There It Is Podcast

We talk to performers and founders of First Coast Comedy, Alex and Madelaine Grindeland! Alex and Madelaine bring a whole new meaning to the term "power couple," Alex and Madelaine do improv, run a comedy theater and festival together, and wrestle. Yes, they are improvisers AND pro wrestlers! They both have unique backgrounds and Jason talks to them about it all. Alex and Madelaine talk about thei...

In this mini episode Jason gives tips on how to start a podcast. We delve into the essentials of starting your own podcast! We cover the basic steps, from choosing your podcast type and target audience to deciding between audio or video formats. Learn about ideation, hosting sites, and distributing your podcast to platforms. We'll also share tips on planning and avoiding burnout by staying flexibl...

In this mini episode Jason tackles the intriguing question: does comedy have to be funny? Is The Bear a comedy? Does comedy have to be funny? Why is this such a jarring subject? Jason delves into various perspectives on what defines comedy, using examples from different TV shows and movies. He discusses the subjective nature of humor and how intent and laughter frequency contribute to the comedic...

Coaching an improv team? Here are some tips to help steward the team! In this mini episode we share a few thoughts on best practices when coaching an improv team. It's not covering everything to do because if you were selected to coach you probably know how to do that. This chat is more about what to and what not to do when coaching an improv team. These tips can apply whether it's your first time...

The "Bridal Party of the Show" is here to recap Jason and Justina's wedding weekend! Best Man of the Show, Trey, Groomsman of the Show, Rob, and Bride, nay, WIFE, of the show Justina join Jason to have a heartfelt chat about Jason and Justina's big day! It's an intimate and hilarious recounting of wedding day highlights and fun. They talk candidly about preparations for the first dance, surprising...

The Bridal Party of the Show is here for a special episode! Best Man of the Show, Trey, and Groomsman of the show, Rob, took over this episode to do a Newlywed Game episode. Trey peppered Jason and Justina (formerly known as GF of the Show and Fiancée of the Show) with a few questions to see who knows the other best! See if they tie, see if one really knows nothing about their spouse, or see if on...

We had the pleasure of speaking to LA-based performer and director, Jet Eveleth! Jet is an improviser, instructor, and the director of Clown Church and The Highland Park Clowns. Jet talks to Jason about starting out in improv in Boston before going deep into exploring the artform in Chicago at Annoyance, The Second City, and iO where she was on one of the longest running teams, The Reckoning, her...

We have a great chat with actor, producer, and improviser, Jacob Sorling! Jacob and Jason immediately dive into a thoughtful chat about improv principles, approaching scene work authentically, the traps of "trying to be funny," the improv hack to having plot in improv, how specificity helps fuel the humor of scenes, making scenes feel real, the different ways in doing scenes based on a suggestion,...

Congratulations to us! We're married!! Jason and Justina chronicle their wedding day and give listeners a peek behind-the-scenes of what their special wedding weekend was like! This was a labor of love experienced with many friends of the podcast! It was a momentous occasion filled with so much love and joy and surprises! We'll get more into those details when the "Of the Show" gang returns to do...

We talked to stand-up comedian and actor, Dave Merheje! Jason met Dave many years ago because they both performed on a stand-up show together called The Most Races Show on Earth. After talking about that show, Dave talks about starting comedy in college in his home town in Windsor, his process for learning the structure of comedy, how he got his acting gigs in "Ramy" and "Sometimes I Think About D...

We got to talk to improviser, writer, and filmmaker, Anatasha Blakely! Anatasha and Jason dive right into a thrilling conversation which incidentally is one of our most inspiring we've ever had on the podcast. Anatasha talks about the artistic life she wants to achieve, the wisdom of Rick Rubin and Bruce Lee, the marriage of playfulness and joy with vulnerability in improv, being brave and taking...

We talk to Canada-based stand-up, Amy Bugg! Jason caught Amy while she was on the road in California at the Bergamot Comedy Fest! Amy and Jason have a fun chat about how Amy got started in comedy, doing jokes that weren't true to who she is before finding her voice, how comics can present their POV, her day job in accounting and some tax tips, work-life balance, what it took to produce her own spe...

Inspired to do another bracket we decided to pit actor families against each other. All the actor families (minus several we eliminated) and this is the bracket! Jason is joined by the Bridal Party of the Show to talk all that pop about actor families and more! We've got Best Man of the Show, Trey, Groomsman of the Show, Rob, and Fiancée of the Show, Justina, here to nerd out on who their favorite...

