Have Fun: Steven Prestia talks Long Island Comedy Scene

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I got to sit down with Steven Prestia to discuss acting, improv, career, past & future and so much more…. Join Steven and I, with Laurice, Liz & Evan at 2pm, Saturday, April 11, 2026 at the South Shore Craft Brewery, Ocean Side NY GET TICKETS

ANOTHER PODCAST? WHY?

My mission in 2026 is to knock stage fright of the top of the phobias list. We do this spreading joy & laughter one show / workshop at a time while teaching invaluable life skills. We have public shows weekly in Times Square NYC and tour schools, theaters, community centers and corporate / private events DC to Boston almost daily. https://newyorkimprovtheater.com/ https://improv4kids.com/

Steven Prestia

Steven Prestia is a recent graduate from LIU Post with a BFA in Arts Management and an MBA. Steven hopes to use his arts management education to further his own comedy career. Steven has been working with 8 is Never Enough Improv since 2012. He started as a student, then became an Intern and worked his way up to Teacher/ Cast member in 2016. Steven has worked with various improv troupes on Long Island to include Friday Night Face Off and No Control. Steven is also a stand-up comedian and has performed at various venues across Long Island and New York City. Some of his credits include Caroline’s on Broadway, Governor’s, McGuire’s, Gotham Comedy Club, and the Broadway Comedy Clubs.

https://www.instagram.com/stevenprestia/

Walt Frasier https://waltfrasier.net/ Entertainer – Producer – Educator – Author 

For 30+ years Walt Frasier has been entertaining audiences live from Times Square NYC, Touring Nationwide, and occasionally popping onto their TVs and other devices. For casting Walter in SAG AFTRA Film, TV & Commercial projects, contact (Jaime) Baker Management. International credits include TV, Commercials, Theater, Music & Comedy. Currently the Artistic Director of the NEW YORK IMPROV THEATER and North East Managing Director for THEY IMPROV.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome back to Have Fun with Walter Fraser. I am Walt Frasier. I am here today with a very special guest. Please introduce yourself.

SPEAKER_03 0:09

How are you guys doing? My name is Steven Prestia. I am a Long Island-based comedian and improviser. I've been doing improv now for 14 years now, which is crazy to say. I've been a member of Aid Is Never Enough Improv with You, Walt, now since about 2012. Became an intern in 2016, and then became a full-on teacher cast member in 2017. In my college improv shoot, No Control, I was a casting director of that. I also am a part of Long Island's longest-running improv shoot Friday Night Faceoff, which uh I've been now known then for about a decade now, too, which is insane. Uh they call me Steven the Voice Prestia, which we'll get into some of these impressions a bit later on. Uh I now I also uh have been an instructor for the Lola Petis Company, teaching talent inner circle members, uh both improv and stand-up comedy now for the better part of a year. Um fun fact about myself, I'm also a black belt in Campbell karate.

SPEAKER_00 1:02

There you go.

SPEAKER_03 1:03

A little bit about me, uh, my short little blurb, but I'm gonna kick this back over to you all.

SPEAKER_00 1:08

So you can be the comedian and the bouncer.

SPEAKER_03 1:10

This indeed I am. They can pay me well at Kons of Clubs.

SPEAKER_00 1:14

I think it's pretty good. So so tell me, what was you're another one that you were with me early. Um and you were before that, you're with the Gotham kids classes, right? Doing stand-up comedy.

SPEAKER_03 1:27

Yes, yeah. Oh, wonderful memories of kids in comedy.

SPEAKER_00 1:29

What was your f did you do stuff before that? Were you doing theater or other things younger?

SPEAKER_03 1:35

Well, so I mean, what kind of happened with me was that I always wanted to do comedy specifically. I always wanted to specifically do um stand-up more than anything else. Um but before we started to before my family found um kids in comedy, they first started me off with local acting classes just to kind of get my feet wet and kind of see if I would like it or not.

SPEAKER_00 1:55

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 1:56

I didn't because I wanted comedy. I I knew what I wanted, and that's what I wanted, and that's eventually what I got. Um so my first ever time on stage was with Kids in Comedy, and I still have the video of my first ever set, and I am so happy that I still have that relic of my past. Um the funny thing too is that I found um U Wall by um we bought a ticket to see a public 3 p.m. show in the city. And whatever happened was that year there was a blizzard that happened, and then we couldn't go for whatever reason, and then the day it was rescheduled to some other later date in time. Um and then we went and saw the show, I fell in love and was immediately hooked by improv. Kinda never stopped. And when I look back on it, improv has almost always been a part of my life. Um, because I also grew up watching Whose Line Is It Anyway.

SPEAKER_05 2:53

Sure.

SPEAKER_03 2:54

Um which I didn't realize was an improv comedy at the time. Um so I and I remember absolutely loving that show and being mad at the TV when I didn't do Irish Drinking Song. And that I remember being mad at the television, like, why didn't they do it? You know, and I and I, you know, so I used to Ity diedy died uh to my heart's content as a kid too. Yeah. Um so I kind of just never stopped. Um but yeah, that's a little bit about how I get it.

SPEAKER_00 3:19

I'm kind of funny, uh enamored when I see the videos where Colin and Ryan talk about hating Irish drinking songs. I mean, neither one of them are real musical improvisers, although I think they do well with it. But uh although Ryan I think has more of a vehement uh attitude towards it. Have you seen that blooper reel where he's like literally cuss cursing out Dan Patterson or something like that? Yes, yes, yeah, it's like somewhat joking, but you can tell like there's way too much truth in that fire.

SPEAKER_03 3:49

Yeah, there's the smoke, there's fire, yeah, and you can absolutely see the smoke and the billowing as well.

SPEAKER_00 3:57

Well, it's funny. I always tell people when they're learning improv music for the first time, I think one of the best improvised musical people are is Colin Mockery because not a singer, but he gets through it. And I said, So, you know, don't look at Wayne Brady and think because the chances of you becoming another Wayne Brady or Slim to Nunn, but you could be a Colin Mockery in musical theater improv kind of a thing, you know, and he's on TV getting paid to do it, so it's attainable.

SPEAKER_03 4:26

He's no, he's he's amazing.

SPEAKER_00 4:28

Uh yeah, you've oh it's great.

SPEAKER_03 4:30

Absolutely love watching him.

SPEAKER_00 4:31

Did you know Amelia Fowler that does our troupe? I've been with her she's been with me since 2009. I don't think she did his show, the high prof show.

SPEAKER_05 4:40

Oh, wow.

SPEAKER_00 4:40

Yeah. Uh when it was at the asylum before they closed, uh, the old UCB space on 26th Street. They're doing a couple shows when a couple years back, and and he came through with the hypnotist, and she was like one of the other four or five people in the show.

unknown 4:56

Huh.

