Michelle Faulkner-Forson, Brian James O'Connell & Barry Wright III on the Art of Improv
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Rob Lee
Welcome to the truth in this art. Thank you for tuning into my conversations at the intersection of arts, culture and community. I am your host, Rob Lee. Today, I am thrilled to have a returning guest and two new guests joining the conversation today. The first returning guest is a community artist and the managing director of the Baltimore Improv Group Theater.
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Rob Lee
They're the heart of the Station North Arts and Entertainment District. Please welcome Michelle Falkner. Forcing joining Michelle is an improviser or teacher nonprofit leader, one of the founders of High Wire. Please welcome Barry Wright III, the third. And lastly, but not Leslie. And that is not a word. Leslie is not a word. I want to welcome in improviser, filmmaker and teacher based in Los Angeles.
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Rob Lee
We got BOC. We got Brian James O'Connell. Welcome you all to the podcast.
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Michelle
Thank you.
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Brian
Thank you for having so much. Yes, thank you for for.
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Rob Lee
Making the time and we're here. I'm damn. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I like to say I'm glistening a little bit. I was that.
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Michelle
You always glisten.
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Barry
And today you also are damp. Yes.
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Michelle
Glistening and.
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Rob Lee
Just diversifying. What I do.
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Brian
I work glistening and. Damn. Can we have a suggestion, please? And we're all.
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Rob Lee
So I want to start off because we're. We're talking a bit about improv. We're talking about storytelling, talent, being on stage, all of that good stuff. So if we can go around the room and start off with reflecting on your backgrounds, you know, can you share some of those like early creative experiences that have influenced your journey into improv and into like sort of the broader artistic community?
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Rob Lee
Then I find it's never just one. I solely do it for all of it, and I do nothing else. So if we can start with you, Barry.
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Barry
Sure. You know, I came to creativity really pretty late in life in my late twenties. I tried to audition for the middle school play in seventh grade and didn't know what a stage direction was. So I spent 30 seconds just sticking my tongue out of my mouth when the line was supposed to be a slip of the tongue.
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Barry
And so that knocked me out for a good 12 years. But the creative thing that really kept me going and I think what led to improv everyone's doing a really good job of not breaking, by the way, was I was in the marching band in high school and that really taught me a lot about co-creation and working together as a big team.
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Barry
And for me, so much of improv is getting to work with other people. It's not an individual art form, you know, generally. And that's, I think, what made it so exciting for me to return to when I when I found out later in life.
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Rob Lee
It's great. Beautiful. Thank you.
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Brian
Okay, oh me? Oh, yeah. I think for me.
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Brian
As I reflect back on it so early on, I went I went to a I went to a Catholic school, Immaculate Heart of Mary and my kindergarten class. I nearly failed kindergarten because of how rambunctious and daring. But thankfully, Mrs. Nance, R.I.P..
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Brian
I guess.
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Brian
Mrs. Nance was a music teacher first and foremost in her heart. And so at the end of the year play, which was one of those dumb kids plays where you mash up, it's like.
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Brian
I played I played the cat.
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Brian
In the, you know, you know, the cow jumped over the moon that that nursery rhyme. But I also played like the Tin Man from Wizard of Oz.
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Brian
But I but I saved the.
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Brian
Play because I knew everyone else's lines. And when kids froze, I moved on that. And Mrs. Nance was just so overjoyed. And and and my mom was like.
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Brian
Oh, that's.
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Brian
Who my son is.
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Brian
My, you know. Okay, well, acting. Acting saved his.
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Brian
Ass. Okay, good. I came to the improv late in life as well. I didn't find long form improv until I was 27. I grew up in a small town in North Carolina, High Point Furniture, Capital World, but also a little Chicago, because there were the 259th largest city in America, but we're currently number 334 in murders per capita actual actual Chicago was 28th.
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Brian
Don't worry, Baltimore, you're still in the top five. You always will be.
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Rob Lee
Thank you. Thank you for acknowledging.
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Brian
Yeah, but I was I played team sports.
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Brian
I played soccer. I was in bands. I was a working musician. I did speech and debate in high school. And so what I found long form improv, it seemed like all the stuff I like, which was comedy, I done a little bit of standup in high school in ten years and it was I didn't find it until I was 23.
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Brian
And of course I grew up in High Point, North Carolina. But my entire family is from Chicago. So after I started taking classes.
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Brian
I didn't think that I mean.
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Brian
I would see whose line is anyway. I was like, But that's British. That's a thing that's not available to us here. And then of course, you know, discovering long form improv video West R.I.P. and then a modicum of research. And then I was furious with my family.
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Brian
Because I like all those all those family reunions, all those summer vacations.
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Brian
We were up in Chicago.
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Brian
Not one of my older cousins was like, Hey, Brian likes comedy. We should take him to a second city show. Like, I could.
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Brian
Have been going to like the summer intensive. My mom would have loved to get me out of the house for six weeks. My Aunt Kathy, R.I.P., I know some a lot of people. Don't worry.
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Brian
Yeah.
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Brian
She was my godmother, so she would have loved to have had me in the house for six weeks and I could have been doing it like ten years sooner. That's what that's why I'm always like, I love Heather and Campbell. She's my sister. But she started taking classes when she was 15.
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Brian
Why? Like Heather does.
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Brian
Everything I do but just better and sort of thinking then of course that she's always going to be ten years better than me.
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Brian
And I mean, don't get me wrong.
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Brian
Being the executive producer of Rick and Morty.
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Brian
Probably is fun for her, too. Yeah, but it's, it's it's really.
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Brian
Having a one up on me and improv is really what she probably that that rocks her to sleep at night and that's it that's how I got to improv. And then I was like, I want to do that. That does all the things I do. And then I drank the Kool-Aid and just never left like flavors.
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Rob Lee
The Kool-Aid.
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Brian
Oh, purple.
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Brian
Sauce, Rex, at all times. Thank you. Sure.
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Brian
Thanks for making your.
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Michelle
Purple sauce messy. I noticed there's a trend here. I also did being in high school.
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Barry
Nice.
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Michelle
I played the trumpet, but I wasn't in the marching band trumpet stuff. I did the I was on the flag thing.
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Barry
Very nice.
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Michelle
Keeping the.
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Barry
Drill team rifle flag. Oh, yeah. You know.
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Michelle
And we didn't do rifles in Chicago. Five Oh yeah. So 28, right? Yeah. Yeah. You know.
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Brian
Go pop up. Your numbers shot down.
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Michelle
But I also found improv for a lot more improv later on in my life. It was, I was in my, my thirties. Yeah. But just in my life I've been that weirdo artist person. I started drawing and that was what I did for fun and making weird audio stuff with my friends. We would sing, I don't know. Like I remember very clearly recording with my friend Mike singing Showtime at the Apollo at a high pitch like voice.
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Michelle
Like, for whatever reason, I don't know why.
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Brian
But just having you.
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Brian
Saw those recordings and you can.
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Brian
See.
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Michelle
Oh, no, where they are.
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Brian
That's a yes.
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Michelle
Yeah, but it's all stored here. It's all started here. But I love the idea of doing anything collaborative really, just because of who I am. I'm from a big sports family. My father played basketball professionally overseas.
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Brian
Oh, cool. What? What teams do you know?
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Michelle
Well, no. One, he was like the superstar at the University of New Mexico.
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Brian
Oh, yeah.
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Michelle
Right, right. So I need to connect with them. Number one, like, hey, I'm his child, but we have to take it. It's like, give me a blank. I don't know. But from there, he played in Portugal.
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Brian
Oh, yeah.
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Michelle
He played in France. I know he won in Portugal.
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Brian
So probably got Porto.
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Michelle
Yeah. And I didn't find that out till the funeral, so I was like, Oh yeah, I could, we could talk about this, you know, like, let's talk about these things, but lo collaborative anything. And that's why I kind of gravitated towards improv because you got to make it happen together. And I love that.
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Brian
I just went through a whole thing with one of my students of like how basketball is, improv.
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Brian
Is a.
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Barry
Lot of overlap.
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Brian
Is hardwood floors basically naked audience right on top.
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Michelle
Heckler Everybody play their position.
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Brian
Yeah, they're all players, but everyone has specific roles and there's a point.
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Brian
Guard center, small forward pirate, robot ninja.
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Brian
Yeah, yeah. We have the Herald, the Decatur.
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Brian
James Brown, they have the, you know, the Triangle office, the prince in office, 7 seconds or less.
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Brian
There's a coach, but what's the game star? It's not much that you can really. I really I can only get you so far, but chemistry has to do it. Know everything. I could go on and on 40.
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Barry
Thousand people in the stands.
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Brian
Yeah, yeah. Okay. Very sure. And billions of dollars. We don't have that television deal.
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Rob Lee
Right, exactly. So. Right. So, hello, I. So I want to move into this next this next part of the question because, you know, like Michelle, you know this and you know, you guys are knowing this now. I've been recording here this space for a while. You guys always try to twist my arm. Do you have problems? Like, I got it found.
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Rob Lee
And it's this sort of notion of and I think it's rooted in maybe a misconstrued version of what improv is. And sort of I think it's from being here, I think it's pretty broad. I think I've encountered people who do improvization we're kind of touching on that a bit, so we want to do it in a snake way.
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Rob Lee
So we're going to start here and go back around. Everybody's in the realm of improv. What are some of the like common misconceptions and like how do you address them? Like if you're, you know, these come up for class, you should check out a show, things of that nature. What comes to mind for you?
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Michelle
Michelle One of the common misconceptions is that when I'd say, Oh, you should take a class, oh, I could never do that. This is something everybody can do ever. Everybody, little kids to, you know, our older friends, you know, everybody can do this. And that's like the biggest one that comes to my okay.
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Brian
Oh, man, there's going to be a two parter, I.
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Brian
Guess I will say I have.
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Brian
To piggyback off what Michelle is saying. I believe that as well. I have a philosophy and also like sort of, you know, workshops I teach called all improv. I give a a basically a book for free to anyone that takes any class anywhere. That's also called I'm All Improv, because.
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Brian
I believe improv is for everybody.
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Brian
And improv is in everything we do every time you get into a lift or get a coffee or go to the teller at the bank, you're in an improv scene and position changes and the person behind you is being you know, the person in front of you is being a weirdo. And you look at the person behind you as a stranger and believe this guy.
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Brian
And it's that instant connection.
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Brian
You know. So I would say.
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Brian
The two biggest misconceptions I feel is like, number one, you know, our job is to replicate recognizable human behavior. And that's when people are like, Oh, I could never do that. I'm not funny. It's like, that's not our job. Our job is to look to do stuff that looks like our job is to replicate recognizable human behavior and present it in such a way that the audience recognizes their own humanity.
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Brian
They reveal that revelation through the form of laughter. And then we can all have a longer discussion and deeper transaction of ideas on how to heal the world. Like that's the thing that we're doing.
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Michelle
Mic drop.
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Brian
Yes, thank you.
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Brian
I would say my biggest misconception, too, is also with our community, as John Crowley put it once so wonderfully put it, the biggest problem with Herald players is that they've seen too many heralds, is that they think that's the only way to do it. He's like, I don't know, buddy. I just I don't think when someone says, there's only five ways to do an organic opening, I don't.
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Brian
Know if they know what organic or improv means. And so for me.
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Brian
I usually I try and challenge us in this community to be like, can you can you describe your show to a layperson, a non improviser, without using my word, improv? Because we are a young art form, people have a preconceived notion of what it is that we do. No one sees a live band that's maybe like a little younger, a little inexperienced on their instruments.
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Brian
They haven't quite written a lot of originals and go.
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Brian
Ooh, live music is terrible.
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Brian
I am never going to see a band again for the rest of my life.
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Brian
But when we talk to.
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Brian
People, we go.
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Brian
You should come see my improv.
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Brian
Show or you should take an improv class.
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Brian
So I improv that for me. I've seen it once. It's like, No, you probably.
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Brian
Saw like an inexperienced grad show from someone that you work with. You didn't see T.J. and Dave, you didn't see Weeb Negros in the nineties like. So I usually tell people, like the deconstruction is I call the deconstruction a one act on scripted play about the dark joy of the human condition.
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Brian
That sounds like something fun. That sounds like something you would want to go see. Oh, that's interesting. What is that? But if you just like, Oh, come to my improv show.
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Brian
You've lost them. You've lost them. So those are those are my two biggest misconceptions.
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Rob Lee
Yeah, I want to just for, for a point of clarity for the folks listening. Harold I don't know what it means.
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Brian
Harold is the basic or sort of like.
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Brian
Standard form that we do in long form improv. The Herald is kind of like the three minute pop song. You expect to hear it and see it everywhere. The reason why it's called The Harold as in the name, not in Hark the Herald Angels Sing is because early on when they were developing in Chicago, the myth is, is that death was like not to be the guy that never met.
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Brian
Tell him, quote, so does the voice.
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Brian
Or so what was your what should we call this thing that we're working on?
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Brian
And some jackass in the back.
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Brian
Was like, we should call Harold.
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Brian
And in the spirit of. Yes, and it stuck.
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Brian
Yeah, it.
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Brian
Stuck. And then for the rest of his life, he was like, My life's work is.
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Brian
The handsome.
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Brian
God damn joke name.
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Brian
Okay. Yeah. But also, you know, to be.
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Brian
Fair, like, you know, Dell did a lot of great stuff for modern improv and we're all so in some ways grateful to him. But also he was a racist and a sexist and a junkie which so like, you know, temper it.
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Michelle
He was a which.
