Smirk Experience

Before. During. After.

Business EN ↓ 33 episodes

Before. During. After. is a Smirk Experience podcast about performance; from the inside. Every week Sam Carrington will sit down with a professional comedian. He'll find out what they do in preparation for a show, what they concentrate on while they're performing and what they focus on when it's done, all to maximise their performance. Because great performances don't just happen, they're built.

Be sure to visit the podcast's website and support the creator: www.smirkexperience.com

Author

Smirk Experience

Episodes

Before. During. After. with Nathan Cassidy 06.05.2026 1:03:58

Nathan and Sam have a wide ranging chat, including topics such as his marathon run of Edinburgh Fringes, how he comes up with ideas for all of those different hour long shows, his pre-performance routines, overcoming doubt and how he draws on experience and pain.

Before. During. After. with Patrick Monahan 29.04.2026 1:19:18

Pat and Sam have a lovely chat, that includes playing rowdy rooms, pre-show mantras, crowd control, finding your voice as a speaker, quantifying failure and much more. Enjoy.

Before. During. After. with Benjamin Patterson 22.04.2026 1:19:46

Ben and Sam get into an in depth look at performance processes this week. Amongst other things they cover the level of preparation and detail comics go into, how you have to be in charge when doing stand-up and the distinction between being likeable and being nice.

Before. During. After. with Jenny Collier 15.04.2026 1:16:20

Jenny and Sam have a lovely chat about creative inspiration, the effect room set-ups have on shows, picking yourself up after a bad show and the strangest gigs they've ever done.

Before. During. After. with Will Hannigan 08.04.2026 1:06:05

Will Hannigan is a Canadian comic now living in London. Will and Sam take a deep dive into nerves; how Will frames and combats them to achieve his goals in comedy.

Before. During. After. with Jason Patterson. 18.03.2026 54:56

In this episode Jason and Sam discuss how to treat new material, using nerves as energy and taking advice from peers to get getting better. Get tickets for Jason's solo show Underrated here https://dice.fm/event/av3v9x-jason-patterson-underrated-30th-apr-camden-comedy-club-london-tickets?lng=en

Before. During. After. with Juliet Myers 18.03.2026 54:42

In this episode Juliet and Sam discuss keeping material fresh, the key to memorable performance and women in comedy.

Before. During. After. with Mike Capozzola 17.03.2026 42:06

Mike Capozzola is a New York comic who's gigged all over the world and worked on both sides of the camera in Hollywood. Sam and Mike discuss how ordering topics changes overall impact, if he ever amends a set when he turns up to a gig, how he assesses what he's done and lots more. Find more about Mike here https://www.capozzola.com/