My First Sketch

This week, Josh talks to Mike Spiegelman (@spiegelmania, The Great Difficulties) about public access tv, the beginnings of SF Sketchfest, and laundry baskets. Mike’s podcast, LWAFLMOYT, is available wherever you find podcasts. The Great Difficulties will be performing at SF Sketchfest along with Please Leave the Bronx on Sunday, February 5 at 8pm PST at PianoFight. Tickets and more info can be fou...

This week, Josh talks to Seann Cantatore about the intersection of music and comedy. Seann Cantatore will be performing at Philly Sketchfest on Friday, October 21 in the 10pm block. Tickets available at phillysketchfest.com. On Saturday, October 22, she heads to Washington DC to perform at the DC Arts Center with Rails Comedy. Then October 28 and 29, she heads to Greenville, SC at the Alchemy Thea...

This week, Josh talks to Amanda Xeller about character work, directing, and villains. Amanda will be performing at Philly Sketchfest on Friday, October 21 in the 7pm block along with Crying Alone in the Shower. For tickets, head to phillysketchfest.com. Follow her on Instagram at @wildladypegpegpeg; on Twitter at @AmandaXeller. In addition to her appearing at Sketchfest: she’ll be back in New York...

This week, Josh talks to Mike Bock (@bockmj) about the Simpsons, the postCovid comedy scene, and choose your own adventure. You can see Mike Bock and Friends perform at Bad Medicine Presents Sketch Night along with Trash Bang from Richmond VA at the DC Improv in Washington DC on Saturday, June 18. Two shows 7 and 930. Tickets are available at dcimprov.com. The next Comedy Potluck is taking place J...

This week, Josh talks to Maricris Rivera (of Tita Collective from Toronto, Ontario, Canada) about musicals. We talk a lot about musicals. But then comedy. Maricris and the rest of Tita Collective are heading to Montreal Sketchfest (montrealsketchfest.com) to perform new material on May 13 and the Tita Jokes show on May 15. Then, heading to Peterborough on May 20 to perform on the While We Can Come...

This week, Josh talks to Jack Creaghan (Cheap Wine based in Toronto) about the differences of Toronto and New York, getting a bit of momentum right before a pandemic hits, and working with both a sibling and a fiancee. You can follow Cheap Wine on Instagram at @itscheapwine and on Facebook at facebook.com/itscheapwine. Cheap Wine is performing at Montreal Sketchfest’s Opening Night along with Milw...

This week, Josh talks to Anika Hurdal (Bring Your Own Juice from Montreal) about the love and embarrassment of improv, first year students writing sketches, and meeting Meryl Streep’s daughter. Bring Your Own Juice will perform at Montreal Sketchfest’s Opening Night with Third Husbands, Cheap Wine, Dreamboat, and Milwaukee on Thursday, May 5 at 8pm at Theatre Sainte-Catherine. Tickets and all the...

This week, Josh talks to Alia Rasul (Tita Collective)about Barrel Man, Kung Pow Enter the Fist, and doing the hard work to push for inclusion. Tita Collective is heading to Ottawa this weekend April 29 & 30, to perform their show, Tita Jokes, at Ottawa Fringe’s undercurrents festival. Then, Tita Collective goes to Montreal Sketchfest to perform new material on May 13 and the Tita Jokes show on May...

This week, Josh talks to Marc Hallworth about engineering, Heritage Park, and Vest of Friends. See Vest of Friends at Montreal Sketchfest on Thursday, May 12 at 8pm with Emery Fine and Yes, Chef. Learn more at montrealsketchfest.com. Like Vest of Friends on Facebook at facebook.com/vestoffriends. Come to Sketchubator on Zoom on April 29. Check out sketchubator.com.

This week, Josh talks to J.P. McElyea about Bad Medicine, Something Rotten, and Rowan Atkinson. Follow Bad Medicine on Instagram at @badmedicinedc. Check out their website at badmedicinecomedy.com. And subscribe to their podcast, Sketch Nerds, wherever you get your podcasts. Bad Medicine is hosting Sketch Nerds, featuring Philly’ High Dramma and DC’s Brick Penguin on Saturday, April 9 at the DC Im...

This week, Josh talks to Jason Singer (High Dramma) about thinking acting was an easy A, thinking surreally and not writing, and thinking teamwork. You can like Jason’s troupe, High Dramma, on Facebook at facebook.com/highdramma and check out their video work at youtube.com/highdramma. That’s 2 M’s in dramma. High Dramma will be performing in Washington DC at Bad Medicine Presents on April 9 along...

This week, Josh talks to Chelsea Larkin (@chelslark66 on TikTok) about Li’l Rasgals, wetting the bed to watch SNL, and Drake at the DeGrassi prom. Chelsea Larkin is making her solo sketch debut with The Chels Stands Alone on Friday, March 25 in the 830 block. For tickets, go to torontosketchfest.com. You can follow her on Instagram at @chelslark and on TikTok at @chelslark66. I’ll be hosting Sketc...

