Comedy Cast

http://thecomedycast.com/ Hello and welcome back to The Comedy Cast; today you’ll be hearing from American stand-up comedian Kristin Key. We start off in unusual fashion, Kristin was doing her US Tax Returns, so I wanted to know more about American taxes and how comedians are taxed there. All I know about the American tax system comes from a certain Simpsons episode. Kristin describes herself as the lovechild of Ellen and Jane Lynch, so we addressed that and get it out of the way. It's a classic joke comedians use, to address everyone sees and make light of it. Kristin talks about how to deal with the most hurtful type of constructive criticism; that from other comedians. We speak about where Kristin was raised in America, a place with a great name Aurora, a place with a misleading name, Liberal and Amarillo, yes, that Amarillo. We spoke about Kristin's experiences growing up the daughter of a religious preacher; especially if she had to be nice to all the kids of the losers that helps out at Church. W

http://thecomedycast.com/ Hello and welcome back to The Comedy Cast; today you’ll be hearing from Irish stand-up comedian Alex Byrne. We kick off the interview in unusual fashion and speak about peanut butter and jam, or jelly, sandwiches, I'd just discovered them and wanted to share their amazement with the world. Alex comes from Lucan in Dublin, so we get the lowdown on the village withing a city's borders. We speak about Alex being half stand-up comedian, half magician, and not half-Michiganian, coz I'd thought I seen the word Michigan when I should've been reading magician and proceeded to make a right tit of myself. We chat then about what attracted Alex to magic in the first place and about what he does for a living. He reveals a great tactic for getting rid of drunks that want to talk about his job on nights out. Alex has previously attended Dublin's Gaiety School of Acting so I wanted to know more about its acting courses, what he learned from it and what has been transferable to stand-up comedy.

http://thecomedycast.com/ Hello and welcome back to The Comedy Cast; today you’ll be hearing from Irish stand-up comedian Aidan Shields. We kick off the interview by speaking about Dundalk, a town close to the Northern Irish border and how lucky Aidan is to have not taken the accent, nor that one of close rivals Drogheda. In Ireland the areas around the border are known lovingly as "Bandit country" so we spoke about that and the death of Martin McGuinness, former IRA leader and Sinn Fein politician. Aidan teachers English as a foreign language so we speak about that and the commonalities between teaching and stand-up comedy. We speak then about what he likes about the job and how he got into it. We speak about how and why Aidan got into comedy and he tells a brilliant story about his first gig. We talk then about how Aidan used to be a bit nervous before his first few gigs and it led us on to something interesting; Aidan tells me that he's not the kind of comedian that can tell the same joke twice, alwa

Hello and welcome back to The Comedy Cast; today you’ll be hearing from English stand-up comedian Angus Dunican. We begin the interview with an old opening line Angus used to use to open his sets which I personally love. We speak a bit about Angus being brought up in Eastbourne, which in his words are both the retirement and suicide capitals of England. Angus speaks at a millions miles a minute, it's something to behold especially when he's thinking on his feet but you'll be impressed, so we speak about that for a bit, and discuss where that comes from and what I found on the internet regarding the subject. Angus mentions then that when he was young reading very quickly in religion class and laughing a lot and then not being asked to do it again. We chat then about how Angus got into comedy, everyone thought he'd go on to study drama after school instead Angus got hooked on coffee and experienced the deathly depression of working in a café in an English seaside town in November. Angus says then that decid

http://thecomedycast.com/ Today you'll be hearing from Irish stand-up comedian Brian Gallagher. We start off the interview with Brian telling me that he'd been gigging the night before, then working and running on only 4 hours sleep. Brian's from Limerick, so we have a chat about the city, how it's finally cast off it's hard gang image and what it's like now. We speak about Brian having a streak of devilment in him and how he likes to skirt the line between something that's perceived as hilarious or offensive. We speak about what Brian does for a living and how his mother thinks he's just on Facebook all day We chat then about how and why Brian got into comedy and how it's been going since he started, And even though he only took to the stage 6 months ago, he says that since he can remember he's been cracking jokes and making up funny stories to get laughs. We speak about Brian's first gig, at The Battle of the Axe in Dublin, what he remembers of the night and the jokes he told. We go full comedy nerd