As a means of celebrating, we're sharing snippets of Jason's bachelor party weekend! Previous guests and podcast regulars make appearances. Is it an episode to inspire? ...Maybe? It might inspire you to focus on the fun of friends and family coming together and not the debauchery usually associated with bachelor parties. Look, no one got arrested. No one murdered anyone. It was nothing at all like...

We have a great chat with filmmaker, writer, and actor, Anjali Nath! Anjali is an up-and-comer in the truest sense. She's done so much already and it's super impressive. She's written, directed, and starred in short films and she's even created music for them. We talk to her time at Northwestern, doing theater, her eye for filmmaking, the approach she takes to developing her work, how she develope...

We have the "Of the Show" Bridal Party here to talk all that POP about this year's Oscars! Jason is joined by Groomsman of the Show, Rob, Best Man of the Show, Trey, and Fiancée of the show, Justina, to talk about their least and most favorite moments of this year's Oscars telecast and the biggest surprises from the night. It's a fun chat that includes the tears, the laughs, and the love for Messi...

We got to have this great and insightful talk with comedy writer, Jon Gutierrez! Jason became familiar with Jon many years ago in the oddest place...a Facebook group for aspiring writers. They talked about those early days of trying to get a writing job for a late night show, coming up during the early heydays of UCB and taking more classes than any student in theater history, all the wild things...

We talk to performer, writer, and instructor, Patrick Rowland, in this fantastic episode! Patrick ran the whole gamut of improv and sketch in Chicago. He talks about how he got bit by the improv bug, how he managed his shyness while pursuing comedy, studying and performing at esteemed theaters like iO, Second City, and the Annoyance, how he started writing, his all Black sketch troupe 3 Peat, his...

In this episode we talk to actor, playwright, and theatre co-director, Sam Hood Adrain. This is a lively chat about the theatre and pursuing a life in the arts! Sam talks to Jason about submitting to grants, being a stand-in which includes a wild story about working on the series Daredevil, the entertainment business, odd jobs he worked, having one line over 5 years on Search Party, playwrighting,...

Improv extraordinaire Brian James O'Connell makes his 4th appearance again. Going for the podcast's 5-timers club, BOC returns to talk all things art and improv with Jason. After catching up we hear a little more insight into Brian's early time in improv and his approach, why he thinks of him less of a teacher and more of a librarian, his All Improv guide which is a beast that he keeps updating fo...

We talk to husband and wife duo, Lindsay and Manus Clancy! Lindsay and Manus talk with Jason about Alchemy Comedy in Greenville, SC (where the 3 of them met), how the two met at Clemson University, how they got into improv and comedy, what it's like moving to New York to pursue comedy and how busy they got, not being able to see and do everything, why they've changed up the kind of comedy they are...

In this episode, we provide valuable insights on promoting diversity and inclusion in your comedy scene! We're not judging anyone's current position, but hoping to inspire! While coordinating the diversity scholarship at the Magnet Theater, Jason thought it would be good to share practical suggestions for growing the community you are trying to foster. Keep in mind that each comedy scene is unique...

Improviser Jason Underwood makes an official return to the podcast! Jason Underwood is an old pal of ours who has appeared on the podcast before in episodes like the Charleston Comedy Festival. The two Jasons talk about how they met on the set of a mysterious never-to-be-seen student film, how they got into improv, how they started with Alchemy, writing a one act play in 24 hours, their proposal s...

The "Of the Show" gang is here to talk all that POP! Brother/Best Man of the Show, Trey, Best Friend/Groomsman of the Show, Rob, and Fiancée of the Show, Justina, join Jason to discuss what's going on in pop culture right now. This episode's popics include the box office of Aquaman 2 and Wonka, Jimmy Kimmel's beef with Aaron Rodgers, the Golden Globe winners, who we thought would win at the Emmys,...

We talked to Dallas, TX improviser, Christen Nutter! Jason randomly met Christen at the Magnet Theater on a trip from Dallas and was checking out the comedy scene in NYC. She talks with Jason about what she picked up on seeing so many shows across various New York theaters and clubs, hanging out at Comedy Cellar, what made her want to start the improv collective SALLAD in Dallas, the interesting a...