This week, Josh talks to Veronica Dang (@modelmajority) about Lucille Ball, an overwhelming response when you want to start a sketch team, and doing background for SNL. Follow Model Majority on all social platforms at @modelmajority and go to modelmajority.com. See Model Majority during Toronto Sketchfest’s Screen Time Edition on Thursday 3/24 at 7pm. Veronica will be participating in the Comedy R...

This week, Josh talks to Emily Richardson (@emrich44 on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok) about gaining the confidence to audition for sketch comedy, writing about celebrity news, and getting reposted by Lil Nas X to go viral. You can see Emily’s work during Toronto Sketchfest’s Screen Time Edition on Mar 26 at 8:30 pm. She will also be participating in a panel called TikTok MasterClass for Comedian...

This week, Josh talks to Rena Taylor (@reenerdog on Instagram) about Joy Provision, the disappointment of theater school, and sad little yankee comedians. Follow Joy Provision on Instagram at @joy.provision. Rena hosts a weekly standup show at Wenona Craft Beer Lodge in Toronto called Wenona Ride’r Die every Thursday night. Tickets are available at eventbrite.ca. Toronto Sketchfest is returning to...

This week, Josh talks to Evan Forde Barden (Young Douglas) about comedy in Covid, college improv, Fire Marshall Bill, and the comedy scene restarting in New York. Follow Young Douglas on Instagram at @youngdouglascomedy. See Acorns at the Squirrel Theater at Caveat every Monday at 730pm. Check out thesquirrelnyc.com for more on those shows. Sketchubator returns to Zoom August 27 at 10pm EDT. Check...

This week, Josh talks to Bob Beshere (Trouble with Shapes) about watching Empty Nest, becoming a nerdcore rapper, and evolving as a comedy writer. Check out Trouble with Shapes on Instagram at @tws_comedy and live and in person at the Idiot Box (idiotboxers.com) in Greensboro, NC, on July 17. The next Sketchubator will be July 9: find out more at sketchubator.com. Sketch Buffet is coming to Crossr...

This week, Josh talks to Emmy Serviss about Suzzy, comedy in Boston, and she introduces to a tv sketch show Josh had never heard of before. You can find Suzzy on Facebook at @suzzyboston. Suzzy is performing in a virtual show with the Jean Paul Bros this Saturday, July 11th at 8pm. Find out more information at theriottheater.com. Don’t forget about Sketchubator, this Friday, July 10 at 10pm easter...

This week, Josh talks to Dylan Sharp (Dang Dumb) about comedy in Edmonton, the future, and how improv helps him in the real world. You can like Dang Dumb on Facebook at facebook.com/dangdumb and on Instagram at @dangdumbcomedy. The next Sketchubator, our online sketch comedy open mic, will take place on Friday, June 26 at 10pm eastern. All the information can be found at myfirstsketch.com and phil...

I had intended to take a pause, like so many other podcasts, to allow for different voices and the bigger issues to be heard. Then, I remembered a chat I had with Briyana Clarel about their work with The Starfruit Project. Let's revisit a bit of that chat and learn more about The Starfruit Project. And remember: Black Lives Matter.

This week, Josh talks to Kelly Turner about Dang Dumb, improv to sketch, and comedy in Edmonton. You can like Dang Dumb on Facebook at facebook.com/dangdumb and on Instagram at @dangdumbcomedy. Don’t forget about Sketchubator, the sketch comedy incubator we’ve been hosting on Zoom every other week. The next one is May 29th at 10pm eastern/7pm pacific. For more information, including the Zoom ID, c...

This week, Josh talks to Craig Scorgie (@thewowcomedy) about starting a sketch troupe in high school, learning how to write on the fly, and taking the step into producing shows. You can follow Craig’s sketch group, The Wow, all over social media at @thewowcomedy. I’ve also posted two of the shows we talked about during the episode in the blog section of myfirstsketch.com. So you can see Good Game...

This week, Josh talks to Jacquie Baker about The Flat Earth, The Incredible Shrinking Matt and Jacquie, and a whole bunch more. Check out some of my favorite sketches and videos from Jacquie’s comedy life at myfirstsketch.com/blog. You can like the choir Jacquie sings with at facebook.com/AnnaCrusisChoir. For more information about Sketchubator, our sketch comedy incubator, head to myfirstsketch.c...

This week, Josh talks to John D. Babcock (Sketchworks in Atlanta, GA) about college sketch comedy, working in a remote writer’s room, and getting sued by a big Broadway show. Give Sketchworks a like on Facebook at facebook.com/sketchworkscomedy, where they’re posting a bunch of sketches from their history. And then sketchworkscomedy.com for all the information about classes and shows if you’re in...

This week, guest host Julia Hudson talks to normal host Josh Higham in this "lost episode" about ripping off SNL, learning about comedy in his hometown, and the key of context. Continue listening to My First Sketch, and stay safe out there. I can't wait until we can laugh together again.