Comedians working together is a beautiful thing.
Comedian Mike Birbiglia welcomes a different comedian or creator each week and together they work out original, untested material. And, occasionally, uncomfortable topics. Join them as they work it out.
Mike Birbiglia: A comedian, storyteller, director and actor who has performed in front of audiences worldwide, from the Sydney Opera House to Broadway. His shows, “My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend” and “Thank God for Jokes,” were both filmed for Netflix. His most recent show, “The New One,” ran for 99 shows at the Cort Theatre.
In addition to performing live, Mike is an author and filmmaker who wrote, directed and starred in the films Sleepwalk with Me and Don’t Think Twice. Mike’s book “Sleepwalk with Me and Other Painfully True Stories” was a New York Times bestseller and a finalist for the Thurber Prize for American Humor. As an actor, Mike has appeared on “Inside Amy Schumer,” HBO’s “Girls” and “Broad City,” as well as in the films Trainwreck, The Fault in Our Stars and Popstar. He plays the role of Danny Pearson on “Orange Is the New Black” and Oscar Langstraat on Showtime’s “Billions.” He is a contributor to “This American Life” on public radio. In 2017, Mike was honored with the Kurt Vonnegut Award for humor.
This week’s episode, Mike lost his mind laughing at Kate Berlant’s new comedy special Cinnamon in the Wind. So he dropped her a line and asked her to discuss it on the podcast. Mike and Kate discuss working with director Bo Burnham, the looseness of the special, and how the special almost didn’t come out. They discuss Kate’s solo show “Kate” which was an off-Broadway sensation and is now heading to London at the exact same time that Mike brings “The Old Man & The Pool.” They talk about Kate’s comedy special with John Early called “Would It Kill You To Laugh?” that was just nominated for an Emmy. They discuss how Kate has always been suspicious of “cool” people but now- between her three hit shows and appearing in movies by Quentin Tarantino and Boots Riley- she may have become one of them.
Kate Berlant: Kate Berlant is an actress, stand-up comedian, and writer who was recently profiled by The New York Times as a “magnetic improvisational comic” at the forefront of experimental comedy. Kate was named a New Face at the 2014 Montreal Comedy Festival and was one of Comedy Central’s Top Ten Comics to Watch in 2013. She has performed in festivals such as SXSW, the New York Comedy Festival, Bridgetown Comedy Festival, Moontower, San Francisco Sketchfest, and the Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival. She was recently named by Splitsider as one of the Top 10 Up-And-Coming Comedians and was named by Time Out New York as one of the “Three Comics to Watch” in 2012. Kate was commissioned by The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles to create material for their online channel and was a featured performer on IFC’s “Comedy Drop.” She just wrapped a pilot for Comedy Central and for TruTV. Kate recently finished an international tour opening for musician Father John Misty and a national tour with musician Lo-Fang. She has been featured in Rookie Magazine, Rolling Stone, Esquire, and Los Angeles Magazine.
Checkout more episodes of Mike Birbiglia’s Working It Out featuring Tom Papa, Liz Kingsman, Jim Gaffigan, and many more HERE