SPEAKER_00 4:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 4:58

Very cool.

SPEAKER_00 4:58

And then you what's the other I guess, you know, what's the so is the first time you did stage was with the acting classes, or did you get to do shows over there?

SPEAKER_03 5:07

First time I I think we did a couple of basic classes. I don't think there was ever really a show. Because the first time I ever really performed was with kids in comedy. That was the first time I ever actually hit the stage and never really left.

SPEAKER_05 5:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 5:19

But then, you know, then I found you guys, and then I kind of just showed up and never left. Um, if I'm being so honest with you, because I also have the very, very vivid memory um for me of for those public 3 p.m. shows. I remember I used to have my stand-up sets and I used to either open or close the show depending on um the day.

SPEAKER_05 5:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 5:41

And I remember what an amazing opportunity that was, and even to this day, I'm still forever grateful for that. I don't know if I can ever say thank you enough for that opportunity, giving me that space to actually, you know, work and exercise my craft.

SPEAKER_00 5:53

And I think the most important part of a stand-up comic, you got you gotta write. You know, it's at some point it's all about the writing. I think eventually it's all about the writing, but at the beginning, it's all about the stage time. At the beginning, you don't know what to write about, so just get up and talk, and just having that five minutes, and you were a writer pretty early on, you were coming in high concept, and then but you were coming in like a Long Island theater kid, you needed to get learn your chops on stage to like so you're not that cat skills guy that you're not, you know, imitating what you think comedy is, kind of thing. And over those shows you figured it out, and then more than I think any other student of mine has carved out a little comedy side hustle, too. Like you're doing the clubs in Long Island, you're playing the main stages over there.

SPEAKER_03 6:40

Yeah, no, I mean like I I'm very proud of the little network of the network that I've built for myself over the years, because it wasn't something that came overnight. It was not it was something that was built through you know really showing up and really trying and really giving it my all. And the funny thing too is I really haven't been doing that much of stand-up anymore. I've almost pivoted fully now into improv, which I'm so unbelievably thrilled about because I love doing improv and I will probably do it forever. I don't ever plan on stopping, which is to me an absolutely wonderful experience. Um but uh you know that that's a little bit uh little bit about me.

SPEAKER_00 7:24

You know, it's funny, I think the stand-up comedy side, and uh, you're probably feeling the same thing about improv that I feel about improv. I love doing opera back in the day, but unlike most theater, opera when you're like really doing it, the soloists are not like theater people, they are more like cabaret or church soloists in the sense you rehearse a piece and you almost don't get a lot of rehearsal time with the group, you know, as a as it's like working on staging. You have set stagings of the Zephyrelli Lobo Wham that you just have to know if you're gonna be hired in that show, and then you have like a rehearsal to sing through with the orchestra and the conductor in that cast, and then the next night you're on, and then three weeks later you're in another city, or two week days later you're in another city, blah blah blah. And I always found it like a very lonely existence, you know, is you you don't really have that collaboration that you find with the improv and stand-up comedy very much. There's a lot of camaraderie in the green room with comics a lot of times, but there's also a lot of backstabbing and other crap that goes on, and depending on the club. And uh the the the best there's great stories, there's war horrible stories, but uh but you are when you're on stage, it's do or die by yourself. And the improv, you got that support network.

SPEAKER_03 8:38

Yeah, a hundred percent. It's funny because you mentioning that, like it with stand-up comedy in particular, it's the comic getting the laugh, whereas opposed to an improv troop, it's the troop getting the laugh.

SPEAKER_05 8:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 8:48

Right, it's it's really not the same thing. 100%. Um I I do remember well something that sticks out to me as far as stand-up wise goes. I don't know. A quick quick little story. I remember once, um, because I also do impressions while I'm on stage. Right. That that's uh I I I do The Funny Voice, I talk like Obama, I talk like Schwarzenegger, I talk like Gollum. Uh though those are some of the classics that I would do all the time. And it's funny enough, um I remember unbeknownst to me during over the course of my set, I didn't realize this, but I actually started to develop bronchitis before like like while I was on stage. And keep mind, this is pre-COVID. If you don't feel well, don't go to a show. But this is pre-COVID, this is pre-that. And I remember I was doing the golem, but yes, precious, yes, my, you know, doing all that and all that kind of fun thing. And like I find myself start to cough. So I st I turn around, I cough, and then the audience starts clapping. And I'm like, like the audience starts clapping because they think I'm like, you know, really putting my voice through the ringer, like on stage, but I I can do that voice all day. Like it doesn't hurt me. So, you know, that's just you know, something else fun. I got a million of these kinds of war stories too, as far as performing goes, and oh yeah, I have an improv alike, and I definitely want to get to some of these too before um.

SPEAKER_00 10:07

Well, what what what's your what's your worst story as an improv person, either with us or somebody else, like going doing a show, audience experience or backstage, onstage. What's the worst experience you've had doing improv?

SPEAKER_03 10:20

Yeah, as far as worst experience doing improv, I remember there was once a little I when I was first learning this. I I want to tell a couple other stories as well, but I remember one of my worst experiences when I was first starting out was I was with some other girl. Um we were both really young at the time, it was a kid's improv class, and I remember she was like circling around me in a bike. Not necessarily a bad move for a scene. That's fine, whatever. And she was like, oh, I see something's wrong with your bike. Uh may maybe we can get started. No, it's my bike. You can't touch it. And like I looked at the instructor and I was kind of like, uh, like what am I what are we doing here? Um as far as like other stories that I have from improv wise, there are some that really reach out to me that are just that I find funny. We did a show a while ago. Um, this was many, many a few years back, i for a library in Long Island, and for one of the suggestions we were asking for was, Can you get me the name of a book? And can we get me the name of a book? And this one little boy who could have been no more than eight or nine raised his hand and goes, Silent Spring by Rachel Carson. And I remember me and when the casters looked at this kid and we're like, How do you know what that book is? Because because that book is not like a children's book, it is a book about the dangers of a pesticide and how it like ravages the local environment. And like, and I knew what it was because at the time I was taking an environmental s an environmental science class and I knew what that pesticide did. So I was able to like cater the jokes around that. I had a blast. I was a picture.

SPEAKER_00 11:56

Yeah, I don't think I knew the book, so like I probably took it. That sounds harmless enough.

