The 50/50 Podcast

This week, comedian Jack Greenberg joins us. We kick off the chat discussing his relationship with live performance and the evolution of Jack and Caroline Present: The Show , a multimedia variety show he created with his fiancée, Caroline, designed to showcase their comedic strengths (think choogy/cosy core couple, desperate to share their art with you). We also get into the art of character creat...

It's a no-guest episode! Luke and Wyatt get together on a Sunday to recap another vibrant 50/50 Horror. Additionally, Wyatt is rolling around on the floor in acting classes, Luke is becoming delusional on set, and we walk the tight rope of talking about YOU CAN SEE EVERYTHING without spoiling too much... enjoy! Submit Your Comedy Short

This week,  we sit down with Kira Guess, Coordinator at Mosaic, to discuss how resourcefulness, entrepreneurial thinking, and an actor’s perspective can translate into effective literary representation. After studying performance at LAMDA (an acting conservatory in the UK), Kira found her way into talent representation, where her firsthand understanding of the actor’s experience helped her connect...

This week, we sit down with reality TV producer (and Wyatt's neighbor) Nicholas Gloria to break down the art and business of producing unscripted television. From his early days at Scout Productions ( QUEER EYE)  to being IN THE VILLA as a producer on  LOVE ISLAND in Fiji, Nicholas shares what it means to get closer to the talent, manage big personalities, and help steer a show's story without sac...

This week, we sit down with filmmaker and actor Santi MacLean to get physical. Santi breaks down his acting practice, Action Theatre — a highly reactive, physical, and primal form of acting derived from dance. We talk about what happens when you completely surrender to an acting exercise, what it means to align your body and instincts with a performance, and how this practice has fundamentally sha...

This week, we’re joined by producer Aisling Lynch of Fourth Wall, who moved to Los Angeles in a yellow Smart Car named Leonardo with just a couple bucks to her name — and quickly began figuring out how to make it work. Aisling talks about PA’ing on the final week of EUPHORIA Season 2, which led to a full run on THE IDOL and gave her a firsthand education in the chaos of constant rewrites, reshoots...

Wylie Anderson RETURNS to the Pod fresh off directing Grace Guy’s DECKHAND at the Edinburgh Fringe — and fully recovered from much chaos involving international travel and visceral sickness. We also discuss Wylie's HOME MOVIE SHOW: an event where fellow "adults" bring in the earnest, hilarious, deeply personal home movies they made as kids. The live show taps into Wylie’s love of hosting and her a...

(RE-RELEASE) This week, we resurface a CLASSIC episode. We sit down with David Jacobson, marketing director at Cherry Lane Theatre — freshly reopened under A24 — to talk shepherding one of downtown New York’s most historic stages into its next era. David cut his teeth in sports marketing with the New York Knicks and New York Rangers (not to mention a brief, glorious stint working the second floor...

Director Britt Berke is back on the pod! Since we spoke with her last year, Britt has been BUSY— she most recently directed Ruby Karp’s solo special I DON’T TRUST ADULTS , premiering on VEEPS September 10th. We get into the unique challenges of directing a stand-up special versus theatre (and where the lines between the two blur), including how to manage blocking for stage/film.  We also dive deep...

This week, we sit down with filmmaker/visual artist Gabriella Mykal to talk about her journey from making experimental films in Texas to CalArts, where she made her first doc feature, RP  — a documentary exploring the normalization of traumatic sexual experiences through fan fiction. Gabriella discusses the film’s unconventional approach to documentary filmmaking, heavily featuring reenactments to...

This week, we sit down with comedian Ruby Karp! We briefly recap Ruby's unconventional childhood (for more on that, listen to our first episode with her! ); how growing up with a single mom ended up with the early UCB improvisers essentially serving as her babysitters. Her solo show, I Don’t Trust Adults , draws from that experience — exploring what it’s like to grow up surrounded by adults, growi...

This week, actor/comedian/musician Kenzie Gross joins us to talk about growing up in a sports family, where constant competition and a full plate of extracurriculars instilled a strong work ethic in her from a young age. After growing up in Portland, OR and finding her place in musical theatre—often playing the comedic relief—Kenzie headed to USC, where she continued performing and eventually inte...

This week, we talk with Josh Carone of 2bd2bth! We discuss how a conversation with fellow creator and friend Milky Tran was the catalyst for Josh and his comedy partner Jenny to start the group, and they quickly fell in love with the immediate gratification of making internet sketches — the ability to come up with a variety of ideas and bring them to life quickly. For Josh, who had previously only...