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Brian
He had a lot of yeah.
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Brian
A lot of issues. The first time Shauna ever met him, he was literally summoning.
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Brian
Demons in a theater. Yeah. Yeah. Look, I'm talking about video rob spaces. Like, say what? Tell me more. You got me with these devil worship figures.
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Rob Lee
And so if I if I had my laptop here, I would just be in Wikipedia.
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Brian
TikTok. What are we doing?
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Michelle
There's a good documentary about him on.
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Barry
I think it's pretty balanced. Yeah. Yeah. At for me, the biggest misconception is that improv is capital I improv capital C comedy. When I tell people what improv is, especially someone who hasn't heard about it much before, I tell them it's a team activity where exceptional communication and free creativity are working toward a shared goal. And maybe 1% of the time that shared goal is to present comedy for an audience much more often.
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Barry
You know, as as we've all been saying, we're improvising through every life interaction. And when people are presented with improv as something that can help them with their day to day life, they're much, much more likely to give it a shot. Very true. If they happen to enjoy the part where people laugh, that's great. They can do more of that.
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Barry
But there's so many more applications of improv that get people in the door. We were just talking to some of the out in the lobby before the podcast and they were saying There are documentary filmmaker Yeah, and they want to be prepared to speak to the press when the film goes out. Yeah. And that's why they're taking classes.
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Brian
Or interview the subjects, but.
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Barry
100%. And you know, you talk to 100 people who take an intro improv class, you'll hear at least 99 different reasons for why they're in the room.
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Brian
Oh, that's a great.
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Brian
I'm going to I'm going to steal that idea. Why should I take an improv class? I don't know. You want to be better at doing life? Yeah, you want to. You like life. You want to be better at it?
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Barry
Yeah. I tell people, that's great. You know, improv is the most accessible art form because we've been doing it since we were in Born. If we've had any conversations with any people or even, you know, nonverbal communication, we, we improvise when we decide if we're going to cross the crosswalk. When the person driving doesn't have their blinker on, they're like, we're taking in information.
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Barry
We're making educated guesses about human behavior, and then we're taking action and then we see what happens. And so hopefully.
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Michelle
We don't get hit.
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Brian
Yeah, that's right. I talk about that.
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Brian
My classes, once I use that as a metaphor where I'm just like, you know, the idea of like not centering yourself in the experience is like.
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Brian
Look, if you get, if you get, like, trapped, if you're turning left in.
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Brian
A light and you get trapped in it in the middle of the road. And so, you know, and the people are honking at you.
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Brian
You're like, I don't know, where do you want me to go? But if you're three cars back and someone else is stuck and you're like, Come on, you idiot. It's like. Like, Yeah, it's like, yeah, it's perception, man. Like, you know presume no malice is.
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Brian
Just Nichols from rise comedy in Denver always puts it best he's like presumed no malice that you know like hey, that person up there isn't just being an.
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Brian
A-hole. They're like, they're struggling with the.
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Brian
Same stuff you're struggling with. And then improv is very helpful as if nothing else. Like if someone's like, Oh, I went to the doctor and my doctor says, My blood pressure is way too high. Like, you got to get me to an improv class.
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Michelle
Yeah. Oh, we.
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Barry
Should put some fliers in doctor's office.
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Brian
Oh, yeah, yeah. They're just. We're just.
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Rob Lee
Workshopping it here, all.
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Brian
Right.
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Barry
Yeah, that's what we do all the time.
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Brian
Yeah, yeah. I was just in.
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Brian
Phenix for the Savi fest for the first annual one. Those girls run a great festival, and I met a doctor who literally a medical professional who's also an improviser. And she was like, Yeah, we're using so much of improv now to train our doctors to how to talk to patients, how to hear them and listen to them. I know every single woman listening to this one is like.
00;18;08;00 - 00;18;09;21
Brian
Yeah, it'd be great if my.
00;18;09;21 - 00;18;12;18
Brian
Doctor just didn't tell me to lose weight every time I came in with a problem.
00;18;12;19 - 00;18;18;07
Brian
Absolutely. Like ten, 10,000 times. It's like, now, can you just run this test again?
00;18;19;04 - 00;18;55;26
Rob Lee
So and so getting sort of that component around like the life skills piece. I see that. And you know, I have this this question, even this belief that I always have out there that all creative folks are just problem solvers and this is just another application or one of the other applications of that. So within the realm of improv, right, what are the aspects of, you know, that that of of being in the scene, whether it be within a team, whether it be in performance, whether it be any of the any of the parts of the scene experience, what of it brings you joy?
00;18;55;26 - 00;19;13;11
Rob Lee
And what are some of those like obstacles that are there? When I do this right, the joy for me is being able to talk to people much more talented than me, you know, I just like, Oh yeah, I want to sound like I know something. And then creative editing later, I sound like a genius. That's the payoff. That's the payoff for me.
00;19;13;22 - 00;19;24;18
Rob Lee
So what are the things that give you joy and the things that are just kind of obstacles or challenges that is like you have to use those skills to get around and circumvent. So are you.
00;19;24;20 - 00;19;49;00
Barry
Sure? The thing that brings me the most joy is teaching people who are having their very first improv experience. I tell people, you go in the span of 2 hours from I don't know what this is to this is magic, and I can't understand how anybody can do it to this is magic and I can do it. And I used to teach math, and that's a much bigger uphill climb to get people excited about the improv workshops.
00;19;49;00 - 00;20;26;09
Barry
It's literally 2 hours from I'm terrified to. I am so lit up by this entertainment and by this art form. You can't get a bigger smile on people's faces. It's a gift. Every time I get to do one of those very different point of view on the challenges. You know, it's so fascinating for for improv. Improv, which is inherently a collaborative art form, especially living in America, the amount of the American individualism that kind of poisons the business and structure around improv is, is very difficult to get through.
00;20;26;09 - 00;20;32;00
Barry
Like it's, you know, the entertainment industry that we were talking about, the grant writing industry before. I hate the podcast.
00;20;32;00 - 00;20;32;10
Michelle
I hate the.
00;20;32;10 - 00;20;33;08
Barry
Mob. There are so.
00;20;33;08 - 00;20;34;12
Michelle
Many, you know, I love you.
00;20;35;00 - 00;21;05;11
Barry
Obstacles. Yes, exactly. Put that in the grant application. There's so many obstacles that are inherent in to trying to build a creative community in a capitalistic, individualistic world in this country, that people come with a lot of baggage and trying to get to that place of community art form has a 1000 problems to solve every day. And those are the really interesting and challenging problems that I like to look at because the impact on ISS is huge if we can get that to work.
00;21;05;21 - 00;21;22;01
Rob Lee
Yeah, one of the things that I really, really get caught on, just generally the things we like talking about wrestling a little bit before we got started. The moment when I like I have a business degree, I don't have a creative degree and I kind of pursued this on my own. I've been doing podcasting for 15 years. Right.
00;21;22;16 - 00;21;43;15
Rob Lee
And one of the things that happens as soon as some business fingerprints get on something, it starts to feel really weird and it's not the thing anymore. It feels like it's sponsored by some dude in a suit and I don't like it despite having that background. Yes, it's creatively and from the entrepreneurial mindset I am blade. I can walk in both lanes.
00;21;45;01 - 00;21;48;26
Brian
Absolutely. It strikes me as the daywalker. I'm literally.
00;21;49;25 - 00;21;49;29
Rob Lee
Among.
00;21;50;03 - 00;21;53;06
Brian
The creators and the business people literally.
00;21;54;01 - 00;21;55;18
Rob Lee
Filter by and what your thoughts matter.
00;21;55;24 - 00;21;59;05
Brian
Look, I just love the idea of you in the leather.
00;21;59;05 - 00;22;00;12
Brian
And the glasses. Yes.
00;22;00;12 - 00;22;01;00
Brian
Walking.
00;22;01;10 - 00;22;03;17
Brian
Walking on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
00;22;03;17 - 00;22;04;23
Brian
Just blade.
00;22;04;25 - 00;22;05;29
Barry
Trip. Another day.
00;22;06;24 - 00;22;07;19
Brian
You get. Well, I will.
00;22;07;19 - 00;22;28;28
Brian
Say this thing if we're talking about blade, I highly recommend you find it on YouTube. One time there was a network special, I think it was on Fox about, you know, because, you know, Wesley Snipes is obviously huge into martial arts and all that kind of stuff. And so they had like masters of the martial arts and it was a big theater in front of everyone, like sort of showing off the cool thing they were going to do.
00;22;28;28 - 00;22;32;25
Brian
But he hosted it as Blade and so.
00;22;32;25 - 00;22;33;11
Brian
He was never.
00;22;33;11 - 00;22;34;08
Brian
On stage.
00;22;34;08 - 00;22;46;00
Brian
It would always like you'd see a bunch of like woosh. You guys do like a bunch of crazy stuff and then the camera would pull all the way back and Wesley Snipes into an over the shoulder of Wesley Snipes in the rafters and turning around with his glasses on.
00;22;46;19 - 00;22;52;26
Brian
And be like, Now, that's pretty impressive.
00;22;53;27 - 00;22;57;01
Brian
We'll be right back. And then, like, throws it to like a root beer commercial. Like, it.
00;22;57;01 - 00;23;01;14
Brian
Was a great horror argument. What commitment? Yeah, sort of sort of.
00;23;02;04 - 00;23;04;12
Brian
Building on what Barry said as well. Like for.
00;23;04;12 - 00;23;05;17
Brian
Me, nothing.
00;23;05;17 - 00;23;15;09
Brian
Beats watching the light bulb go over a student's head for the first time. Whether it's, you know, Oh, I'm capable of this or we're working on a particular skill or an exercise and like.
00;23;15;12 - 00;23;20;07
Brian
Oh, cause da da da da. You're like, There you go, kid. Like, yeah, that's, that's.
00;23;20;07 - 00;23;26;06
Brian
I feel like for all of us as educators, that's, that's sort of the dragon that we're chasing, you know, like inject that my veins.
00;23;26;15 - 00;23;30;07
Brian
I'd say for me, the joy of at least performing.
00;23;30;07 - 00;23;49;22
Brian
We talk about scene work and all that very early. You know, my mentor is Guy by the name out, my Ostroff and my first my first real improv team was the Happy Time Rainbow Bunny Squad. There was 11 of us. We did the deconstruction. We were all like we're all like super gung ho, passionate. We were very lucky to all find each other at the same time and want to like, do this thing.
00;23;50;27 - 00;23;55;22
Brian
But one of the one of the things that he said that always stuck with me, and that's kind of how I play.
00;23;55;22 - 00;23;58;15
Brian
I don't I like the darker stuff. I don't do it as.
00;23;58;15 - 00;24;05;06
Brian
Much as I used to do, maybe like ten, 15 years ago because like, you know, the world is a trash fire. So I'm a little bit more puppies and rainbows now.
00;24;05;06 - 00;24;07;03
Brian
When I'm on stage. But the one thing.
00;24;07;03 - 00;24;07;17
Brian
He said.
00;24;07;17 - 00;24;08;03
Brian
One of the.
00;24;08;03 - 00;24;24;27
Brian
Many, many things that he said to me early on that made me stay with it is our job is to hold up a mirror to the audience. And if they don't like what they see, that's on them. Our job is to attack middle class, white complacency. And I was like.
00;24;25;12 - 00;24;32;08
Brian
Sign me up. That's rad. And so, yeah, it's, it's over the.
00;24;32;08 - 00;24;44;07
Brian
Years, it's like learning how to, like, slip, you know, slip in the medicine with, you know, with the sugar. So I'm not just I'm not challenging people because no one no one wants to see a young white guy on stage being like racism is wrong, is like, what.
00;24;44;07 - 00;24;48;14
Brian
Have you suffered? Your privilege doesn't allow you to say that.
00;24;49;02 - 00;24;51;14
Brian
But sort of playing those characters and people like, Oh, I.
00;24;51;14 - 00;24;51;26
Brian
Hate that.
00;24;51;26 - 00;25;01;20
Brian
Guy, right? Like one of my favorite things in the world to do is to play a person I generally hate who is probably manic and awful and evil. And then and someone I know in real life and then afterwards like, Oh my.
00;25;01;20 - 00;25;02;01
Brian
God, I.
00;25;02;01 - 00;25;03;08
Brian
Hated your babysitter character.
00;25;03;12 - 00;25;08;23
Brian
Yeah, his name is Trevor. He sucks, right? I was watching the light bulb go off and then watching.
00;25;08;23 - 00;25;09;21
Brian
200 people go.
00;25;09;22 - 00;25;17;22
Brian
Boo, that person. I'm like, I know and I know them and they're awful. Thank you. I'm not like, so those are the.
00;25;17;22 - 00;25;18;10
Brian
Ones for me.
00;25;18;16 - 00;25;18;28
Rob Lee
That's great.
00;25;19;22 - 00;25;36;19
Michelle
Um hmm. Definitely. I would agree with Barry and Brian about the the watching people understand that they can be a part of this thing that we do. It's a it's a beautiful thing. Um.
00;25;37;12 - 00;25;40;00
Brian
But turn into Martha Stewart there for they know it's a good thing.
00;25;40;03 - 00;25;40;19
Michelle
It's a it's a.
00;25;40;19 - 00;25;43;19
Brian
Wonderful thing for people. I'd like to focus on myself.
00;25;45;04 - 00;26;17;05
Michelle
I have acorns now. Um, what I find joy. How I find joy out of this thing where we do is just being a good team player, man like I. I don't always initiate things. And if I do initiate, I have a set of things that I do because typically I'm like, uh, I don't know what to do, but I'm going to start something.