http://thecomedycast.com/ Today you'll be hearing from Irish stand-up comedian Anna Clifford. We kick off the interview speaking about Anna's day job and how being a vegetarian doesn't exactly help We recorded this before St Patrick's Day so we had a chat about the day, what it means for Irish people and what we get up to. We get onto comedy then and we speak about how and why Anna got into comedy and we talk about Anna studying at The Gaiety School of Acting and how she knew from an early age that she always wanted to entertain, we also speak about a comedy course she took while living in Vancouver, Canada. We natter then about how since getting into stand-up comedy and performing Anna has taken a real academic approach to it, reading up and studying the craft behind the art. We have a chat about what it's like to be on stage and I ask Anna if she can put it into words the feeling of knowing an audience is loving your set I ask Anna then about what she does if it goes wrong on a particular night and wh

Hello and welcome back to The Comedy Cast; today you’ll be hearing from Irish stand-up comedian Mel Kelly. We kick off the interview speaking about where in Dublin Mel’s from and the purely coincidental parallels of his career starting in the beerhalles of Munich just like a certain famous Austrian. We speak about Mel’s new … Continue reading The Comedy Cast Interview with Irish Stand-up Comedian Mel Kelly

http://thecomedycast.com/ iTunes: https://goo.gl/41izWU Android feed: https://goo.gl/UYKvap https://www.facebook.com/thecomedycast/ https://twitter.com/The_ComedyCast http://mixlr.com/thecomedycast Hello and welcome back to The Comedy Cast; today you'll be hearing from Scottish stand-up comedian Ross Leslie. We kick off the interview talking about our shared love for watching sky sports news alone and in our shorts before getting onto Ross' upcoming Glasgow Comedy Festival show and some of the new material he's written for it. We chat then about politics making its way into Ross' sets and why at the beginning of his comedy career he stayed away from it before moving onto talking a little then about football and the hours of life that we've both wasted playing Football Manager; a game that is more addictive than heroin. We speak then about how and why Ross got into comedy, I'll give you a clue, he had something to do with spite. Ross speaks then about Asperger's Syndrome and how he was diagnosed with the

http://thecomedycast.com/ Hello and welcome back to The Comedy Cast; today you'll be hearing from Scottish stand-up comedian David Callan. We kicked off the interview talking about David's day job and how the service industry isn't as crushingly horrible as office work, we spoke then about where David was raised, Essex in London and how even though he was born there he always had a Scottish accent. We talk about David living in Edinburgh now, having moved up there for university and how it has a special place in my heart as you all probably know by know. We have a chat then about his parents still living in England, whether Brexit has changed anything and the delight in seeing England lose to Iceland at last year's Euros. We get on to comedy then and speak about how and why David got into comedy; winning a place on a comedy course that led to his first gig. We also speak about comedy competitions, their pros and cons and both why new comedians should and shouldn't enter them. We talk about David winning

http://thecomedycast.com Laura will be instantly recognisable to anyone that has seen any of the Facts videos. If you've not heard of Facts, it's a massive YouTube channel that makes videos of Irish comedians commenting on things like watching American TV shows, trying Polish desserts and watching Star Wars for the first time. We start off the interview by speaking about how much Laura's been gigging all over Ireland lately. We speak too about coming from a place in Dublin with a mad name; Stepaside and it turns out we used to be neighbours, yes, Ireland's a small place. We get ont comedy then and spoke about how and why she got into it; starting with her getting involved with the Drama Society while in college and how she used to write plays while studying. We spoke too about how when she started her comedy career she had to battle with shyness, and how to get past it she almost plays a role while going onstage. We have a natter then about Laura's love for music and we find something in common that I tho

