Season 1 Introduction/Teaser

In these outtakes from Amy Sumpter's episode, we discuss the duplicitous toilets of Manhattan, working a day job, dating as a comedian, and a lot more.

Timestamps:

01:00 – Dissecting Comedy at Open Mics

01:28 – “I love a good poop joke, but…”

01:58 – The Legend of Kyle Parris

• Mentions of Doc Martins, Dad Jeans, Elbow Patches, ‘The Room’, Vaudeville

03:45 – Selling the Hell Out of a Dad Joke

04:38 – New York and L.A.

05:00 – The Toilets of New York

05:52 – Moving to Chicago to Wait Tables

07:38 – Reflect on Your Decade

08:19 – “If you want me, come and get me. You fly me out”

09:35 – No Shame in Having a Day Job

11:07 – I Do Not Run Las Locas Comedy (Janice Rodriguez Does)

• Mentions of 2002, Frosted Tips, Anal Beads, Janice Rodriguez, Vanilla Ice

13:28 – Entitled White Women at Open Mics

14:36 – “Everyone feels this ownership of what is funny”

• Mentions of George Carlin, Checking Your Privilege, Last Comic Standing

16:50 – Absorbing Positive Messages Before a Performance

17:54 – Rachel McCartney is a Genius

18:20 – Relatable Material?

20:40 – She’s Crafty

20:58 – “So, you’re famous, right?”

21:44 – Building Women Up

• Mentions of The Kates, Public Speaking

23:00 – Wisdom vs. Age

• Mentions of Non-Binary, Gender Norms, Feminism, Patriarchy

24:36 – The Weird Dating Cycle Redux

25:37 – Sex and Self-Respect

26:15 – You Deserve a Sexy, Famous Gentleman

• Mentions of Jason Momoa, Idris Elba, #metoo, ‘Luther’, ‘Cats’, The Rocky Horror Picture Show

27:45 – I Spill Water on Myself

28:25 – Brittany Meyer’s ‘Cats’ Story

28:50 – A Kid Keeps Farting During ‘Beauty and the Beast’

29:38 – Gym Momentum

30:15 – Hair vs. No Hair

• Mention of Winslow Dumaine

30:46 – Wait, You Found Love?

32:25 – I Don’t Want to be Objectified

33:00 – Tips for Going on a Date with a Comedian

33:40 – Kelsie Huff Kicks Ass

• Mentions of Marilee, Laugh Factory, Robin Williams, St. Patrick’s Day, Zanies, Scott Duff

34:32 – “Scott Duff is magic”

Co-founder of The Kates on Broadway and acclaimed Chicago comedy vet Amy Sumpter goes over her amazing 2019 set at Strip Joker in this season 3 finale!

We discuss making space for women in stand-up (and in the world), the time her breast ended up in an old lady's mouth on the subway, and what not to do when your gynecologist shows up to a pelvic exam dressed as a pirate.

Timestamps:

01:00 – Set from Strip Joker

14:00 – “I come from a pretty funny family”

• Mentions of 7th Grade, Mean Girls, High School, Medieval Times, Jewel Osco, Bennigan’s

16:35 – “I want to be the weirdo; I want to be the character actor”

• Mentions of College, Chicago, Second City

17:45 – “…And that’s where I met Kelsie Huff”

• Mentions of Kelsie Huff, The Kates, Bear (The Nephew), Columbia College, Second City Conservatory

18:55 – The Kates Origin Story

• Mentions of Frankie J’s on Broadway, Methadone Clinics, One-Woman Shows, ‘Huffs’, Tragedy Plus Time, ‘Enough is Enough’ Webseries

21:40 – “Chicago is very small”

22:25 – “Whenever I have issues [with someone], it’s usually a white dude” (SPOILER ALERT)

22:55 – “I have been getting onstage since I was twelve”

23:21 – “Open mics just make me want to quit comedy”

24:37 – “Talk about what you know”

24:54 – “Don’t try to emulate your favorite comics”

• Mentions of Eddie Murphy, Lilly Tomlin, Amy Schumer

25:30 – Bad Sitcom Writing vs. ‘The Office’