00;26;17;05 - 00;26;37;21
Michelle
But just being a part of a team is really important to me and being a part of something bigger than myself. So I don't always have to be the star. I don't always have to be the the main person. We all have our moments of, you know, shining but just supporting each other is what I find.
00;26;37;21 - 00;26;49;06
Brian
JOY Yeah, it's funny because I was thinking I came up with a new idea for a festival that I want to do, like just a little small three day one big old comedy festival.
00;26;49;21 - 00;26;55;15
Brian
Big B or C, they're like everything. Like day one is bits.
00;26;55;15 - 00;27;03;06
Brian
It's improv. Day two is original material, you know, scripted and stand up. And a day three is, you know, characters and clowning and chaos. Oh, my, like. So it's.
00;27;03;08 - 00;27;04;24
Brian
P.O.S. that all the food.
00;27;04;24 - 00;27;09;06
Brian
Trucks would be like burritos, cheeseburgers, oysters, like.
00;27;09;15 - 00;27;11;00
Brian
It's all. And then.
00;27;11;24 - 00;27;12;00
Michelle
You're.
00;27;12;08 - 00;27;16;14
Brian
Like, Oh, yeah, like oyster po'boys. Or you can get I mean, I mean, work with Los Angeles.
00;27;16;15 - 00;27;17;12
Brian
All right. By the ocean there.
00;27;17;12 - 00;27;20;04
Brian
Yeah, that's true. And then have it all be.
00;27;20;04 - 00;27;29;18
Brian
Branded that way. And then literally, I do not perform for the entire three days. You see me at the very end of night three and I come out like Russell Simmons, thank you for my very much for coming out.
00;27;29;18 - 00;27;35;13
Brian
Because I have it. Yes, I've been named after himself. It's part of the bit I like. I'm on it.
00;27;35;14 - 00;27;48;11
Rob Lee
I'm on the same wave of that as like. Yeah, so, you know, this is Rob Casas. Rob, first of all, you don't see me at all. Love is branding everywhere. Of course it's stickers of everywhere. But I'm not really there. And for a second I thought you were going to say just a food truck of onion rings. I was like.
00;27;48;18 - 00;27;49;25
Brian
Oh, wonderings will be there as well.
00;27;51;21 - 00;28;14;09
Rob Lee
But but also, you know, this is almost a good a very good segue way because it's almost like a real question is professionally. It's also the next question that ties into to that piece a bit. But you know, for me and it's in that vein of I'm always happy for something to exist. You know, I encounter it. I hear it all the times we're in this.
00;28;14;09 - 00;28;32;16
Rob Lee
And I've been really writing this as an educator as well, you know, as an educator as well. You know, I've been talking to my students in high school students, and I've been like really kicking out this idea of the sort of idea economy. And it's just like be protective of your ideas, but also be able to put them out there.
00;28;32;16 - 00;28;40;23
Rob Lee
Just be measured in how you're putting them out there. Because, you know, as I walk in, you know, my blade side of the business world is like they will take your ideas, they'll.
00;28;40;23 - 00;28;41;04
Michelle
Take them.
00;28;41;04 - 00;28;57;27
Rob Lee
Really have the funding to actually make them happen know. But for me, a lot of times I'm happy to see the idea come to fruition and nothing blows my mind. And like everything is a bit everything is a pun for me. Yeah. So I wanted to do a show and it's no one's done it yet, so I still want to do it.
00;28;57;27 - 00;29;00;26
Rob Lee
It's my Halloween party called New Jack o Lantern Swing.
00;29;01;24 - 00;29;04;18
Michelle
I love this so much.
00;29;04;27 - 00;29;08;10
Rob Lee
I said it on the podcast yet again so no one can take my pay.
00;29;09;05 - 00;29;09;09
Brian
For.
00;29;10;12 - 00;29;15;21
Rob Lee
It. It's just that it's just like, come with your high top fee, come with your bags, the whole thing. This is what we're doing.
00;29;15;21 - 00;29;16;27
Michelle
I see. Hammer pants.
00;29;16;27 - 00;29;32;11
Brian
Yes, I see. O is three guys dressed up like guy. Oh yeah. But also have the mask from V for Vendetta cause that's that guy's name. He did it. And they know all about that.
00;29;33;02 - 00;29;51;20
Rob Lee
And freedom is one of the things where my partner read to me, joke about it. We just look at each other and we see someone that has elements of that esthetic and we both like, what is it, the Black Lady Sketch show. That's how billboards just look better. Yeah. So right now, time for a freak neck. Being out there in the scene.
00;29;52;10 - 00;29;54;10
Brian
Of treatment doesn't exist anymore. Is that right?
00;29;54;12 - 00;29;55;16
Rob Lee
The documentary dropped this week.
00;29;55;22 - 00;29;58;03
Michelle
Oh, and yesterday I found it.
00;29;58;24 - 00;29;59;11
Brian
To be great.
00;29;59;11 - 00;30;00;12
Brian
All rib, fake neck.
00;30;00;26 - 00;30;06;10
Brian
And I was against it as a good Southern boy, like Mecha. That's good.
00;30;06;20 - 00;30;08;11
Brian
The beautiful women and the food.
00;30;08;11 - 00;30;18;08
Brian
And the music. I will, I will. I will hitchhike. Hitchhiked to you. Atlanta. Atlanta, Hotlanta. Where the players play go.
00;30;19;27 - 00;30;22;10
Brian
Please do new Jack or Leonard swing that I have.
00;30;22;10 - 00;30;24;07
Rob Lee
Please. I'm going to make it come to fruition.
00;30;24;07 - 00;30;25;10
Barry
Yeah, because whatever you need.
00;30;25;20 - 00;30;25;29
Michelle
Yeah.
00;30;25;29 - 00;30;31;08
Brian
For you to just, just go to Twitter or find Teddy Riley's DM and just be like, guys.
00;30;31;17 - 00;30;32;11
Michelle
Get this idea.
00;30;32;11 - 00;30;35;10
Brian
Tossed. Toss me what you spend on lunch a month and.
00;30;36;02 - 00;30;37;13
Brian
That that billionaire.
00;30;37;25 - 00;30;43;23
Rob Lee
I mean my my my booking and outreach has been my outreach game is strong so am I work.
00;30;44;01 - 00;30;44;17
Brian
As Justin.
00;30;44;17 - 00;30;50;29
Brian
Where from Dr. God put it best when we were putting together our movies and talking about casting and stuff, he goes, Never get into the habit of saying no for other people.
00;30;51;12 - 00;30;54;06
Brian
That's right. I don't know. That's true. Oh, she's too big of an actress.
00;30;54;06 - 00;30;55;25
Brian
This is too small of a movie for you.
00;30;55;25 - 00;30;56;25
Brian
Don't know this movie's about.
00;30;56;25 - 00;31;03;14
Brian
So maybe she grew up. Maybe she was raised by her grandmother and what some of her best memories are of showing her. Maybe you're shooting in Oklahoma City. And she was.
00;31;03;14 - 00;31;20;26
Brian
Like, did you guys know I'm from where I went to high school here? I would love an excuse to go back and hang out with my family. They're giving me. When are you guys shooting? We're shooting in May. They're giving me the key to the city in May. Exactly. Never going to happen. And that's how you get Rosario Dawson as your lead of your $5 million movie.
00;31;21;07 - 00;31;25;07
Brian
Because you never know what people are into. So absolutely never get to the habit of saying no for other people.
00;31;26;09 - 00;31;54;05
Rob Lee
So, you know, this this this question and you and I have talked about this a bit, Michel. The this this notion around sort of exploring and pushing boundaries. Right. So why is it crucial to explore, push boundaries of improv? And like what innovative like directions do you foresee in in this art form? Because again, it goes back to what we were talking about earlier, sort of the misconceptions of it's only this, it's only a very narrow idea.
00;31;54;05 - 00;32;03;29
Rob Lee
And then I think I sent you the musician who I interview cook is like, yeah, all of my beats and all of my rhymes that are completely improvised. Mm hmm. And he's a Grammy nominee.
00;32;03;29 - 00;32;04;07
Brian
Yeah.
00;32;06;02 - 00;32;10;01
Brian
He pays very little money for studio time.
00;32;10;01 - 00;32;11;27
Brian
One take. I'm out. Let's go.
00;32;11;27 - 00;32;12;22
Michelle
That's not good.
00;32;12;27 - 00;32;15;11
Brian
Yeah, it was like 45 minutes to do the whole album.
00;32;16;28 - 00;32;18;00
Brian
Yes, please start. Michel.
00;32;19;01 - 00;32;34;21
Michelle
I, I just in art artists in general, I feel like they are supposed to be pushing boundaries. I know in, in comedy right now it's, you know, cancel culture. People are scared.
00;32;34;22 - 00;32;35;11
Brian
It doesn't exist.
00;32;35;21 - 00;32;38;12
Michelle
I mean, people do it. People get canceled. A lot.
00;32;38;14 - 00;32;40;16
Brian
Doesn't exist. Louis C.K. got a Grammy this year.
00;32;40;18 - 00;33;07;14
Michelle
You know what? Everybody doesn't bounce back from that. You know, I think it's who you are, who you're connected to and things of that nature. But I agree, it's it's about who it is. But people are scared to push boundaries. But I think it's because, you know, there are certain folks in power and, you know, they don't folks don't want to mess up their chances or whatever, whatever their goals are in life.
00;33;07;14 - 00;33;12;14
Michelle
They don't want to mess those things up. But luckily, my goal is to push boundaries.
00;33;12;18 - 00;33;17;24
Brian
Yes, thank God we don't have the problem that standup comedy clubs do exactly anything.
00;33;18;00 - 00;33;22;26
Brian
Well, I'll book anybody. Yeah, I need it for the money. Yeah, I always.
00;33;22;26 - 00;33;34;08
Brian
Usually like to say to like you don't have you don't have a right to a big audience or a general audience, but you get the audience you deserve. And so a lot of those people that we say are canceled and then go around is like.
00;33;34;16 - 00;33;35;09
Brian
No, they're still there.
00;33;35;09 - 00;33;39;06
Brian
They're just in spaces that we don't know. And if nothing else, they're making more money than they ever made.
00;33;39;15 - 00;33;41;11
Brian
Yeah, you know, we talked about Clapper.
00;33;41;15 - 00;33;42;24
Brian
You guys know that concept.
00;33;43;06 - 00;33;50;03
Brian
Where it's like, if I go on stage, I'm like, trans rights are human rights. And I'm like, yeah, like, there's no joke there, right? It's not.
00;33;50;03 - 00;33;51;01
Brian
Laughter. It's clapped.
00;33;51;01 - 00;33;51;23
Brian
Her. Right.
00;33;52;08 - 00;33;57;29
Brian
And it's sort of the opposite side of that is the sort of like, here's this bigoted, hateful thing.
00;33;57;29 - 00;33;59;27
Brian
Yeah, well, you can say anything.
00;34;00;19 - 00;34;04;01
Brian
So those people are still making money. I mean, you know, Shane Gillis.
00;34;04;13 - 00;34;05;08
Michelle
The fact.
00;34;05;08 - 00;34;06;04
Brian
Yeah, yeah. There you go.
00;34;06;13 - 00;34;08;11
Michelle
You just a whole SNL.
00;34;08;11 - 00;34;11;16
Brian
Yes. Because it's on. I'll never watch that.
00;34;11;23 - 00;34;12;20
Barry
Show cycle now.
00;34;12;24 - 00;34;13;06
Brian
Yeah.
00;34;13;06 - 00;34;15;13
Brian
Never watch that show ever again and lost me forever.
00;34;15;26 - 00;34;16;18
Brian
But also like when you.
00;34;16;18 - 00;34;32;26
Brian
Have things like black leadership sketch show and Key and Peele and, you know, brought some bread and all that. It's like, you don't need SNL anymore, right? Like you can make an entire SNL cast of just the people that you passed on, like Amber Ruffin and Jordan Peele and you know, you know, all those guys. And it's just like, All right, well, then that's not my own.
00;34;33;07 - 00;34;38;25
Brian
I have the Amber Ruffin show now. Like, what do I need? That's no. Yeah. All right. I'm already part of the NBC family with my own name.
00;34;38;25 - 00;34;39;17
Brian
The show.
00;34;39;17 - 00;34;40;05
Michelle
Yeah.
00;34;40;07 - 00;34;40;21
Brian
Shout out to.
00;34;40;21 - 00;34;41;20
Brian
Amber. Lovely woman.
00;34;41;22 - 00;34;44;05
Brian
Yeah. I think for me when I go.
00;34;44;05 - 00;34;51;00
Brian
When I get up a lot right now I'm talking about evolving and pushing the work and creating change. I think that.
00;34;51;29 - 00;34;52;16
Brian
The heyday.
00;34;52;16 - 00;35;13;29
Brian
Of improv was 26 too. If I'm going to be generous, 2012. And after that the bubble burst and it's like like the light coming from a distant star. It just took a while for us to get to us. And then a silver lining of the pandemic is that it got rid of all improv and we all had to, like, you know, reassess to how my girlfriend, who was also an improviser, put it best.
00;35;13;29 - 00;35;26;07
Brian
She was like, Improv will never go away. It will always come back. It's just going to be smaller and different. And I think right now, because everything comes in cycles, I think the improv bubble is going to start filling up again about the next.
00;35;26;16 - 00;35;28;01
Brian
So you know, 26.