http://thecomedycast.com/ Today you'll be hearing from Scottish stand-up comedian Kevin McPadden. We kicked off the interview by speaking about Kevin's upcoming Glasgow Comedy Festival shows and how his preparations are going for this year's Edinburgh Fringe Festival. That good us talking about Kevin's writing process , how he prepares his sets and how he likes to explore ideas for jokes. We spoke then about Kevin's first gig, in The Stand in Edinburgh, not a bad place to start at all. We spoke about how it went and what he remembers of it. We spoke then about how and why Kevin got into comedy. And we speak too about how he used to be nervous before gigs and how he's learned to deal with it. We also chat about the first time Kevin bombed and how he dusted himself off and learned from the experience. We speak then for a bit about the dreaded 'comedian's comedian' term and alternative comedy. We talk about his influences in particular Scottish comedians and American ones. We speak a bit about Kevin's writ

http://thecomedycast.com/ We kicked off the interview speak about where Lauren is from and how her family fled Russia for county Cork Lauren is also a medium and big into spirituality so we spoke about that, I can't put my finger on it but for some reason I really enjoy speaking to people about things like this. We speak about a philosophy that Lauren follows, a Course in Miracles We speak indepthly about the topic and we get onto the heavy issue of death and how we deal with it as individuals and as a society, and indeed different societies Lauren moved to Israel as a child so we speak about that, how she never really fit in and how she longed to return to Dublin We spoke about Lauren audition for the Iasaeli Children's Choir, and going on to being a soloist for them before it ended thanks to the war. Lauren has a condition called Complex Needs Disorder, formerly Borderline Personality Disorder, so we spoke about that for a while. She really opened up about the condition and what it entails. We spoke

http://thecomedycast.com We started off the interview speaking about where Sam is from, Newport in Wales, a place famous for having a documentary about bouncers and a new KFC. We spoke about living in and growing in a place with a Bad Reputation. We had a chat then about Sam's comedic influences and how they've affected his style of comedy, we spoke about Sam mixing styles on stage and how his favourite comedians are Canadians. We delve into that a bit and try and pick at what it is about Canadian comedians that Sam likes and any synergy between Wales & Canada. We speak about Sam getting into comedy at the ripe old age of 17 and I wanted to know whether he'd been a bit bulled on the scene of if everyone was supportive of him. We spoke about his first gig at an open mic in a hotel along with a friend who also wanted to try it. We spoke about how Sam's sets have evolved over the year, going from trying to make audiences laugh to joking about the things that make him laugh. We speak then about comedy co

http://thecomedycast.com/ Today you'll be hearing from English stand-up comedian Stuart Edwards. I won't lie to you all, you're smart listeners but I had a bit of a man crush on Stuarts sumptuous ginger beard, but Stuart had some bad news for me. We followed that up with a quick chat about a recent role Stuart had played that involved trying to tempt kids with sweet from the back of a van. Stuart is based in the mighty Northern England stronghold of Newcastle and I'd a few questions about the area that needed answering, pease pudding and people punching police horses. We got onto comedy then and spoke about how and why Stuart got into comedy and his first gig. Stuart revealed that he'd been gigging the night before and it didn't exactly go very well so we delved into that topic, I wanted to know how a comedian picks himself up after such a gig and how it affects them and their confidence. Stuart's only been at comedy for two and a half years but we had a chat about the highs and lows that he's already ex

http://thecomedycast.com Greg Dean is someone very well-known in the comedy world and if you've ever look for a book on stand-up comedy then chances are you've come across his book on stand-up; Step by Step to Stand-up Comedy. We started off by talking a bit about Greg heritage, coming from British stock, one side being Scottish, who still have a castle, and the other English. We spoke about Greg growing up in rural California and joining the theatre as a young man before literally running away with the circus at the age of 21. Then we chatted about Greg going onto becoming a successful, touring stand-up comedian before he turned his hand to teaching the craft of stand-up. Greg reveals the basics of his classes, the three mechanics as he calls them; the target assumption, connector and reinterpretation. Greg also speaks about being a member of the Internation Society of Humour Studies, being the only member that isn't part of academia. He also talks about reading as much academia as possible while research

