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The Comedy Bureau Field Report

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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

The Comedy Bureau Field Report Ep. 189 Derek Del Core & How To (Possibly) Get Repped
November 9, 2023
News, The Comedy Bureau Field Report
derek del core, getting repped

It’s one of the ever enduring questions in the entertainment biz: how does one get repped? When trying to get seen by an agent or manager, it would often seem as though you have to be on projects in places that you could only get to with an agent manager. Up and coming comedy manager and live show producer and (good peoples) Derek Del Core joins us on this week’s TCB Field Report to demystify these questions and more and hopefully give you a road map to actually getting reps (or if you’re even ready for it).

Follow Derek @derekdelcore on IG

Produced by Jake Kroeger
Music by Brian Granillo
Artwork by Andrew Delman and Jake Kroeger
Photo by Ian Zandi

The Comedy Bureau Field Report Ep. 188: Adam Gold & Producing 33 Shows at a Festival
November 1, 2023
News, The Comedy Bureau Field Report
adam gold, comedy producing, ny comedy festival

Like the hard working performers that he puts on all of shows, comedy producer Adam Gold has done the behind-the-scenes version of working your way from open mics up the comedy ladder in a scene. Cutting his teeth by waiting tables at Caroline’s several years ago, Gold climbed his way up in independent comedy producing with indie shows in LA & NYC all the way to the point where he has been a producing staple at the New York Comedy Festival. This year alone, he has 33 shows going requiring a team of folks to make sure they go off without a hitch.

This week’s TCB Field Report follows Adam’s journey in comedy producing, some crucial producing tips, as well as what drives him to do so many damn shows in less than two weeks in November.

Follow Adam @adamgooold on IG and get tickets to any and all NYCF shows at newyorkcomedyfestival.com.

Produced by Jake Kroeger
Music by Brian Granillo
Artwork by Andrew Delman and Jake Kroeger
Photo by Sam Cashell

The Comedy Bureau Field Report Ep. 187: Sunny Zimmerman & Caitlan Moore & Creating a Brilliant Meta Play About LBJ (and Identity)
October 25, 2023
News, The Comedy Bureau Field Report
caitlan moore, lbj the play, sunny zimmerman

After 13 years of covering comedy pretty much every single day, it’s incredibly hard to take us by surprise or show us something that isn’t, at the very least, reminiscent of something else we had seen before. Thanks to Sunny Zimmerman and Caitlan Moore, LBJ The Play, a meta play within a play (that’s almost in another play) about an LBJ impersonator having an identity crisis was one of the most original comedy productions we had seen in awhile.

Suffice it to say, it achieved that near impossible feat of surprising us and we have been thoroughly delighted by the memory of watching its very first performance at Forget About Spaghetti Fest. So, this week’s TCB Field Report talks with star Sunny Zimmerman and director Caitlan Moore to talk how creating one of the most original comedy plays we’ve ever seen when they didn’t even originally set out to write a play.

Follow LBJ The Play @lbjtheplay, Sunny Zimmerman @zimmer_down_, & Caitlan Moore @caitlan_deniro on IG

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

The Comedy Bureau Field Report Ep. 186: Raiza Licea & Looking to Build an Empire
October 18, 2023
News, The Comedy Bureau Field Report
raiza licea

Between being a pillar of the stellar Spanish Aquí Presents, being one of the four artistic directors at the revived UCB, doing her own comedy (mostly improv, but dipping her toe into stand-up now), and going hard in the paint in a beloved comedy rec basketball league, Raiza Licea still envisions much more ahead of her. For many, juggling those three endeavors would be more than a full plate, but Raiza is looking to indeed build an empire founded on her comedy chops, which are some of the most highly regarded at the Upright Citizens Brigade.

This week’s TCB Field Report not only uncovers how Raiza pulls all of what she currently has going, but envisioning pulling off even more.

Follow Raiza @raizalicea as well as SAP @spanishaquipresents across socials.

