Irrepressibly optimistic, utterly in love with his craft and very mentally robust, Paul Zerdin is the British ventriloquist who won America's Got Talent.

We talk about his lengthy career working across different circuits -- from variety, cruises and holiday camps to mainstream comedy -- and discuss how he navigates the suspicions of the alternative comedy industry. Paul outlines in detail his pandemic pivot, the relentless energy devoted to TV pitches, how he planned his AGT set to build and build, as well as deception, illusion, and the modular nature of magic...

~15 minutes of extra Insider content available, including Paul's drive to create a fourth-wall-breaking ventriloquist animation, world domination, and Vegas, baby!

Go to www.comedianscomedian.com/insiders for this and much more, including the exclusive Insiders Q&As with Nish Kumar, James Acaster and Alfie Brown, and your invite to the forthcoming ones with Fern Brady and a “self-help for comedians” special with Amanda Donnet (MClinPsych)

Find Paul here:
paulzerdin.com
IG: @paulzerdin
TW: @paulzerdin
FB: Paul Zerdin
YT: Paul Zerdin
www.paulzerdin.com
youtube.com/paulzerdin
@paulzerdin

This podcast is @ComComPod on twitter and instagram

LISTEN HERE

Filed Under: AGT, Audiences, Interview, Mrs Brown’s Boys, Stage Persona, Success, TV, USA, Vegas, Writing Jokes

Josh Johnson doesn’t put a foot wrong. This masterful young US comic never stops working and is reaping the benefits with a place in the Daily Show writers’ room, and two brand new releases: his own music/comedy collaboration “Mixtape”, and his debut special “# (Hashtag)”.

We encounter a really thoughtful approach to his art, and talk about his possibly unique combination of comedy and non-comic original music; explore embellishment; and how “playing to his weakness” serves his material…

20ish minutes of extra content available exclusively to Insiders as Josh ruminates on vulnerabilities, approach, and how not even the most vexatious of Uber drivers can knock back the offer of free fried chicken.

Go to www.comedianscomedian.com/insiders for this and much more, including the exclusive Insiders Q&As with Nish Kumar, James Acaster and Alfie Brown, and your invite to the forthcoming ones with Fern Brady and a “self-help for comedians” special with Amanda Donnet (MClinPsych)

Connect with Josh Johnson:

https://www.joshjohnsoncomedy.com/

https://www.instagram.com/joshjohnsoncomedy/

https://twitter.com/joshjohnson

https://www.facebook.com/JoshJComedy

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLuYADJ6hESLHX87JnsGbjA

LISTEN HERE

Filed Under: Bob Hope, Comedy Central, Coping, Corona, Interview, Kanye, Kanye West, SNL, Soho Theatre, Structure, Success, TV Comedy, USA, YouTube

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, 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, Success, USA, Vegas

Our first wrestler! A man with a firm foot in both the ring and the comedy circuit; Colt Cabana has been a pro for over 20 years, in WWE and now AEW, as well as a committed comedy collaborator with people like Brendon Burns and John Hastings.  We talk about the myriad parallels between our worlds; about mentorship and growth; whether “kayfabe” is still a thing; learning how to play character instinctively; and meeting his comic match in Japanese wrestler Toru Yano.

15 minutes of extra content available exclusively to members of the Insiders Club include Colt discussing evolution over a long career, crowd work with a baby, seeking inspiration in everything, and the “fakeness” or otherwise of UFC…

Go to www.comedianscomedian.com/insiders for this and much, much more!

Catch up with Colt:
Find Colt on Twitch: www.twitch.tv/ColtCabana
Tw/IG: @ColtCabana
The documentaries & children’s book is at COLTMERCH.com
and find ”Art of Wrestling” podcast wherever the hell you get your podcasts!

Everything Stu's up to:
The Infinite Sofa chat show is now available as a solution to remote-working office parties over the festive period! Go to www.virtualofficeparty.co.uk for more info on how this unique concept can bring your staff together while working apart!

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

Stu also co-hosts the “Child Labour" parenting podcast with Sindhu Vee www.childlabourpod.com (And the last episode of season 1, with Sara Barron, is a BELTER!)

