How did a grumpy table magician find a way to turn “being pathetic” into 400 shows a year in his own theatre at Las Vegas?  Only Piff The Magic Dragon knows!

We’ll discover how a shop-bought dragon costume flicked the switch from sackable corporate table guy, to deadpan bulletproof performer and self-styled “loser of America’s Got Talent”. Along the way we’ll find out why the perfect show will never happen, and why a fear of failure turns most magicians into “hack copycats”…

30 mins of extra content available exclusively to the Insiders Club include Piff on the invention of his own tricks, and how something new with a block of jelly has already cost him two and half years and over $70,000; how own bad magic and guilty shortcuts; his evangelist uprising; and what comics can learn from magicians.

Go to www.comedianscomedian.com/insiders for this and much more, including the exclusive Insiders Q&As with Nish Kumar, James Acaster and Fern Brady and the incredible “self-help for comedians” special with Amanda Donnet.

LISTEN HERE

Filed Under: Addiction, Audience Participation, Audiences, Awards, Cabaret, comcompod, Comedy, Competitions, Coping, Corporate Gigs, Corporate Work, Edinburgh, Fame, Festival, Fire Breathing, First Open Spot, Fringe, Frisky And Mannish, Gary Delaney, Inspiration, Interview, James Acaster, Onstage Persona, Penn & Teller, Persona, Piff, Piff The Magic Dragon, Stage Persona, Stand Up, Success, USA, Vegas, Worth

Is Stuart Laws an absurdist rambler who froths up a load of increasingly hilarious nonsense whilst honking in a gilet? Or is he an astute and quite private man who started a production company when he was 18, and went on to produce his own sitcom Grave new World (Amazon Prime) as well as directing James Acaster’s “Repertoire” (Netflix) and countless other standup specials? It’d be great if the answer was “neither” wouldn’t it? But it’s clearly both.

We talk about “The Prestige” as it pertains to stand-up shows; what it means to be both producer and director of one’s own work; and what makes other comics attractive assets to his company Turtle Canyon. We also cover openness, privacy and what shocks him about other comedians…

25 mins of extra content available exclusively to the Insiders Club includes Stuart on the different ways he directs comics, with reference to James Acaster and Joel Dommett; how to direct without imposing; his social media and TikTok sketch strategies, and some insights on the only show ever made about Wario. Go to www.comedianscomedian.com/insiders for this and much more, including the exclusive Insiders Q&As with Nish Kumar, Alfie Brown and your invite to the forthcoming one with Fern Brady!

Stuart Laws is up to the following things:
Stuart’s series Grave New World is on Prime Video and Vimeo on Demand, links at www.stuartlaws.com.
He has two stand up specials on NextUp and his podcast with Matt Winning, Up Your Footfall, is at https://www.podfollow.com/1559039647.
Everything else is here: https://linktr.ee/stuartlawscomedy

Everything Stu's up to:
Stu’s “Virtual Office Party” is now available as the perfect solution to remote-working office parties, sales conferences, motivational and wellbeing events.

“It was an absolutely hysterical and wonderful evening, for both those partaking and everyone watching online!”
- Maria Kuzak (Fundraising Manager at CALM)

"The games and interactive element were hilarious and extremely well executed! 10/10 from us, you created a real buzz in our business, thank you."
- Ben Gott (SVP at Merkle)

For more info on how this unique concept can bring your staff together while working apart, go to www.stuartgoldsmith.co.uk

Stu also offers remote talks to business on what the distilled wisdom of over 350 comics can teach you about resilience, especially in times of pandemic.

“The most inspiring talk I’ve had in years!”
- (LEGO staff member)

Find out more at www.stuartgoldsmith.co.uk

This podcast is @ComComPod on twitter and instagram

www.comedianscomedian.com

LISTEN HERE

Filed Under: Acaster, Audiences, BBC, Ben Target, comcompod, Comedy, Daniel Kitson, Edinburgh, Fear, Festival Comedian, Fringe, Interview, James Acaster, Joel Dommett, Josie Long, Mainstream, Nina Conti, Nish Kumar, Onstage Persona, Risk, Rob Auton, Simon Amstell, Sketch, Spencer Jones, Stage Persona, Stand Up, Structure, Stuart Goldsmith, Stuart Laws, Success, Vic And Bob, Whimsy, Worth, Writing

Head writer for “The Mash Report”, show-runner for “Hello America” on Quibi, and profoundly nice man, Tom Neenan has a practised ease with pulling jokes out of thin air.  He’s also a comcompletist and one of the nicest people in the industry.

We talk about his entry into the business as a recipient of the BBC writer’s bursary, how a position as staff-writer taught him to be super-productive, and how to mine ambiguity for a punchline.

30 minutes of extra content available exclusively to members of the Insiders Club includes Tom on learning to make shows more personal; Stu and Tom get self-indulgent riffing on story and the Lubitsch touch with reference to Pixar and the MCU, and Tom shares some of his favourite joke-formats…

Go to www.comedianscomedian.com/insiders for this and much more, including the exclusive Insiders Q&A with James Acaster.