00;35;28;03 - 00;35;43;09
Brian
2026 is not that far away. And I think what our real issue right now, going off of something that Barry said earlier, you know, my my comedy partner, Jeff Hawkins put it best. He goes, the worst thing ever happened to him, probably someone by the word comedy behind it, because now there's an expectation for.
00;35;43;09 - 00;35;43;20
Michelle
It to be.
00;35;43;20 - 00;36;01;26
Brian
Funny. And so a lot of it now is we ask our students to push in, evolve and challenge themselves. But we're not doing the same in the institutions of like how we teach it, meeting the students where they are. A lot of it's it's always that fine line between, you know, having.
00;36;01;27 - 00;36;03;14
Brian
Institution where people.
00;36;04;08 - 00;36;14;02
Brian
Enjoy having some terra firma under their feet and knowing that, you know, what's going on in the theater is going to be there. And it's, you know, sort of, you know, it's comforting knowing that on.
00;36;14;02 - 00;36;14;16
Brian
This day I.
00;36;14;16 - 00;36;18;16
Brian
Go to this class and here's my grad show and these things and also evolution.
00;36;18;25 - 00;36;20;14
Brian
I don't think we challenge.
00;36;20;14 - 00;36;28;14
Brian
Ourselves enough is the way we ask our students to channel themselves. But like how we're teaching, where we're teaching, the different spaces we're moving out to.
00;36;28;23 - 00;36;30;15
Brian
Does it need to be you know.
00;36;30;15 - 00;36;54;02
Brian
Me and Barry were talking about this the other day, like it's hard for anyone now to say yes, I can be at I can be at this place on a Saturday from 2 to 5 for eight weeks in a row. It's just people don't have the economic freedom. They don't have the time and space for it, especially younger people who don't know a different world of having but having three side hustles and also having their own things, having a podcast or having a twitch.
00;36;54;24 - 00;37;09;15
Brian
They don't they may not live, breathe and eat improv the way that I did, you know, 5 to 6 nights a week for years on end. And then I had just sort of the proof of that as I look around, it's like, all right, the deconstruction is over 20 years old. The JT has Brown is about as old as that.
00;37;09;21 - 00;37;32;29
Brian
The Herald is even older. The improvised movie is about 20 years old. Where are the new forms and where is the new presentation aspects of wise improv? Still just people in street clothes on stage under a wash of lights? Where's the production value? Where's the sound mixing? Where's the costume designing, lighting, design, multimedia? Why are we? We're theater.
00;37;32;29 - 00;37;47;29
Brian
Why are we not using all the other stuff that has been available to theater for forever? And why do we think we're not allowed it? I hate purity test in all things, but specifically in improv, where people are like, I don't want to do a gimmick show. I don't want to do what can I just do improper improv sake?
00;37;48;17 - 00;37;50;18
Brian
And to me, some of that challenge then is like.
00;37;51;03 - 00;37;52;16
Brian
Yeah, because if you put a lot of it's.
00;37;52;16 - 00;37;58;21
Brian
Easy to walk on stage and do a montage in your street clothes, and if it doesn't go well, that's fine. Nothing ventured, never gained. You can always like, well.
00;37;58;21 - 00;37;59;09
Brian
It's just improv.
00;37;59;09 - 00;38;05;06
Brian
That's happens, you know, nothing matters. But God forbid you be passionate about an idea. Put a lot of money, time and effort into it, and then.
00;38;05;06 - 00;38;06;01
Brian
If it doesn't feel.
00;38;06;14 - 00;38;41;08
Brian
Then you're maybe not wanting to look in that mirror. Yeah. And then. But that only starts from the top. We have to as coach David Thorpe puts it, best in an NBA and college player, you know, private coach, he puts it best. Our first job is to inspire. And so if we're not doing those kind of things and asking for those kind of things, when the bubble starts filling up again, 2000, 26, 27 all the way through 2030 and improv is big again, the same way that Dungeons and Dragons is big right now with, you know, Dimension 20 and critical role and all those things, will we be prepared to take advantage of it?
00;38;41;20 - 00;38;44;15
Brian
That's, you know, this is the shit I think about late at night, guys.
00;38;45;21 - 00;38;46;10
Brian
We're not going to be thinking.
00;38;46;10 - 00;38;47;03
Brian
About important things.
00;38;47;03 - 00;38;48;29
Barry
This is what I think is important. This is important.
00;38;49;05 - 00;38;53;03
Rob Lee
I said, I see the parallels even in what I'm seeing and podcasting.
00;38;53;07 - 00;38;54;18
Brian
A man and.
00;38;54;18 - 00;39;11;11
Rob Lee
I try to be one of those. It's almost like I think about the Hanna-Barbera's thing. I don't want to be one of those watch comedians like Mad Man back in the day, man. But I feel that as a podcaster and being around as long as I have and then seeing like, Hey, you know, it's just two dudes talking, I was like, Look, that's not so I start with that.
00;39;11;18 - 00;39;33;18
Rob Lee
That's, that's not how we do this or there's an artistic side to it. And when I'm talking about I approach what I do journalistically. I watch what I do an anthropologist and I feel really weird saying it, but you get on it and when it comes down to it, the same thing with the sort of theater thing. Like it's this to say, you know, and it's like, Oh, it's not a horror film because you can easily get in there.
00;39;33;18 - 00;39;39;18
Rob Lee
It's not as rarified as a fine arts field. And I'm like, Oh boy, yeah, but are you sure?
00;39;39;26 - 00;39;40;17
Michelle
Tell me about that.
00;39;40;17 - 00;39;47;02
Rob Lee
Yeah. And I have to like to temper my exuberance around it because I'm a large black man, but I'm.
00;39;47;16 - 00;39;47;28
Michelle
Black.
00;39;49;01 - 00;40;07;23
Rob Lee
But I'm I'm very mindful of that especially, you know, this has been my most stable, creative relationship. And, you know, I wanted to be a comic artist when I was younger. That's the lane I was going in. And like I said, I've done this for a decade and a half. So it's the reps, it's the time, it's the connections, it's the conversations.
00;40;08;07 - 00;40;16;04
Rob Lee
And when someone just trivializes it and says that, oh, it's just, you know, you just talk with some people and then you turn the mic off.
00;40;16;15 - 00;40;20;21
Brian
It's like, Yeah, yeah. And that's why me, that's why most podcasts fail.
00;40;20;21 - 00;40;27;07
Brian
After ten episodes because people don't realize how much work goes into it, how much thought process. They also have picked a subject matter that they're.
00;40;27;07 - 00;40;32;13
Brian
Like, Oops, all berries. I now hate this subject. I don't want podcasts.
00;40;32;13 - 00;40;34;06
Barry
Coming out next fall. This all bury?
00;40;34;07 - 00;40;42;23
Brian
Yes I don't want to really cute. Yes. Starring starring host Lars Blackman. Yeah. So I'm always in.
00;40;42;24 - 00;40;59;20
Brian
Of someone that's done podcasts for a while because my people ask me a lot like B or C, why don't you do a podcast? I'm like, Well, it has to me, my two criteria is number one, it has to be about something that I'm super passionate about and I can talk about and never get upset because most podcasts fail before they even get to 50 episodes, much less 20.
00;41;00;07 - 00;41;06;09
Brian
And number two, I buy the entirety of my involvement has to be show up for 90 minutes to be fabulous.
00;41;06;26 - 00;41;07;10
Brian
Like I'll do a.
00;41;07;10 - 00;41;24;00
Brian
Podcast if it's like with Earwolf or Stitcher and they have a whole team of doing it. I have an editing degree. I did a podcast called Radio Free Hollywood way back in the day. In the early 2000, it was the official podcast of our West. We shot it. We recorded live at Saturday night from the bar. We'd have people.
00;41;24;07 - 00;41;24;23
Brian
Big names.
00;41;24;23 - 00;41;26;11
Brian
Walking off stage and that's how we got them.
00;41;26;18 - 00;41;27;22
Brian
To be like, Hey, hey, talk to us for a.
00;41;27;22 - 00;41;31;11
Brian
Second Chris time and talk to us for a second. You know, Keegan.
00;41;32;16 - 00;41;33;05
Brian
I did that for.
00;41;33;05 - 00;41;37;00
Brian
Two and a half years and did all the editing, all that and like never again. Yeah, never again.
00;41;37;00 - 00;41;38;08
Michelle
It's a lot of work, so.
00;41;38;08 - 00;41;41;00
Brian
I have nothing but respect for Rob. Jesus Christ.
00;41;41;00 - 00;41;41;07
Barry
Man. Yeah.
00;41;41;08 - 00;41;49;10
Rob Lee
Appreciate it. So, so, so, Barry, I want to give you a chance to chime in on that question. Are we all pushing.
00;41;49;26 - 00;41;53;25
Barry
The boundaries of what? Yeah. And, you know, Brian said a lot of the things I was I was going to say. So thank you.
00;41;55;02 - 00;41;57;02
Brian
For I have a yes.
00;41;57;02 - 00;42;28;26
Barry
Yeah, we vibe. I mean, we all vibe, but it's improv, you know, it's funny when people bring up the boundaries. Question 99 times out of 100, it's like the boundary people think of is being hateful. And there's a lot more boundaries here. There's a lot, a lot of more interesting stuff to do. And, you know, we're talking about, you know, the ebbs and flows of improv and it's it's wild how much purity there is an improv where, you know, off off conversations online, which is always a mistake, but argue with people about whether allowed to use a prop or a costume in an improper show.
00;42;28;26 - 00;42;38;06
Barry
I'm like, are you are you serious? This, this, this art form? Or we can make up anything on stage. You're going to argue with me about whether I can bring a hat on stage? Come on. Like how.
00;42;38;06 - 00;42;38;23
Brian
Many times you've.
00;42;38;23 - 00;42;40;21
Brian
Heard me say no such thing as cheating? And then there's.
00;42;40;21 - 00;42;41;26
Barry
No. That's a great that's a great way.
00;42;41;26 - 00;42;51;00
Brian
There's no such thing as cheating in improv. The only way we could be cheating is we wrote out ahead of time. Well, then it would become scripted. It would cease to be improv. So. Exactly. There's no question. If it works, it works.
00;42;51;00 - 00;43;12;16
Barry
Please continue. Yeah, well, and you know, so our organization started in September 2020 in the pandemic. And so there's this concept of like, what can improv be? We improvised that from the start. We did a thousand shows online seven days a week with people doing everything from radio plays to a adaptation of The Great Gatsby with Gritty from Philadelphia.
00;43;13;22 - 00;43;15;08
Michelle
I love I love creativity.
00;43;15;08 - 00;43;38;01
Barry
And I know, you know, there's there's there's an infinite number of things we can do. And somehow 95% of improv is a herald, which is an esoteric term that most people didn't know and is sometimes hard to understand for the average audience. And we're going to leave all that opportunity on the table. That's that's why. So a lot of a lot of what I think about is just not doing that.
00;43;38;01 - 00;43;49;21
Barry
We did a show two weeks ago. It was it was March Mayhem. It was an adaptation of March Madness for improv. It was a competition show where everybody 1022 things that don't happen enough in improv facts.
00;43;50;12 - 00;44;24;19
Rob Lee
Facts. So this is at the I guess I'll call it the two question warning, two questions like, you know, 2 minutes in sports. So the transition and we'll start back with you, Bridget. So the transition from being someone who's who's learning improv to being an improper to teaching improv, talk about like what that journey has been like. And if you would share maybe an insight that was maybe challenging for you to get as a person and learning it, and now as a teacher, it's like, Oh, no, no, you should do this.
00;44;26;15 - 00;44;42;09
Barry
Yeah, I mean, so, I mean, the first thing I'll say is any skill and teaching that skill are pretty far apart. They are not the same thing. And to be a great improv teacher, you have to first learn how to be a great teacher. And there's an incredible amount of resources on how to do that. Well, I'm fortunate.
00;44;42;09 - 00;45;02;02
Barry
I spent four years in college teaching math classes, and the core thing that I take from that is 50 people in a classroom learn 50 different ways. And, you know, if you go in and teach improv, how you learned how to do improv, you're going to miss 80% of folks. And you really have to understand how people learn.
00;45;02;03 - 00;45;26;05
Barry
You have to start using your improv skills and notice when people are zoning out or not getting things in terms of something that like I found, you know, when I was learning improv, you know, there's a huge overlap of the kind of reacting, acting skills and the creating writing skills that you have to bring together in improv and most people are naturally inclined to one or the other, but rarely both.
00;45;26;09 - 00;45;38;10
Barry
Yeah. And so for me, I'm a writer creator first. And, you know, so even something as simple as like understanding how my face looked when I was emoting was really tough for me. And I had to go home and mirror and like, Oh, that's what sad looks like.
00;45;40;01 - 00;45;41;04
Brian
Because I never that I.
00;45;41;17 - 00;45;54;26
Barry
Didn't have the muscle memory, but then I'd see other people just nailed that from the first day. And, you know, the adaptation was to just, you know, look at her in the room, figure out who's got what skills and adapt. My teaching to that need.
00;45;55;13 - 00;45;55;23
Rob Lee
Thank you.
00;45;56;05 - 00;46;19;19
Brian
Thanks. Yes. The second time you brought the math thing, which I think was always fun, I hate math, but some people are like, oh, you're saying like it sounds like you're teaching math. I was like, I hate math. I would never this is comedy truth, not comedy math after promise. I would never make you do math. I went to North Carolina School of the Arts, which is an arts conservatory for college and one of the great reasons of going there was that I had to take math or science to graduate.
