This week’s comedy foot soldier is Comedy Nerd’s favorite Michael Hartney or as I like to call him the hardest working man in sketch comedy (Admittedly, I mostly use that in formal settings, like when the Queen is around).  Michael is a big part of the UCB sketch community and it seems like every day he is adding another project (seriously, check out his list of plugs at the bottom).

He’s simply one of the funniest guys I know and he’s got a stage presence like no else I have ever seen. I am 100% sure that he will be famous one day and I have every intention of begging him to let me ride his coattails.  Don’t miss his highly anticipated one-man show, So I Like Superman, Thursday, June 17th at 6pm at UCB.  Get tickets here before they all go away.

What’s the most important thing you learned since you started doing comedy?
Know yourself. It’s crucial on both the creative and business fronts of this business.

How did you know you were meant to be a comedian?
On March 25th, 1989, I watched my first episode of Saturday Night Live. Mary Tyler Moore was the host. Phil Hartman did this sketch called “Robot Repair”. After I had picked up all the pieces of mind that were blown all over my bedroom floor, I realized that I wanted to do exactly what I had just seen.

What’s been your brightest moment as a comedian?
Last summer, I played Sting at this UCB show called “The Greatest Concert Ever”. I got to be on stage and interact with amazing, amazing talents like Matt Besser, Horatio Sanz, and James Adomian. The fact that my bit went well was just icing on the cake.

What’s been your darkest moment as a comedian?
My first sketch group, Skeeger, did a set at Variety Underground that had zero laughs. Zero. It was the exact same set that we did at Ash Wednesday the night before, at the very same venue, which had killed. So it was a good lesson for us about rolling with punches. Wait; not zero laughs. There was one laugh. My impression of Tom Hanks murdering and burying Jon-Benet Ramsey went well. That isn’t a bit, by the way. It totally happened.

What is your favorite thing going on in comedy right now?
It’s pretty exciting that hilarious people that I know and love are finding success. Not only is it great to see, but it also makes me feel like I myself might not have to waitress for the rest of my life.

What is the scariest thing going on in comedy right now?
What passes for a comedic film these days. I haven’t seen a movie that’s truly funny from start to finish since I Love You, Man. And that came out last spring.

Who do you think is today’s most underappreciated comedian/comedy actor?
There’s a million underrated comedy geniuses, but the fact that Jason Mantzoukas isn’t a household name is especially unjust.

What’s the best advice you ever received as a comedian?
Build a life for yourself outside of comedy. Friendships, romances. A support system. A ton of success won’t matter much if there’s nobody to share it with.

What’s the worst advice you ever received as a comedian?
Move to LA.

What is your craziest show experience?
Skeeger did a show at a bar across from the Manhattan chapter of the Hell’s Angels. Our bartender, who looked like Iggy Pop’s thinner, creepier biker brother mistook a line from our sketch as an insult toward him. He started loudly threatening to kill me until I broke, explaining to him that we were just doing a sketch and that we weren’t addressing him. He promptly apologized and resumed bartending.

What is the biggest source of your comedy?
I do a lot of characters, so I draw from the behavior of the people around me. Family, co-workers, crazy people on the subway. It’s why I’m not huge on listening to my iPod. I miss too much good stuff.

How would you describe your comedy?
It’s mostly dancing.

Quick Hitters
I would like to be known for… my seven-year run on SNL.

Shoot me if I ever… become bulletproof.

I think most comedians are… straight.

The one thing I have never seen a comedian do, but would love to is… fly under his own power.

My favorite comedy bit that I was not involved in is… seasons 1 through 35 of SNL, seasons 1 through 20 of The Simpsons, seasons 1 through 9 of Seinfeld, seasons 1 through 1 of The Comeback, seasons…

My favorite comedy bit that I was involved in is… a sketch show my group Secret Hospital did called The Dinner Table. It was a hilarious sketch show, but it also had heart, and it all took place in the same world, which slowly was revealed as you watched. It just felt like a complete piece of work. And it felt more like theatre than sketch usually does, which I’m a fan of.

People often say they are attracted to a sense of humor. I think that is… true when seeking a mate, and untrue when merely seeking a place to bury your dong.

I would like to plug… my one-man show, So I Like Superman, Thursday, June 17th at 6pm at UCB. You will believe a nerd can believe a man can fly. Chris Kelly directs.

…my improv show The Gator, Tuesdays in June at 11pm at UCB

...my sketch team High Treason’s monthly show at Maude Night, Monday, June 21st at 8pm at UCB

…my monthly gay variety show, The Same Sex-Tacular, which I co-host with the incomparable John Flynn. We both play Tim Gunn and do a real design challenge and runway show during the show. It’s kind of a big deal. The next one will be sometime in July at UCB.

…Caitlin Tegart’s sketch play, Waiting For Obama, Saturday, July 3rd at 7:30pm at UCB. I play George Washington!

…these awesome web shorts I did for Lipton Brisk with Chuck Liddell:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97s4RMsiw1c

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1yRV1Oluqc

Comedy Nerds favorite Tom McCaffrey is rockin’ the mic once again with his new song Less Money, More Problems.  He’s poor with money but rich with rhymes (that sounded less lame in my head. I guess I could go back and erase it…nah.  I mean it’s true.  Tom possesses a plethora of rhymes but a dearth of cash.)  Enjoy!

In this week’s episode we welcome comedic actress and character maven Ann Carr. She talks with us about how she comes up with the characters she brings to the stage, and her new web series “The Actress”. And we get all James Lipton and ask if we can “meet” a few of these crazy folks inside her head.

Plus! Dan pitches Ann on his screenplay involving six different sizes of fat suits. A bowl of five thousand brown M&M’s. AND INSIDE JOKE ATTACK!!!!

Photo by Anya Garrett.

This week’s comedy foot soldier, Nick Turner, should be very familiar to fans of our podcast.  Nick is one of hardest working comics in NYC.  He’s got his hands in everything.  He does stand-up (hosting one of the longer running shows in the city), sketch (with a bunch of folks including me sometimes), makes online videos (for College Humor amongst many others)  and he even appeared in a promotional video with Stephen Baldwin.  Have you been a promotional video with Stephen Baldwin?  No? Then Nick Turner wins!!!!!  Nick makes everything he works on better and is comedic talent that needs to get unleashed on the world.

What’s the most important thing you learned since you started doing comedy?
Work. It’s all about the work. The harder you work, the easier it is.

How did you know you were meant to be a comedian?
I’ve been fired 12 times. What the fuck else am I gonna do? I learned pretty early on that being funny was my worth. Also, I use it to mask my insecurities. And I have a lot of insecurities.

What’s been your brightest moment as a comedian?
The 11th time I was asked to appear on The Comedy Nerds podcast. (Editor’s Note: Mine too.)

What’s been your darkest moment as a comedian?
Having to move to DC for a while cause I was so broke. DC was fine but just the fact that I wasn’t moving forward where I wanted to was tough.

What is your favorite thing going on in comedy right now?
People booking me on shows.

What is the scariest thing going on in comedy right now?
Expectations.

Who do you think is today’s most under appreciated comedian/comedy actor?
Nick Turner. Fuck the world.

What’s the best advice you ever received as a comedian?
No amount of networking will get you as far as getting better at comedy will.

What’s the worst advice you ever received as a comedian?
Bringers.

What is your craziest show experience?
I was touring w/ this play a few year ago and one of the shows ended in a mini riot where an audience member was choked out and one of the actors was repeatedly punched and kicked. Insanity.

What is the biggest source of your comedy?
My own personal poverty. If I ever become successful my act is toast.

How would you describe your comedy?
Yelly (Involves a lot of yelling. I found my voice, and it is loud)

Quick Hitters

I would like to be known for… years to come

Shoot me if I ever… shoot you w/o probable cause

I think most comedians are… not actually comedians

The one thing I have never seen a comedian do, but would love to is… Beat up a heckler

My favorite comedy bit that I was not involved in is… Happy Fun Ball. Google it.

My favorite comedy bit that I was involved in is… I’m Gonna Kill the President. Google it. (Editor’s Note: Google at your own risk.  We are not responsible if you get arrested.)

People often say they are attracted to a sense of humor. I think that is… My one saving grace.

I would like to plug… Too Cool for School. I host the Show w/ Jason Saenz every 1st and 3rd Friday of the month at Coco 66 in Greenpoint.

