Produced by Jake Kroeger
Music by Brian Granillo
Artwork by Andrew Delman and Jake Kroeger

The Comedy Bureau Field Report Ep. 202: Jimmy Jatho & The Importance of Hitting Cues
February 7, 2024
News, The Comedy Bureau Field Report
jimmy jatho, live comedy

There are many folks that make the magic of comedy really snap and pop and one of those groups of people are the technical directors/operators/stage managers that take the logistics of comedy of all ilks and make it seamless. Jimmy Jatho has made himself one of the foremost names in that regard with his 40 plus years experience, tech’ing at least a guess-timated 30K shows all around the country in theaters big and small, Second City, UCB, Lyric Hyperion, and so much more.

Also, Jimmy has some of the best showbiz stories to boot. We talk to Jatho all about the world of tech in comedy and so much more on this week’s TCB Field Report.

Follow Jimmy @jimmyjatho on IG

Produced by Jake Kroeger
Music by Brian Granillo
Artwork by Andrew Delman and Jake Kroeger

The Comedy Bureau Field Report Ep. 201: Ian Farley & Coming Up with a Show on the Spot
January 31, 2024
News, The Comedy Bureau Field Report
clown, devising, Ian Farley, process, solo show

Not that this podcast is a stranger to taking big swings or chatting with characters that might as well be from another galaxy, but, for a podcast that ostensibly pulls back the curtain, we go above and beyond with this episode by devising a show with a comedian live on tape.

If you haven’t gathered in recent episodes, TCB’s Jake Kroeger is now also the Artistic Director at Lyric Hyperion and tapped the hysterical Ian Farley to do a show next month and captured the creative process of working out what the hell his show is going to be on a podcast. Ideally, coming up with this show is this crackling and fun (part of the reason we have Ian both on the pod and doing a whole show by himself).

Follow Ian at enefarley.com

Produced by Jake Kroeger
Music by Brian Granillo
Artwork by Andrew Delman and Jake Kroeger

The Comedy Bureau Field Report Ep. 200: Natasha Mercado & The Clowning Life
January 24, 2024
News, The Comedy Bureau Field Report
clowning, Natasha Mercado

There’s way more that goes into being a clown than just doing something wild on stage with only a few things planned and messing with the audience, especially if you want to make a legitimately living as a clown. Rising star in LA comedy’s clown scene, Natasha Mercado, is not only working on her latest solo show to tour, but is also juggling teaching clown classes and guiding incarcerated youth into the world of clown and doing several other clown shows including a completely G-rated, family friendly one, and directing multiple other solo shows.

It’s all in a days work for a clown and we talk to her all about it on this week’s TCB Field Report.

Follow Natasha @champagnetashi and get tix to #1 Son from 1/30-2/1 here.

Produced by Jake Kroeger
Music by Brian Granillo
Artwork by Andrew Delman and Jake Kroeger

The Comedy Bureau Field Report Ep. 199: Atheer Yacoub & Finding Palestinian Comedy in the American World
January 17, 2024
News, The Comedy Bureau Field Report
atheer yacoub, palestine

Atheer Yacoub has survived starting in and coming up through the NYC comedy scene over the last 15 years, which is a daunting feat unto itself. Yacoub also happens to be Palestinian and has survived living in Palestine under the shadow of an ever-encroaching Israel, bringing her comedy to the forefront at this current moment.

As one of the headliners of the upcoming 20th Arab American Comedy Festival, Yacoub talks, on this week’s TCB Field Report how the Arab visibility brought about by that very festival (where she now is on the bill) was a big turning point for her comedy and how the last year has galvanized her Palestinian identity in her stand-up.

Follow Atheer @atheeryacoub on IG and TikTok and get details and tickets for The 20th Arab American Comedy Festival at arabcomedy.com.

Produced by Jake Kroeger
Music by Brian Granillo
Artwork by Andrew Delman and Jake Kroeger

The Comedy Bureau Field Report Ep. 198: Jeremy Culhane & What Makes for Good Improv
January 10, 2024
News, The Comedy Bureau Field Report
improv, Jeremy Culhane, short form improv, the harold

When one goes to see an improv show, the supposition is that your going to see comedy gold being born out of thin air, something that’s almost beyond a veritable comedy alchemy. If you’ve gone to enough improv shows or taken classes, you ought to know that there is a precision and structure applied to much of improv to make it seem magical. One of LA improv’s favorite sons, Jeremy Culhane, joins us on this week’s TCB Field Report to break down the importance of the Harold, what makes good improv (especially short form), and, most importantly, whether bad stand up or bad improv is worst (apologies for one of the mics cutting out for the last 15 min. or so and doing this podcast at our favorite Gelato place, Pazzo Gelato).

Follow Jeremy @jazzy_jelly on TikTok

Produced by Jake Kroeger
Music by Brian Granillo
Artwork by Andrew Delman and Jake Kroeger
Photo by Strikethrough Project

The Comedy Bureau Field Report Ep. 197: Sachi Ezura & Legend of 50 First Jokes
January 3, 2024
News, The Comedy Bureau Field Report
50 first jokes, nyc comedy, sachi ezura

Sachi Ezura has overseen, along with longtime host John F. O’Donnell, the comedy institution that is 50 First Jokes for well over a decade and is, for the first time ever, doubling up the show to feature 100 comics telling their first new jokes of the new year. Ezura joins us for the TCB Field Report to give us the rundown of the history of this show, now in its 17th year, and spread across more than a dozen cities, and how exactly they pull it all off.

Get tix for 50 First Jokes on Sat. Jan. 6th here and here.

