Bleav in The Comedy Bureau Field Report

Prolific cartoonist/illustrator/animator/musician Luke McGarry , who has done all sorts of wonderful comedy and music posters and art (including for Festival Supreme and MAD Magazine) , joins in for this week's TCB Field Report. Luke runs us through his winding path to being one of the go-to illustrators, especially when it things get imaginatively silly, and the wide, wide, very wide myriad of pr...

True Romance 's Carolina Barlow joins in on this week's TCB Field Report as she and TCB's Jake Kroeger go in on the newly announced Primetime Emmy nominations (which, for some reason include Cobra Kai in the comedy category?). There are plenty of actually spicy takes that follow. With that in mind, they reimagine what awards shows should be, especially for those that have been collectively snubbed...

Sarah Squirm , a trailblazer in meshing the grotesque into comedy, joins us for this week's TCB Field Report to not only break down the shift from quarantine life back into in-person life that's somewhat like the before times, but also get into the nitty gritty of absurdist comedy. We actually dissect several parts of the absolute must-see season 2 of I Think You Should Leave in breaking down how...

Danielle Perez joins in the fray for this week's TCB Field Report where we follow her big pause from stand-up comedy during lockdown and then finding her way to acting (that includes acting classes on Zoom) and then, starting back into stand-up comedy with an already sold out live show. Also "hot" takes on Variety's 10 Comics to Watch , JFL's hybrid format this year, and what venues they know surv...

If you've come to a point of being so in tune with who you really are, as Robby Hoffman has, you might have fared well, personally and otherwise, during lockdown. Hoffman is so masterfully herself whether on stage or in the writers room or in her personal life that taking on the pandemic was akin to taking care of business. Hoffman joins TCB's Jake Kroeger for an exploration of Robby's seemingly u...

The energy that Ever Mainard brings to a room or, for that matter, a Zoom call is undeniable and a welcome jolt to the monotony of any given day or yet another one during a global pandemic. Ever joins TCB's Jake Kroeger to simultaneously go through finding themselves as a performer once again (with some help from a very exclusive psychic), doing a solo show on Zoom, and juggling all of that while...

Welp, the tides of going back out again and, subsequently, live comedy being performed in person and also, being seen in-person, are rising. Ashley Ray is riding high on that said tide as she has road dates now all across America and a special coming out this month on HBO Max after making it through quarantine with a popular newsletter and podcast, TV, I Say . Ray runs through her comedy journey t...

Kevin Allison , founder of the nationally beloved storytelling institution RISK! and member of legendary sketch group The State , joins TCB's Jake Kroeger to give a bit of a state-of-the-nation breakdown of what the storytelling scene/art form has gone through during the pandemic. As you might imagine, folks have gone through so much and are still, largely, processing what has happened/is happenin...

On probably what would be the most metaphysical episode of The Comedy Bureau Field Report, writer/comedian Teresa Lee joins Jake Kroeger to not only examine the nature of reality/singularity/solo shows, but go through her journey in lockdown and how she did so much virtual stand-up (leading up to an entire virtual album) and was recruited for OnlyFans and how she is looking forward to flipping the...

Since the good majority of folks have been (hopefully) staying safe at home, there has been plenty of time for people to get perspective on their life, drive, purpose, etc. Well, that's the hope anyway. Former TV development executive, comedy manager, and indie comedy producer Holly Gabrielson has indeed given plenty of thought as to go from helping orchestrate a comedy variety show on gondolas to...

There are an ambitious, pioneering few that really made a go at virtual comedy and, whatever the platform may be, they "figured" it out. Fizaa Dosani , one of the ringleaders behind Facial Recognition Comedy , is one of those few. She transitioned from doing a live stand-up showcase and a podcast to doing bunches of virtual shows on all the platforms, then became one of the chosen few finalists fo...

Coming to know James Adomian remains as one of our fortunate strokes of luck in all our time in comedy. The brilliant comedian, impressionist, voice over artist joins us for this week's TCB Field Report to recount how he has made it through all the continuing trials and tribulations of the last year including, but certainly not limited to international comedy tours getting cancelled, the tragedy t...