SPEAKER_03 11:59

And I remember I said to you, I was like, don't you dare not take that suggestion. Oh, okay. Okay. Don't you dare. Uh, because I knew it and I knew I could do it, and it was weird niche knowledge that I'm so happy I was able to promote. And like, it's just, you know, and there a funny thing too, another show that sticks out to me that I thought was really, really funny was that we were doing a show in Mystic about a year, about a year ago. And we were doing a three-headed expert, and there was this one little girl on stage, and you know, it's just three-headed expert uh asking questions. Uh, what's your name? My name is John. And then they, you know, they go back and forth. And so this one little boy in the audience raised his hand, and I go, Yes, sir. Uh uh, what is your question? He goes, Babies come from a vagina. Like, confident.

SPEAKER_00 12:41

Oh, that performance, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 12:43

Full-chested, full-chested.

SPEAKER_00 12:46

He was not older than six years old, right? Maybe younger. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 12:50

Like the parents went red, we started laughing. It's like, okay, wrap up the game. We're not getting anything funnier than that. Like, no, no shot.

SPEAKER_00 12:57

The reaction of the girl on stage who was probably 1011.

SPEAKER_03 13:01

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 13:02

Was priceless.

SPEAKER_03 13:03

She was like, like even I like just turned around and said, because you could see on my base, I just kind of you know.

SPEAKER_00 13:10

I had a hard time pulling that scene together at that point. Because I I was the MC and I was like with him.

SPEAKER_03 13:16

It was so funny.

SPEAKER_00 13:17

Like and uh and it was it was just enough. And I was wondering, like, did he hear this parents talk, or if that was his interpretation of the kindergarten cop quote?

SPEAKER_03 13:27

I don't know, but it was funny, and he earned every laugh he got. Like I could I could never be that funny.

SPEAKER_00 13:32

I thought you were gonna talk about the other show in Mystic where because Obi brought this one up. He said his least favorite show of all time was when we had to do outside shows in the it was hot, yeah. And trying to like, hey, we're doing a show now. Come on over, we're doing a show. It was like Renfest style. I I feel like I would love to try to do that again, like just just let's just walk around and do speaking of which, well, that's the problem too.

SPEAKER_03 14:01

Like, when you're in that kind of street fair-esque, like fair-esque type environment, comedy shows don't really work well with that. Unless you specifically have somebody specifically announcing, hey, come to the back of the park for a comedy show at like 2.30. Other than that, like there's a reason why they have live music at these kinds of things. Because music is ambient, like ambient, right? That's the word music. It is just in the air. You can still enjoy it while you walk around. Comedy, you have to pay attention and listen to what's happening on stage. I remember once when I was a kid, I did a show I was no more than 1213. And I was doing a stand-up show uh at the Miniola Street Fair, I'll never forget it. And we went, I did the show, and I I'm, you know, doing my set, doing my bit, and there was some guy in the audience held up a sign that said, No one is laughing, to a little 13-year-old me, and I was like, Okay, thank you for that. And then my family was there, and my aunt went over to him and proceeded to tear him a new one. Absolutely. And I gotta tell you, that was more entertaining than my set.

SPEAKER_00 15:04

That we need a video of. That would go viral today.

SPEAKER_03 15:07

That was insane. Like, you know, and even because I I was almost traumatized, but not quite, because it was funny.

SPEAKER_00 15:13

So that should be a sketch bit, the silent heckler.

SPEAKER_03 15:16

Oh my god, he had he had the he had a sign. I was like, where did you even get that from?

SPEAKER_00 15:20

Like, you know, like it just Oh my goodness.

SPEAKER_03 15:22

You know, as far as like other fun stories that I definitely wanted to share, um, was there was one we did a murder mystery show out in Southampton, and with this show, uh it was a 1920s theme, and we had this one amazing individual in the audience, a six foot two Irish flapper drag queen, uh named named Rory.

SPEAKER_00 15:48

He loved me. He was a drag queen.

SPEAKER_03 15:49

I uh he loved me too. And like I oh my god, I loved him so much. And at the end of the show, he like big, big, big guy, six foot two grab flapper Irish drag queen grabs me because, oh, you're fantastic, I love you. Big two red lipstick marks on the side of my face. I was like, thank you. I mean, like there are there are there are worse things. Um, what else did I want to say? I have so many of these that I I love sharing.

SPEAKER_00 16:15

You weren't at the one where I died into the pool, though, right? I think that was Evan and David.

SPEAKER_03 16:18

I was not at the one where you went in the pool. What happened there?

SPEAKER_00 16:20

We had oh, you don't know that? Did I ever tell you this story? We did uh Hamptons party, and it was about a week after the Barbie movie came out. And we went into this house, not the biggest Hamptons Airbnb, but decent. Beautiful pool though in the backyard. And we walk in, and all the boys from Manhattan were out at the Hamptons Airbnb dressed in pink. In fact, one just had like a onesie, like it was right out of Barbie's closet, and uh there were like basically 13 or 14 boys. Uh, when I when I say boys, 25 to 30-year-old, good-looking gay men, ready for a party, and one gal, one one uh uh ally, I think we call him now, not the I was gonna say the old word, but uh yeah, but uh yada yada yada. But it was oh my god, it was the funnest show ever, but the pool is there, and Evan's looking at me. He's like, You're gonna do it, right? And uh, and I just died into the pool. It was a beautiful hot July night, fully clothed. Like, uh and it was that an ambush? No, I that might have been an ambush. That might have been one where I was supposed to be a stand. No, I can't remember. Anywho, and then Evan dives in after me to save me. So Evan jumps in and I'll get him! And I'm like floating like a big example. So I posted it as like an X-File. They're floating in the pool like this, and then I just he's like, I'll get him, I'll save him, I think he's dead, and I'm just I was almost choking in water because I'm laughing, and uh, and he's like, Alright, alright. Nobody move, I'm the detective now. And oh my goodness, what a fun party! Oh, it was so hilarious, and uh, we need more parties. I haven't done it since. I've been tempted, but that that was the party to do it at.

SPEAKER_03 18:12

That's funny. Yeah, speaking of parties, I remember we had another show that sticks out to me was that we had that very, very strange uh penguin request uh that that we did. Oh, yeah. We had um somebody we had there was a client that requested he was gonna dress up as Batman, and he wanted to have a little entourage that walked in with him. He wanted a penguin and he wanted a Joker. Like this all super duper last minute, and so I managed to find like the perfect vest of a costume in a thrift store. And like the costume I'm still proud of to this day.

SPEAKER_00 18:39

Oh, it was the best 24-hour costume of all time.

SPEAKER_03 18:42

I honestly, yeah, it was.