Produced by Jake Kroeger
Music by Brian Granillo
Artwork by Andrew Delman and Jake Kroeger

TCB Field Report Ep. 196: Mo Welch & Estranged Dad Jokes
December 27, 2023
News, The Comedy Bureau Field Report
dad jokes, mo welch, stand up comedy

While “daddy issues” are certainly well trodden territory in comedy, few, if any, comedians have gone to the level that Mo Welch has gone to with her new special Dad Jokes. Not only does she dig up and recontextualize super dark “dad jokes” that she has written throughout her comedy career, but she goes above and beyond by seeking out her actual estranged father to, ostensibly uncover where this affinity for dark dad humor comes from. TCB’s Jake Kroeger talks all about it with Mo on this week’s TCB Field Report.

Follow Mo @momowelch on IG and stream Dad Jokes on Veeps now.

Produced by Jake Kroeger
Music by Brian Granillo
Artwork by Andrew Delman and Jake Kroeger

The Comedy Bureau Field Report Ep. 195: Best of 2023 Comedy with Mike Bridenstine
December 20, 2023
News, The Comedy Bureau Field Report
best of 2023, mike bridenstine

Yep, it’s the episode where we, esteemed comedian/author/historian/podcaster/GM Mike Bridenstine and TCB’s Jake Kroeger, run down, as noted comedy experts, their 2023 comedy faves that come from several tens of thousands of hours of watching comedy (in person and on a screen). Essentially, whether you agree or not, the takeaway here should definitely be, as much as you can, catching comedy in person at an intimate venue.

Follow Mike @mikebridenstine on IG and peep Microdose @microdosecomedy and Flagship @glendaleflagship and get The Perfect Amount of Wrong here.

Produced by Jake Kroeger
Music by Brian Granillo
Artwork by Andrew Delman and Jake Kroeger

The Comedy Bureau Field Report Ep. 194: Joe Zimmerman & Baby Hitler Jokes & More
December 13, 2023
News, The Comedy Bureau Field Report
joe zimmerman, nyc comedy, stand up comedy

Truly, one of our favorite specials of the year is Joe Zimmerman’s Cult Classic, which is saying a lot considering the wide spectrum of truly enjoyable hours of stand up comedy that were released in 2023. So, we have Zimmerman on this week’s TCB Field Report to get into what went into such a fantastic hour of stand-up, specifically achieving a great baby Hitler bit (when there have been so many before Joe’s) as well as the landscape of NYC comedy from Joe’s POV.

Follow Joe Zimmerman on IG @joezimmerman and watch Cult Classic here. As of the recording of this podcast, Kenny DeForest sadly passed away. You can support his memorial fund in his memory here. Kyle Ayers’ GoFundMe for aid for treating his Trigeminal Neuralgia is here as well.

Produced by Jake Kroeger
Music by Brian Granillo
Artwork by Andrew Delman and Jake Kroeger

The Comedy Bureau Field Report Ep. 193: Johnny Gold & The Importance of Small Scenes
December 7, 2023
News, The Comedy Bureau Field Report
inland empire, johnny gold, la comedy

As instrumental as the hubs of LA and NYC are to comedy, smaller scenes are crucial to the art form too. Johnny Gold returns to the TCB Field Report to extoll the virtues and dissect the experience of small, upcoming comedy scenes. He ought to know since Johnny was one of the first comics we ever met in the LBC in in the 2010s and is now getting up in small rooms and mics in the I.E. in the 2020s.

Follow Johnny @johnnygold777 on IG

Produced by Jake Kroeger
Music by Brian Granillo
Artwork by Andrew Delman and Jake Kroeger

The Comedy Bureau Field Report Ep. 192: Kristian Mercado & Directing Comedy in 2023
November 29, 2023
News, The Comedy Bureau Field Report
kristian mercado

Kristian Mercado has very quickly made a name for himself not only as a director of comedy specials (Hannibal Buress, Aida Rodriguez, Michael Che, Taylor Tomlinson to name a few), but an up and coming auteur in comedy with his first feature, If You Were the Last, a very charming take on an outer space rom com. This week’s TCB Field Report talks to Mercado in depth about the in’s and out’s of directing all sorts of comedy these days on all sorts of screens.

Follow Kristian @krismerc on IG and watch If You Were the Last now on Peacock.

Produced by Jake Kroeger
Music by Brian Granillo
Artwork by Andrew Delman and Jake Kroeger

The Comedy Bureau Field Report Ep. 191: Frank Chindamo & Proof of Laughter Being Medicine
November 22, 2023
News, The Comedy Bureau Field Report
frank chindamo, laugh md

Frank Chindamo went from comedy nerd to SNL to mobile video innovator to professor to CEO and founder of Laugh MD, an app tailor made to bring comedy for wellness to hospital patients. This week’s TCB Field Report follows Chindamo’s unbelievable journey that has actually been bookended by two different WGA strikes, at this point, and found himself leading the way to putting a spotlight on laughter demonstrably/scientifically/undeniably making people’s lives better.

Follow all things Laugh MD at laughmd.com

Produced by Jake Kroeger
Music by Brian Granillo
Artwork by Andrew Delman and Jake Kroeger

The Comedy Bureau Field Report Ep. 190: Cam Gavinski & Gettin’ Meta About Being Meta
November 15, 2023
News, The Comedy Bureau Field Report

Cam Gavinski utilizes cardboard and duct tape in a way that would befuddle most comedians and, in doing so, comes up with some of the most outlandish, ridiculous, meta, and thoroughly hilarious bits at almost every LA stage we can think of. This week’s TCB Field Report dives into Cam’s psyche and process and how he gets inspired and goes meta with his comedy (and pulls it off).

Follow Cam @camgavinski across socials

Produced by Jake Kroeger
Music by Brian Granillo
Artwork by Andrew Delman and Jake Kroeger

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