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

The Comedy Bureau Field Report Ep. 185: Blake Wexler & Nailing Your First Hour
October 11, 2023
News, The Comedy Bureau Field Report
blake wexler

From Philly to LA back to Philly (and probably some other stops along the way), Blake Wexler has gotten more than enough stage time under his belt to handily craft and serve up a refreshingly strong debut hour special. Daddy Long Legs is a not only a testament to the handiwork and care that goes into the artistry of comedy, but a great example of how much blood, sweat, and tears goes into making something seem effortless or as if, in comedy parlance, happened “the other day”. We dive into all the nitty gritty of Wexler’s journey to really being ready and meeting the moment of doing your first comedy special.

Follow Blake @blakewexler on IG and watch Daddy Long Legs on YouTube here.

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

The Comedy Bureau Field Report Ep. 184: Eitan Levine & Avoiding Eviction When Doing a Comedy Festival in Your Apartment
October 4, 2023
News, The Comedy Bureau Field Report
apartment fest, eitan levine, nyc comedy

Little did NYC comedy staple Eitan Levine know that essentially starting a comedy festival as a bit in getting rejected from an actual comedy festival would manifest into running a successful comedy festival out of his apartment. Returning post-panedmic, Apartment Fest is a weekend long comedy festival complete with beloved NYC headliners and sponsors with the main difference from every other festival being that it’s still run entirely out of Eitan’s apartment (despite getting evicted once from doing it).

This week’s TCB Field Report sits down with Eitan to find out how he pulled all of this off and what he envisions for the future of it and, most importantly, what to be mindful of when you make a submission tape.

Follow Eitan @eitanthegoalie across socials and get tickets for Apartment Fest 10/19-10/22 here.

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

The Comedy Bureau Field Report Ep. 183: Zach Zucker & Stamptown Stamping Everywhere
September 27, 2023
News, The Comedy Bureau Field Report
stamptown, zach zucker

Zach Zucker has taken his creation Stamptown and its ringleader Jack Tucker to the height of international comedy stardom with having it being a rollicking circus of all types of comedy and wild performance in LA, NYC, and London (and elsewhere too). For our money, Zucker is one of the only folks in all of comedy to pull this off on a regular basis and his award winning antics are the proof to back up such a feat. This week’s TCB Field Report dives into the ins and outs of touring all around the globe doing some of the wildest comedy out there (and continuing to push the comedy envelope beyond that).

Follow Stamptown at stamptowncomedy.com and Zach Zucker @zach_zucker across platforms.

Produced by Jake Kroeger
Music by Brian Granillo
Artwork by Andrew Delman and Jake Kroeger
Photo by Jill Petracek

The Comedy Bureau Field Report Ep. 182: Kyle KA & Don’t Tell Comedy Tell All
September 20, 2023
News, The Comedy Bureau Field Report
don't tell comedy, kyle ka

1000 shows over 100 cities in a year sounds like something that the likes of Live Nation could only pull off for some sort of huge touring act. Well, Don’t Tell Comedy will have notched in 3000 shows over 140 cities by the end of 2023. They’ve accomplished that with only doing stand-up comedy shows in secret locations, often backyards, all around the country and, just recently, the world, with secret line-ups, often featuring great up and coming comedy talent. We get the lowdown on all things Don’t Tell Comedy for this week’s TCB Field Report from Don’t Tell’s founder and CEO, Kyle KA.

Follow Kyle @donttellkyle on IG and Don’t Tell Comedy at donttellcomedy.com

Produced by Jake Kroeger
Music by Brian Granillo
Artwork by Andrew Delman and Jake Kroeger
Photo by Matt Misisco

The Comedy Bureau Field Report Ep. 181: Nataly Aukar & NYC Mornings
September 13, 2023
News, The Comedy Bureau Field Report
nataly aukar, nyc comedy, stand up comedy

For those who that pine catching someone’s ascension in comedy as it’s happening, one might not need to look further than NYC comedy staple Nataly Aukar. From Lebanon to NYC to all around the world, Nataly has worked her way through the comedy ranks, refined her skills, found her voice, and crafted her story with plenty of punchlines to tell on stages all around the U.S. and around the world (she’s playing Dubai later this month). This week’s TCB Field Report has a beautiful chat with Aukar about her process and perspective on comedy, both within herself and all around her.