SPEAKER_00 18:45

Um, and 'cause we don't have Party City anymore. You don't have costume stores. Like you need without 24 hours note, you can't get Amazon. I ordered stuff and it came like three days after the gig, even though it promised me that morning. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 18:56

Yeah, no, no, but uh, and even too, because I remember we had we all we're all dressed in in our in our proper quote unquote attire, and I had my my cigarette holder, my top hat, and everything. And I remember when we first met the client, um he he was dressed as Batman. And I noticed as he was walking, um, he had his hand on his wife's shoulder and she was almost guiding him through. I didn't think anything of it at first. I was like, okay, cool, we walk in, whatever, you know, do the whole bit, I give a couple of why, you know, as the penguin, you know, par for the core, standard affair. I come later to find out the guy was the Batman was legally blind. Oh, was he? So he was legally blind. Oh, I didn't know that. So he was legally blind. So we did a show for a Batman who was as blind as a bat. Yeah. And that to me is like I know, right? Like that to me was one of the most ironic and funny things. I couldn't make it up even if I wanted to not that creative. Um, you know, another funny story too, really super quickly. I remember that one time we did a show at a synagogue, and I went, Jesus Christ! You know, and the one lady in the front row was like, and she kind of went, eh, she got over pretty quick. Um that was uh that was funny too. I was like, maybe I shouldn't do that next time.

SPEAKER_00 20:12

I the last time I I I would never make a Holocaust joke per se, but the last time I made a joke, even remotely leaning into a um I I I think every once in a while there's like a world's worst thing that I would say something about being in a German shower, and uh it was a different time, but uh and after a while I realized this isn't good. Um these groans are not good, and you know, as a young comic, you're learning in the hard way sometimes. And I did one, I think it was at a Jewish gig, and I had done it once at a Jewish gig that was a very reformed Jewish gig, and they loved it, and it gave me their false sense of this was a good joke. Uh and uh it was a bad joke to repeat, and this was like the wrong one to do it at. And again, they were fine with it, but it was like eh, we're gonna move on. And those they're quick and painless, these worldworst moments, and so uh I actually I think I cut World Worst on the show for a couple weeks too because of that. I was like, I need a break.

SPEAKER_03 21:18

That's funny. You know, it's funny too. Speaking of cutting things off, um what a segue that is, huh? I I it's funny. Um, I remember many, many years ago, um, when I was back when I was an intern, or like back when I was a young, still a student, but still learning. Uh I remember I got to class early and I didn't know how to work the light board. And I remember this is back at the club, and uh Brian Brian was the instructor that was there at the time. And I remember he was like, Yeah, go turn on the lights. I didn't know what I was doing. So I went like under like the table and just started messing with switches that I saw. Just just started you know, just Just messing with them.

SPEAKER_00 22:01

This is at the Broadway? Yeah, we've only been at the Broadway since I met you. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 22:06

We've been at the Broadway. And then I touch something, I look at the stage, and the lights just start like lights just start strobing. And so what happened was so I I realize I screw up. So I go downstairs, I grab one of the guys, and he's a short little Asian guy. And he goes, he's he's he's flipping the switches back, he's fixing it, and he goes, You touch this again, and I cut your hands up. You know, and absolutely I was traumatized, Brian was laughing hysterically, and it's uh and he was right, I shouldn't have touched that.

SPEAKER_00 22:40

Brian Simmons?

SPEAKER_03 22:42

Yes, he was laughing, he was laughing his ass off, and rightfully so because it was really funny. And like I remember too, a couple years later, back when I was on Long Island, somebody else had a new board, and the guy tells me, goes, if you mess with this board, I'm gonna break your fingers. And I and I thought to myself, you're gonna need a lot more than that to scare me. Alright, I once had a guy threaten to cut off my hand.

SPEAKER_00 23:04

Oh yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 23:04

Breaking my fingers is gonna stare at me, like, step up your game, my man.

SPEAKER_00 23:08

That's Little League.

SPEAKER_03 23:09

Let's let's that's what is it? What is this, Mickey Mouse? Come on. Like, let's Step let's get the A material here, let's get the real threats.

SPEAKER_00 23:17

Um it sounds like there was never a time that you were nervous to be on stage.

SPEAKER_03 23:21

You know, it's so funny, I never was. Uh Stage Fright never knew her. Like, you know, I always had the mentality, um, well, I I didn't really develop this psyche until I was older. But the for one thing, one, the audience is there to see a show, so I'm gonna give him one.

SPEAKER_05 23:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 23:36

Um two, nobody wants to see a bad comedy show. Nobody buys a ticket to a show and goes there not to laugh and not enjoy it. And I mean, like they they're not gonna be able to do it.

SPEAKER_00 23:46

There's a few I would contest that with, but most of them, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 23:49

The vast majority. Yeah, everybody.

SPEAKER_00 23:51

I think there there is a and you know, not not to fight you on this, but as much as there is definitely a group of people that believe going to a comedy show like it's it's supposed to be interactive when it's stand-up. You know what I mean? They in improv, we want it, and sometimes we don't get it, and we like we're fighting for interaction because we need to get you know the quiet crowd. But there are there are definitely people that go to a crowd, like in Jersey and New York particularly, where heckling is the point. Or they just like they're drunk and they just don't pay attention, but there's definitely those.

SPEAKER_03 24:26

And like, you know, the funny thing about that too is like especially with quiet crowds when you're doing improv, because they you'll have to pull teeth to get suggestions. Yeah. But after the show ends, they come up to you and like, oh my god, you guys were so funny. Oh yeah. And then they don't you don't hear them laugh, and you're like, you could have told me that while I was on stage.

SPEAKER_00 24:44

Yeah, I know that feeling, yeah. When you're on the way out, I've gotten hugs and kisses, like, oh my god, you're so great. I'm like, please tell me, I have an ego.

SPEAKER_03 24:53

Like the other thing too, like I also thought with it, especially like with Stage Fright and you know being worried about it going awry. I I had the thought once, and I stick with it to this day, where it's you know what happens when I have a bad show? I go home.

SPEAKER_00 25:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 25:08

Like that's it. Like, like that's it.

SPEAKER_00 25:12

I think in general, there's a secret to happiness, and it's having a wider threshold of what you know, people that aim for perfect, their threshold of acceptability is so narrow that I don't know how they're ever happy with anything. Whereas my the goal is to have fun and the goal is to entertain an audience, and then if it's not great, just make it a little bit better tomorrow, learn from it. But I've seen people like just ruin their lives because of a halfway decent show, and and you're right. And talking to the silence part, I I've been telling more and more comics of people, people like, oh, what I was doing another podcast or something. What do you do when they're quiet? I said, Thank God they're not talking, you know, and when they're not supposed to be talking. A quiet crowd is a listening crowd, a crowd that isn't into what you're doing is on their phones and fidgeting and talking and can I get another beer? Like when if you're the bad comic in the show, that's when everybody gets up to pee, you know. But if they're sitting there listening to you, they might not be a laughing crowd, but they're you've got them. So don't freak out when they're quiet, you know. And the actors get this because we have what we call Sunday matinees, the blue hair specials, the older folks or the really theater crowd that really wants to get every word because they respect the writing and they respect the work. So they don't clap and laugh a lot because they really are there to listen to the craft of everybody involved. So, or they're they're just after with the older people, the blue hair crowd, um, they get off the bus from the you know the home and they all come and see the show. Either it's either us or the casino, and they're coming in to see the show, and all of a sudden they realize if I laugh, I'm gonna miss something.