Ann Carr is a super talented comedic actress and she’s making a damn good web series called appropriately enough “The Actress” and I highly recommend checking it out.  I’ve seen a lot of web series type things and this is one of the best.  So many of them turn into these loud farty, quick hitty, contrived pieces of crap.   This is not that.

This is a smart, subtle, funny and kind of real look at the struggles of trying to survive as an actress in New York City.  Below is episode 2 (you can find episode one here ) and look for episode 3 coming out mid-April.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sa-4NBJbRxc

If you haven’t already experienced the brilliance that is Reggie Watts then stop it!  Reggie Watts is  funny and absurd and very unique and you need to letting him make you laugh.  Check out this video to promote his upcoming album and DVD “Why Shit So Crazy?”  But we warned it is just as not safe for work as it is awesome.

This week’s Comedy Foot Soldier, Joselyn Hughes has rocked all the big comedy scenes in the United States.  She started it all off in Chicago.  But  soon she was like, “I can go bigger” and headed to New York City.  Then she was like “I can go warmer!” and made the move out to LA.  Now she’s making tanned west coasters laugh on stage and everyone laugh online as a blogger for the Comedy Central show Tosh.0.  Plus she’s got one of the most entertaining twitter accounts out there.

What’s the most important thing you learned since you started doing comedy?
Patience. Patience. Wait for it… patience.  See what I did there?

How did you know you were meant to be a comedian?
When I started it was the first time I ever felt like I fit in anywhere. (Violins playing) It just felt right. Like that whole running in a field of flowers with a microphone kind of right.

What’s been your brightest moment as a comedian?
Every time I’m part of a great show and hanging out with everyone on it afterwards. That’s the best.

What’s been your darkest moment as a comedian?
Having to push through a bad set — in the middle, it can be dark. And in that moment, you feel like it’s the darkest. But as long as you keep going and keep your shit together, it’s always better by the end.

What is your favorite thing going on in comedy right now?
My friends doing well. That’s the best.

What is the scariest thing going on in comedy right now?
I would say I’ve seen some shitty behavior in scenes I used to be a part of. That makes my funny heart sad.

Who do you think is today’s most under-appreciated comedian/comedy actor?
There are so many. Can I say me? Then put “she laughs” in here so people don’t think I’m a dick. But honestly, there are a lot. (me) I think the point is that eventually, if you’re funny (me), you’ll get somewhere (me one more time).

What’s the best advice you ever received as a comedian?
To be patient. (See above, it’s important)

What’s the worst advice you ever received as a comedian?
Lots of bad comics have tried to give me advice, and they’re all still in the same place there were when they gave it to me. So don’t listen to jerks.

What is your craziest show experience?
I can’t tell if this should be crappy crazy or good crazy. I think standing on a bar stool in Brooklyn and screaming to everyone in it that there was actually a show going on in the back would be the crappiest crazy one. But that’s not something I’d do now. But I’m glad I did it. Yous gots to do the bads.

What is the biggest source of your comedy?
My life and what I like. (Say “she laughs” here again.)

How would you describe your comedy?
You sound like my uncle’s friends at his retirement party. I don’t know. I just try to be myself. So I’d say “Joselyn-esque.” How you like me now!? (EDITOR’S NOTE:  Are you saying I’m old with high pants and a lot of gross long nose hairs?  Because I trim my nose hairs thank you very much!)

Have you had to change anything since moving to LA?
Getting used to not getting up as much. Learning about a TV show. Experiencing this “happiness” that everyone’s been talking about. Oh, and getting all this nasty sunshine. Gross, it’s warm on my skin! Ah!

Quick Hitters

I would like to be known for… Being funny.

Shoot me if I ever… Turn into an asshole.

I think most comedians are… Great and really fun to be around.

The one thing I have never seen a comedian do, but would love to is… Solve a difficult math problem. (I wouldn’t really love to see that, but this is a weird “quick hit” question to start with, let’s be honest.) (EDITOR’S NOTE: Maybe.  Or maybe a weird “quick hit” question would be “Define truth using only the Socratic method then compare that to the plight of migrating Maine Lobster and the effects of global warming”.  I guess both can be considered a little odd.)

My favorite comedy bit that I was not involved in is… God, I love what my friends do. This is hard to pick, but let’s not be weird about it. Guys! Let’s not be weird. Am I being weird? I might be. This is too hard to pick. I’m exhausted thinking about it. Can we move on?

My favorite comedy bit that I was involved in is… The Foreign Accent Syndrome video I made with Jon Friedman… anything I made with Front Page Films or Brooke Van Poppelen (MACHO).

People often say they are attracted to a sense of humor. I think that is… Absolutely true, unless you’re a funny girl and then it gets complicated. Let’s not go there! (I snap once.)

I would like to plug… Me. Follow me on twitter, NOW. @joselynhughes. Oh, and joselynhughes.com. And Tosh.0. Watch it because Daniel Tosh is the funniest person I’ve ever met. Word is bond.

Yo kid, this we’ve got the street thug/stand-up comedian known as TMC (a.k.a. Tom McCaffrey) in the studio to bust so dope rhymes and dazzle with his flow.  God, I am so damn gangsta its crazy.

Tom teaches up the art of proper comedy rap, we discuss life on the mean streets of NYC and he drops a little freestyle on us.  Kick it!

I think the cure might be a little Seasonal Affective Disorder.  Check out the latest song done by Miss CKC (Carolyn Castiglia), TMC (Tom McCaffrey), Beena Steena (Mara Herron).*   It cures what ails you…unless it’s herpes, then go see a doctor.  Actually go see a doctor for anything medical.  Prevention and early detection are the best cure.  And then this song when used with your doctor’s recommendation for treatment will also help.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1KNAciMBL4

Shot/Directed/Edited by Anya Garrett. f/ Beatboxing by Andrew Gutterson. Recorded/Mixed by Soce the Elemental Wizard.

This week’s comedy foot solider, Katherine Bryant,  is one of my closest friends and one of the funniest women I know.  She is one hard core bad ass comedian!  She’s unafraid (but small), unapologetic (but nice), and original (without being annoying).  Plus she let me give her her nickname in college (it was and as far as I am concerned is Chuck.  Please everyone start calling her Chuck again).  That’s a bond that can never be broken.

Also, I will never forget the time we spend together in Your Mom (a sketch group we were in together a few years back).  She was great in Your Mom.  For sure she was the prettiest person ever in Your Mom.  She loved Your Mom and Your Mom loved her right back.  Is that enough Your Mom jokes?  Okay, one more.  She was with me in  Your Mom for over three years and we often talk about getting Your Mom back together to do it one more time.  Point is, she is incredibly funny and one of the most recognizable and respected forces in the NYC sketch community.

What’s the most important thing you learned since you started doing comedy?
Be active. Go see shows. Get inspired. It’s so important to see what everyone’s up to*. It’s the best way to find your own style and be part of the comedy community. In comedy, as in life, it’s about relationships and collaborations.

*Brought to you by the Joke Stealers Association.

How did you know you were meant to be a comedian?
I used to get in trouble a lot as a kid for commenting out loud on everything and everyone. When you’re “making fun” of things as a kid, you’re a smartass. But when you do it as an adult, you’re a comedian. It’s just in me.

What’s been your brightest moment as a comedian?
Some of the best moments happen off stage when you’re not even thinking about comedy. It’s the moment everyone is sitting around and one person says something that sparks an idea. Then it’s a laser storm of wit and one upmanship as everyone builds on and adds their panache and style. The idea goes through a virtual puberty becoming a fully-fledged sketch/bit. It’s magic to be part of.

What’s been your darkest moment as a comedian?
We’ve all done shows where you’re so pumped to perform the shit out of your jokes/sketches/bits only to realize that the audience consists of your boyfriend and the theatre intern. It sucks. It’s enough to make you want to drink bleach and take a forever nap.

What is your favorite thing going on in comedy right now?
Conan.

What is the scariest thing going on in comedy right now?
Conan being fired over Leno. How can that happen?

Who do you think is today’s most underappreciated comedian/comedy actor?
Conan. But just by NBC. Seriously though, that guy is so smart and amazing. The goodbye speech on his last show was so touching and down to earth. Down with cynicism!