26:10 – Amy’s First Open Mic Story

• Mentions of Chicago Trolley, Corona Beer, Withered Lady-Boners, Eric Estrada, ‘Chips’, The Comedy Hole of Shame

32:02 – Moving to Chicago vs. LA

32:42 – ‘The Kates’ Begins

• Mentions of Female Representation, Edgewater, Kate The Great’s Book Emporium, The Book Cellar, Facebook, Feminism

35:11 – Getting into the Set

35:13 – The High Kick

• Mentions of Cartwheels, Counseling, Therapy, Macho Man Randy Savage

36:57 – Underwear Covered in Pubic Hair

• Mentions of Gen-X, Shaving, Litmus Test

37:54 – 3-Year Old Nephew, Bear, Trying to Swear

• Mentions of Child Psychology, Teaching, Testing Limits

40:11 – The L-Cup and “You’re Welcome!”

• Mentions of Strip Joker, Specialty Bras, Motifs, X-Treme Commercials, Body Positivity, Believe Women

43:40 – Midwestern Politeness

44:20 – The Subway Incident

• Mentions of Rebirth, Mid-Life Crisis, Hindsight, Turkey Dogs

46:27 – Mom Is Taller Than Dad

48:30 – The Tom Green Digression

• Mention of ‘The Tom Green Show’
  • Season 1, Episode 9: ‘Parent Statues’

  • Season 2, Episode 11: ‘Best of Special’

• Mention of Drew Barrymore

50:20 – “I’m not a virgin and that’s sad”

• Mentions of Pound Town, Self Esteem

52:11 – “Why do some people just get to live in Pound Town?”

• Mentions of Hot Privilege, Serial Monogamy, Relationship Baggage, Chemistry

54:57 – The Gynocologist

• Mentions of Halloween, Speculums, Tinder, Salvatore Dali, Empowered Vaginas

57:10 – Revealing The Pasty

59:58 – Reviewing the Set

1:01:21 – “I don’t necessarily believe in ‘suffer for your art’”

1:01:45 – Advice for Aspiring Comedians

1:03:18 – Where Can We Find You?

• Podcast: ‘Shaped’

• She’s Crafty: Chicago’s All-Female Beastie Boys Tribute Band

• The Kates @ The Book Cellar

• Upcoming Comedy Album

1:04:28 – Final Words

In these outtakes from Brittani Ferguson's episode, we discuss the queer coding within 80's and 90's action films, 'Little House on the Prairie', and, of course, the 'X-Files'.

Timestamps:

00:00 – “The Burbs”

00:48 – Del Close and Sharna

• Mentions of Second City, Improv, Todd Barry, Steven Wright, Mu

02:18 – All 80’s and 90’s Action Films Were Softcore Gay Porn

• Mentions of Tom Cruise, Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Chuck Norris, Dolph Lundgren

03:16 – “I published an essay in college about all action films as gay romcoms”

04:32 – Telling Inside Jokes Onstage

04:56 – The Kyle Parris Story

• Mentions of Jerry Seinfeld, Trigger Warning Open Mic

06:47 – “Generally people around the age of thirty just seem to be kind of sad”

07:08 – “Nobody got their porn from Tumblr”

07:38 – Little House on the Prairie

• Mentions of Twitter, Doc Baker, Kevin Hagen, Charles Landon, Winger

09:36 – A Sexual Awakening to the X-Files

• Mentions of Divorce, Halloween

• References to The X-Files Season 2, Episode 7: ‘3’ (1994)

12:50 – “What do you call fans of Gillian Anderson? Lesbians”

13:28 – What Happens in Florida Laundry Rooms

In these outtakes from Spencer Blair's episode, we discuss the unceremonious closing of Uptown Underground, how he used to cheat audience members into the Chill As Fuck show at Second City, the time I learned about secondary sex mattresses, gay dating app etiquette, and more.

In the Before Times of Yore, podcaster/producer/comic Spencer Blair chats about his mostly-improvised hosting set at Strip Joker.

We discuss his improv background, how he got into hosting/producing shows all over Chicago, the internal dynamics of Strip Joker, and being terrifyingly confident onstage, all before we dive into the set.