00;46;20;00 - 00;46;20;09
Brian
So I.
00;46;20;09 - 00;46;24;14
Brian
Took earthquakes of volcanoes collapsing and it was.
00;46;24;14 - 00;46;40;12
Brian
Great because the teacher because all the professors who taught like the the basic classes, they were like, look, we know you're here to be a ballet dancer. We know you're here to be a DP. You don't give a shit about this. And so that guy also, so he was great, but he also sounded like Elmer Fudd. So he was like, today we're going to be watching a video about Vesuvius.
00;46;41;13 - 00;46;48;04
Brian
And I was like, Hell yeah. MAN 8 a.m. on a monday. I am watching a 75 minute.
00;46;48;04 - 00;46;49;15
Brian
Documentary about.
00;46;49;15 - 00;46;50;17
Brian
Pompeii.
00;46;51;05 - 00;46;52;08
Brian
I'm watching Know Mount.
00;46;52;13 - 00;46;54;23
Brian
And now I think Mountain Helens. And I'm like.
00;46;55;08 - 00;46;55;28
Brian
Thank you, sir.
00;46;56;20 - 00;46;57;29
Brian
So that's what I hear.
00;46;57;29 - 00;47;02;10
Brian
My other friends were like, Oh, man, this calculus is really kicking me. I'm like, Never done it.
00;47;02;20 - 00;47;10;00
Brian
Never taken it. Don't have to, but I'll teach you and never. Yeah. If Barry goes.
00;47;10;00 - 00;47;14;29
Brian
Missing, that's all. You know, my girlfriend's a prosecutor, so she'll be like, That's a statement of intent, but.
00;47;14;29 - 00;47;15;20
Brian
Don't say that.
00;47;18;06 - 00;47;22;03
Brian
She works in the awesome unit. That's great. So she was working in gangs when we met.
00;47;22;03 - 00;47;27;19
Brian
That's great suggestion is no. So the question is.
00;47;28;10 - 00;47;33;13
Brian
For me going that I knew I was going to be doing this for the rest of my life and I knew that I was passionate about it.
00;47;33;25 - 00;47;34;29
Brian
You know, Miles told me, you know.
00;47;34;29 - 00;47;39;14
Brian
You're ready to coach when someone asks. They've seen enough your work. They've seen you play on stage. And like we.
00;47;39;14 - 00;47;42;09
Brian
Have some group, you know, we all have a practice group. Do you coach?
00;47;42;14 - 00;47;51;08
Brian
And that's how you know when you're ready because they've seen enough of your stuff and they think you're good that maybe you can help them be good. All right. That's another thing Coach David Thorpe talks about with NBA players. He's like.
00;47;51;19 - 00;47;56;06
Brian
They don't care if you ever played the game. They don't care at any level, you know.
00;47;56;06 - 00;47;59;19
Brian
Or professional level. They don't care if you play in Europe. They don't care if you're a woman.
00;47;59;22 - 00;48;01;05
Brian
If you if they believe that.
00;48;01;17 - 00;48;03;21
Brian
You can help them become better in their sport.
00;48;03;21 - 00;48;04;18
Brian
They'll take your advice.
00;48;04;18 - 00;48;15;28
Brian
They'll listen to you. So the same thing with teaching is like, you know, you're ready to teach when someone lets you, right? When you throw, you know, whether it's that big or like I would love to, you know, someone sends you an email and says, hey, I've been a veteran a while.
00;48;16;07 - 00;48;16;22
Brian
I would love.
00;48;16;22 - 00;48;33;04
Brian
To be considered for Level one teaching. One of the things I love about Big in High Wire is that they do have that sort of system in place of creating new teachers and saying, Hey, if you're passionate about it, you want to do it. Go through this money where your mouth is. But also we're putting our money where our mouth is and investing in you, which I think is great.
00;48;33;13 - 00;48;48;12
Brian
And I oh, we had a thing where we had to like be shadow teachers, but like sitting in a class. Bridget Class was great to me. Dave Hill was great to me. The other guy who I won't name and embarrass, not so great to me because that's the other thing. Eric Honeycutt, if anyone gets a chance to stay with Eric Henry, I highly recommend it.
00;48;48;12 - 00;49;05;29
Brian
He's a great improv teacher, but also like a great theater director. He's one of the few people that's Steppenwolf. He's allowed to teach viewpoints, which there's not a lot of guys that are people that are allowed to do that. He put it best to me where he goes, You know, you're ready to teach when you can demonstrate the lesson without embarrassing the student.
00;49;06;19 - 00;49;18;15
Brian
And to me, that's a which goes back to that like you, you're going to miss 85, 50 different people learn in 50 different ways. It's like, yeah, it's that you're like, Oh, let me just tweak that. Let me adjust it. Here you go. And that's sort of my bar. So when people say like.
00;49;18;23 - 00;49;29;10
Brian
Yeah, I'm trying to get into teaching, I'm like, You can't demonstrate the lesson without embarrassing his student. Yeah, your ego won't allow. That's ego. Yeah. That's a big.
00;49;29;10 - 00;49;30;10
Brian
Thing with teaching is that you have.
00;49;30;10 - 00;49;32;13
Brian
To you, if you're going to teach.
00;49;32;14 - 00;49;37;21
Brian
Your ego has to be not even in the top ten of things to consider. It has to be about the student.
00;49;38;06 - 00;49;38;22
Brian
And then it comes to.
00;49;38;22 - 00;49;45;14
Brian
Directing, which I think coaching, teaching and directing are three different things and there's three different languages is a love language. Teaching is like, I love this.
00;49;45;14 - 00;49;48;07
Brian
I would love to see you more do this. I would love to see you challenge.
00;49;48;07 - 00;49;52;27
Brian
Yourself, right? Because you're the employee of the group. Teaching is you're an employee of the institution where you go like.
00;49;53;13 - 00;49;54;02
Brian
I need.
00;49;54;09 - 00;49;55;24
Brian
Like, you know, I need to see this.
00;49;55;29 - 00;49;57;19
Brian
You can hate this exercise.
00;49;57;21 - 00;50;08;06
Brian
We can just do it for the next, you know, Christopher DeJong in San Francisco, great teacher. But he goes, you don't have to like this exercise. You don't have to ever do it again. But for the next 5 minutes, I need to see you try. It's hard for you to want to be like what?
00;50;08;06 - 00;50;09;22
Brian
You ain't got 5 minutes. Yeah.
00;50;09;24 - 00;50;24;04
Brian
You can't spare 5 minutes for this. And then I promise you'll never have to do it again. And then directing is I want. We've agreed on this type of work. I want to see this. I want to do that. And the only person you know coaching is when someone asks you teaching is when someone allows you to. Directing is when you allow yourself.
00;50;24;26 - 00;50;38;07
Brian
You're the only person that you're like, I want to do this kind of improv show. No one else is doing it. I guess I'll have to do it. That means I'm the director now. Well, now you have to like do it and then be like, Nope, that's not the kind of work. And if there's someone on the cast.
00;50;38;21 - 00;50;41;19
Brian
Who is like, Well, I think we should be doing this, that's great. But that's not what I want.
00;50;42;03 - 00;50;51;21
Brian
I want this good. And if that's not the type of work you're doing, I mean, obviously be open. It's a collaborative art form, but at the end of the day, it's like if you have a vision, you have a vision. And so to me, that's kind of how it breaks up.
00;50;52;07 - 00;50;55;11
Brian
And then, you know, there's people who have been vetted like, again.
00;50;55;11 - 00;51;03;21
Brian
Go back to John Crowley was like, Oh, buddy, I could never teach. He's like, I got you know, I can't coach him, but, you know, even then he goes when people ask him to coach, he's like.
00;51;04;19 - 00;51;05;11
Brian
I've got maybe.
00;51;05;11 - 00;51;05;23
Brian
Enough for.
00;51;05;23 - 00;51;09;26
Brian
Like five rehearsals. And then after that, I don't know, I just do it.
00;51;09;26 - 00;51;19;03
Brian
So there's also this we have to keep in mind and let people know who are listening to this. You can do improv because you enjoy it and you love it. You can be a veteran, you can be respected, but there's not.
00;51;19;16 - 00;51;20;08
Brian
Becoming a.
00;51;20;08 - 00;51;22;20
Brian
Teacher is not the ultimate goal. That's not how evolution works.
00;51;23;01 - 00;51;35;13
Brian
Cats are here because cats one evolution, they're not eventually going to turn into cat. People that are bipeds and humanoids right. It your evolution.
00;51;35;13 - 00;51;38;22
Brian
Is what it is. And if you're still in improv ten years later and you're not a teacher.
00;51;39;04 - 00;51;56;19
Brian
That's not a negative. You're still here, buddy. I assure you. Just. Just like with the giraffes and the duckbill platypus and everything that one you want. All right, that's how I got him. Wow. Yeah, if all that well said.
00;51;56;19 - 00;52;40;05
Michelle
So I've been a teaching artist probably for 17 years, so I've always had this kind of nurturing thing going with anybody that's just trying to figure out how to express themselves. So my intention was to never do that. It was always to make art as a sister got to sustain her life too. But just in general, I feel like I'm always trying to build my little tool belt just like whatever I have that I can give or share with folks.
00;52;40;05 - 00;52;54;02
Michelle
I'm just trying to. Oh, I got this for you. Oh, you want to do this and this for you? So it's it's not that I'm necessarily trying to teach, but I'm also just trying to give resources and information to people.
00;52;54;07 - 00;52;59;05
Brian
What's so funny? Recently I've started talking a lot about like I see myself less as a teacher and more as a librarian.
00;52;59;16 - 00;53;02;01
Brian
What are you looking for? Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00;53;02;01 - 00;53;02;17
Michelle
Totally.
00;53;03;20 - 00;53;11;21
Brian
Like, let me go. Oh, let me take you to this section. This is what you like. Here's the book that I like. There's like nine books, and I was exactly. Oh, what are you doing? Ooh, that's a more old school comedy.
00;53;11;21 - 00;53;12;23
Brian
Follow me to the basement.
00;53;13;27 - 00;53;15;02
Michelle
Like your head. Wash your.
00;53;15;02 - 00;53;17;02
Brian
Hands. Yeah, I also have to.
00;53;17;02 - 00;53;22;02
Brian
You're like, oh, how did how did this happen? It's like, as the three of us run improv theaters, I'm like, why?
00;53;22;02 - 00;53;25;20
Brian
Why is this happening? Why is this what it was? How did we end up here?
00;53;26;03 - 00;53;26;25
Barry
We had to be.
00;53;27;04 - 00;53;27;08
Michelle
We.
00;53;27;09 - 00;53;28;13
Brian
Had every.
00;53;28;13 - 00;53;36;03
Brian
Place every place I go to, they're like the phrase and you probably, probably all of us have said it and or thought it or heard someone else say it.
00;53;37;13 - 00;53;46;21
Brian
Well, initially we just wanted to have a place to play. And then the next thing you know, they're run of the theater. You're like, Yeah, I'm doing even less playing. That's what's going to be doing this.
00;53;46;22 - 00;53;47;04
Michelle
Horrible.
00;53;47;18 - 00;53;50;25
Brian
Horrible. So it's awful. So so we're here.
00;53;50;25 - 00;53;53;12
Rob Lee
At this this final question and generally, I.
00;53;53;12 - 00;53;54;29
Brian
Kind of says you, I got nine more questions.
00;53;56;10 - 00;54;20;13
Rob Lee
Generally, I save this part because this is in the vein of shameless plugs. And this is a very, you know, sort of and I'm going to put a I'm going to frame it like this. What is next on your creative agenda in the next like a month or quarter, however you want to really frame it. But you know, over the next like sort of three months, what's like right there like popping up for you that like you're really excited about really looking forward to.
00;54;20;21 - 00;54;21;29
Rob Lee
And we start over here with you, Michel.
00;54;22;22 - 00;54;39;24
Michelle
Well, I am with a wonderful team called Cakewalk and we just started doing a new show there where it has perhaps there's costumes, there's all of the things.
00;54;39;24 - 00;54;40;06
Barry
It's so.
00;54;40;06 - 00;54;43;19
Michelle
Good and it's been.
00;54;43;19 - 00;54;46;12
Brian
Really fun. All of Baltimore. CHEERING Right. Okay.
00;54;46;29 - 00;54;47;14
Michelle
Thank you.
00;54;47;20 - 00;54;48;12
Brian
Thank you. It's Mark.
00;54;49;28 - 00;55;17;23
Michelle
Yeah, most of my team is in Minnesota right now and I'm here, but it's okay. I'm with good company, but I'm really excited to continue to explore the possibilities with that team because it's not a bunch of ego. We all just want to win together and I am so grateful that I asked to be a part of that team because I didn't have I was team.
00;55;17;23 - 00;55;26;25
Michelle
So once I started running the theater and I needed something for myself and that was where I landed. So I'm grateful for that, I think.
00;55;26;29 - 00;55;28;26
Brian
Yeah, excellent. Yeah.
00;55;29;16 - 00;55;37;10
Brian
Whenever you say, that always reminds me that there was a House Herald team that I was named Cakewalk as well. So it's just like pretty much everyone I know that was on a team called Cakewalk. I like.
00;55;38;24 - 00;55;39;06
Brian
Friends.
00;55;39;19 - 00;55;42;11
Brian
I also like team lists. I was just like, I really want Garth Brooks.
00;55;42;21 - 00;55;46;14
Brian
Team, right? Yeah. I need to make up to you. To the pros.