Babs Romen has been anything from Mitzi Shore's right hand to a big time network development executive to a producer of the improvised stand-up international phenomenon Set List and everything in between. She knows the business and the art of comedy in and out and that made for a great, deep chat on the purpose of comedy and what she seeks to do with it, specifically Set List, as the world aims to...

Far before the pandemic ever began or was even a whisper of a thing, Jessica Watkins took it upon to herself to simultaneously make a stand-up comedy special and walk across America. She did indeed accomplish both, but it was not at all what she expected, which is a very timely experience to have as we've all had to go through the intense journey of the COVID-19 pandemic. Watkins' captured her ent...

Commercial/music video director and Clubhouse maven, Eli Green , joins TCB's Jake Kroeger for a truly in-depth conversation on the nature of comedy, especially at this time, especially on Clubhouse. Green is the creator of the "Crazy Good Fun" club on Clubhouse which has spawned dozens and dozens of irreverent rooms in addition to juggling the prospect of making "fun" commercials throughout the pa...

Lizzy Cooperman remains a monumental comedian in our formative years of comedy even before The Comedy Bureau ever came into existence. The wide expanse of her creativity, her beautiful spirit, and her reverence for comedy is something we have always been inspired by and those things are still alive and well while in quarantine and leaving LA for a spell. TCB's Jake Kroeger delves into what Lizzy h...

There's a great new comedy book, Notes from the Bathroom Line: Humor, Art, and Low-Grade Panic from 150 of the Funniest Women in Comedy , that has just arrived on shelves, both IRL and virtual, that is actually the first collection of writing by women comedians since the 70s. Amy Solomon , writer/producer on such great things like Barry and the editor of Notes from the Bathroom Line , joins TCB's...

Without really knowing that it was coming, we've been at The Comedy Bureau Field report, officially, for a year now (quarantine has a funny way of messing with our perception of time). On our anniversary(?), we're thrilled to have the great Danny Jolles with us to not only celebrate the release of his fabulous first hour special, Six Parts , but also recount his very long, delay-filled journey thr...

Candice Thompson has managed to thrive, as much as you can, in quarantine. She has been writing on The Netflix Afterparty, recording multiple podcasts, and manifesting her home to be as prepared for this time and the potential dystopian future. TCB's Jake Kroeger and Candice have quite the time figuring out what they're going to do in the not so distant future as the world keeps sinking into chaos...

This week's TCB Field Report welcomes comedian/writer/actor/social media prankster extraordinaire (and one of our longtime favorites) Yassir Lester to go over the continually rocky times that we and comedy are going through. That includes making some much needed updates with animated characters of yesteryear, SXSW, one of the world's biggest festivals, doing their entire program virtually (with co...

One of TCB's favorite LA comedy staples Megan Koester joins TCB's Jake Kroeger for this week's Field Report. Koester is beloved for her subversive, meta, rebellious rants and bits on stage and her extensive pieces of writing all over the Internet found anywhere from VICE to The Guardian. Megan has been quarantining properly here in LA and walks us through how working eBay has kept her going during...

Filmmaker and comedy booker Symone Baptiste has had a great run with her short film, Sixteen Thousand Dollars in the past year going through all sorts of film festivals, done virtually of course. The short hits on the crucial topic of reparations for black people that the U.S. government seems like they're barely willing to entertain, much less actually go through with. Going further with that ide...

A member of the Groundlings Main Company, Comedy Store regular, and Taurean on Insecure , Leonard Robinson joins TCB's Jake Kroeger to talk on how the Groundlings have survived/thrived through both virtual improv/sketch shows almost kind of like they used to do in person (with a few clever changes for Zoom) and how they're moving forward with diversity and inclusion measures (even beyond what they...

Aristotle Athiras is the rare sort of comedian that has actually flourished in improv, sketch, and stand-up and also worked in front of and behind the camera as performer and director. With such a diverse quiver of skills, Aristotle has found opportunities and managed to stay working, as a director for Will Smith's home show, and very much look forward to be prepared for where the next thing in co...

The hardship comedy has taken on during COVID-19 touches every single facet of the art form and industry. Yep, management has taken its knocks just like the talent that it represents. Thus, TCB's Jake Kroeger zooms with Jessica Kelley of Avail Comedy who is one of our favorite comedy managers not only because of her lovely client list, but the fact that she was always out and about at shows almost...