Spencer can be found on the podcasts 'Desks & Dayjobs' as well as 'Please Make This', and is currently a co-producer of Strip Joker.

Timestamps:

01:00 – Hosting Set @ Strip Joker

• Mentions of Martin Felshman, Rachel Relman, ‘A Dog’s Journey’, Lexipro

10:36 – “When did you realize comedy was a thing you could do?”

• Mentions of Comedy Sportz, Imposter Syndrome

12:33 – “Maybe you should stop trying so hard”

• Mentions of Scott Duff, Le Aboav

14:03 – The Funny Friend

15:05 – “I went to a small, Christian university”

• Mentions of Orange County, Improv Groups; Improvcivable, Improv Shmimprov, Disney Cruises, The Walt Disney Corporation

17:30 – “Doing the Chicago thing”

• Mentions of iO, Second City

18:41 – “I’ve never consistently mic’ed”

• Mentions of Hobart Thompson, The Chill As Fuck Show, Droday, Dewayne Perkins, Michelle Wolfe, Brooklyn Nine-Nine

21:25 – Stand-Up vs. Improv

• Mentions of The Improvised Shakespeare Company, Second City

23:10 –The Chill As Fuck Show and Strip Joker

• Mentions of Brittany Meyer, Le Aboav, Strip Joker Deluxe, Scott Duff, Uptown Underground, That Dude Jeff, Sunny Grissom

27:57 – “The trick is being terrifyingly confident onstage”

29:09 – “The Scientific Method, but applied to humor”

• Mentions of Samantha Berkman, Kink-Shaming

30:54 – Getting into the Set

30:55 – Ad Libs

31:22 – “Are you as horny as I am?”

• Mentions of Body Positivity, Sex Positivity

32:10 – “I don’t write comedy down”

• Mentions of Tad Walters, Kirkwood

34:00 – “Everybody’s gay dad”

34:58 – Seasonal Depression

• Mentions of Lexapro, SSRI, Edging

38:29 – “A hot guy and his boyfriend”

40:37 – Coming Down from Lexapro

• Mention of Grindr, Christmas

43:18 – Gay Dating Apps

44:00 – Crying at a Movie Poster

• Mention of Johnny Rockets, ‘Homeward Bound’

48:30 – Losing the Audience

50:10 – The Oppressor in the Safe Space

52:16 – “Two white guys unpacking it on a podcast”

• Mention of Casey Larwood

521:54 – Self Awareness

53:23 – Spencer Shaved His Legs

54:27 – Wrapping It Up

57:25 – “I’m definitely more comfortable with queer comedy”

59:40 – Advice for Aspiring Comedians

1:00:25 – “The reason we do open mics is to see, meet, and network with people”

1:02:49 – Asshole with Great Jokes < Cool Person with Mediocre Jokes

• Mention of Marilee, Tina Fey, 30 Rock, Richard Pryor, ‘The Marvelous Ms. Maisel’

1:05:25 – Where Can We Find You?

• Podcast: ‘Please Make This’

• Podcast: ‘Desks And Dayjobs’

• Monthly Live Show: Strip Joker

• Grindr, Scruff, Growler: S.B.

• Hashtag: #thatloudbottom

• Twitter: @SpencerDBlair

• Instagram: @spencerdblair

1:08:14 – Final Words and Pandering

Trigger Warning: Personal Story of Sexual Assault

In these outtakes from Jamie Shriner Biddle's episode, we discuss the tragedy that is Louie CK at length, which prompts Jamie to reveal that she is a survivor. We also discuss the wounds of conservatism, the life of Valerie Solanas, Ellen Degeneres and her relationship with George W. Bush, and a whole lot more.

This is the longest and heaviest outtakes episode to date.