Follow Nataly @natyourcolor on IG

Produced by Jake Kroeger
Music by Brian Granillo
Artwork by Andrew Delman and Jake Kroeger
Photo by Carly Hoogendyk

The Comedy Bureau Field Report Ep. 180: Beth Lapides & Conversation Sanctity
September 6, 2023
News, The Comedy Bureau Field Report
alternative comedy, beth lapides, los angeles comedy, uncabaret

For an independent comedy show of any kind to last a year is a feat in such a city as Los Angeles. UnCabaret, created by Beth Lapides, has lasted for around 30 years and is very much continuing to foster a special community with its sort-of-light-bulb-moment-focused storytelling/stand-up show. It’s an undeniable institution in comedy and foundational to alternative comedy as we know and love it. This week’s TCB Field Report talks to Lapides and the history of her beautiful gathering that she has created and what goes into keeping conversation, especially the sort that’s had between performer and audience, sacred.

Follow UnCabaret @uncabaret across socials and Beth @beth_lapides on IG.

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

The Comedy Bureau Field Report Ep. 179: Jesse Friedman & Those Fightin’ Memes
August 30, 2023
News, The Comedy Bureau Field Report
jesse friedman, meme fighter, memes

It’s undeniable that memes are a touchstone of culture in the 21st century. With that in mind, renaissance man  Jesse Friedman (brewery owner, app developer, avid Epicurean) has gone and developed a whole app centered on coming up with your own memes as quickly and as simply as possible (and even doing so competitively).

The product of that idea is Meme Fighter, which will do all of the above and probably more, and we here at TCB are partnering with Jesse to put on an exclusive live show, Meme Fighter LIVE!, that will pit comedians in ultimate combat with only memes at their disposal. This week’s TCB Field Report talks all about Jesse’s journey from brewing all the way to Meme Fighter and finding some grassroots for the app in the LA comedy community.

Get Meme Fighter at memefighter.app and follow Meme Fighter on IG @memefighterapp. Get tickets for Meme Fighter LIVE! @ Lyric Hyperion on Sat. 9/23 here.

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

The Comedy Bureau Field Report Ep. 178: Maddy Martin & Staying Aggressively Alive
August 23, 2023
News, The Comedy Bureau Field Report
aggressively alive, house show, los angeles comedy, maddy martin

Often, the comedy version of Field of Dreams involves places and spaces that are much more humble than a field. Perhaps, an apartment courtyard to many is just something to merely pass by even though there might be seating of some kind. To others, like comedy producing team Maddy Martin and Ben Berke, creators of Aggressively Alive, it’s clearly the home of their very slick, DIY house show that has survived both the pandemic and the aftermath of it all the way to the 2 year mark. Any live comedy show lasting 2 years at this point in time is pretty damn impressive and we chat all about all things Aggressively Alive (and comedy in general) with Martin for this week’s TCB Field Report.

Follow Maddy @fakemaddymartin and Aggressively Alive @aggressivelyalive on IG. Get tickets for Aggressively Alive at aggressivelyalive.com.

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

The Comedy Bureau Field Report Ep. 177: Derrick Brown & The Poetic Comedic
August 16, 2023
News, The Comedy Bureau Field Report
derrick brown, poetry

Rare is the blend of poetry and comedy, despite, when either is performed, go to evoke emotion and visceral response. One Derrick Brown, for many years, has toed the line of being simultaneously a poet and a comedian, often the twain at the same time, bridging the subtle majesty of poesy and the irresistible joy of comedy. Derrick has balanced both for so long that he actually will have released a critically acclaimed book of poetry and comedy album this year. This week’s TCB Field Report explores every twist and turn it takes to straddle both worlds as Brown has so cleverly done and how, more curiously, one ends up there.

Follow Derrick @derrickbrownpoetry on IG, get his book Love Ends in a Tandem Kayak, and look out for his upcoming album A Close Shave with Heaven from Sub Pop/Pretty Good Friends, coming out soon.

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

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