Tom Neenan
Follow @tneenan for his very funny tweets and drawing

Follow Tom’s Dr Who podcast @Wheezingpod

We also mentioned some of his favourite instructional YouTubers; these include HBomberguy, Jenny Nicholson, Every Frame a Painting, Lessons From The Screenplay, Folded Ideas, and Lindsey Ellis.

And here’s a link to the video about The Lubitsch touch Tom mentions in the extras:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxqt7UmN_bQ

Everything Stu's up to:
Stu’s “Virtual Office Party” is now available as the perfect solution to remote-working office parties, sales conferences, motivational and wellbeing events.

“It was an absolutely hysterical and wonderful evening, for both those partaking and everyone watching online!”

- Maria Kuzak (Fundraising Manager at CALM)

The games and interactive element were hilarious and extremely well executed! 10/10 from us, you created a real buzz in our business, thank you." 

- Ben Gott, Practice Lead, Marketing Solutions EMEA, SVP at Merkle

For more info on how this unique concept can bring your staff together while working apart, go to www.virtualofficeparty.co.uk

Stu also offers remote talks to business on what the distilled wisdom of over 350 comics can teach you about resilience, especially in times of pandemic.

“The most inspiring talk I’ve had in years!” (LEGO staff member)

Find out more at www.comedyinsights.com


This podcast is @ComComPod on twitter and instagram

www.comedianscomedian.com

LISTEN HERE

Filed Under: Al Murray, Audiences, BBC, BBC4, Comedy, Edinburgh, Festival, Fringe, Graham Norton, Hello America, Interview, James Acaster, Milton Jones, Mitch Hedburg, Mock The Week, Nish Kumar, Stage Persona, Stand Up, Success, The Mash Report, TV, TV Comedy, Twitter, Victoria Wood, Worth, Writing, YouTube

Comedian, former street-performer and popular podcast host, Stu Goldsmith is a charming but tortur-

Oh god I can't fake this, it's me isn't it? It's bloody ME!

Your fearless interviewer has the tables turned as he sits down to be interviewed by ComCom fans Sarah Millican, Tom Allen and Sindhu Vee, and fields questions from listeners including James Acaster, Nish Kumar, Ricky Gervais, Brett Goldstein, Herbie Treehead, Josh Widdicombe, Fern Brady and Nathaniel Metcalfe, as well as those sent in by you the listener via the ComCom Facebook page.

It was quite bruising but he enjoyed it.

@ComComPod | @StuGoldsmith

www.comedianscomedian.com | www.stuartgoldsmith.co.uk

The rushes from the three main interviews are available soon from www.comedianscomedian.com/insiders, along with all the extra material from any episode which has ever had extras attached!

Come and see Stu's work-in-progress show "Primer" at the Edinburgh Fringe at Monkey Barrel, who appear to have cheekily grabbed

www.thefringe.com

www.thefringe.co.uk

and

www.fairfringe.com

But you can find Stu's details here: https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/stuart-goldsmith-primer-wip

LISTEN HERE

Filed Under: Age, Audiences, Claudia O'Doherty, College, comcompod, Comedy, Compere/MC/Hosting, Double Act, Edinburgh, Fear, Fern Brady, Festival, Festival Comedian, First Open Spot, Free Fringe, Fringe, Gary Delaney, Gig Recordings, Heckles, Ian Cognito, Inspiration, Interview, Isolation, James Acaster, Jobs, Joe Lycett, John Luke Roberts, john robins, Josh Widdicombe, London, Maria Bamford, Mental Health, Nish Kumar, Onstage Persona, Patton Oswalt, Persona, Phil Kay, Philippe Gaulier, Podcasting, Pomodoro, Problems, Ricky Gervais, Risk, Sarah Millican, Show Me The Funny, Sindhu Vee, Stage Persona, Stand Up, Stuart Goldsmith, Success, Tim Vine, Tom Allen, Twitter, Widdicombe, Worth, Writing, Writing Jokes, Writing On Stage

Present at the opening night of the London Comedy Store, Nick Revell has been performing satirical, political and absurd standup for four decades. After a ten year break to write for TV, including on topical sitcom "Drop The Dead Donkey", he humbly returned to the open mic circuit to relearn his craft, and shares his unique perspective on how things had changed in that time, on stage, in audiences and in green rooms. We talk about the benefit of sleepless nights, his new narrative shows, and whether after nearly forty years he's finally found his voice... 25mins of extra material available exclusively to members of the Insiders Club include Nick on the excess of the early days of the Store, and some brilliant technical advice on how to absorb an instinct for the shape of a joke...  sign up at www.comedianscomedian.com/insiders www.nickrevell.com | @TheNickRevell And go and see Nick's brilliantly titled Fringe show: "Nick Revell: Eurasia’s Most Eligible Psychopaths and Their Lovely Homes" Tickets for my show Primer at this year's Edinburgh Fringe @ComComPod | www.comedianscomedian.com