SPEAKER_05 27:02

Right.

SPEAKER_00 27:02

My hearing, and I gotta listen, listen, listen. And then you get off stage, like, oh my god, you're so good. You know, as opposed to the crowds that and there are other crowds that talk. Oh, I won't say who's who, but there are crowds that just talk to you the whole time, and that's it's a cultural thing. There are people that talk to each other the whole time, and it's a cultural thing. And you get off stage, like, oh my god, you are so amazing. I said, Really? Were you watching? You were talking the whole time, and you know, you do some shows, you're you know, people screaming in the back, the louder you get, the louder they get. And I'm like, all right.

SPEAKER_03 27:30

You never know, you never know anymore, I guess.

SPEAKER_00 27:32

No, it you know, if they're not being if they're not attacking you like a a really like some hecklers. I was watching there's a clip going around Judy Judy Gold from a few days ago at the New York Comedy Club, where somebody like yelled out, oh, you're a Jew. And it was like even like a bad anti-Semitic joke, but it's like, and I if I'm not mistaken, it was like another comic trying to be funny, and that's Judy Gold, you know what I mean? She's a queen. Um, and not not so much that she's a diva, but like she's New York comedy royalty, and if she says get out, the club's kicking you out, and you're not coming back, you know, like you don't mess with, you know, if and not and just be but she's a great person. And I'm like, who would like who would do this to Judy Gold? But uh but it's horrible, but like just you know, it if it's not that though, I think you can survive it, and but it's even like a sunny day. If it's 70 degrees, don't complain about the breeze being a little chilly. It's not 50 and it's not 90. Celebrate 70. Maybe you prefer 75. It's not a good thing. But if you if you have a two-degree window of perfection, you're not gonna be happy for 360 days of the year.

SPEAKER_03 28:45

I remember a lesson you taught us in in class that I've that I've kept with me throughout um my years is um if you wait for the world to make you happy, you will always be disappointed.

SPEAKER_00 28:55

100%.

SPEAKER_03 28:56

Um and I'm glad I I know that lesson. I'm glad I have that level of appreciation.

SPEAKER_00 29:05

I do that homework at corporate events now. More people need to hear that. It's it's 100%. They're they're they're watching, and I do it too. I'm human. I I go down deep dives watching ice videos or whatnot, and I'm like, the world's falling apart, and it's it's crap, but it's like that's just one thing, and I I should not ruin my entire day because of those videos. I should do whatever it takes to support ending that process, you know, and we'll give it a politics here, but um, you can't lose your day, you can't you can't lose today worrying about tomorrow, all that stuff. But I, you know, that leading with a smile kind of thing, that coupled with the have fun thing, it's uh you know, the world isn't going, the world doesn't care about you, you know, and I don't mean that in a harsh way, you know, because while you're nervous and you're depressed that nobody's paying attention to you, the other seven to eight billion people are feeling the same way, you know, most of the time. Or we're like, we're too busy having fun worrying about that stuff. But yeah, if you want more people to smile at you, lead by example, 100%.

SPEAKER_03 30:13

100%. You know, this is gonna be a very random segue, but I really want to talk about it. There was one more horror story that I have stand-up wise that I really want to share.

SPEAKER_05 30:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 30:23

And it was well, not a horror story, I signed up for it. But I remember I did a show, and it was themed around the YouTube show Hot Ones. Right? Where you eat the hot wings over the course of the interview.

SPEAKER_00 30:39

You know, okay.

SPEAKER_03 30:41

We had a stand-up version of that, I remember that I did. And there were five wings on stage, right? And they and you know, wings one three, and they and they gradually got hotter and hotter as the as the as we went on. What they don't tell you about hot ones in the YouTube version is that it's edited. They take out the part where they're chewing and they're eating. Um so in a live version of this, I they had me on a timer, and I don't eat that quickly, and it was a fully sized boneless wing. Like it wasn't a small wing, it was a bone, it wasn't like a popcorn chicken bite. It was a it was a full boneless wing. And like I couldn't eat that that quickly. And so, and this is one lady in the audience who's just like, eat the whole thing, you know, and you can't like you had to do it because other people before ate the whole thing. So, you know, I'm a lot a lot of it too, like, I can't do my set because I'm eating. I can't do it. I'm not gonna joke. And the funny thing too is that in terms of spice, in terms of eating, wings one through three, no problem. Wing four, things got real. Wing five, get me off the stage right now. Um and the funny part about it as well is um I remember like because I also did the impressions, and my mouth is on fire, I can't talk. Like, I can't like I can't talk like Obama or Trump because I I'm like like dying halfway through. Yeah, that was a bummer.

SPEAKER_05 32:10

Like every character's 90 years old.

SPEAKER_01 32:12

You know, it's just it doesn't, it just doesn't sound right. It doesn't work as well. Uh you know, I'm burning, I'm burning up, you know.

SPEAKER_00 32:18

I'm depressed, I can't do Clinton anymore. That used to be my one thing that I could do it for the children.

SPEAKER_03 32:26

Do it for the kids.

SPEAKER_00 32:27

And I just I don't I can't get it in the body anymore. I don't know. I had a 20 years ago, I had a bad Trump and a good Clinton, and uh long before Trump was president. Yeah and uh I did a I did it the old Trump like you all fired, and I forget why, but it was like um I think it was like the world's worst person to get fired or something like that. And I was like, oh why not? Yes, but I'm gonna bring out a Trump joke. This is the time, uh, because everything else is depressing. I don't want to talk about it, but in a comedy show anymore. It's like not even funny. People are like, why aren't you doing Trump jokes? Do you want me to do Trump jokes? You don't want me to do Trump jokes, trust me. Trust me.

SPEAKER_03 33:00

Sometimes the audience thinks they know what they want, but sometimes they don't.

