For me as a performer, I always want the audience to love me, and all the other kinds of love don't matter. This month I turned 60, and my wife and I gathered 12 of my friends for a party at our house to celebrate my birthday. After dinner, and before they brought the cake out to sing […]
Friday is my birthday. I will be 53 years old. In improv, that makes me ancient. Each year I have the same birthday ritual: I go into a major depression. It usually stems from thinking about how I wish I was more successful, more famous, and have more money — like my friends that I started […]
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Mike Birbiglia is the writer, director and star of his latest independent film, "Don't Think Twice," about a popular New York improv group where one of the members gets his big break. Jimmy talks to Mike about some of the themes in his film, like jealousy, self-sabotage and fame. Mike discusses falling in love with […]
Jay Sukow is a great improviser and teacher here in Chicago. He’s part of the old guard; he’s been improvising, teaching and directing for years. His students worship him, and rightfully so. He is so positive and affirming in his approach that it makes me jealous. This July, Jay and his wife and two kids […]
The death of Robin Williams was sad and sobering. As my friend, Erika, said, it was like "Elvis had died." In the comedy/acting world, she was right. Most people reading this blog would love to have a career like his, including myself. And most people reading this blog, including myself, would think having a career […]
All of us in the performing arts want to get noticed. We improvisers want to get recognition for our work, and most of us would love to be famous -- in my case, maybe too much. I have always looked at fame as something that would take away my years of low self esteem, would make me whole […]