LISTEN HERE

Filed Under: Audiences, Brendon Burns, Character, College, Colt Cabana, comcompod, Dave, Edinburgh, Ego, Festival, Fringe, Improv, Interview, Jobs, Mental Health, Money, Onstage Persona, Persona, Stage Persona, Success, Twitch, USA, Wrestling, Writing On Stage, WWE

Laurie Kilmartin can make anything funny; from her superb album “45 Jokes About My Dead Dad”, a bulletproof club-fresh comedy special which doesn’t tarry with emotion, to live-tweeting the recent tragic loss of her mother to Covid-19. We learn how she found humour by turns lacerating and deeply moving, even in that awful situation.

We also talk about her work as a monologue writer for Conan O’Brien, and the rhythm of pitching jokes personally and then collaborating in the last hour before showtime; how to wield disdain effectively; and why she doesn’t believe comics like to make people happy.

Join the Insiders Club now at www.comedianscomedian.com/insiders for a veritable smorgasbord of content spanning the ComCom back-catalogue, and numerous other perks.

Catch up with Laurie:

www.kilmartin.com
Laurie’s Book: www.kilmartin.com/dead-people-suck.html
YOU MUST FOLLOW LAURIE ON TWITTER: www.twitter.com/AnyLaurie16

Everything Stu's up to:

This podcast is @ComComPod on twitter and instagram
www.comedianscomedian.com
Stu 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

Stu also co-hosts the “Child Labour" parenting podcast with Sindhu Vee
www.childlabourpod.com

Mondays 9pm BST - "The Infinite Sofa" chat show

Top celebrity talent (previous guests include Dara O'Briain, Sarah Millican and Russell Howard) join Stu and 12 members of the public, in an increasingly cult-like live online performance experiment.
www.infinitesofa.com

Tuesdays 8pm BST - "Chops" Online comedy club

www.chopscomedy.com
www.twitch.tv/stugoldsmith

LISTEN HERE

Filed Under: Audiences, Bernie Mac, comcompod, Conan, COVID-19, Daniel Sloss, Doug Stanhope, Edinburgh, Interview, Stage Persona, Stereotypes, Structure, Success, TV, Twitter, USA

Heavy-hitter Erin Foley is a sensational comic with a way of making even the gentlest observations into flint-hard punchlines.  We discuss her “terrifying but wonderful” start in standup, and how she was 8 years into her career before she began discussing her sexuality onstage.  We talk about questioning and defining success, the epic ness of performing honestly, her refusal to be a joke-pony, and the best place for the Big Gay Reveal…

Join the Insiders Club now at www.comedianscomedian.com/insiders for a bountiful array of content spanning the ComCom back-catalogue, and numerous other perks.

Catch up with Erin:

www.erinkfoley.com

@erinfoleycomic

Erin’s album Deep Dive on Spotify

>Everything Stu's up to:

This podcast is @ComComPod on twitter and instagram

www.comedianscomedian.com

Stu also co-hosts the “Child Labour" parenting podcast with Sindhu Vee

www.childlabourpod.com

Mondays 9pm BST - "The Infinite Sofa" chat show

Top celebrity talent (previous guests include Dara O'Briain, Sarah Millican and Russell Howard) join Stu and 12 members of the public, in an increasingly cult-like live online performance experiment.

www.infinitesofa.com

Tuesdays 8pm BST - "Chops" Online comedy club

www.chopscomedy.com

www.twitch.tv/stugoldsmith

Wednesdays 8pm BST - "ThinkTank"

A new even-more-experimental exercise in creativity, community, and throwing together a virtual bank heist under pressure.

New ideas and new jeopardy every week!

www.twitch.tv/stugoldsmith

LISTEN HERE

Filed Under: Acting, Almost Famous, Audiences, comcompod, Comedy Central, Compere/MC/Hosting, Conan, Corona, COVID-19, Craig Ferguson, Erin Foley, Interview, Observational Comedy, Onstage Persona, Sexuality, Stage Persona, Success, The Late Show, The Office, TV, USA, Writing Jokes

“Hello babies, welcome to Gary Gulman…”  A comedian’s comedian in the truest sense, we discuss the making of Gary’s stand-up special/documentary “The Great Depresh”, charting a mental health journey via electroconvulsive therapy and medical ketamine, through recovery to genuine brilliance.  We learn the origin of the world’s most humble opening joke and why we should crowds credit for their vocabulary; and also cover the writing tip that’s visible if you freeze-frame a single shot of the movie, and his love of Kurt Vonnegut.