Time Stamps:

01:30 – Punching Down

• Mentions of Louie CK

• [I understand that part of Louis Szekely’s family is from Mexico, but he presents as white, and is coded as such]

03:13 – Coming Back From Being Cancelled

04:39 – “Everyone is the hero of their own story”

04:49 – “I don’t think that [Louie CK] was righteously masturbating in front of those women”

05:23 – The Tragedy of Louie / His Lost Chance For Redemption

• References to the bootleg recording of Louie’s comeback set at The Comedy Cellar on August 26, 2018

09:31 – Louie Becomes the Villain

11:06 – “I have been… Raped”

11:30 – “His material is no longer relatable to me”

• Mentions of TED Talks, Twitter, Westboro Baptist Church

14:03 – Liberal Karma vs. Conservatism

16:20 – Speaking as a Survivor of Sexual Assault

• Discussion of non-consensual sex as a “kink”

19:30 – “I see the best in people, to a fault”

20:36 – Presenting as Queer

• Mentions of Bisexuality, Ethical Non-Monogamy, Alfred Kinsey, The Kinsey Scale, Dave Chappelle, LGBTQIA

23:30 – “I am will to forgive [Chappelle]… You’re just old, baby”

24:35 – “You are not as ‘Other’ as I am”

• Mentions of ‘Wife Material’, Straight-Passing Privilege, Mom Energy

26:25 – ‘Valerie Solanas; The Woman Who Shot Andy Warhol: The Musical’

• Mentions of Andy Warhol, ‘SCUM Manifesto’, ‘Up Your Ass’, Paranoid Schizophrenia [I amateurishly call it Narcissistic Personality Disorder], Sex Work, Feminist Caricatures, Ted Cruz, Fred Rogers, Caitlin Cash, ‘The Holy Trinity of Wholesomeness’, Steve Irwin, Bob Ross, Ellen DeGeneres

33:12 – Ellen DeGeneres is a Tarnished Icon

• Mentions of George W. Bush, Cowardly Conservatives, Christianity, Gay Rights

36:45 – “He [George W. Bush] is a coward”

37:05 – Awkward Family Gatherings

40:35 – “People change, things change over time”

• Mentions of Jeb Bush, The Bush Dynasty

41:34 – Back to Comedy

• Mentions of Star Trek, Captain Picard

42:15 – Rapping About Cows

42:30 – “Being hard as fuck about a silly thing is the only way white people can get away with [rapping]”

• Mentions of Eminem, 75th and Prairie, Cultural Appropriation, The Velvet Lounge, Doc Love, Kendrick Lamar, Young Thug, RuPaul

45:31 – Writing and Performing Musical Comedy

• Mentions of Hair Metal, Folk Punk, Adam Sandler, HHannah Gatsby

48:55 – Skylar Higley and Political Discourse

• Mention of Nick Ogle

50:39 – “This got serious…”

• References to Astrology

In the Before Times of Yore (2019), actor/singer/composer/comedian Jamie Shriner Biddle breaks down her hosting set at 'Naughty Thoughts', her monthly Laugh Factory show.

This set includes her original song 'In My Butt', the story of her sexy cat costume, some crowd work, and a parable about unprotected sex. We discuss how she went from writing musicals to performing stand-up, her international marriage, how to make music funny, and a lot more before digging into the set.

Jamie has written and performed the musicals 'Little Miss' and 'Wife Material'. She is currently working on a musical about the life of Valerie Solanas (known for shooting Andy Warhol).

Watch the performance here: https://youtu.be/z--uwtDjJxM

Time Stamps:

01:00 – Naughty Thoughts Opening Set @ The Laugh Factory

11:29 – “I wrote a one-woman musical”

• Mentions of Musical Theater, Cabaret, ‘Little Miss’, Bulimia, ‘The Marvelous Ms. Maisel’, Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Master’s Degree, Dougie Irvine

13:30 – Moving Back to Chicago

• Mentions of the 2016 Election, Elope, Immigration, Spousal Visa, Long-Distance Relationship

16:19 – ‘Wife Material’

• Exploration of the words “Wife” and “Slut”

• Mentions of The Shithole, Dan Wilcop, Zach Bartz, Kevin Garrity, [NOTE: Shithole shows have also been produced on stages, such as the Revolution Brewery], Zanies, Laugh Factory, The Young Hustle Show, Nick Ogle

20:07 – “Just go to a mic”

• Mentions of ‘Kill All The Men’, ‘In My Butt’, Adam Sandler, Bo Burnham, Dave Chappelle

22:29 – Punching Up vs. Punching Down

• Mentions of Ben Shapiro, Steven Crowder, Louis CK

23:33 – Yet Another Discussion About Louie C.K.