SPEAKER_00 33:03

No, it's not gonna go well. You know, I'm and in the most liberal crowd, there's gonna be one person that's pretending to be liberal to be friends with those people that's gonna turn on you. You know, it's like there's it's just it's not even that, it's like it's more, it's like it's it was funny until about 2018. It stopped being funny. One, it's like, oh gosh, like somebody was saying this the other day. The the what happens on like true social the last couple weeks, like no one would ever even suggest that he would tweet these things, type of things, right? And why am I getting to politics? I said I wasn't gonna do that, but the from a comedy standpoint, it's like I can give you the nope, and yeah, give me the gong, give me the sandman, hook me off, I'm gonna go follow. What happens in reality is a parody of itself, and it would almost be like doing a parody of the movie Airplane. It's like, why you know we we we quote it as guys hanging around like Shirley? It couldn't be no stop calling me Shirley, but to do like a sketch comedy making fun of airplane, the movie would be stupid. So uh, but yeah, but you know what I love about all this though, it's just you know, you were you and I talked to Brandon earlier, like I said, um just as just a source of pride, if nothing else, as a guy who doesn't have kids of my own, seeing our students grow up, and and I can't wait to see what Caroline comes back. Sorry, sorry, Carolyn. Carolyn comes back, you know, she's doing screenwriting at USC right now, she's gonna be back in a few weeks working with us over the summer camp again. Nikki's been doing a comedy major at Emerson, you know, and he's like one of two people, and this is a brand new thing where they have comedy majors at the colleges, and he's one of two at Emerson. So and I I've only briefly talked to him about last year, so I really want to sit down with him. Like, what are you guys doing? Like, you know, and uh so I'm I'm it just but it's seeing everybody kind of going into that next level and getting some TV work, Sway. Oh my god, she's killing it. And uh you worked with Sway back in the day, right?

SPEAKER_05 35:15

Yeah, I did.

SPEAKER_00 35:16

Yeah, oh my goodness. Just you know, she's got her second zombie vampire movie coming out now, and uh it's I can't remember, remember her doing stand-up comedy at six years old about being in Dubai. A lot of first world problems, but uh being in Dubai for Christmas. Yeah, you know, she and Sammy were the two like six, seven, six, seven, uh stand-up comedy kids that were just so memorable. And uh and Sammy's going to college this year, too, I think. I uh everybody's growing up, I guess I'm getting old.

SPEAKER_03 35:47

Yeah, it's so funny because like I I I do have distinct memories of the classes in the camp. Like all all of that that was entailed.

SPEAKER_00 35:56

And you were there at the beginning, that first year of comedy camp, where it was like you was it Ethan yet? I know we had Noelle and those two other teenagers.

SPEAKER_03 36:05

Yeah, yeah. And we didn't know.

SPEAKER_00 36:06

Were you the youngest then, or there was there somebody younger?

SPEAKER_03 36:09

I think I might have been the youngest.

SPEAKER_00 36:10

You might have the youngest that summer. I don't think we had Ethan for the summer.

SPEAKER_03 36:12

It's so funny. I I was the youngest comic in the room for 10 years.

SPEAKER_00 36:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 36:16

Um but even too, like I have a very, very distinct memory of these shows and of these events that I would first go to. And the funny thing too is that like there came a point eventually um when I first really started going to these um to be to be very um very very open and and uh and heartfelt put my heart on my sleeve for a bit. There were times when my family fell on harder financial times and they always put me first as far as um having me actually go to these classes and do this kind of stuff. But I distinctly remember that like to try and cut off wherever they could. I had this little green um like a monster hat. It was almost like a dragon, it had like a little tongue, had like um little ropes on the side of it, and you know, you wear it to look younger, and the Long Island River ticket only went until about like 12 years old. And I was older than that at the time, and so whenever the conductors would go by, my parents would like smack me on the arm, they'd like get smaller, like have like a game boy in your hand like look look as young as possible to do that. But no, but I really am grateful to them and to for all you guys and for your help as well for giving me the opportunities that I have because it's something that I will take with me um to to this very day. Uh it's comedy will always be part of me, and and that's that's God bless them, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 37:29

I love your parents too. You have the best parents.

SPEAKER_03 37:31

No, I do.

SPEAKER_00 37:31

I really grateful. I'll never forget talking to your dad. I mean, we're going back a few years, but uh you were in classes when Hurricane Sandy came through, and talking about you know, trees being down, and you're inland enough, you don't have the flooding, I think, but you know, being like stuck in on your block with trees and everything, and that whole thing. So that's going back a bit. And then uh we survived we all survived 2020, God help us, one way or the other. And uh who knows? I'm I'm I'm I'm shocked I'm still in the business. It it's scruff. There's you know, I I scratch myself on or pat myself on the back every once in a while to kind of say, hey, we survived it because we did XYZ, but it's you know, same kind of thing. By the skin, you know, by a hair. The fact if you know the bank letting us not pay mortgage for four months allowed us to stay in business and stay in the house and stay in a place where we could run stuff online and uh yada yada yada. Like the past 17 years has been so crazy, right? Well, not seven, seventeen, what 2011, so 14-15 years, and uh yeah, it's it's been a crazy 15 years on so many levels, and a lot of great highs, too, and uh um just amazing things. And and every time when I first started seeing you post stand-up comedy shows that wasn't my show, that you're out there booking your own shows and getting booked on shows with your picture. I remember I can't remember what, but like the first time your picture was on the postcard, I was like beaming like a proud papa kind of thing. I mean, really, no lie. I I remember that distinctly, like the little circle Steven, and uh you're still using like your high school uh picture headshots, like in the in this in the suit, and it's like very prim and proper, and uh it was great though. And um and you know, and it's amazing. And I I think you know what you said, you know, I mean you almost felt like you're downplaying it, but the way you went out and got yourself stage time, you know, it it there's so many people that could do what we do. I say it every day. Anybody could do what we do, it's not rocket science. Most people can't because they never even started, right? And most people don't because they didn't follow through. You know what I mean? It's it's there is talent involved, but it's more nurture than nature, I think. There are people that have a lot of natural talent that never made it that at five years old seem like they're gonna be stars and they burn out, and the people that just persevere, and when crap gets weird, you know, that that's really 90% of my books. It's just getting started and then staying with it. Um I was watching some video podcast about how to make a podcast, these think media guys, and they said, you know, there are 200,000 new podcasts every year. And I want to say they said 80 to 90 percent of them don't make it to episode three. And like some eight, or maybe 90% or 80% don't make it to episode or 20. Yeah, 80% don't make it to episode three, 90% don't make it to episode 20. You know, it's it's not getting started is the hardest part. The second hardest part is just sticking with it, but getting yourself the stage time, getting yourself and doing that hustle. It's it's not always a fun thing. It's it's not it's work. Yeah, it's exactly right. It's not rocket science, but it is work. You can do whatever you want to do, but you gotta do the work.

SPEAKER_03 41:13

And it's nothing, it doesn't come from the sky. Yeah, it doesn't, it's earned. It's not, you know, and and that's also what I'm proud of is that it's not something that was given. It was something that was earned. Yeah, it's funny too, because like something that I learned, um, not necessarily older than that, but more recently I learned that like when I was going for my MBA, um something that I learned that I think that holds with me is that my time is only valuable if I use it properly.