http://thecomedycast.com Today you'll be hearing from Bilal Zafar. We started off the interview talking about Bilal already preparing new material for this year's Edinburgh Fringe Festival, we spoke as well a bit about Bilal family history, his mother and father moving from Pakistan to Britain. Bilal's family had just celebrated a wedding in the family so I was curious to ask him some questions about that as I know next to nothing about Muslim religious ceremonies. We spoke about how and why Bilal got into comedy and he got straight into his comedic influences growing up, Vic & Bob, Alan Partridge and in particular Chris Morris with Brass Eye, The Day Today and Blue Jam. Bilal also spoke about him going to university to study script writing and deciding that the best way to get noticed and get things done was to get a name for himself on the stand-up comedy scene so he took the plunge. We talked about his first gig, going blank and using it to his advantage and how he had to battle a bit with shynes

http://thecomedycast.com/ Lucy Roper came on my radar thanks to the Leicester Comedy that's running at the moment, we started off the podcast talking about Lucy's day job, she works in T.V. (wooooo) but she won't get your script commissioned. We spoke too about where Lucy's from, a wee town called Wirksworth, which isn't pronounced like it's spelled and that led to us talking about why the English has such a blatant disregard for how to pronounce their letters. We had a chat about the North/Side divide in England and where the line is between the two regions, is it Birnmingham, Leicester, or Watford, we spoke about how it's different for everyone and about how that divide is also present on the comedy scene. We got onto comedy then and spoke about Lucy having her first gig at a King Gong, something not for the faint-hearted but she wasn't gonged straight away and it went fairly well. We spoke then about why Lucy uses poetry in her set and she discussed how it actually gives her set a firm structure and h

http://thecomedycast.com/ Joseph Cullen is more than multi-talented, he's a actor, a stand-up comedian and has a pretty cool day job; working with Over The Limit Theatre as Artistic Director. He's a self-depreciating kind of lad, as you'll hear, but he's certainly got his head screwed on properly and greatness beckons I hope. We started off talking about how with a name like Joe Cullen he could be my next door neighbour back in Wexford and how he was almost Augustus Bojangles. I ran into Joe on Twitter where he's been promoting his stand-up show You Having Olaf? But first I wanted to ask him about his 2016 show Gentle Tim, a show about Timothy Threadwell, a name familiar to anyone that has seen Werner Herzog's documentary Grizzly Man. We spoke then about You Having Olaf? Joe stand-up show about his time spent working as a children's entertainer and the long lasting trauma it caused him to this very day. We have a wee chat too about how children are just pretty terrible overall and not worth the bother, J

http://thecomedycast.com/ Tara Flynn will be well-known to anyone that has even the slightest interest in the Irish comedy scene and before hanging up her stand-up microphone to concentrate on writing was a regular face on the stand-up scene all over the world. We started off then talking about where Tara's from in Ireland and why she has a definite Irish accent but one that's hard to exactly place. Tara is well-known in Ireland too for appearing on approximately 20 million radio ads and when you have a voice as pure lovely as her it's easy to understand why she's in demand. But I had to ask her if she'd ever thought of getting into radio presenting. Lord knows Irish radio could do with a dose of humour on the airwaves. That led us on to talking about how to get projects from the pitch and script phase to actually getting it made and she revealed that she's currently working on a new book and a TV show. We spoke then about Tara's previous two books "You're Grand" and "Giving Out Yards" and about how a sa

http://thecomedycast.com/ Lorcan McGrane's a comedian that I really admire, a man doing his own thing and on his own terms. Unlike many comedians that attach themselves to a scene in a certain city he's doing his own thing living in rural County Monaghan, a border county in the north of the Republic of Ireland, but it's not Northern Ireland, even though it is in Ulster and has a border with Northern Ireland, and all the counties of Northern Ireland are in Ulster. It's all a bit mad, Monaghan's a bit like that. Anyway, we kicked off the interview by talking about the McGrane surname, Id' read it was derived from a Scotsman who left the Kingdom of Dalriada on the Scottish isle of Jura. Lorcan put me in my place though and informed me that the name comes from McGrainne and explains why that's a bit unusual. We spoke about growing up and living in Co. Monaghan with that constant feeling that everyone is watching everything that everyone does, all the time. We spoke about not falling into the trap of so-called