What’s the best advice you ever received as a comedian?
“Be honest.” It’s clear when you see a comedian who is “trying” too hard or has hung their performance on a gimmick. I love when performers give you a piece of themselves and not some cooked up bullshit they thought would be funny.

What’s the worst advice you ever received as a comedian?
“Wing it.” As a sketch comedian, that’s the last thing I want to do. Fearsome is often revered for being tight and that comes from a lot of forethought and rehearsing. We take pride in preparation. I hate sloppy, lazy performances. It’s disrespectful to the people who spent energy and money coming to see your show.

What is your craziest show experience?
Fearsome once performed at a burlesque night out in Greenpoint. We followed Dizzy Swank, one of NYCs only male lumberjack-themed dancers.

What is the biggest source of your comedy?
Wigs. And sometime mustaches. But mostly my inspiration comes from the energy and imagination of the amazing comedians I get to play with.

How would you describe your comedy?
Really dry and a bit dirty. So, like dog food you find under the couch, I guess.

Quick Hitters

I would like to be known for…being someone people want to have a beer with.

Shoot me if I ever…break into your house. I’ve clearly taken up with the wrong crowd and it’s doubtful I’ll make it back to the honest life.

I think most comedians are…attention getters.

The one thing I have never seen a comedian do, but would love to is…Hey, if I knew a really great idea that no one has seen before, I wouldn’t tell you here. I would just go do it myself. Wait…are you a member of the Joke Stealers Association?

My favorite comedy bit that I was not involved in is… Eddie Izzard’s Heimlich Maneuver; Do You Have a Flag; and Cake or Death bits.

My favorite comedy bit that I was involved in is… Fearsome performed Shayna Ferm’s first song, “But Hold Me” which is funny because it sounds like we’re saying “Butthole Me.” Once at the end of the song we put fudge on our fingers and made a circular, butthole-like shape that Shay’s head popped out of. The fudge smeared all over her face. So ridiculous and classy.

People often say they are attracted to a sense of humor. I think that is…true but those people need to think more outside the box when it comes to their e-harmony profiles.

I would like to plug…
“The Worst Guy Ever” – More Info Here
Two short films created by my Film Racing team, Fast Moon Films:100 Hour Film Race: Noir & Peace – Watch Here
24 Hour Film Race: What Little Remains: – Watch Here
Sketchfest NYC, June 2010
And coming this summer…a show written by myself and the one and only Shayna Ferm.

This week’s comedy Foot Soldier is Kansas City born stand-up comedian Danny Solomon.  In just his first two years in NYC the dude is all over the place.  Where can you see him performing?  Every damn place!  He’s doing Comedy Festivals, most recently the New Orleans Comedy Festival (to raise money for Voodoo Rights).  He’s at all the big Comedy venues, like Comix and the UCB theatre.  Plus he founded the “All Cities Comedy Tournament” in 2009 and co-produced “Auld Lanxiety” with Mike Lawrence and Dan St. Germain.  Basically I’m saying he’s everywhere that comedy is.  Like Batman is with crime.  Maybe he’s Comedy Batman.  (Shhhh, don’t tell anyone about him being Comedy Batman, but now I am 100% sure that he is).  On an unrelated to his secret identity (which is Comedy Batman) note, I could listen to him talk about sex talk lady Sue Johanssen all day long.

What’s the most important thing you learned since you started doing comedy?
This is going to take a long time, and a lot of work.

How did you know you were meant to be a comedian?
When I was in kindergarten, my sister and I were in my parents’ room, and she told them a joke she’d heard, which went: “Knock knock. Who’s there? Madame. Madame who? Madame foot’s stuck in the door!” It crushed. Annihilated my parents. And I remember seeing that and getting so pissed off, because that’s what I wanted to do.

What’s been your brightest moment as a comedian?
My first show in New York, three days in, I got the coveted “Eleventh Comic” bucket spot at the late, great Kingdom of Heaven mic. I was too shell-shocked to be nervous, so I did my jokes and crushed in front of a packed house. I’ve since thrown out all that material, and have had much funnier and better sets, but that one introduced me to all the friends and awesome comics I know now, and made it so that I never really had to go to Maui Taco.

What’s been your darkest moment as a comedian?
I kinda snuck into the lineup of the New Orleans Comedy Festival, which was a hell of a fest, by telling the very generous Sean Patton (who produced it) that it was my birthday that week. I flew down at my own expense, stayed at a hostel, had a great time getting drunk with comics, and planned a fun birthday set. Everyone was killing, so I thought it would be no big deal. I got out there for my set, and opened by telling the crowd it was my birthday. Nothing. Then my first joke bombed, second joke ate it, riffing died, third joke, fourth, until finally I gave up and closed terribly. I sat in the bar room outside of the stage area and stared into nowhere for like an hour. Not only had I bombed hard, but I did so on a show I had lobbied to get on. And I’d spent hundreds of dollars to make the trip. I felt like the kid alone at Chuck E. Cheese with his sad party hat on, waiting for his friends who won’t show up.

What is your favorite thing going on in comedy right now?
The slow burn. The joke that builds up gradually and methodically, then hits you hard all at once. Also, the audiences that are patient enough to wait for it.

What is the scariest thing going on in comedy right now?
It’s a tie between people who say “too soon?” after their crappy joke bombs, and the ironic “impressions” that alt-comics do where the explanation is ten times longer and more complicated than the actual impression.

Who do you think is today’s most underappreciated comedian/comedy actor?
I wish the guys I started stand-up with in Kansas City knew who Jesse Popp was.

What’s the best advice you ever received as a comedian?
You’ve gotta be able to make changes. Your joke isn’t done unless it’s perfect, and it’s probably not.

What’s the worst advice you ever received as a comedian?
Any advice I received from a shittier comedian.

What is your craziest show experience?
At an open mic at Eastville Comedy Club I was heckled by a fellow comic, a truly shitty man who happened to be 82 years old. I responded to the heckle by unleashing a torrent of insults on him, which was extremely easy to do because he was so old. He got angry to the point that he actually came up onstage and tried to rip the microphone out of my hands using his bony, liver-spotted fingers. I was worried he might hit me, not because it would’ve hurt, but because it would have created a no-win situation that no comic could ever recover from. He didn’t, though he did pound the stool next to me to try and intimidate me. The host of the mic finally pulled him away and escorted him out, and the bit I did after he left didn’t go very well.  

What is the biggest source of your comedy?
People who are living sad, depressing lives, but still somehow act like dicks.

How would you describe your comedy?
I’m a gifted-class bully.

Quick Hitters

I would like to be known for… My humanitarian work.

Shoot me if I ever… Use the specially-made speech device attached to my motorized wheelchair to beg you to.

I think most comedians are… Badly dressed.

The one thing I have never seen a comedian do, but would love to is… Find happiness.

My favorite comedy bit that I was not involved in is… The first one I really loved, Dave Attell, “Fireworks.”

My favorite comedy bit that I was involved in is… It’s always the one the audience doesn’t really like. In my case, it’s a story I tell about the worst sleepover I ever went to.

People often say they are attracted to a sense of humor. I think that is… Half-true. The other half is you growing some balls and asking the girl out.

I would like to plug… The MacGyver Show, every other Saturday at 8pm at Legion Bar in Brooklyn. Next one is January 30th. Also, I have some videos up at rooftopcomedy.com/dannysolomon

I could listen to this week’s Comedy Foot Soldier, Ashley Ward, talk for hours.  She’s got the voice of a sweet southern bell and the mouth of a drunkin’ sailor with turrets who just got hit in the balls with a baseball bat.  She’s hands down one of the most talented improvisers in the scene as can be demonstrated by the number and quality of groups she’s in: Big Black Car, Baby Wants Candy, Taco Supreme, Wizard’s Sleeve, Best New Artist, Cragg and Ward, Married Nate and Ashley and Poopy Poopy Fart Fart.  And seriously, those are just the groups she’s with now.  If she’s not getting paid to do comedy soon I’m gonna be mad.  And you wouldn’t like me when I’m mad.  Let’s just say I get passive aggressive and sulky.  And you don’t want that!  So pay her to be funny damn it!

What’s the most important thing you learned since you started doing comedy?
To trust myself. You can have the greatest idea in the world but if you sit back and don’t use it, there’s no point.