LISTEN HERE

Filed Under: Audiences, Channel 4, Comedy, Comedy Store, Dave Allen, Drop The Dead Donkey, Eddie Izzard, Edinburgh, Fame, Festival, Fringe, Greg Davies, Gyles Brandreth, Henning Wehn, Inspiration, Interview, James Acaster, Jay Leno, Jo Brand, Jobs, John Cleese, John Lloyd, Lenny Bruce, Mental Health, Monty Python, Nick Revell, Open Mic, Pappy’s, Patton Oswalt, Perrier, Persona, Peter Cook, political, Radio, Radio 4, Richard Pryor, Risk, Robin Ince, Sketch, Stage Persona, Stand Up, Stereotypes, Stewart Lee, Storytelling, Structure, Success, The Comedy Store, The House of Spirit Levels, Tony Allen, Tony Hancock, TV, TV Comedy, Twitter, We Are Klang, Whimsy, Worth, Writing, Writing Jokes, Writing On Stage

A multi-media artist, fascinated with language, rhythm, and combining jokes with drawing, Markus Birdman also isn't above a dick joke. Aiming for “high octane and no gaps”, with routines composed like a drum solo, we uncover his volatile relationship with his father and his father's God, the stroke that he almost mistook for a hangover, and wanting to be angry as a means of self-definition.

30 mins of extras from this episode are available at www.comedianscomedian.com/insiders, including Markus on survivor's guilt, the shot at the top that he might have missed, whether you can fake greatness in comedy, and a short sharp strategy for overcoming writer's block...

www.markusbirdman.co.uk | @birdmanwatching
Tickets for Markus' Ed Fringe show Last White Christmas

Tickets for my show Primer at this year's Edinburgh Fringe

@ComComPod | www.comedianscomedian.com

LISTEN HERE

Filed Under: Age, Alcohol, Alternative Comedy, Alun Cochrane, Art, Audience Participation, Audiences, Awards, Comedy, Compere/MC/Hosting, Dark Humour, Drinking, Edinburgh, Festival, Festival Comedian, First Open Spot, Fringe, Inspiration, Interview, James Acaster, Lee Evans, Markus Birdman, Mental Health, Money, Music, Onstage Persona, Paul Sinha, Persona, Simon Munnery, So You Think You’re Funny, Stage Persona, Stand Up, Stereotypes, Stewart Lee, Storytelling, Structure, Success, Tom Gleeson, Twitter, Worth, Writing, Writing Jokes

Six years after his first appearance, Josh returns for a textbook ComCom conversation about his creative development since then! We get even further into the minutiae of his writing and structuring process and what makes a perfect observation, plus some spicy celebrity gossip about Taskmaster and the secret of his rebooking success on the Graham Norton Show!

Get ad-free new episodes, bonus content from interviews and much more by joining the Insiders Club at www.comedianscomedian.com/insiders

Find tickets to Josh's new tour here.

www.joshwiddicombe.com | @joshwiddicombe

See my show Primer at this year's Edinburgh Fringe

@ComComPod | www.comedianscomedian.com

LISTEN HERE

Filed Under: #Hypothetical, Acting, Adam Hills, Alex Horne, Audiences, BBC, Channel 4, Comedy, Corporate Gigs, Corporate Work, Dave (TV channel), Ed Gamble, Edinburgh, Fame, Festival, First Open Spot, Frank Skinner, Fringe, Graham Norton, Greg Davies, Hypothetical, Interview, James Acaster, Jimmy Carr, Jobs, Josh Widdicombe, Live, Live At The Apollo, Mainstream, Money, Netflix, Nish Kumar, Observational Comedy, Onstage Persona, Persona, Podcasting, Quickly Kevin will he score?, Radio, Rob Beckett, Seann Walsh, Stage Persona, Stand Up, Steve Martin, Stewart Lee, Structure, Success, Taskmaster, TV, TV Comedy, Twitter, Widdicombe, Worth, Writing, Writing Jokes, Writing On Stage

Responsible for the best reviewed comedy show at Edfringe 2018, Alex Edelman is an irrepressibly funny comic, with a grasp of joke structure and narrative arc that is both innate and studied.  We cover his Modern Orthodox Jewish upbringing, and as well as identifying a "a confessional arms race" in modern comedy, he reveals a desperate need to be accepted by his peers.  But is he really "solicitous and pandering"? Extra content for this episode includes Alex's hypothetical "formula" for an award-winning first hour, and why although prescriptive it isn't actually that formulaic. We also get to hear him review himself honestly...  Sign up for all the extras at www.comedianscomedian.com/insiders Find out more about Alex at www.alexedelmancomedy.com @AlexEdelman www.comedianscomedian.com @StuGoldsmith @ComComPod

LISTEN HERE

Filed Under: Al Murray, Alex Edelman, Alternative Comedy, Audiences, BBC, Best Newcomer, Bill Burr, Bo Burnham, Brain Regan, Brian Regan, Bridget Christie, Chris Rock, Comedy, Directing, Edinburgh, Ego, Festival, Fin Taylor, First Open Spot, Fringe, HAIM, Interview, James Acaster, Jerry Seinfeld, Jewish Comedy, Jobs, John Kearns, Josh Widdicombe, Josie Long, Mental Health, Onstage Persona, Persona, Radio 4, Stage Persona, Stand Up, Storytelling, Structure, Success, The 1975, The Guardian, USA, Writing, Writing Jokes, Writing On Stage