SPEAKER_00 41:37

Say that again, I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_03 41:38

My time is only valuable if I use it properly.

SPEAKER_00 41:42

Yeah, okay, a hundred percent.

SPEAKER_03 41:43

So it's like you have to make the most of the time that you're given and do what you can with what you have. Uh you know, and and and and it's it's something it's always always try. Like always always try.

SPEAKER_00 41:57

Don't make me do yoda on you though.

SPEAKER_03 41:59

Yeah, yeah. Try not to do, right? But even so always try. Like always give yourself a chance. Always do. It's just one of those things. Um, because you a lot of people need that kind of encouragement and need that kind of thing, especially like if I know you probably wanted to get to teach teaching a lot of that as well, and talking a lot about um classes and and stories in that regard.

SPEAKER_00 42:22

Um Well, to me, we are. I I this is the class. This is this is the education. I think you know, we could talk about learning how to do improv all we want, but I think the part you could do really talk about on a podcast, other than reinforcing you, I mean, acting, theater, singing, you gotta be in the room, you gotta do it. You gotta get on stage, you gotta do it. But this is the advice. You gotta start, you gotta show up, show up on time. Uh, for all those people that are late for class, it's really that first 15 minutes when you're you know, that that first 15 minutes, uh, especially when you're new, and people don't respect that first 15 minutes enough, you know, the warm-up, either as a cast member or as a student, you know, and then you gotta show up again, and then you gotta show up again. And the comics that make it, and I've been doing this now for 23 years, acting for 30, but in the comedy clubs for 23 years. And the what is the Broadway was the improv in 2004 when I did my first show there. November 7th, 2004. We did a show there on a Sunday night for seven people, and God bless the great late Al Martin allowed us to come back the next Sunday and do a show for nine people at eight o'clock and get off stage. And he said, I'm gonna start my nine o'clock show at 9 15, but take an hour, do what you want with it. And and we eventually built it into a five, six, seven, eight, nine show a week thing, and we all quit our day jobs that spring, Spiro Larissa nine and a few others. But it was all those comics that I knew back then that were in the club at midnight every night of the week, and they're in the Club at five o'clock every night of the week, and then at nine o'clock at the open mics, begging for stage time, getting stage time, showing up, eventually getting booked with somebody like Roger Paul or somebody else, and then getting on the college gigs, and then one by one, seeing people that I know and respect that nobody's ever heard of before that I've known for years, popping up on Conan and Fallon. Um, about five years ago. I don't know if you know Leah Bonema, but uh one of those who's been a working comic for a long time finally broke through. She should have broken through a long time ago, but you know, the business is what it is. And when she finally did one of the late night shows, I'm like, oh finally, they you know, it's like the people that should be there, we know, but like when they finally break through, it's it's you know, the business side, the side the hustle. It's I love seeing it, and all of a sudden you're like, who is this person? Where have they been? Well, they they were she and Dustin Chaffin every midnight running a show every Friday, Saturday night for how many years at the Broadway Comedy Club when it was the improv at the Greenwich and then touring and doing, you know, and Dustin. Um, I hate to say it maybe because he's a guy, he's a great comic, not to take away from him. Um I only talk to them together because they're a couple, but Dustin did a showtime show early on and was able to have that on his credits. But Leah was a man, she was a writer, she was a hustler, she was a performer, such a great soul. And and when she broke through, and now she's like non-stop, non-stop, just showing up to get paid. You know what I mean? And but that's that's what she wants. Yeah, and all the people that complain about what they have to do to get there. I'm like, ever for everyone complaining, one of us is just doing it.

SPEAKER_05 45:39

Exactly.

SPEAKER_00 45:40

You know, and you may not even get the late night TV, but people like me, well, I've done some TV now, I've done some co-star roles because I'm more actor than comic. But you may not know who I am, but I am working full-time as a comic because you just keep showing up. And I think the smartest thing you ever did is you you gotten a degree in b uh arts management.

SPEAKER_02 45:59

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 46:00

So even if you don't, you know, even if you go into the performing side, you have a much better understanding of that world going in.

SPEAKER_03 46:07

Right. Right. Yeah, no. I mean it's you know, it it it comes a time, but like showing up really is half the battle. Yeah. It it really is. And the the word adversity, the always being able to get back up is always a huge part of it. Um something I learned a while ago was um uh if you can't handle sucking at something, you sure as hell can't handle being good at it.

SPEAKER_05 46:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 46:32

Um and it it's a very you know, it it takes time to build a skill set, it takes time to you know honey craft, but it you have to put the work in. It's it's it's a very, very rewarding experience to do so. You know, like and it just it comes and you're gonna be and the funny thing too is like a lot of like I can understand like the first 50 minutes of classes matter, but people what people don't seem to realize about those kinds of classes is the fact that every single thing you do in these kinds of performance spaces, whether it be on stage or off matters. Like because and I I can tell you without fail in my career, every without failing, every single troop that I have been a part of has led to another unique opportunity that I would not have had before had I not done that thing. Granted, not every opportunity panned out, and not everything fell the way it was supposed to, but it was work that I got specifically because I knew these people, I got involved, and I started to make connections without a fail. I I I cannot I'm looking right into the camera, I'm telling you, if you're an actor and you're watching this in the comedy versus watching this, what you do in class matters. Um what you do in these shows matter.

SPEAKER_00 47:44

And what you're saying is what you do off stage matters.

SPEAKER_03 47:47

Yes, you know, like too. Like, if you're difficult and you're a pain in the ass and you make life difficult of producers that are around you, people aren't going to hire you because you're a pain in the ass. Yeah. Like they're not gonna want to work with you. Yeah, you do good work, but they can get the other guy who does good work, and also isn't gonna be up there, uh, isn't gonna be annoying, is it gonna be important on their side? So be easy to work with, show up, be on time, be good at what you do.