00;55;46;15 - 00;55;47;17
Michelle
Yes.
00;55;47;17 - 00;55;59;01
Brian
I guess for me, there's a bunch of different things like me and Barry and the rest of the highway gang have been working on. What the reason why we're talking right now, because I'm in town doing the Rust Belt tour, which is sort of.
00;56;00;09 - 00;56;01;16
Brian
When I travel, I've been to.
00;56;02;00 - 00;56;23;01
Brian
Like 150 festivals from all over the planet. I've had, you know, Mexico City, Poland. I have online students from, you know, South Africa, South Korea and New Zealand. And a lot of times when I talk to people, almost always what I hear is we would love to bring someone like you in, but we're a small community. We don't have the budget, we can't afford it in the true sense of yes.
00;56;23;01 - 00;56;23;22
Brian
And I was like.
00;56;24;16 - 00;56;26;25
Brian
Well, let's try and figure out how to solve that.
00;56;26;25 - 00;56;54;17
Brian
And so, you know, I come from a background of traveling musician and the idea, you know, I'm a big Henry Rollins fan. I have three tattoos. Two of them are Rollins related. And he talks about in his diary is his book Get in the Van, which is are his diaries from being on the road with Black Flag. And he and Greg in, who's the founder of Black Flag and City Records, which had the Minutemen and, you know, The Descendants and all of those guys, there were no punk rock clubs, right?
00;56;54;19 - 00;56;55;22
Brian
So they just.
00;56;55;29 - 00;56;59;03
Brian
Would get in the van and go play anywhere.
00;56;59;03 - 00;57;16;16
Brian
Like Black Flag was from Los Angeles. Rollins is from DC, famously him and Ian MacKaye from, you know, minor threat and all that that they saw them at the 930 Club. Right. And it's that kind of thing. Yeah. They, you know, punk rock they would pull people on stage to sing a song. He did a song with them.
00;57;17;17 - 00;57;21;22
Brian
And then later, when dedicated and wanted to move to rhythm guitar, anyone sing anymore? They reached out.
00;57;21;22 - 00;57;28;04
Brian
To a guy 3000 miles away that they had met DC said, Hey, do you want to come out to L.A. and hang out?
00;57;28;05 - 00;57;29;00
Brian
He's like, Okay.
00;57;29;00 - 00;57;30;15
Brian
Yeah, my favorite band, of course.
00;57;30;15 - 00;57;32;05
Brian
And then he stood there and was like, You want to sing?
00;57;32;05 - 00;57;40;29
Brian
Anything is like sharing. Like, Am I in my auditioning for this band right the same way? So I was like, they would get it and go anywhere.
00;57;41;00 - 00;57;47;22
Brian
The ideas that they would play in a 16 year old kids basement of his parents house. And my parents are cool, right?
00;57;47;28 - 00;57;50;27
Brian
It's like right where we play it. And then five years later, that kid's a promoter.
00;57;50;27 - 00;57;52;22
Brian
He's 21 years old. He's got a venue in.
00;57;52;22 - 00;57;54;08
Brian
Town that lets him.
00;57;54;08 - 00;57;56;15
Brian
Book stuff there. And next thing you know, they have just.
00;57;56;15 - 00;57;57;19
Brian
Carved out.
00;57;58;03 - 00;58;09;06
Brian
This punk rock club circuit that people like Green Day and Blink 182 notes. You know, and no news for a name that followed after them can play. Yeah. And so as I started doing that, Barry was the first one to be like, Hey.
00;58;09;18 - 00;58;14;24
Brian
Can I wear anything? I'm like, Oh, please, for love of God, please help me, please, to have anyone help.
00;58;14;24 - 00;58;15;16
Brian
Me do it just like this.
00;58;15;22 - 00;58;19;21
Brian
So it's that. So I, I like to keep my.
00;58;19;21 - 00;58;42;01
Brian
Finger on the pulse of what's happening globally and improv and going all these different festivals and being, you know, nice enough to like meet lucky enough to like meet people and all that. I just went through and looked at. If I didn't know, I Googled it and found the Facebook pages and all that kind of stuff. The all improv book that I gave away to everyone has like over 2100 hyperlinks of to improv and.
00;58;42;01 - 00;58;42;07
Brian
Or like.
00;58;43;28 - 00;58;47;02
Brian
Every Memorial Day, I go through it, make sure they're all working and then add a couple of sections.
00;58;47;25 - 00;58;50;05
Brian
So from I just emailed.
00;58;50;05 - 00;59;12;01
Brian
41 theaters between Rochester, New York and Green Bay, Wisconsin, and said, here's the idea. If everyone shares the cost, the biggest costs are travel and lodging. Right? I know some places cannot afford a 500 to $700 plane ticket to bring me in for a long weekend. Right. Or even they would have enough people to take the class to make it.
00;59;12;02 - 00;59;16;26
Brian
You know, I have a very small minimum, especially compared to other vets of.
00;59;17;03 - 00;59;17;28
Brian
My stature.
00;59;17;28 - 00;59;18;22
Brian
For lack of a better term.
00;59;20;06 - 00;59;22;09
Brian
What if we all share of like, I need a plane ticket to get.
00;59;22;09 - 00;59;38;12
Brian
Wherever I start in a plane ticket home from wherever I end, I'll stay in a spare room. I'll stay, you know, if you want to get a hotel room on points, whatever. I don't need the Ritz-Carlton. If someone wants to give me their spare room in exchange for taking the class, great. If someone wants to drive me to the next town in exchange for taking the class.
00;59;38;19 - 00;59;41;06
Brian
Awesome. Or, you know.
00;59;41;06 - 00;59;49;11
Brian
Rides, especially here on the East Coast, it's very easy to get a $31 train ticket from Philly to Baltimore and be like, Yeah, I'll see you in 2 hours.
00;59;49;11 - 00;59;50;07
Brian
And then sharing.
00;59;50;07 - 01;00;01;04
Brian
And spreading that cost around then makes it much, much more palatable. And that's it. We got, you know, then even this, we split it up into two months just because some of the dates worked better in the Midwest for those people.
01;00;01;13 - 01;00;03;06
Brian
And then literally.
01;00;03;15 - 01;00;28;04
Brian
Yesterday we sent out 50 emails for the what I'm calling the Northwest Passage, right where it's Northern California. So like starting in San Luis Obispo theaters from San Luis Obispo all the way up to Alberta and Edmonton, Canada. Nice, 50 different theaters, people that are sort of big veterans in that area. Same thing. We just need seven theaters to say yes out.
01;00;28;04 - 01;00;28;26
Brian
Of the 50.
01;00;29;09 - 01;00;32;17
Brian
And then we'll do that and then we'll do one. In the south. We use Southwest. And the.
01;00;32;17 - 01;00;33;04
Brian
Idea is that.
01;00;34;01 - 01;00;44;17
Brian
Myself and also high wire and I'm also on the board are very proud to be on the board. Then we have built this community, this and then people after us. It's a way for the theaters.
01;00;44;17 - 01;00;45;21
Brian
To we prove.
01;00;45;21 - 01;00;50;05
Brian
Up the concept and then I can reach out to people who are veteran names and like, Oh no, you.
01;00;50;05 - 01;00;50;21
Brian
Should do this.
01;00;50;21 - 01;00;57;00
Brian
So they're getting even bigger and better names than myself into their small communities, where normally they would not be able to do that.
01;00;57;00 - 01;00;57;13
Brian
Yeah, but.
01;00;57;13 - 01;01;11;12
Brian
Also providing opportunities for people behind me, especially for marginalized people. I think our Cynthia Carter is one of the smartest people in the world and a great improviser and a lovely human. She plays drums. She's a great photographer, loves prints. And the Muppets she wrote for.
01;01;11;12 - 01;01;12;15
Brian
Black Lady Sketch show.
01;01;12;15 - 01;01;26;27
Brian
She got you know, she got cast on that. But being able to put someone like her on that tour and then someone like Brian Philip Cruise and then someone like Becky Sanders and then someone like Jason Van Glass where you sort of you're were proving out the concept. And after that, like that's the legacy.
01;01;26;27 - 01;01;29;11
Brian
Yeah. Yeah, it's you know, if you do, you.
01;01;29;11 - 01;01;40;25
Brian
Know, I always go by heart, hustle and house in that order. If you're passionate about something and you really work hard at trying to get people to see, the house will show up, the money will come. I don't I don't remember how to say it in Gaelic, so I'll just.
01;01;41;10 - 01;01;43;24
Brian
I'll stop it there. But it's.
01;01;44;01 - 01;01;48;15
Brian
There's a there's a phrase in Gaelic that just basically translates into money comes.
01;01;49;09 - 01;01;52;14
Brian
How, how are we going to pay the rent this month? Like, it'll come from somewhere.
01;01;53;01 - 01;02;07;16
Brian
We're working hard, we're trying an opportunity that you do not know exists will come from it. I feel very. I'm making good money now. Not like life changing money, but like enough to pay my rent. Because, you know, the strikes and all that, I was like, I got to get out of this. There's going to be no work and there's still no work.
01;02;07;19 - 01;02;15;03
Brian
Yeah, everyone's complaining about that. So I try to be proactive, but the money will come later. They'll it'll someone. I'll be like, Hey, I don't know if you remember me. I took your class in.
01;02;15;03 - 01;02;18;25
Brian
Cincinnati, but would you be.
01;02;18;25 - 01;02;23;21
Brian
Interested in reading the script and directing this film? I have. I have an $8 million budget grade.
01;02;24;15 - 01;02;27;24
Brian
Yeah. So that's a sort of long.
01;02;28;15 - 01;02;31;04
Brian
The great irony is I talk too much when I do these kind of things.
01;02;31;13 - 01;02;31;19
Brian
And.
01;02;31;19 - 01;02;34;04
Brian
Then you see me play and then you see me play on an improv stage.
01;02;34;04 - 01;02;37;17
Brian
I'm like, That guy doesn't look at the same guy. Yeah.
01;02;37;28 - 01;02;39;17
Brian
So please Mary there.
01;02;39;20 - 01;02;40;24
Brian
I covered all the all.
01;02;40;25 - 01;02;44;18
Brian
I call the I cover the rust belt tourist toughness and now you can talk about something you actually care about.
01;02;44;18 - 01;03;03;05
Barry
I care deeply about that. And it's great. It's because, you know, it's interesting your frame. The question is like, what's in the next three months? And I find myself constantly thinking between the next three months and the next 30 years. And a lot of what I'm trying to do with high wire improv is at that decade level, right?
01;03;03;07 - 01;03;20;26
Barry
This is not a success. If we don't have a stable, thriving improv community in Baltimore when I'm done and gone. Yeah. And you know, I'm a I'm a fine improviser. I'm more interested in taking those improv skills to the business of improv and to pushing back against that individualism I was talking about.
01;03;20;28 - 01;03;22;20
Brian
Yeah. Where everyone see themselves aligned.
01;03;22;20 - 01;03;24;00
Brian
Never see themselves as the gazelle.
01;03;24;00 - 01;03;24;20
Barry
Exactly.
01;03;24;20 - 01;03;25;14
Brian
They all think they're just.
01;03;25;14 - 01;03;27;04
Brian
Billionaires and waiting. Yeah. Come on, man.
01;03;27;07 - 01;03;43;24
Barry
And, you know, every one of our core values is action. And we really take that to heart in terms of how we run the organization and just trying things to, you know, take shots at what's going to put us on the map and keep us there for a long time. So we got the Rust Belt tour. We're going to do a boat comedy tour in the Summer Fire.
01;03;43;25 - 01;04;10;01
Barry
Yeah, we're doing improv for people who have just moved into technical management roles and have to lead a team for the first time. And so there's all of these different things we can do, these different shots we can take to try and set a foundation that's not just people showing up for a $10 show or a $200 class and finding a sustainable business model for what I still believe should be the most ubiquitous art form in the country, because everybody can do it.
01;04;10;10 - 01;04;34;06
Barry
And yet sometimes we still get put on the ticket sites as entertainment and not art, which which frustrates me to no end. And, you know, we've seen especially post-pandemic institutions falling apart in these cities, not just in improvident theater and art, you know, overall. And seeing a company like Improv Boston that was around for 40 years, already shut down last last December, the.
01;04;34;29 - 01;04;36;00
Brian
Steel city just two days.
01;04;36;00 - 01;04;54;01
Barry
Ago. Yeah, it's happening all over the place. If we're not laying the groundwork to have buildings that we own, organizations that we control, and a sustainable business model behind this, then we're not doing a service to the community who needs this art to improve their lives. So that's what I think about it.
01;04;54;08 - 01;05;05;09
Brian
Yeah, we have that the PAC Theater in Los Angeles. The theater I'm a co-founder with along with Miles and Heather and Campbell and Eric Moneypenny and Sam Brown from the whitest kids. You know, from the beginning, we were like.
01;05;05;28 - 01;05;09;08
Brian
We are not in competition with the other improv theaters. We are.
01;05;09;08 - 01;05;10;05
Brian
A.
01;05;10;05 - 01;05;11;04
Brian
Complement.
01;05;11;10 - 01;05;14;29
Brian
The other improv theaters and I always try and push that. I always.
01;05;15;01 - 01;05;16;04
Brian
It very rarely.
01;05;16;04 - 01;05;32;05
Brian
Happens nowadays, which is great. But I always get bummed out when I hear about improv theaters that have like no compete clauses. Or if you perform here and then perform this other place, then you have to choose. And I'm like, Well, if there's three improv theaters in town and two of them say, I don't give a shit, and one of them says, You can't perform anywhere else.