Some movies become cult classics. THE ROOM became a phenomenon. This week, we're joined by Josh Folan, Jonathan Mann, and Ted Garvey, the filmmaking team behind the animated documentary ROOM TONE: THE SOUND OF THE ROOM, which tells the unbelievable story of Tommy Wiseau's infamous film through the eyes of the people who were actually there. After meeting legendary sound mixer Zsolt, Josh realized...

This week, we're joined by writer/director Parker Fenady (2x 50/50 Alum). Parker reflects on growing up around the film industry while still forging her own creative identity, the pivotal feedback from a professor that challenged her to look beyond technical skill, and how studying acting in London helped shape not only her craft, but her perspective as a storyteller. Together, we explore her miss...

Fear has always fascinated Nolan Lampson. This week on the 50/50 Podcast, Nolan joins us to unpack his lifelong love of horror—from sneaking scary movies while his parents were away to discovering why we're so drawn to the genre's darkest corners. We dive into the anatomy of a great scare, why horror needs moments of levity to truly work, and Nolan's belief that the genre is ultimately about catha...

This week, actor/comedian Johnny Marx returns to the pod one year after his first appearance, and a lot has changed. We catch up on the first anniversary of LINDA, the monthly comedy show he co-hosts with Bebe Katsenes, and how building the show has helped him find a true community within comedy. Johnny reflects on meeting some of his comedy heroes through the experience and shares how stand-up ha...

This week, we're joined by filmmaker, actor, and singer/songwriter Nathan Xia, who we got to know through his short FLAVOR OF THE MONTH, which was an Official Selection of our 50/50 Comedy Fest in May. Nathan kicks things off with a heartfelt, original song dedicated to the roommates he's spent years living with—a fitting tribute as the six friends, who first met at LMU, begin going their separate...

This week, it's a 50/50 re-release! We harken back to Episode 18 of the pod, where we welcomed our bud Alaman Diadhiou (actor/singer/dancer) on the pod. Just a couple days ago, Alaman wrapped a successful run of La Cage aux Folles at the NY City Center, where he starred opposite Wayne Brady and Billy Porter in the highly regarded musical.  ANNE ON MY ARM (w/ Alaman, Wayne Brady, Rachel Webb) PLAYB...

This week, we're joined by composer Nicolas Snyder, whose work can be heard in acclaimed animated series like SCAVENGERS REIGN and COMMON SIDE EFFECTS ,  both on HBO Max. Nicolas reflects on his path to composing—from playing in bands and studying narrative writing to discovering that his meticulous, trained approach to crafting sentences was secretly training him to become a songwriter. We also d...

This week, we're joined by writer/director, and 50/50 selectee Kate Saltel. From the formative experience of screening a student film at the Austin Film Festival while growing up in Texas to secretly creating a viral YouTube alter ego that forever changed her relationship with social media, Kate reflects on the unconventional path that's shaped her voice and her approach to connecting directly wit...

This week, we're joined by Variety TV reporter Ethan Shanfeld.  From his early days studying journalism at Northwestern and freelancing for outlets like Nylon and Pitchfork to landing major cover stories at his current employer, Variety, Ethan breaks down what makes a great pitch email, how he prepares for interviews without over-preparing, and why every celebrity requires a completely different a...

Andrew Gerstenblatt and Arthur Goldbart of Silver & Gold Pictures are back on the Pod! The longtime roommates and creative collaborators join us to discuss their latest short film, The Extraordinaries , which recently screened at 50/50 Comedy AND won the Audience Award at NFFTY.  We dive into the making of the short, from crafting its timeless aesthetic to maximizing the possibilities of a sin...

This week, we speak with Mahalia Latortue-Pridgett, director's assistant on ABBOTT ELEMENTARY. She breaks down her journey from interning at Viola Davis’s production company in its early days to now carving out her own path as a writer in television. She talks about starting her career in Atlanta, realizing she needed to make the leap to Los Angeles, and balancing a day job at a management company...

This week , we sit down with Janie Kahan to trace her path through the animation industry — from learning the studio pipeline at DreamWorks on TROLLS WORLD TOUR and CROODS 2, to Nickelodeon’s PLANKTON: THE MOVIE, and eventually Netflix Animation, where she found a creative home working on Charlie Kaufman’s ORION AND THE DARK. Along the way, Janie reflects on gravitating toward more emotionally mat...