45 minutes of exquisite extra content, available exclusively to members of the Insiders Club, includes Gary on his extensive writing tips for comics and why it’s impossible to use up creativity, and some behind the scenes secrets on his experiences doing spots on Conan.

Go to www.comedianscomedian.com/insiders for this and much much more!

Connect with Gary here:

www.garygulman.com

@garygulman

Stu's current endeavours:

Released every Monday

"Child Labour" parenting podcast with Stuart Goldsmith & Sindhu Vee

www.childlabourpod.com

Mondays 9pm BST - "The Infinite Sofa" chat show

Top celebrity talent (former guests include Dara O'Briain, Sarah Millican and Russell Howard) join Stu and 12 members of the public, in an increasingly cult-like live online performance experiment.

www.infinitesofa.com

Tuesdays 8pm BST - "Chops" Online comedy club

Headline acts with new material plus the cream of emerging comics, all with a live audience in the "room"

www.chopscomedy.com

www.twitch.tv/stugoldsmith

Wednesdays 8pm BST - "ThinkTank"

A new even-more-experimental exercise in creativity, community, and throwing together a virtual bank heist under pressure.

New ideas and new jeopardy every week!

www.twitch.tv/stugoldsmith

LISTEN HERE

Filed Under: Alex Edelman, Audiences, Brain Regan, comcompod, Conan, Crashing, HBO, Interview, John Mulaney, Joker, Letterman, Maria Bamford, Mental Health, Stage Persona, Success, The Tonight Show, TV, TV Comedy, Twitch, USA, Writing Jokes, Writing On Stage, YouTube

Catherine Cohen took home “Best Newcomer” at the Edinburgh Fringe last year, with a jaw-dropping show bursting with wit, originality and layer upon layer of irony.  Her angle of attack, mocking the audience for being so pathetically in love with her, allows her to take huge risks on stage, in a character that was grown through vast quantities of just the right sort of stage time.

We talk about why she loves the occasional “stone-faced” audience-member, about playing to win and succeeding, surviving burn-out, and why she can’t stop “freaking out about absolutely everything”…

Join the Insiders Club now at www.comedianscomedian.com/insiders for all this and much much more.

Catch up with Catherine Cohen:

http://www.catherine-cohen.com

TW: @catcohen | IG: @catccohen

TW: @ComComPod | IG: @ComComPod

As per the post-amble, consider giving these comics a follow on Twitter:

@DaneBaptweets

@ninia_benjamin

@funmbi

@ginayashere

@destheray

@jamalimaddix

@olathecomedian

@AhirShah

@paulsinha

@MrNishKumar

@tezilyas

@dalisochaponda

@athenakugblenu

STU GOLDSMITH’S INFINITE SOFA

Every Monday and Thursday night at the new later time of 9pm, Stu Goldsmith’s Infinite Sofa brings you the warmest and most atmospheric cure for the social-isolation blues!

Forthcoming guests include Rhod Gilbert, Sara Barron, Iain Stirling, Flo and Joan, and Luisa Omelian, who with 12 members of the public join Stu for an hour and a half of brilliant comedy, music and variety with interactive games and big laughs. 

Find out more at www.infinitesofa.com

CHOPS COMEDY

Every Tuesday at 8pm come and watch your favourite comics riding their sea-legs in the new world of online stand-up, with a warm and a generous studio audience, at Chops Comedy!  Forthcoming headliners include Josie Long, Sarah Millican, Jarred Christmas, Rob Kemp, Russell Hicks and Lost Voice Guy

www.chopscomedy.com

LISTEN HERE

Filed Under: Audiences, Awards, comcompod, Compere/MC/Hosting, Coping, Corona, COVID-19, Drama School, Edinburgh, Equality, Festival, Fringe, Gender, Interview, Isolation, Mental Health, Musical Comedy, New York, Persona, Podcasting, Reviews, Risk, Stage Persona, Structure, Success, TV Comedy, Twitter, USA, Whimsy, Writing On Stage, YouTube