01;05;32;13 - 01;05;34;17
Brian
Because what I'm doing, yeah, skin in the.
01;05;34;17 - 01;05;35;23
Brian
Game. As Kevin Dorff says, it's like.
01;05;35;23 - 01;05;41;01
Brian
I'm going to play at the two theaters, which is twice as much. Exactly, but I'm all with Barry.
01;05;41;01 - 01;05;45;21
Brian
That sort of vision that I have. But I agree 1,000% with everything he's saying.
01;05;46;03 - 01;05;46;28
Brian
I also would like.
01;05;46;28 - 01;05;54;27
Brian
To get it to the point where if they're, you know, like something like Portland has like nine improv theaters because when it's like, Oh, I want to do different improv, well, I'll just start my own theater.
01;05;54;28 - 01;05;57;07
Brian
I guess it should be so ubiquitous.
01;05;57;09 - 01;05;57;29
Barry
Ten per city.
01;05;58;00 - 01;06;14;06
Brian
Yeah, Timber City where your town is just dinner and an improv show is just what you do. Yeah, it does. I'm, I'm, I'm seeing this. And this new girl I met her on Hinge was like having good chats and stuff we're doing. What are you doing? If I. If we're going go on a first date. Where are you going to go?
01;06;14;06 - 01;06;14;21
Brian
I'm going to take her.
01;06;14;21 - 01;06;18;13
Brian
This restaurant. Oh, nice restaurant. You must really like this girl. Yeah. We're going to go to big and see a show.
01;06;19;09 - 01;06;25;02
Brian
Nice giggle like I want commercial. Yeah, right. I would love. You know, we talk.
01;06;25;02 - 01;06;39;06
Brian
About ten years from now, 30 years from now. I would love for our art form to get to the point where I never have to send a Facebook invite or Eventbrite ever again. I can just show up and I know that is going to be a standing room only show because it's just.
01;06;39;11 - 01;06;44;19
Brian
People just that's what you do. Why would you do anything else? Right. And I think it's because of that openness.
01;06;45;03 - 01;06;50;09
Brian
I think it's because of that the diversity, the community, being around cool people.
01;06;50;09 - 01;06;51;10
Brian
That you can't go watch.
01;06;51;10 - 01;07;01;24
Brian
A movie and then talk to the people that were in the movie and see them and then have them. Thank you for seeing the movie, but we can do that having been accessible, having it being available. Have it seem like.
01;07;02;03 - 01;07;04;29
Brian
That's accessible to me? There's no money up there.
01;07;04;29 - 01;07;08;06
Brian
I don't have to learn how to play guitar for 20 years like Eddie Van Halen. Before I.
01;07;08;06 - 01;07;09;03
Brian
Can start.
01;07;09;21 - 01;07;27;28
Brian
My first band, it's like, No, it's here. So that is my goal, knock on wood, that ten years from now, which is still ambitious. I would love that. I would love for 85% of the improvisers in the world to be like, we haven't seen an Eventbrite in two years. We have we we announce a show and then there's a waiting list in 24 hours.
01;07;28;11 - 01;07;42;01
Michelle
Yeah, I think this is like a conversation about change in culture because the culture is not that at this moment and just by us having this conversation where we're changing things.
01;07;42;03 - 01;07;44;14
Brian
If you want to be a gunslinger, if you want to be like, you know.
01;07;44;14 - 01;07;46;15
Brian
I want to be the best and the fastest rather.
01;07;46;16 - 01;07;50;26
Brian
Than going to standup, that's literally what it is. Yeah, right. And there's nothing there's nothing wrong with.
01;07;50;26 - 01;07;53;10
Brian
I know lots of stand ups are really good human beings, but like.
01;07;53;20 - 01;07;56;10
Brian
Yeah, it is a me against the world. Go up.
01;07;56;10 - 01;07;58;06
Brian
There, get your laughs, you work on your set.
01;07;58;06 - 01;07;59;22
Brian
Get your your take five.
01;07;59;22 - 01;08;05;05
Brian
Get on CONAN get your our hopefully some Netflix on that. There's opportunities creatively for that.
01;08;05;13 - 01;08;17;15
Brian
We're a collaborative art form like you know as build your house at the edge of the village where we start having new houses live that you want to, you know, don't kill anybody and don't steal the grain, right?
01;08;18;02 - 01;08;18;13
Michelle
We could.
01;08;18;13 - 01;08;27;10
Brian
Be together the first two steps, everything after that, we can sort of hip you to as it comes along, but like don't don't kill nobody, don't steal grain, don't steal food.
01;08;27;16 - 01;08;34;07
Rob Lee
It's a good point. Yeah. And so we're, we're here towards the end. Okay, we're ready.
01;08;34;20 - 01;08;38;26
Brian
I find it very. Just let me another. He has eight more questions.
01;08;38;26 - 01;08;47;23
Rob Lee
So there's three rapid fire questions that I have. And as I tell everyone, don't overthink these.
01;08;47;23 - 01;08;49;08
Michelle
I'm over thinking celebrities too.
01;08;49;08 - 01;08;52;29
Rob Lee
Like podcasts coming saying executive produced by Rob Lee.
01;08;53;19 - 01;08;54;00
Barry
Yes.
01;08;55;12 - 01;09;03;10
Rob Lee
So we'll start with you with you vary they will work around who are your favorite people to bounce ideas off of?
01;09;04;14 - 01;09;13;08
Barry
My wife, Kristen, who's also a co-founder of High Wire. And then anybody who wants to listen.
01;09;13;08 - 01;09;13;29
Brian
All right.
01;09;14;28 - 01;09;18;06
Brian
I guess we all have to say our spouses and significant others now.
01;09;18;25 - 01;09;19;25
Brian
Oh, we'll be assholes.
01;09;21;02 - 01;09;21;27
Michelle
I will be an asshole.
01;09;21;27 - 01;09;27;19
Brian
Yeah. No. Yeah, that's great. I, I, I bounce a lot of.
01;09;27;19 - 01;09;44;16
Brian
Ideas off of my girlfriend, Elizabeth, but also a lot of times it's just like I'm, not going to bother you. And also, it's not in a place yet where it'll make any sense to anyone but me and my crazy brain about a lot of stuff off of specifically John Conroy and Jessica Young, who are on my improv team, Big Yellow Taxi.
01;09;44;16 - 01;10;00;28
Brian
But we've been friends for almost going on 20 years now. You know, Jess and I came up through levels together. She was like one level ahead of me and IO. Our two teams did our first two teams night terrors, and the Bunny squad did tons of shows together. And, you know, we do a lot of we do a lot of gigs.
01;10;00;28 - 01;10;17;22
Brian
Just the trio of us as well. So we're constantly in cars and back and forth and doing all that stuff. Christopher George, Alex in Chicago because he does a lot of deconstruction stuff as well and he's a very good teacher at it and he's doing like new things. So we always, you know, end up talking shopping that way.
01;10;18;06 - 01;10;19;12
Brian
Obviously, Myles Strauss.
01;10;20;05 - 01;10;41;13
Brian
The old man as, we call him, I'll Come Pick Brains and you know, we go back and forth on the stuff over and over and over again. But a lot of it is this is going to sound insane. A lot of it is me. I do a lot of research. I do. I have, you know, just an atrocious amount of Google Docs and improv.
01;10;41;18 - 01;10;45;27
Brian
So like the all improv book has 2100 hyperlinks and I'm trying to get it shorter. So I was.
01;10;45;27 - 01;10;50;04
Brian
Like, All right, YouTube, you can just make a playlist. You don't have to have all these individual YouTube.
01;10;50;04 - 01;10;53;04
Brian
Links in the page. And of course, I've created a new monster for myself.
01;10;53;24 - 01;10;56;00
Brian
So adjust just enough for just in like.
01;10;56;00 - 01;11;01;29
Brian
The four months of having that YouTube playlist idea, it's over 1300 it's so.
01;11;02;25 - 01;11;06;07
Brian
It's improv examples shows TEDTalks Oh my.
01;11;06;07 - 01;11;28;17
Brian
God there's so many TED talks about improv expressly TED talks so I'm constantly thinking about this stuff at all times. And so when you ask like, who do you bounce your ideas off of? Dude, it's me. It's and it's usually in my if I'm really nerding out, I will have turned my closet into a voiceover booth and and all that kind of stuff to self tapes.
01;11;28;17 - 01;11;38;08
Brian
And they're like, I'll go in there and just watch the new. I listen to a lot of which which trap, which way. If you guys know that.
01;11;38;08 - 01;11;38;19
Brian
Music.
01;11;40;00 - 01;11;41;05
Brian
Strap in, it's fantastic.
01;11;41;05 - 01;11;42;03
Brian
And remind.
01;11;42;03 - 01;11;43;02
Brian
Me later I'll save you.
01;11;43;02 - 01;11;45;29
Brian
All that night work. It's 3000 dollar. Yeah.
01;11;46;19 - 01;11;49;10
Brian
Which trap? Which wave? You know, dark wave.
01;11;49;20 - 01;11;51;24
Barry
I got that one, but yeah.
01;11;51;24 - 01;12;09;04
Brian
And then just leave like just, you know, yesterday going to the show, that's when I came out with the idea of the B or C fest. I was like, Oh, this might be funny. But also, you know, just there's like five ideas that I shouldn't even bring up right now, a whisper of it, especially at the pack, because people are like.
01;12;09;04 - 01;12;17;09
Brian
What is that happening? I'm like, No, no. A I stepped down from my duties in 2018. Your team is fine. No one's no one's going anywhere. Right? Right. I have no power.
01;12;18;07 - 01;12;21;05
Brian
Yeah. So that's. That's just me. Sure.
01;12;21;05 - 01;12;23;10
Brian
That's healthy mentally.
01;12;24;19 - 01;12;50;28
Michelle
I would actually I would agree with you. It's like I. I bounce. So I don't even really bounce. Ideas is kind of like I know the ideas come to me for a reason, so there's no reason to bounce. Dangerous to a degree. Yeah. And then once I'm trying to execute something, then I reach out to. Okay, cool. Yeah.
01;12;51;24 - 01;13;32;27
Michelle
And most of those people are like, you know, just focus has been in my life, they could like understand me already and I don't have to, like, do a bunch of explaining about how my brain works. And those are folks my mom like family community ice family. They, they know how our brain works already folks around here my cake walk team members Thomas there all just you know creatives and they understand in they how to execute things versus like me having to explain why this is even in my brain you know.
01;13;32;27 - 01;13;43;00
Michelle
So I try to just make sure I'm talking to creative folks so it won't be as hard of a lift to get to the resolution.
01;13;43;18 - 01;13;44;19
Brian
If I may.
01;13;44;19 - 01;13;50;29
Brian
Just, for a brief moment, or if I can just add to the long history of straight, straight white men in black women want to do.
01;13;50;29 - 01;13;51;04
Michelle
Yeah.
01;13;52;05 - 01;14;00;15
Brian
With unsolicited advice. It's great. The only thing I would say is just and this is from personal experience, whatever the dog tells you to do.
01;14;00;15 - 01;14;02;06
Brian
Don't, don't do it. Don't like.
01;14;02;29 - 01;14;03;29
Michelle
I don't have dog sound.
01;14;04;16 - 01;14;07;17
Brian
Good dog shit. I'm going to tell you to get a large.
01;14;07;17 - 01;14;09;01
Brian
Handgun and just roam the streets at.
01;14;09;01 - 01;14;15;04
Brian
Night. Just don't do that. So, I mean, when you say, you know, I just I talk to myself like at my own advice, I mean, about my.
01;14;15;04 - 01;14;16;08
Barry
Kids don't talk to me.
01;14;16;08 - 01;14;19;00
Brian
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm just just throwing that out.
01;14;19;00 - 01;14;24;21
Michelle
No, thank you for that. Okay. You know, I will be alert. Yeah. Of of the dog.
01;14;24;21 - 01;14;26;04
Brian
You don't want my show.
01;14;26;09 - 01;14;27;13
Michelle
I know, I know.
01;14;27;18 - 01;14;27;29
Brian
I know.
01;14;28;12 - 01;14;29;27
Brian
He has ulterior motives. He has ulterior.
01;14;29;27 - 01;14;33;29
Rob Lee
Motives. So. So here are the last two.
01;14;33;29 - 01;14;36;07
Brian
And these words and these.
01;14;36;07 - 01;14;51;03
Rob Lee
Words are intentionally short because one of them is literally just tell me a word. All right. It was start when, Michelle, what is a word that you absolutely hate hearing? Some people like hate the word moist for some reason.
01;14;51;03 - 01;14;51;23
Brian
Oh, yes.
01;14;51;24 - 01;14;54;17
Michelle
I hate that word. I like saying it. Anyway, um.
01;14;55;25 - 01;14;57;27
Rob Lee
I throw it in here saturated. I was, I guess.
01;14;57;27 - 01;14;58;01
Brian
I'm.
01;14;58;18 - 01;15;03;26
Brian
One of my one of my pro-wrestler friends when his whole gimmick was moist for a long time. It's a great jolly moisture some.
01;15;04;00 - 01;15;07;29
Brian
Oh, it's great. It's great. It's good.
01;15;07;29 - 01;15;37;01
Michelle
I'm not. You know what? I'm not sure. But I'm sure it's one of those I hear a lot of like safe space, that conversation and like no one really has control over making everyone feel safe and just any of those phrases that everyone's using because everybody's using it. I despise those.
