Bleav in The Comedy Bureau Field Report

Long form improv, pretty much at any level, almost exclusively happens in black box theaters as they just happen to be the perfect set up for a team to improvise comedic scenes out of "thin air". The enduring pandemic has not afforded such spaces with ease as was had in 2019 resulting in improvisers having to, well, improvise. Casey Feigh leads off one of the only weekly improv shows in...

It's technically a new year even though 2020 feels like it's still happening. So much live comedy has already gone dark at the top of the year making the rest of 2022 feel uncertain to say the least. That said, there was a bunch of great comedy things in happened in 2021 as captured in our actual-end-of-year list. We have Joel Mandelkorn, indie comedy producer extraordinaire, as one of the best au...

As 2022 approaches, there's a lot on the horizon, despite everything in live performance going dark for a few weeks at least, if not several. Thankfully, Sam Varela, one of the best people in comedy, joins again to not only break down the situation that the Omicron variant of COVID-19 has brought to comedy, but highlight the ongoing importance of her virtual stand-up show, Self-Care Comedy , that...

Rebecca Drysdale has not only been one of the best all around comedy folks that we know with writing on Key & Peele and having the longest running UCB Cagematch record with Hebecky Drysbell (partnered with Heather Anne Campbell), but is the founder of the magical DIY-as-can-be comedy venue The Clubhouse , which has thankfully survived to this side of the pandemic (and will need your help to co...

At this side of the pandemic, there's a whole row of exciting new comedy venues that have popped up in the stead of all the ones that have closed, one of them being The Glendale Room , located in the vibrant streets of Downtown Glendale. This week's TCB Field Report has the founder of  The Glendale Room, Sean Casey, chat with us about providing a crucial space that can be comfy for those on the ri...

Discovering Dylan Adler for the first time this year was absolutely one of the highlights of 2021 for us at TCB. His mix of Broadway flair, darkly personal comedy, and acrobatics (Dylan does a backflip in his act) blew us away when we saw it on a rooftop of a parking structure and must be a real gift to the NYC comedy scene. Dylan joins TCB’s Jake Kroeger for this week’s TCB Field Report to follow...

Dave Ross is pretty much as cherished of a fixture in the LA comedy scene as one can be. Holy Fuck , WOMEN , Suicide Buddies , What's it Called , and, of course, Good Heroin are just a few of the things that Dave has made over the last decade and change and left an indelible mark in comedy. So, Ross joins the Field Report this week to talk his mental/emotional/spiritual journey in both coming up i...

Long form improv comedy was free flowing pre-pandemic with dozens and dozens of shows filled by so many teams it was often hard to keep track of all of their names. On this side of the pandemic, long form improv is coming back, but like everything else, it's not the same. We get improv and podcast star Carl Tart (also co-starring on the upcoming  Grand Crew on NBC) to break down the state of impro...

Catherine McCafferty is on the way to achieving the dream of many comedians, being bi-coastal. McCafferty had been based out of LA for years doing stand-up, acting, and more, but has now just freshly broke ground in NYC. It was 8 days in for her on the day she recorded this episode of TCB Field Report with Jake Kroeger and it's a great portrait of expectations meeting reality and the whirlwind tha...

It is National Adoption Awareness Month and, for those that don't know TCB's very own Jake Kroeger 's story, he's adopted. So, we thought it would be a perfect time to have both a great comedian on who is an adoptee and also talk about adoption jokes from the adoptee perspective (and how hopefully it's no longer a punchline to suggest someone is weird or stupid). That's why Skyler Higley joined in...

LA's newest home for comedy, especially the kind that colors outside the lines, The Elysian , is officially alive. We have artistic director Kate Banford join us for this week's TCB Field Report to give us the origin stories of both herself (her first theater in Philadelphia, The Good Good Comedy Theatre ) and this shiny new theater (and even explain why they went with a skunk for a logo). Banford...

Building your own thing in the thick of a sprawling comedy scene is beyond a tall order. If that thing is a weekly comedy show that expands into an entire brand that now has branched out to the thriving comedy scene in Denver, it's even more impressive. That's exactly what one Mike Mulloy has done with Faded Comedy over the last few years, tirelessly working to make a cornerstone Friday stand-up s...