• Mention of Shady Babies

26:00 – Writing ‘Wife Material’

• Mentions of Sex Positivity, Sexual Assault, The Prop Theater, #metoo Movement, Underscore, Feminism, Bisexuality, Shaming, Mike Birbiglia

30:50 – “Queerscapades”

• Mentions of Fear of Rejection, Bi-phobia

32:02 – A Stand-Up Career in Reverse

32:32 – How to Make Music Funny

• Mentions of Marvin Gaye, Motown, Jake DeWard

33:40 – Getting into the Set

33:48 – Technical Difficulties Onstage

• Mentions of Rebecca Gibson, Boston, Massholes, Powerpoint Presentations, Spiraling Down

36:18 – ‘In My Butt’

37:02 – Crowd Work

• Mentions of Halloween, Improv, Drew Lauren, Alexa

37:24 – Sexy Halloween Costumes

• Mentions of Astrology, Leos, Ed Towns

39:04 – “If I go onstage and look hot, it’s difficult to like me”

• Mentions of Las Vegas, Brittany Meyer, Matt Brown, Marc Levalle

41:04 - Back to Sexy Halloween Costumes

42:26 – “People get mad when women dress a certain way to get something”

43:18 – More Crowd Work

• Mentions of LaPorte, Indiana, Texas, @Northbar, Shady Babies, Laugh Factory

45:10 – Learning a New Venue

45:22 – Hearing Impaired

• Mentions of Peanuts, Charlie Brown, Lip Reading, Glasgow, Medical Negligence, ENT Doctor, ASL

49:20 – Producing and Hosting Naughty Thoughts

• Mentions of Correy Boyd-Bell, Keenan Thompson, Monique

52:50 – The Broken Condom

• Mentions of IUD, One-Night Stands, Amy Schumer, Joe McMahon, Marty DeRosa, Tim McLaughlin

57:49 – Advice for Aspiring Comedians; “Create your own opportunities”

59:44 – Comedy Scene Cliques, Friends, and Advice

• Mentions of Joey Villagomez, Joe Kilgallon

 1:02:10 – Where Can We Find You and Final Words

• Instagram: @jamieshrinerbiddle

• Shady Babies, @Northbar

• Naughty Thoughts, Laugh Factory

• The ‘Wife Material’ Album, available on all streaming platforms

In these outtakes from Devin Middleton's episode, we talk about the various reactions of Star wars fans to his set, accountability in the stand-up comedy scene, how the Walt Disney Corporation is destroying public domain, the X-Men comics, and a discussion of queer coding in the Dragonball Z series leads to the foundation of his next project.

Timestamps:

01:45 – “How many times have you done this bit?”

01:45 – “How many times have you done this bit?”

03:05 –Recording ‘The Haggard Unicorn’

03:45 – “What inspired you to do an analysis of the Star Wars movies?”

• Mentions of Artisan Culture Club, ‘The Wire’, Patton Oswalt

05:51 – “The Sith and Jedi are street gangs”

• Mentions of Crips, Bloods, The Walt Disney Corporation

07:46 – Star Wars fans

• Mentions of Stephen Colbert, JRR Tolkien, ‘The Silmarillion’

08:58 – Lando is *the* Black Person in the Original Trilogy

09:48 – “One person told me that seeing this piece changed the way they thought of doing comedy”

10:16 – “This could be a sketch”

11:15 – “Comedians should have some solidarity” / “We’re used to being burned”

• Mentions of Bill Cosby, Louie CK, Sexism, “All Lives Matter”

12:56 – Real-Time Accountability in the Comedy Scene

14:51 – The Duality of Stand-Up Comedians

16:05 – The Walt Disney Corporation Has Destroyed Public Domain

• Mentions of Mickey Mouse, Sherlock Holmes, Death of the Author, The Mandalorian

18:00 – The X-Men Franchise

• Mentions of Marvel, Fox, Marvel Comics, Public Domain, The Fast and The Furious

19:42 – “If I may make a suggestion… Dragon Ball Z”

• Mentions of Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT, Dragon Ball Super, ‘The Invisible Man’ by Ralph Ellison, Netflix, Manga

21:38 – Queer Characters in Dragon Ball Z

• Mentions of Freeza, Buu, 17

22:25 – “Every black character is actually a green character”

23:31 – How Capitalism Abuses Manga Authors

• Mention of Akira Toriyama [implied], Japan, Netflix

24:45 – James Earl Jones Narrates ‘The Bible’

• Mention of Barnes & Noble

Devin Middleton engages in a socially-distanced interview about his opening set during KJ Whitehead's 'The Haggard Unicorn' album recording in January 2020.