How did you know you were meant to be a comedian?
I love to laugh and I love to make people laugh. I don’t really know that I’m meant to be a comedian, but it’s something I’ve worked at more and more for the last eight or so years and I see the progress I’ve made in terms of my work and I feel proud of it. Doing comedy has made me feel more true to myself than anything else I’ve ever done.

What’s been your brightest moment as a comedian?
I don’t know that there is a singular moment, but I think coming to the realization that I can get onstage with people I respect and admire and hold my own is really the brightest moment for me. Being able to believe in myself and put myself out there. (You should probably play something from the Remember the Titans soundtrack while reading this one).

What’s been your darkest moment as a comedian?
Getting caught up in comparing myself and my trajectory of success (or lack thereof) with other people. That really takes me to a bad place.

Ashley behind Michelle Obama's desk

What is your favorite thing going on in comedy right now?
I love that there is a lot of two person improv going on. That is so fun to do and watch. I also love all the musical stuff! I think it’s great that there are so many groups incorporating music in their shows.

What is the scariest thing going on in comedy right now?
I’m scared of that new show with the ventriloquist guy. I haven’t seen it, but I don’t like those dummies. They are scary to me. They freak me out.

Who do you think is today’s most underappreciated comedian/comedy actor?
Nate Starkey (full disclosure, my husband), Kevin Cragg, Matt Oberg (though he’s getting there), Brigid Boyle. There are way too many to name. I can’t believe these folks aren’t getting paid giant sums of cash to be funny.

What’s the best advice you ever received as a comedian?
To follow my gut and speak up. I was filming an episode of BOF (Mamrie Hart and Steve Soroka’s HILARIOUS web series) with Ali Farahakian and we were improvising a section and I kept sort of saying stuff under my breath. And he then repeated one of my lines and gave me credit and told me to speak up and let people hear what I have to say because it’s funny. That has really stuck with me over the last year and it’s advice I really took to heart.

What’s the worst advice you ever received as a comedian?
Hmm. If it was bad I probably don’t remember it. I think there was a time when people were warning me about going blue or something. I think that is valid advice to an extent, but for me it isn’t all that helpful to improvise with a bunch of restrictions on content in my head, so I don’t worry about that too much. I think it’s more applicable in writing, but again, I work better without thinking about a bunch of what I should and shouldn’t say in my head.

What is your craziest show experience?
There have been many. One was doing a sketch show for a group of RV dealership owners. We had to go up after the leader of their organization, who gave an insane, rambling 45 minute speech, that culminated with him announcing his candidacy for president of the United States (he had buttons and everything, but I think it was a joke). We were asked to write a show of office based sketches and were never told who our audience was until we got there. Apparently RV dealership owners don’t enjoy office humor. It was an epic disaster with drunken RV dealership owners and their handsome wives pouring out of the place.

What is the biggest source of your comedy?
I think my southern upbringing is a big part of it. My family, particularly my mama. Some of the names alone are comedy gold.

How would you describe your comedy?
Character driven, fact laden, bawdy (this is the 1800s, right?).

Quick Hitters

I would like to be known for… Being funny and bold and sweet at the same time.

Shoot me if I ever… Act like a cocky jerkface. Or a jerky cockface.

I think most comedians are… Looking for approval. I realize I probably just blew your mind with that statement, as there is no way anyone ever thought of that before.

The one thing I have never seen a comedian do, but would love to is… Hmm. I just thought of something the other day. For someone to recreate the big ballet scene at the end of An American in Paris and play the Gene Kelly part. I want that person to not be a trained dancer, but someone who is good at dancing (like Chris Farley, though the person doesn’t have to be overweight) and have all the other dancers be really great and professional. I really want someone to do that!

My favorite comedy bit that I was not involved in is… Man, there are so many. Welcome to my Study (Dyna Moe and Mitch Magee’s hilarious web series) is something I so admire. I would love to have been involved with that.

My favorite comedy bit that I was involved in is… Was a scene at the end of an old High Fife show (my now defunct sketch group) where we connected several sketches together at the end by all wearing white unitards with blood on the fanny while blaring Levon from a boom box (if you saw the show you would understand why this made sense). Man I loved that show.

People often say they are attracted to a sense of humor. I think that is… awesome!

I would like to plug… Big Black Car, the group I do weekly shows with at the PIT, 8 pm on Wednesdays.  My drop in improv class, Fridays 7-10 at Simple Studios.

You gotta love The Comic’s Comic Sean McCarthy.  The dudes got a crazy good comedy blog.  But is that enough for him?  Hells to the no.  Now the dude is saving lives! (Come on man, I already feel bad about my comedy blog quality, now you’re a hero?)  Check out his updates last night from the twitter.

Picture From Sean's Twitter

Spotted man passed out in the tracks on 6 line southbound at 23rd st. Alerted MTA but still had to wave down train. Phew! Too close.

Train arrived before the medics did. Thank God the conductor saw me!

Listen buddy, it’s awesome comedy blog or super hero.  You HAVE to pick one.  (and maybe I pushed that guy onto the tracks for a reason. Did you ever think of that Mr. Life Saver?  Maybe he said my jokes are good but not great and therefor deserved to die.  Feel a little silly now, huh?)

Oh, and since it happened to Sean that makes him the news and me the person reporting the news.  That means I broke the story.  Suck on that Sean.  Suck on that!!!!!!!!!!

Click Here to listen to the episode when Sean came on the podcast to talk comedy blogging.

Reports are coming out all over today that Artie Lang’s hospitalization over the weekend was the result of a suicide attempt.  And not just you run of the mill, “I’m going to take a handful of pills and fall asleep” attempt.  The dude stabbed himself nine times.  Nine times.  I know the guy has been battling demons for a while and my heart goes out to him and his family but that is a crazy way to try to end it all.  You have to have an unbelievable amount of self loathing in order to do something like that.  It’s really sad. Hopefully his friends, family and fans can help him understand all the amazing things he has in his life and how much joy he brings them.  While I have never been a huge fan of Artie my thoughts are with him today.

I couldn’t think of a more perfect person to kick off the relaunch of our Comedy Foot Soldier feature than Laura Mannino. Laura is awesome.  She’s funny. She’s smart and she’s one of the nicest people I have ever met in the comedy community. Talk to her five minutes and you feel like you’ve known her your whole life. My only problem with her is that she moved to LA. Sure it’s so she can become rich and famous (and she probably will) but still, New York needs more people like her.  I guess LA probably needs more people like her too.  All that talk of that nice stuff being said, her passive aggressive blog Affirmations For Actors is really funny (and painfully truthful sometimes. Listen Laura, I don’t need an excuse for all my afternoon drinking.  It makes the hurt go away okay).

What’s the most important thing you learned since you started doing comedy?
There’s no prescribed path and the only person you should be in competition with is yourself. I think that’s what the motivational posters at my day jobs said.

How did you know you were meant to be a comedian?
Maybe it’s when I found myself practicing Bea Arthur’s double takes and death stares as a kid. Maybe it was when I found myself laughing through scenes from ‘Night Mother in college. Maybe it’s when I realized the tragedy and crap life throws at you is a little more palatable with laughter. And when I do make someone laugh, self-conscious neuroses are briefly disabled.

What’s been your brightest moment as a comedian?
The moment when the audience and I are having fun together. I’m not thinking about how I’m doing, what my next joke is, why did I wear this shirt or why the host can’t say my last name name correctly, but really enjoying watching the audience laugh. I once did an open mic with an actual recovering crack whore. Yeah..she could use some work on her writing and timing but if she has the courage to be open and truthful in front of strangers, we all need to nut up.

What’s been your darkest moment as a comedian?
Performing my solo show to an audience that took my performance as an opportunity to text while waiting for their friend’s sketch group. It’s passive aggressive heckling. Oh, and I once did an open mic with a crack whore.

What is your favorite thing going on in comedy right now?
Women are slowly and steadily gaining equal footing in this industry and audiences, producers and bookers are listening and know women can speak a universal and relateable truth to both men and women. We’re no longer being perceived as a novelty or specialty act that’s limited to tampon and fat jokes. It’s so inspiring to see the gay comedy community and its audience exploding! It’s a matter of time when networks, cable, studios and their advertisers catch up to live audiences that are paying attention to women and gay performers.