01;15;37;01 - 01;15;51;21
Brian
Yeah, I think for me it's the first one that came in is purity. I hate purity tests and all things, especially the improv. I hate people that make good the enemy perfect, the enemy of your good, the enemy of perfect, or however you want to say. And anyone that just like.
01;15;52;16 - 01;15;52;20
Brian
The.
01;15;52;20 - 01;16;23;04
Brian
Stridency, I mean, it's one thing of like people complain like, oh, I like I'm just trying to give an example all the same, like we should all be organic and I'm like if you snap your fingers and everyone eight organic tomorrow 2 billion people on, this planet would die. That's not how these things work. Also, like, well, I only eat, you know, I'm like, do you do understand that the corn that we eat is not demonstrably anything like the corn that naturally grew out of the ground, you know, worries and like some people hate the banana flavored gum or banana candy.
01;16;23;04 - 01;16;27;14
Brian
It's because the variety of the varieties of banana that that flavor is based on.
01;16;27;22 - 01;16;28;10
Brian
Does not.
01;16;28;10 - 01;16;34;03
Brian
Exist. And it hasn't for a hundred years. So it doesn't taste like banana to people that especially super tasters.
01;16;34;21 - 01;16;37;05
Brian
Being being collaborative and.
01;16;37;05 - 01;16;58;23
Brian
Being part of community. It requires compromise and it's specifically something we talk about the punk rock thing and there's a there's a there's a great spoken word album by Jello Biafra, who was the lead singer of the Dead Kennedys, founder of Dead Kennedys. It's called Beyond the Valley of the Gift Police. And he tells a great story. And this is like from 1993.
01;16;59;01 - 01;17;14;23
Brian
I mean, 92 is probably one of those stories that it's a double CD. It came out in 93 for CDs. And at one point, he tells a story about, you know, all these different things, talking about the politics of the day. And he goes, he goes, I'm so tired of purity tests. I'm so tired of these who were like.
01;17;15;03 - 01;17;15;18
Brian
Well.
01;17;15;29 - 01;17;17;22
Brian
I'm not going to put you in my scene.
01;17;18;21 - 01;17;26;02
Brian
Because because because you're not a vegan. Oh, no, I'm your I'm I'm not going to.
01;17;26;02 - 01;17;35;03
Brian
I'm not going to let you volunteer at my nonprofit because I don't think you're punk. And then he said this phrase and it stayed with me ever since the first time I heard it. He goes, It's much important. He goes.
01;17;35;16 - 01;17;36;22
Brian
Because of course, it's much.
01;17;36;22 - 01;17;46;25
Brian
More important to argue about who's whether Screeching Weasel or Neurosis is more punk than it means that it is important to fight. The fucking fascists in this company are taking over. And here.
01;17;46;25 - 01;17;50;10
Brian
We are 30 years later.
01;17;51;01 - 01;17;58;09
Brian
And it's like we did not listen to any of that, right? So that for me is purity. I any time I hear purity, I'm just like.
01;17;58;18 - 01;18;02;26
Brian
I don't think you understand how, like, community works. Yeah, right.
01;18;02;26 - 01;18;14;00
Brian
And in stages. And it's just the tip of the iceberg because the next thing you know, like, don't perform at my theater and the next thing you know, it's like, now you're just now you've just changed the uniform, but it's just fascism still.
01;18;14;06 - 01;18;14;15
Brian
Yeah.
01;18;14;18 - 01;18;16;19
Michelle
All right. I don't hear purity a lot. Go ahead.
01;18;17;02 - 01;18;21;25
Barry
And it happens silently. In the same vein, I get frustrated.
01;18;21;25 - 01;18;23;14
Brian
At the white man meetings all.
01;18;23;14 - 01;18;25;05
Michelle
The time, though. Oh.
01;18;25;15 - 01;18;29;25
Brian
We're required to go. We don't agree with any of this. Good.
01;18;30;00 - 01;18;32;27
Michelle
There's a song anyway. Sure.
01;18;32;27 - 01;18;34;04
Brian
It's all polka, you know.
01;18;34;04 - 01;18;43;28
Barry
It is public is great. Yeah, it is. The when people say I or me when they should be saying we are us, Al. Yeah, that really bothers me.
01;18;43;28 - 01;18;44;10
Brian
Oh, yeah.
01;18;44;17 - 01;18;46;11
Michelle
Mm hmm.
01;18;46;22 - 01;19;04;20
Rob Lee
I this is this is the last one. And you know that me I like to get to the minutia, let into the details we've got friends in here. So I'm curious about the traits of creative folks. And, you know, traveling is a piece we've all traveled to different places. So I need the city. I don't need the context.
01;19;04;20 - 01;19;12;07
Rob Lee
I just need the city and I need the food. What is your best food city experience? Yeah, we start with Uber. I start with you.
01;19;12;23 - 01;19;15;23
Barry
The first full of ramen I had on my honeymoon in Tokyo.
01;19;16;02 - 01;19;26;08
Brian
Well, that's great. Yes, we had a great bowl there that and that. Yeah. Though the great piece of advice we got, it was hundred percent true. We're like.
01;19;26;08 - 01;19;30;28
Brian
Where can we get the best bowl of ramen? And when we're in Tokyo and, my friend said.
01;19;31;08 - 01;19;31;19
Brian
Go to a.
01;19;31;19 - 01;19;35;01
Brian
Place where there's a line out the door and it's only locals, and that's the place you go.
01;19;35;13 - 01;19;38;23
Brian
Okay, the best city, best food. Does it have to be improv related or.
01;19;38;23 - 01;19;39;02
Brian
It's just.
01;19;39;08 - 01;19;40;06
Rob Lee
Yeah.
01;19;40;06 - 01;19;42;10
Brian
Cool. Where you doing improv in Tokyo.
01;19;42;11 - 01;19;45;21
Barry
The first time I ever did improv was on my honeymoon in Tokyo.
01;19;45;21 - 01;19;46;25
Brian
Hell, yeah. Really?
01;19;47;01 - 01;19;47;12
Barry
Really.
01;19;47;18 - 01;19;55;22
Brian
Wow. Chelsea's just good. I think for me, it would have to be.
01;19;55;29 - 01;20;11;02
Brian
So me and my partner, Jeff Hawkins, we went to the Philadelphia Improv Festival probably every year for like ten years in a row. And so I grew up in High Point, North Carolina, so I have kind of the best of both worlds. You know, I get all that Great Southern cooking, you know, you know, country hammered out gravy and all that kind of stuff.
01;20;11;05 - 01;20;25;18
Brian
Black eyed peas. But also my parents are from Chicago, so they were growing up a house. They would make things like pierogis and stuff like that. Any time I show up in Philadelphia, it and I see pierogies on the menu, I'm like, it's happening.
01;20;26;05 - 01;20;28;07
Brian
I've I've eaten all the local foods. I like it.
01;20;28;07 - 01;20;32;14
Brian
I just forget what it's called. It's, it's Cincinnati's version of scrapple. I just have that.
01;20;32;14 - 01;20;33;23
Brian
It's not bad and it's pretty good.
01;20;34;21 - 01;20;39;14
Brian
But it's just like when I see when I'm in Philly, I'm like, All right, let me up. There's the I'll.
01;20;39;14 - 01;20;39;21
Brian
Have the.
01;20;39;21 - 01;20;40;19
Rob Lee
Pierogies first of.
01;20;40;19 - 01;20;42;15
Brian
All they're like, Would you like em?
01;20;42;15 - 01;20;46;11
Brian
Like, yeah, that's like, yes, I would like you to boil them and I would like you to flash.
01;20;46;11 - 01;20;55;05
Brian
Fry them that way on the side of the onions and the sour cream. Yeah. Yes. We're not. We're not. We're not strangers, you and me.
01;20;56;00 - 01;20;58;29
Rob Lee
Give me your pierogies. That's great. Yeah.
01;20;58;29 - 01;21;11;08
Michelle
Um, I was in San Antonio, and there was this Asian fusion southern barbecue place.
01;21;11;13 - 01;21;12;17
Brian
Yes, Seymour.
01;21;12;24 - 01;21;26;10
Michelle
That was so good. Um, I forget the name of what I ordered, but it was like a curry dish, and it was named after one of these. One of their basketball players. I forget the.
01;21;26;10 - 01;21;27;03
Brian
Name Tim Duncan.
01;21;27;15 - 01;21;28;01
Michelle
It wasn't.
01;21;28;07 - 01;21;30;20
Brian
Manu Ginobili. It was the Tony Parker.
01;21;30;23 - 01;21;31;15
Michelle
That's what it was.
01;21;31;15 - 01;21;31;26
Brian
Yes.
01;21;32;04 - 01;21;32;28
Barry
I did not expect that.
01;21;32;28 - 01;21;40;15
Brian
Yeah. Let me get this right. This is a Texas barbecue, Asian curry, named after a Frenchman. Yeah, yeah. Copy.
01;21;40;22 - 01;21;42;00
Michelle
It was delicious.
01;21;42;08 - 01;21;42;18
Rob Lee
Tonight.
01;21;42;19 - 01;21;46;26
Brian
It has to. And we can't have all those you can't tell us together if it's not fire.
01;21;46;26 - 01;21;48;15
Michelle
And there was a lot of people there.
01;21;49;00 - 01;21;52;11
Brian
I bet. I bet, yeah. Is it right? It was right on Riverwalk. It was right on the river.
01;21;52;11 - 01;21;54;01
Michelle
I can't say. Well, I don't know where.
01;21;55;24 - 01;21;58;18
Brian
All right. I'm asking for the name, the restaurant. I just wanted to go in.
01;21;58;18 - 01;22;01;19
Michelle
And Tony said my stories, I think.
01;22;01;21 - 01;22;03;18
Barry
Easy Google with those those strike.
01;22;03;18 - 01;22;04;13
Michelle
Right. You're right.
01;22;05;04 - 01;22;05;26
Rob Lee
That's so.
01;22;05;26 - 01;22;06;06
Michelle
Good.
01;22;06;17 - 01;22;21;12
Rob Lee
That is fantastic. And thank you for our donors. The first time I actually tested that question out. So you guys. I think it was. Yeah, yeah. So all right. So what I want to do now is in these final moments is do two things. One, I want to thank all of you for coming on. Break it down. This has been great.
01;22;21;25 - 01;22;28;15
Rob Lee
And to let the folks know where to check you out, social media website, all that good stuff. Yeah, we start with you.
01;22;28;19 - 01;22;53;24
Michelle
Okay. I like I'm the managing director at the Baltimore Improv Group so you can find me at Big Improv dawg my personal Instagram is C underscore naan short for shenanigans and and I'm working on posting more so just just look me up.
01;22;55;00 - 01;23;14;11
Brian
I'll pistol up the next my little shenanigans. Hey, Fara, what's that place you go to with the cheese sticks on the bullshit? Hello. Shenanigans at the dog. Is a dog talking? Yeah, dog. The dog does have the voice of Brian Cox. Yes, I love. I love Michelle's like, I'm the manager. I'm like, Oh, yeah, a little too easy to find.
01;23;14;11 - 01;23;15;00
Brian
It sounds like.
01;23;15;01 - 01;23;17;02
Brian
Yeah, yes, I'm in currently.
01;23;17;23 - 01;23;27;19
Brian
I'm currently trying to do something went horribly wrong with my website and so I'm having to reboot it right now. So if anyone I'm not good at that. If anyone listening this wants to help me.
01;23;27;21 - 01;23;28;06
Brian
Help me.
01;23;28;06 - 01;23;45;02
Brian
Great. Help me make help me do this. Most places for social media, it's like either B3 or C, you know, the B, the number three and O, C, but honestly, this is not there's not a humblebrag or anything like that. It is just easier to just google my name strong Ryan O'Connell.
01;23;45;27 - 01;23;46;26
Brian
Ryan James O'Connell.
01;23;46;26 - 01;23;54;16
Brian
Social media. You'll get all that. I have to go by all three of my names like an asshole. Because when I joined SAG, there was already a Brian O'Connor.
01;23;54;16 - 01;23;56;08
Brian
Yeah, so don't.
01;23;56;08 - 01;24;05;05
Brian
Worry, I haven't been in second. Well, yeah. So it's just I have to go by all three names, but for SEO purposes it has been made very nice. So, you know.
01;24;05;28 - 01;24;08;28
Brian
I'm on your tour, you son of a bitch. You want me to be findable?
01;24;09;03 - 01;24;31;03
Barry
That's true. Yeah. So, co-founder and president of the board at Highwire Improv and Broadcom at Highwire Improv on all the social media that matters. If you want to hire me personally, Barry E right. I Because I am the third on LinkedIn, stronger, etc.. Thank you. And yeah, I'll take as many messages and google doc request as you've got.
01;24;31;05 - 01;24;31;29
Barry
Please reach out.
01;24;32;08 - 01;24;35;02
Brian
I didn't want to call you trips and when the family call you trip.
01;24;35;02 - 01;24;35;16
Barry
Trace.
01;24;35;16 - 01;24;46;00
Brian
Trace and that's it that's the other one. Strong white man vibes. Their name is Barry, right? The third but if he calls me Trace.
01;24;46;19 - 01;25;09;05
Rob Lee
Well, there you have it, folks. I want to again thank Barry. Right. Prepared Fridays, O'Connell and Michelle for Senate for coming on to the podcast. And I'm Rob Lee saying that this art culture community in and around your neck of the woods you've just got to look for it.
Creators and Guests