Devin summarizes the first nine films in the Star Wars franchise in about nine minutes through a socially-conscious lens. He uses this framework as a way to critique the franchise's white-washing of the pop-culture science fiction landscape, as well as it's clumsy handling of the topic of slavery.

Devin is a musician who releases albums under the stage name Debonair Status. His most recent release, 'Black Genderfluid Depression Jamz, Vol. 563' is available now.

Time Stamps:

01:10 – Opening Set from KJ Whitehead’s Haggard Unicorn

• Mentions of Mo Less, Star Wars, The Collaboraction Theatre Company

10:31 – “I moved to Chicago in 2015…”

• Mentions of Improv, Sketch Comedy, The Sound of Music, ‘My Favorite Things’, Juicy J

14:32 – “I’ve never thought of myself as a comedian”

• Mentions of iO, Second City, ‘Who’s Line Is It Anyway?’

16:49 – Exposure is a Scam

• Reference to ‘Quitting Comedy Clubs’ from ‘What Alive People Do’, by Jamie Kilstein

• I do not support or endorse Jamie Kilstein in any way

• https://jezebel.com/progressive-performer-jamie-kilstein-ousted-from-citize-1792945836

18:15 – Introvert Tendencies

19:35 – Music Production Background(s)

• Mentions of George Carlin, Richard Pryor

21:25 – Moving

• Mention of Notre Dame, Fort Wayne, Indiana, Aurora, Illinois

22:35 – “Do you consider [this] stand-up?”

• Mentions of Alt Comedy, Libertarians, Brother Nature, Napkins

24:39 – “My comedy is lazy”

25:08 – “I always want to make being thoughtful cool”

• Discussion of the term “Social Justice Warrior”

• Mentions of Black Lives Matter, Alt-Right Trolls, Common Sense Gun Laws, Police Reform, Philando Castile, Being Edgy, Labels, KJ Whitehead, Trans Comedians

32:08 – “Getting into your set”

32:35 – Shock Humor vs. “Edgy”

• Mentions of ‘The Prestige’, Dave Chappelle

34:03 – Why Was Dave Chappelle’s Audience Laughing?

• Mentions of The Chappelle show, Ashy Larry, ‘8:46’, Netflix, Louie CK

37:28 – Getting into the Set (For Real This Time)

• Mentions of Patton Oswalt, ‘Parks and Rec’

38:03 – Breaking the Fourth Wall

39:15 – Reviewing Star Wars Episodes VI through IX

• Mentions of J.J. Abrams, Rain Johnson, Nostalgia

43:50 – Conceptualizing the Bit

• Mentions of David Simon, George Floyd, COVID-19, Dated References

45:45 – Racial Bias in Star Wars (and America)

• Mentions of George Lucas, John Boyega, Plot Twists, Daisy Ridley

49:00 – The Walt Disney Corporation Kowtows to Twitter

49:20 – Murder is Just a Phase

50:10 – The Lion King is a Better Movie, “Anakin is black!”

• Mention of James Earl Jones

52:46 – “The Sith and Jedi are street gangs”

53:31 – “Leia is sold into slavery, but it doesn’t matter”

54:06 – Darth Vader Keeps Forgetting That He Loves His Son

55:23 – “Han Solo is a fuckboy”

• Mention of ‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’, Ellis Island

56:53 – “The ‘Dragonball Z’ set is coming”

• Discussion of which is in Devin’s Outtakes episode

57:26 – Evaluating the Set

58:24 – Social Media, “Everything is @Debonairstatus”

59:00 – Final Words