What is the scariest thing going on in comedy right now?
With the above said, I have a little advice for the dude hosts out there. You don’t need introduce those comedians who happen to be women with “Well, we got ourselves a lady coming up.” No shit. We’re not a novelty or an exhibit at the zoo, we’re 52% of the population. You’re not introducing a black male comic as the “black guy.” It’s not the scariest thing, but it happens to annoy me. Maybe an audience chock full of bachelorette parties could be the scariest thing in comedy.

Who do you think is today’s most under-appreciated comedian/comedy actor?
I think “under-appreciated” is part of the job description for a majority of comedy jobbers out there.

What’s the best advice you ever received as a comedian?
If someone else can do your set, it’s not your set. Be the star of your own jokes.

What’s the worst advice you ever received as a comedian?
You’ll be so relaxed if you have a drink or five before your set.

What is your craziest show experience?
I once watched a show that featured a video of a guy pulling a balloon out of his asshole. The audience included two old men yelled at each other through their trach mics at the pool table and a sad sack hipster girl sat in the corner selling free range organic oatmeal cookies. I’m glad I checked the show out before trying to get booked. Oh, the balloon was deflated, so I guess it’s not the “craziest”….Oh wait! I traveled to the middle of Connecticut to do a show in a Holiday Inn ball room for a Mason’s group, The Royal Order of the Jesters. Fortunately, I was wearing jeans and not perceived as “attractive” so I was basically left alone.

What is the biggest source of your comedy?
Change.

How would you describe your comedy?
The anti-social social butterfly.

Why did you move to LA?
I moved to LA because I need a change…and a dishwasher. And I think LA really needed another out of work actor using up it’s finite water and energy.

What under do the radar comedians do you think we should know about?
So many. I’m having “I just accepted an award and need to thank everyone” anxiety. Shawn Hollenbach has been comedy buddy since day one. We’ve produced, performed and written together. Shawn really inspired me to discover and develop my voice and brand as a performer.

Quick Hitters

I would like to be known for… Spending three full hours answering interview questions.

Shoot me if I ever… Spend another three hours again answering interview questions.

I think most comedians are… are highly sensitive.

The one thing I have never seen a comedian do, but would love to is… Pull an inflated balloon out an asshole.

My favorite comedy bit that I was not involved in is… Louis CK’s meltdown on Conan about how our generation doesn’t deserve or appreciate technology.

My favorite comedy bit that I was involved in is… Will hopefully be my film I’m shooting.

People often say they are attracted to a sense of humor. I think that is… True. Particularly if the person they’re attracted to is unemployed.

I would like to plug…My short film that I wrote and will be shot this month. My blog about my life in LA, www.IStomachLA.blogspot.com and my faux advice blog for actors, www.AffirmationsForActors.blogspot.com.

Here at The Comedy Nerds compound, we’ve been snug in our beds, with vision of sugar plums dancing in various parts of our bodies, including, but not limited to, our heads. But have we got a show for you this week. We discuss the decade in stand up comedy. Learn Dustin’s ten comics that had the most impact in the last ten years. He’s pretty convincing. I’d write more, but I’m not going to lie to you, I got a warm cup of eggnog calling my name, so I’m going to leave it there and let you just listen and hear it for yourself.

Plus, find out the year we made contact (hint: It’s coming up real soon). Find out why Dustin can’t keep track of which facts he learned from unicorns. And have a HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Finally Comedy Central has done something that doesn’t make want to punch a baby (Sorry Ian, your baby was the closest).  They just gave the green light to a new Nick Swardson sketch series.

A. Always good to have other sketch show on the air.
B. Nick Swardson!
C. Nick Swardson weekly!

You may know Nick from his multiple Comedy Central Special, as a gay rollerskating prostitute on Reno 911 or if you an uber comedy nerd from Grandma’s Boy to name just some of the stuff that he’s done.  Here’s how the Comedy Central Insider explains his new series:

[the] fast paced live-action sketch show is a weekly series that centers around Swardon’s twisted comedic viewpoint. The series will include irreverent digital shorts, man-on-the-street segments and animation inspired by the internet sensation “Gay Robot,” which follows the life of a gay robot and his frat boy friends.

I could watch Nick do anything so I for one am excited.  Plus, any guy who drops 300 bucks on high fives from a monkeys is the bee’s knees in my book.

Exciting news being reported by Variety.  It looks like Comedy Nerd favorite Louis C.K. will be joining the cast of NBC’s “Parks and Recreation” for multiple episodes as a love interest to Amy Poehler.  I hate to admit it, but I think NBC owns Thursday nights again.  (Sorry for the lame play on words in the title.  I was feeling cutesy)

This week’s Comedy Foot Soldier comes straight outta Austin (Texas that is).  Topping Haggerty has been doing and directing improv since (Date not given as she would stab me in the face if I included it).  She’s performed at comedy festival in just about every city including Toronto , Miami , Chicago , San Francisco , Atlanta , Austin , Los Angeles and good ol’ NYC.  She’s also the founder of the improv group The Kihckercast Project (which I am a member of and I highly suggest you check out when we come to your town.) and an original member of The Resistance.  She’s got her own one woman show (THE: WhisperSmack) and her own music CD (Depends On How You Look At It).

Now in true improv nerd fashion she’s performing in Gnap! Theater Production’s Guilds of Steel, an improv format based on World of Warcraft.  She’s rocked the stages of every city she’s been to and now she’s taking over Austin.  If you are in the area you need to check her out.  (On a personal note she registered online to marry people and was the officiant at my wedding.  Be nice to her and she will marry you too.  Or if you are mean to her she might marry you to someone against your will.  She’s bad ass like that.)

What’s the most important thing you learned since you started doing comedy?
That getting on stage, putting words to paper, showing up for auditions, writing a song, having a product, whether good or bad is 75% of the battle. Waiting until something is perfect will get you nowhere fast.

How did you know you were meant to be a comedian?
I always thought I would be the dramatic, blood on my hands screaming at the gods, sort of actress, but I kept getting cast in comedic roles or drawn to comedic projects. Eventually I just accepted, with a little kicking and screaming, that I’m a comedian (and yes, the kicking and screaming was awkward and odd and funny to watch).

What’s been your brightest moment as a comedian?
Going to Buenos Aires to perform my one-person improv show in front of an audience that couldn’t understand anything I said and the show still managed to be entertaining.

What’s been your darkest moment as a comedian?
Chicago . One-person shows festival. 13 audience members, none of whom were there to see my show. 40 minute performance. No laughs. Basically, death warmed over on a stick. It was so painful I didn’t even want to drink afterwards.

What is your favorite thing going on in comedy right now?
I love all the online comedy sketches and mini-films available on the web. It really levels the playing field for comedians and writers who might otherwise not have had a venue to be seen or heard. Yes, there is also a lot of crappy video content out there, but with opportunity and exposure also comes the dark knell of crap.

What is the scariest thing going on in comedy right now?
The personality cults are killing new comedians. The general public is extremely resistant to going out and seeing new sketch shows, or stand-up comedians, because they are unknowns. They are not celebrities or known entities so they assume the shows will be bad. I have seen many sketch and stand-up shows, in small venues, in hard to find places, that are amazingly entertaining, clever, with polished performances, and they were full of unknowns.

Who do you think is today’s most under appreciated comedian/comedy actor?
Alas, I am bad with names, so I’m going to have to say it’s that guy, oh, wait, that chick over there is also hilarious. Dang it, I can’t just pick one!

What’s the best advice you ever received as a comedian?
Stop moving! It seems it was hard for people to listen to what I was saying on stage because I constantly fidgeted like a crack-head who desperately needed to pee.

What’s the worst advice you ever received as a comedian?
Smile more. (Ugh. Bite me!)

What is your craziest show experience?
A weekend of shows I did in San Francisco with The Kihckercast Project was overall the craziest experience. Everything was going wrong which turned out to be beautifully right. The shows were unforgettable and insane and our extracurricular activities encompassed dealing with ever disappearing food sources, dogs sleeping on pillows, missing hosts, lots of knitting, fires being started in fireplaces in 92 degree weather, acid, and a small spray bottle. It was one of those you-had-to-be-there moments in time, but if you were there you would still be painfully laughing about it.

What is the biggest source of your comedy?
Work place inter-personal dynamics and BBC news online.

How would you describe your comedy?
Dark and slightly twisted with adorable bunnies.

Quick Hitters

I would like to be known for…actually making a living using my comedic skills and having just enough memorable ‘aw naw she di-n’t’ moments in my performance career that I will still be a sought after commodity when I’m 85 years old.