There is so much happening with comedians that are trans that has nothing to do with Dave Chappelle. This week's guest, the splendid Jeena Bloom , is proof positive that there is much to be celebrated and enjoyed with the comedic stylings of many trans men and women just like comedians of any other background. That includes stand-up, TV, movies, podcasts, etc. as well as thorough discussion of loc...

One of the more wide ranging comedy multi-hyphenates we know, Caitlin Cook, joins us as a musical comedian/writer/director/designer/illustrator to not only give us the lowdown on how in flux the NYC comedy scene is (even though it's supposedly "back"), but the vast spread of projects she has taken on. That includes directing the fantastic solo show/musical hybrid, A.J. Holmes: Yeah, But Not Right...

Now might be the perfect time an animated dark comedy that follows a reanimated/undead mother trying to redeem herself with her family that just happens to run a funeral home in Florida. Thus, Teenage Euthanasia has just arrived from the beautifully funny minds of Alissa Nutting and Alyson Levy, who just happen to be this week's guests on TCB Field Report. They both take us through the long journe...

One of comedy's most respected minds, Paul Provenza, joins in for this week's TCB Field Report to go down the rabbit hole of the art form of comedy. Paul and TCB's Jake Kroeger explore so many different angles, different generations, and different perspectives that they ended zipping through the running time of a Marvel movie. Truly, a fascinating conversation that weaves through the new SNL hires...

Just a bit over a few weeks ago, a mysterious entity only known as The Comedy Co-op was announced as a group that sought to make comedy better on nearly early level for performers, fans, and people working in comedy. That was about all when knew back then, but they've slowly pulled back the curtain over the weeks explaining exactly who they are (including their ever burgeoning Steering Committee )...

Chase Bernstein . Perhaps, the guest we have the best chemistry with on The Comedy Bureau Field Report? You judge for yourself as Chase and TCB's Jake Kroeger delightfully run through the news of the passing of Norm MacDonald, season renewals of Only Murders in the Building and The Amber Ruffin Show , and Jim Breuer refusing to perform at venues that require proof of vaccination. Chase also detail...

The superb DeAnne Smith joins TCB's Jake Kroeger for this week's TCB Field Report as they have just re-transplanted themselves from LA to NYC (with love for both cities and their respective comedy hubs). Also, DeAnne fills us in their upcoming special which would expressly taped with some of their exes in the audience (complete w/interviews after the taping) and explains the joy they found in live...

There is a vast new landscape to comedy as things may or may not continue to open up for live comedy here in the U.S. and across the world. Navigating this new world of comedy is, it would seem, as daunting as starting over, which is why we talk to LA staple Kelly McInerney about how she is figuring her way through a scene she already knew (and possibly looking across the pond to the UK for more o...

For our money, Julie Seabaugh is the preeminent comedy journalist out in the world and we're so lucky to have her on TCB Field Report this week. Her expertise and depth of comedy knowledge are so far reaching, which came in quite handy for the upcoming documentary she co-directed, Too Soon: Comedy After 9/11 . As such, we talk about the effect 9/11 had on comedy and, conversely, how comedy's heali...

Going from coast to coast more than once, Mikala Knezevich has built quite the reputation for producing comedy. She got the comedy bug after seeing one live comedy show and then asking for a job at the comedy club that very night and just wanted to be in and around comedy at all times. That has led her to taking on a plethora of shows in NYC, many of which are weekly. If you know the ins and outs...

LA comedy scene favorite, Jared Goldstein , is having a splendid whirlwind of a time in NYC, doing all the shows, taping a Comedy Central Featuring set, and even running into comics he used to be intimidated by (when starting in LA) that now live and grind in NYC. Don't worry, there are no LA vs. NYC jokes here (that's so very early 2000s). That said, Jared and TCB's Jake Kroeger speed through thi...

Hands down, one of the most electrifying and fun (and hopeful) comedy shows out there is Tinder Live! with Lane Moore . In addition to being an acclaimed comedian/author/frontwoman of a band, Moore has made an indelible mark in current comedy landscape by improvising her way through the dating app Tinder live on stage. This week's TCB Field Report follows Lane as she revives the in-person version...

One of our favorite comedy hyphenates Carly Hoogendyk (comedy producer-talent manager-photographer) joins us for this week's TCB Field Report to give us the NYC perspective on comedy reopening (we literally ask her to give us the lay of the land when looking out her apartment window) and what's going on behind the scenes out in the streets of NYC comedy (across several boroughs). FYI, there's some...