Shoot me if I ever…put a gun to my head.

I think most comedians are…sensory impaired. They do not see the world in the ‘right or correct’ way they see it in a clear and more truthful way (which equals hilarious). Well, the good ones do.

The one thing I have never seen a comedian do, but would love to is…to have said comedian (who, for my purposes is powerful and trend setting) put me and several of my comedic friends in a large RV and send us off to do sketch shows in all 50 States (Hawaii will require a tramp steamer). Each town we will perform an all new show, i.e., new sketches being written in the RV as we travel from town to town and all of this amazingness and hilarity to be documented, of course, for television. And you, oh great comedian in the sky, will be given all the credit for the idea.

My favorite comedy bit that I was not involved in is…’I squish your head’. The classic Kids in the Hall sketch. I squish your head – pure, simple, ridiculous, and memorable.

My favorite comedy bit that I was involved in is…Mandy with Scrap Metal Theater. Mandy was hot yet frumpy, sad but strong, well meaning with poor timing, and an owner of her own version of an elvin bag of holding. The kind of character that ripped your heart out and made you wince, and you could not help but laugh at her pain and misery (good stuff!).

People often say they are attracted to a sense of humor. I think that is…true. A sense of humor gets a woman a lot of respect and a man a lot of women.

I would like to plug…myself www.toppinghaggerty.com

Comedian and friend of the show Jesse Popp is featured in this crazily cool slide show, story telling thing in the New York Times that makes his life seem awesome and epic and noble.

The Grey Lady Loves Jesse Popp

Here’s a bit from Jesse’s stand up that I really liked:

Wanted to hip you to an article written by friend of The Comedy Nerds, past podcast guest and extreme comedy nerd Mike Blejer for Punchline Magazine.  It’s got it all: Funny jokes.  Awesome comedy analysis. Math equations!

To this day, Mitch Hedberg is one of the most imitated comedians around. If you’ve been to more than one open mic you’ve provably seen a comic copying his style of accented, percussive speaking; sometimes good, usually terrible. I know that for my part I’ve heard a lot of comics telling bizarre one-liners they must have thought sounded Hedbergian.

But what is usually missing is the strong underlying logic that Mitch employed when constructing his jokes. And while he certainly made it seem natural and off the cuff, almost all of Mitch’s jokes were founded on a solid logical foundation.

Click here to see the rest of the article.

When it comes the indie comedy scene in NYC this week’s Comedy Foot Soldier, Tom McCaffrey, is member of the royal family, funky hats and all (see picture below) When he’s not out performing (which is virtually every night) the dude is all over Comedy Central’s programing (Premium Blend and Shorties Watching Shorties to name a few). He ‘s rocked VH1, CNN, TRU-TV and even stars in an indie comedy movie (‘Happy Life’, exec. produced by Abel Ferrara). And his full length comedy CD ‘Lou Diamond Phillips?’ was voted one of 2008′s Top 10 Comedy Albums by Punchline Magazine.  He’s got a cool relaxed vibe on stage that makes the audience feel comfortable and a sense of humor that just about everyone can relate to.  Here’s what he had to say when we sat him down for our Comedy Foot Soldier Questions:

What’s the most important thing you learned since you started doing comedy?
It’s a very slow process and you’re never done learning. Also it’s not nearly as easy as it looks.

How did you know you were meant to be a comedian?
I was very funny as a kid but I resisted doing stand up for a long time but people kept telling me I should do it. So I finally did it and after about a year people were very encouraging. Also nothing else was panning out for me in my life.

What’s been your brightest moment as a comedian?
Well I recorded a full length CD last year and released it under an indy label on Oct. 18 2008 and it got chosen by Punchline Magazine as one of the 10 Best Comedy Albums of 2008 alongside Todd Barry, Mitch Hedberg and Louis CK. That was definitely a highlight. Also one time Dave Attell told me I was funny.

What’s been your darkest moment as a comedian?
So many to choose from. One time a drunk guy in a bar flicked a lit cigarette at me onstage. The worst part is that that is like the 7th worst comedy experience I’ve had. One time I did a show in Huntington Beach, CA and I had been doing comedy like maybe a year and a half. It was in a nightclub during happy hour and no one there was expecting a show. I literally got heckled after my first sentence. I then got everyone in the club to hate me and want to fight me in less than 6 minutes. I left the place and everyone was staring at me. It was a strange experience to have an entire club full of people hate you. I almost quit comedy that night. I remember sitting in my car listening to angry rap music feeling like I had experienced something most people in the world will never experience.

What is your favorite thing going on in comedy right now?
I think there are so many things. I don’t have one favorite. Great stand-ups, great films, great online vids.

What is the scariest thing going on in comedy right now?
Scariest? The ‘Scary Movie’ franchise I guess.

Who do you think is today’s most underappreciated comedian/comedy actor?
I think Todd Barry is underrated. I know he’s successful but I feel like people take his comedy skill for granted. I also think Will Arnett is hilarious. I don’t know if he’s underrated but he’s unbelievably funny.

What’s the best advice you ever received as a comedian?
I haven’t been given a lot of advice to be honest. I feel like most people aren’t going out of their way to help other comics. One time a guy told me to be more personal. I guess that was good advice but I feel like it’s hard to give advice in comedy. You sort of have to find your own way.

What’s the worst advice you ever received as a comedian?
Someone told me I had to develop a better character onstage. That was pretty fucking insane.

What is your craziest show experience?
I described it in the earlier question when I talked about Huntington Beach, CA. That show still haunts me. A close second is when I was doing a college and a woman in the audience yelled at me that she was a comedian and that I was too dirty and that she was funnier. I then asked someone to get another mic and give it to her so that we could battle. Someone handed her a mic and she of course had nothing to say.

What is the biggest source of your comedy?
Stupid people in the world. Luckily there are many out there.

How would you describe your comedy?
Hilariously brilliant and modest.

Quick Hitters

I would like to be known for…my originality and integrity.

Shoot me if I ever…try to shoot you.

I think most comedians are…egomaniacs.

The one thing I have never seen a comedian do, but would love to is…Nothing. I have seen it all.

My favorite comedy bit that I was not involved in is…Paul F. Tompkins’ Peanut Brittle snakes in a can bit. Just brilliant.

My favorite comedy bit that I was involved in is…my joke about the movie ‘Mask’. It always makes me laugh. Just brilliant. Also the rap vid I made with Carolyn Castiglia called ‘How to Rob Comics’. I got to pull a gun on Janeane Garofalo.

People often say they are attracted to a sense of humor. I think that is…True, yet not as true as people think it is.

I would like to plug…MY CD ‘Lou Diamond Phillips?‘ And the indy movie I star in called ‘Happy Life’.

When it comes to improv this week’s Comedy Foot Soldier is a pro.  So much so that he’s on an improv team called The Faculty (get it, faculty…pro..he gets paid…think about it, it works).  Chris Grace is a stand-up comic, improviser, podcaster and improv teacher.  The dude loves doin’ comedy and he’s damn good at it too. You can catch him every Wednesday doin’ his improv thang at The Peoples Improv Theater in NYC where he also started the theater’s open mic.   And much like us, he is a self-proclaimed comedy nerd.  Here’s what he had to say when we sat him down for our Comedy Foot Solider questions:

What’s the most important thing you learned since you started doing comedy?

That persistence is more important than talent, and talent might not exist at all.

How did you know you were meant to be a comedian?

I went to a thing called Boys State in Texas, it was like a mock government. I ran for “Governor” and put a bunch of jokes in my campaign speech. I killed at the convention but lost the election.

What’s been your brightest moment as a comedian?

Performing improv with my former team Fancy Dragon, with special guest Fred Willard.

What’s been your darkest moment as a comedian?

The year and a half when I quit standup and any performing to work a day job.

What is your favorite thing going on in comedy right now?

The fact that the next big thing that makes you laugh uncontrollably could come from anywhere, from anyone.

What is the scariest thing going on in comedy right now?

That people like Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey are allowed to be in movies that are supposed to be funny. And sometimes at the same time.

Who do you think is today’s most underappreciated comedian/comedy actor?

AD Miles. I think he’s a strong actor and hilarious. He’s the head writer on Jimmy Fallon and that’s the main reason I’ve kept up with that show.

What’s the best advice you ever received as a comedian?

If you want to work on great stuff, surround yourself with people that also want to work on great stuff.

What’s the worst advice you ever received as a comedian?

You have to be suspicious and assume the worst of everyone you meet in comedy.

What is your craziest show experience?

Performing standup at a lesbian bar for Brooklyn Gay Pride. My first professional gig (I got paid twenty bucks). I bombed as the audience responded to my punchlines first with silence, and then questions (“What does that mean? Why would he say that?”). The whole back of the bar was talking and not paying attention. Then after me a performance artist/poet got up and the emcee of the show got the entire bar to be quiet while the poet performed her prayerpoem. The emcee even shushed me as she shoved the twenty in my hand and glared. After this gig I quit for almost two years (see “darkest moment”).

What is the biggest source of your comedy?

My restless brain and the fears it holds inside.

How would you describe your comedy?

Smart, goofy, and racially and sexually charged. I make rooms thick with erotic tension (primarily my own).

Quick Hitters

I would like to be known for… being funny and honest, and honestly funny.

Shoot me if I ever… get plastic surgery.

I think most comedians are… more professional, hardworking, and supportive than other kinds of performers, despite all the drinking.

The one thing I have never seen a comedian do, but would love to is… break down a long standup set and discuss the writing process behind each joke.

My favorite comedy bit that I was not involved in is… “The Audition” from Mr Show. The perfectest sketch ever written.

My favorite comedy bit that I was involved in is… Leaving aside probably hundreds of great longform improv moments, none of which would make any sense, I loved playing Ernest Yen in Yang Miller’s “Video Shmideo“.

People often say they are attracted to a sense of humor. I think that is… so true it hurts me in the gut. It’s deflating and awkward to check out your latest crush’s comedy show and walk away disappointed.

I would like to plug… my website, chris-grace.com, featuring my Twitter, vlog, email newsletter, and yes, podcast. My podcast has half as many regular hosts as The Comedy Nerds, and accordingly is, at most, half as entertaining.

This week’s Comedy Foot Soldier, Carolyn Castiglia, is not only a stand-up comedian but a freestyle rap star.  Her list of TV credits are crazy.  Check it:  VH1, MTV2, NBC’s Last Comic Standing, Nick-at-Nite’s Funniest Mom in America 3, The Maury Show, ABC World News with Charles Gibson plus you may very well have heard her on Sirius/XM Radio.  And if you are in the New York Area she has kicked ass at pretty much every club and alternative room there is and was the host of the long running Chicks and Giggles show. And if you is the readin’ type, Carolyn’s jokes have been printed in over 50 issues of Life & Style magazine in the Style Slip-Ups section as well as the book, “The Idiot’s Guide to Jokes.”  Her writing has been featured in Time Out New York (Joke of the Week) and the New York Post’s, “KILLER JOKES.”  She’s also a contributor to The Huffington Post and The Apiary.

As if that wasn’t enough her solo show, BROWN AMBITION, about growing up in Oswego, NY and moving to Harlem USA, premiered at Ars Nova theatre in February.  And oh yeah I forgot to mention that she’s also a single mom.  Wow.  Just wow.  I’ve seen her perform for years and the energy she brings to the stage is amazing.  You can’t help be drawn in.  She’s fearless and funny and she makes sure everyone at the show has a good time.  Also, this chick can freestyle y’all.  For serious.  Just last week she won a freestlye rap battle at the UCB theater in NYC.  And everyone knows that the UCB is New York’s 8 Mile, so much respect to my lady Carolyn.  Here’s what she had to say when we sat her down to answer our Comedy Foot Soldier questions:

What’s the most important thing you learned since you started doing comedy?
That in the time it takes to update one’s gig calendar on MySpace, a one year old baby can suck the heads off an entire pack of matches.  Turns out, according to Poison Control, eating matches is perfectly harmless, and may help in quitting smoking.

photo by anya garrett

What’s the best advice you ever received as a comedian?

Oh, thanks!  Well, you know, I’ve heard that before and I can only say I’m glad that’s how it appears.  I’m of the “be afraid but do it anyway” school.  It’s not that I’m fearless, it’s that I’m brave.  I think that’s what Lucille Ball meant when she said, “I’m not funny.  I’m brave.”  Of course she was funny.  But what made her funny was her bravery.  Her willingness to be a fool.  I decided long ago I may as well be willing to be a fool, because I am one whether I like it or not.  It’s more fun to be in on the joke.

Photo by Anya Garrett

QUICK HITTERS

I would like to be known for… my quick wit and big ass heart.

Shoot me if I ever… stop being in on the joke.

I think most comedians are… funny.  I love watching other comics.

My favorite comedy bit that I was involved in is… my marriage.

Check out this awesome video done by comedians Tom McCaffery and Carolyn Castiglia.  Most music videos done all indy style are just awful, but this is done really well.  It’s funny and it’s got all your New York comedy scene favorites.  (p.s.  My favorite part is John Mulaney fake talking while he is being robbed.  Second favorite, Aisha Tyler just not having it.)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHEfhimdgUc

For this week’s Comedy Foot Soldier we head out to the west coast to meet improv goddess Shaun Landry.  She has been an unstoppable force in the San Francisco comedy scene for years and a mainstay at every improv festival out there. This week she is making the big move to LA so if you are out there be on the look out.    I had the pleasure of meeting her when I did the San Francisco Improv Festival and I can tell you that her energy and excitement are infectious (insert awkward STD joke here).  I am confident that LA will he thrilled to have her.  Here is what she had to say when we sat her down to answer our Comedy Foot Soldier questions:

What’s the most important thing you learned since you started doing comedy?
If you hear nothing but glass tinkling and coughing? You are sucking. I also learned that you can take just about any backroom and make it into an improvisational theater/standup club. Serious. Walk into any place (supermarket, parking garage) and imagine it with a stage in there. I also learned simple things: Show up on time the gig. Show up sober. Be ready. If it is standup, be nice and try to memorize your stuff and leave you tattered comedy notebook behind. If it is improv? Be prepared to do anything.

How did you know you were meant to be a comedian?
The moment I realized I could get out of Whoppings by making my mother laugh.

What’s been your brightest moment as a comedian?
There have been many, but I’m always proud of anything I have ever done with Oui Be Negroes. (both improv and Sketch)

What’s been your darkest moment as a comedian?
Showing up to a gig with another standup comedian (That they booked) at a university and NO ONE KNEW we were even supposed to be there (as the gig was booked by the seniors the year before). Seeing kids scurrying along to dorm rooms to try to raise kids was pretty pathetic. Hey. They paid us. and that alone was sort of fucking sad.

What is your favorite thing going on in comedy right now?
Social and political satirist and comedians trying to figure out how the hell to make fun of Obama without being called out by Al Sharpton

What is the scariest thing going on in comedy right now?
Social and political satirist and comedians trying to figure out how the hell to make fun of Obama without being called out by Al Sharpton

Who do you think is today’s most underappreciated comedian/comedy actor?
I would easily say Scott Adsit (30 Rock) is a quiet comedic Genius

What’s the best advice you ever received as a comedian?
Stir the shit and raise the stakes.

What’s the worst advice you ever received as a comedian?
That you can expand your mind with hallucinogenics before a show.

What is your craziest show experience?
Austin Texas. Full house. Great show. standing Ovation. People asking for autographs. I was all “What the hell is *happening here*

What is the biggest source of your comedy?
The News.

How would you describe your comedy?
Spontaneous what the fuck

Quick Hitters

I would like to be known for…doing really good work and being smoking fucking hot for black chick.

Shoot me if I ever…become the size of Aretha Franklin now.

I think most comedians are…romantics completely fucking burned by the concept.

The one thing I have never seen a comedian do, but would love to is…tell an audience on an HBO comedy special: Do you know how many people’s jokes I have stolen to get here? OH did I say that out LOUD?

My favorite comedy bit that I was not involved in is…Elaine May and Mike Nichols Teenage Car Date Scene

My favorite comedy bit that I was involved in is…Mangling Second City Touring’s Scene Pictionary as much as I humanly could.

People often say they are attracted to a sense of humor. I think that is…how the hell I have gotten laid all of my life. And, married too for almost twenty years. Suck on that unfunny bitches!

I would like to plug…my website (www.shaunlandry.com) my improv companies (www.ouibenegroes.com and www.irishmutts.com) and when in San Francisco check out other funny improvisers at www.sfimprovfestival.com.

Aparna Nancherla has been rocking the D.C. comedy scene since 2006 and after just one year of doing stand-up she was a finalist in NBC’s 2007 Stand Up for Diversity.  You may have also seen her on Last Comic Standing, the first Hysterical Festival, and the DC Comedy Fest.  I recently saw her perform here in New York at Greenpoint’s indy comedy show Too Cool For School and I can tell you she is going to be big.  Here is what she had to say when we sat her down to answer our Comedy Foot Soldier questions:

What’s the most important thing you learned since you started doing comedy?
I have learned that even if you can’t laugh at yourself, you should be still be allowed to laugh at other people.  I have also learned (from my parents) that I should really start thinking about going to graduate school any day now…

photo by Quincy Ledbetter

How did you know you were meant to be a comedian?
My foot fell asleep and I thought it was a sign. Turns out I’m bad at reading signs, but hey, here I am. The real story is actually even less exciting.

What’s been your brightest moment as a comedian?
Sometimes when you have a good set, and not even necessarily at a big show but just at an open mic, and your friends are there and you’ve found a groove, those are my favorite nights. I also love organic moments more than I love organic vegetables. You heard it here first.

What’s been your darkest moment as a comedian?
There is quite a selection. But once after I got off stage, the headliner after me said, “How about that last comic? She was small and brown…(wait for it)…just like my penis!”  Oh wait, maybe that was my brightest moment. It was both.  I also hate when you do a new joke and it goes great, but then you can never recreate it quite the right way ever again, and it’s more or less lost forever…

What is your favorite thing going on in comedy right now?
I like this storytelling movement where people can just get onstage and talk and be real and it doesn’t necessarily have to be a show-show like a tap shoes and white gloves deal. But there are real moments of connection and hilarity on all kinds of Donkey Kong levels.  I also love people who do a lot with a little, which is to say that they take mundane topics and they turn them on their heads and then wear them as masks maybe, and the whole time this is happening the audience is just going “o wao.”

What is the scariest thing going on in comedy right now?
Probably the fact that everyone has a web site. That’s kind of terrifying. And Twitter is also an extreme exercise in self-love. It’s like, get a (chat)room already! Of course, as I’m typing this with one hand, I’m Twittering that I’m typing it with the other so that’s where I’m at right now.

Who do you think is today’s most underappreciated comedian/comedy actor?
I am excited to see more of the brilliance that is Jackie Clarke and Julie Klausner! But I’m also hoping they don’t feel underappreciated. I’m hoping they gets mad love from their fans besides this paltry shout out.

What’s the best advice you ever received as a comedian?
Silence is the most cerebral form of laughter. Also, keep going.

What’s the worst advice you ever received as a comedian?
Tell more Indian jokes. But it’s always said with my best interests in mind. It comes straight from the racist heart.

What is your craziest show experience?
Once, this venue (that I happened to personally dislike quite a bit) was closing and so it was the last show there, and something snapped in me and I completely raged out onstage and knocked down the stool and dropped the mic at the end. Basically the opposite of what is actually my act.  It was like I was outside of my body watching myself the whole time going, I want my money back! Just who does she think she is! Good thing this is a free show! Show me your boobs!

photo by Kevin Thom

What is the biggest source of your comedy?
My brain.

How would you describe your comedy?
Dry. Wry. Sly. Can I use a non-three-letter word? No? Ok.

Quick Hitters
I would like to be known for…my personality’s looks.

Shoot me if I ever…become a loud person.

I think most comedians are…painfully self-aware. I know I am as I’m writing this even!

The one thing I have never seen a comedian do, but would love to is…fly (organically).

My favorite comedy bit that I was not involved in is…apparently a victim of the limits of my long-term memory. But trust that there have been many!

My favorite comedy bit that I was involved in is…my life.

People often say they are attracted to a sense of humor. I think that is…a huge relief.

I would like to plug…in my Glade terrycloth-towel-scented room-freshening wick. To clear up the musty scent of baggage I brought into this interview.

Check her out her blog, follow her on twitter, watch her on youtube, friend her facebook or myspace and check her on out on rooftopcomedy.com

Welcome to our new feature – “Comedy Foot Soldiers”.  Each week we will highlight a different up and coming comedian.  These are the folks who are on the front lines of the comedy community.  They are out there every night for often very little or no money to make you laugh.  Some you may have heard of, others you will being hearing a lot more about soon.  (And you can say you saw them here first.  You better say that.  Or else!)

Kicking it off is NYC born and raised comedian Barry Rothbart. He  began his comedy career performing in the Boston comedy scene in 2002 while attending UMass.  He’s  a regular at most comedy clubs in the city as well as hitting “the road” at colleges and clubs all over the East Coast and Mid-West of America.  He’s a founding member of the sketch group “The Straightmen” and an improv troupe called “Bread House”.

He’s performed at the New York Comedy Festival, DC Comedy Festival and Boston Comedy Festival.  He’s written and directed shorts for Comedy Central’s “The Motherload”, Turner’s “SuperDeluxe.com” and Discovery Channel’s “You Spoof Discovery”.   Point is the dude gets around and is hilarious.  Here’s what he had to say to our Comedy Foot Solider questions:

What’s the most important thing you learned since you started doing comedy?
I think it’s the process of getting to the point. Comedy is such an exercise in brevity that you become a master at it in everything. You really have to learn how to whittle down verbiage until you find the pearl. Just like this answer!

How did you know you were meant to be a comedian?
Wait! I’m meant to be a comedian?

What’s been your brightest moment as a comedian?
I think it would sound really romantic and noble if I said something like making my dad laugh during a show. Or playing at some charity event, but I think the sad truth is that it was probably one night when I played a college sorority show and I had groups of girls fawning over me. I think that felt the brightest.

What’s been your darkest moment as a comedian?
Four words… New York Comedy Club. It’s the elephant graveyard of comedy.

What is your favorite thing going on in comedy right now?
The movement toward a more storytelling style. I think that comedy is moving more toward what I think it should be, which is actual truth in life, conveyed through story. I am so sick of punchlines that come from clever word play and no “real” moments of experience. I think comics like Louis CK, Paul F. and Mike Birbiglia are showing everyone that it’s possible. Plus I’m happy that comedy videos are becoming so mainstream.

What is the scariest thing going on in comedy right now?
The lack of mainstream venues on television for comedians. And besides that I think the movement toward making comedy a competitive art totally bastardizes the art-form. With shows like Last Comic Standing and comedy competitions all over the country, I think comedy can easily become something that is on par with juggling. Where it’s just this “talent” you have and not a performance art. Comedy cannot be competitive in nature, because it lies so much in the mind of the audience, not a judge.

Who do you think is today’s most underappreciated comedian/comedy actor?
President Obama. He’s actually hilarious.

What’s the best advice you ever received as a comedian?
Always assume the audience is much smarter than you. That was from Michael Delaney, SNL writer.

What’s the worst advice you ever received as a comedian?
The goal of every comedian should be to get on Letterman.

What is your craziest show experience?
I once did a show in Jersey at a bar during game 7 of the World Series when the Yankees we playing Florida. They literally shut off the TVs to have the show and there was nearly a riot. Everyone in the bar looked like the cast of a Bruce Springsteen video.

What is the biggest source of your comedy?
I think just walking around NY, it’s such a funny city. And David Cross; I steal all his jokes.

How would you describe your comedy?
Fantastical wonderment fermented with a keen desire to undermine the thoughtfulness of our everyday monotony.

Quickhitters
I would like to be known for… Working right up until the day I die.

Shoot me if I ever… Have a bomb strapped to me.

I think most comedians are… Really misguided jugglers.

The one thing I have never seen a comedian do, but would love to is… Win an Academy Award for Directing.

My favorite comedy bit that I was not involved in is… Anything Mr. Show ever did. I follow most ideas with “Damn, Mr. Show did it”.

My favorite comedy bit that I was involved in is… A sketch called “Jerry Jones and the BeeBopp Boogaloo” that I do with my sketch group “The Straightmen”.

People often say they are attracted to a sense of humor. I think that is… Untrue if you’re Bobcat Godthwait..

I would like to plug… My website… www.TheRealBarry.com (watch my movies) and my Saturday show at Karma called “If You Build It”.