SPEAKER_00 48:11

You know, the few guys that I've had issues with over the years, all talented, not bad guys, and not even jerks, like there are comics that I would never even hire, you know, like you could tell in the audition, but they just bring the garbage backstage just a little too much. Yes, they don't leave it at the door, and I want to be a friend, but it's like I need to focus. I have issues, ask anybody. I have issues with focus, I keep listening and focus. I think that's why I'm a great teacher of it. You know, there are people that do it and I teach. Uh no, but you're like, I I've learned how to do it. I'm guarantee that there's an element of me that's on the spectrum and ADHD, undiagnosed. Guarantee it. Uh, show me a person in the arts that doesn't have something like that. But my that also allows me to be great with divergent thinking and and to finally bring it home to focus is not always my best skill. I think it's why I'm endearing and vulnerable as an MC as well. But it's it's a struggle. If you're backstage complaining about everything, you know, if nothing else, that's not where you want to put your mindset and the whole cast. And there are people in our cast that can't handle that, that they're gonna get depressed, and they have to leave it at the door so they can get themselves in the point where we can deliver for the audience and bring our best. You know, as an artist, you can't get rid of it all of it, you know. But when you have a scripted thing, you can hide behind a character, you know, even in stand-up to some bit. When it's scripted, you can hide behind the work a little bit, less so. But I've done a lot of plays where I've I did an opera with bronchitis once. I got through it. We have that in common, and and nobody knew because it kicks your energy because you know how much work it's gonna take to focus and get through that two hours. When you're sick doing a show, it's the best performance you ever did, and no one knows, and then you go outside and you puke your guts out. I'm sorry for eating and listening to this or driving and whatnot, but it's gross. But you know, I did a show where like the second night, me and my buddy were the stars of the show, we both were sick, and we did nothing but fluids, and we started like puking up water because we were we're feverish, we're on stage, we're getting through the show. Everybody got sick in that show. People had strep and flu, and it's like you got over one thing, you got something else. It was a rough fall in 1992. Let me tell you, Where's Trolley was in production, and everybody got sick. And but it was amazing performance. Everyone's like, that's the best. We used to have this thing called Second Night Let Down Thursday night. We opened Wednesday, and Wednesday would be great, and then we're so great on Wednesday. We let down our guards on Thursday. Nobody let down their guard this Thursday because we were freaking out sick. Blah blah blah blah blah.

SPEAKER_03 51:01

It's so funny when there's some kind of external thing happening, it's all it all it almost acts as like a good agent to you rise to the challenge.

SPEAKER_05 51:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 51:10

Right? And you wouldn't do that normally, but here you rise to the challenge and you put the extra work and put the extra effort into it. Right. It's funny, I remember we did uh uh a small resident show for those Maryland Libraries, I think it was last year. And I remember like we did eight shows in like three days or something, something something insane like that. And I started to lose my voice around like show five or six.

SPEAKER_05 51:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 51:35

So I really had to make it work, and I really had to try, and I powered through it, and I did what I had to do and rose to the occasion.

SPEAKER_00 51:45

We did four shows in Vietnamese in one day. Vietnamese food.

SPEAKER_03 51:50

We had Vietnamese food. We didn't do four shows in Vietnamese. I can't. No, no, we didn't do it. Uh we didn't do four shows. We didn't do so no, because I it was good, it was really good. And like I remember too that week afterwards, like not only did I have like eight shows in three days, I also had a hat then for karate I had my black belt test later that week, which I somehow managed to do. And after that, I couldn't. Oh, I forgot it was that week. Yeah. It was the same week, and I totally at the end of it, I lay on the cat on the bed and I just kind of couldn't move for like days. I was like, alright, I'm done.

SPEAKER_00 52:23

The martial arts is powerful discipline for that stuff.

SPEAKER_03 52:26

It is, it is the movement.

SPEAKER_00 52:28

It like a lot of people do Tai Chi as actors. Oh, yeah. And uh I did Alexander, I did a couple days of Tai Chi in a movement class over at HV Studios. But like it Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 52:39

You know your distance, you know your space.

SPEAKER_00 52:41

The endurance training, doing that, the breathing, everything is so the focus from it. Uh I've done just enough to appreciate a little bit of that training. I wish I could uh now, especially as I get older, even more, but you know, all that focus, whatever it gets, whatever it takes for you to get to that space. And and just know when you bring your garbage backstage one, you're making it hard for the whole cast. And improv, I think, for some reason, I I've been this way too. I'm less disciplined when I do improv than when I have a script. And I can get away with, I'm an opera singer, I can get away with a third of my voice and still sound as good or better than most that haven't been trained. But it's it hurts more the next day if you're not warmed up. I can get away with it. I read about 10 years ago, I realized, oh, my voice is not there because I've been screaming on stage for 10 years without training, and I went back to sing at churches just to find my voice again. And it's depressing when that's what a big part of your personality is that big high note, and uh when you can't sing it, it's very depressing. And uh, but all that bad mojo, it's like a lot of the people I don't hire back, or don't I stop calling? It's like I say the beautiful thing about owning my own company and producing is I get to choose who's in the car for 10 hours when we drive to Maryland and back Rochester. It's that's such a huge part of it. Yeah, when you just show up at a show, you can put up with a whole lot. I get I put up with a lot of personalities doing theater over the years. We just show up, and even in improv, when you just show up and do a show at the club, yeah, you can put up with a lot more. But I've done shows where I'm like, I'm on stage, I'm seeing, and the the cast is on the side. I'm like, dude, you're getting paid. This is professional. Would you do this in a scripted play? And it's like me, like you're backstage, you're like right there and you're talking. And I'm like, dude, come on, the audience is distracted, lead by example, and it doesn't happen that often. We've had discussions with the cast about it, but every once in a while it's like we're not treating it the way we would treat a play or a musical or an opera or Shakespeare or whatever.

SPEAKER_03 54:42

Exactly.

SPEAKER_00 54:42

It's it's yeah, it's but the audience is paying just as much.

SPEAKER_03 54:47

Like it's yeah, I mean at our shows, but honestly, they don't it people don't seem to realize that what you do matters. Like you still need to treat it professionally because I've been a part of groups and I've been a part of troops that don't act as professionally and have a worse show as a result. And it's embarrassing, honestly. Like I can't stand it after a certain point because as an improv member, as an impress as a person in the improv troop, whatever troop you're a part of, I have to stick by you. I have to put my name on what you're doing. And right now, I'm not impressed, especially when we do that kind of nonsense and unprofessionalism. I I have no patience for it anymore. I I you know what I mean. Like I re I I I just don't. I know it's bad, but it's just you know you know, but I I know, but you it really shouldn't be like that, but unfortunately it is. So let me try and lighten the mood here.

SPEAKER_00 55:36

Yeah, well say people are human. I'll I'll I'll end with that. People are human.

SPEAKER_03 55:41

And I'm sure you're a little joke, that's fine, but you should not be just talking.

SPEAKER_00 55:45

No, none of that. We're human, we're all guilty of letting down our guard. But if you're like I said, if you're I I would say in a lot of blogs, I'm human, I have ego issues. I have a former opera diva, Broadway diva wannabe. I come into this with ego problems. I have more problems with humility than stage fright. And you know, uh, and I love improv for making me a better man, you know, on and off stage because of it. You know what I mean? Teaching me those skills, those team skills. But I am human, I slip. But if you lead with have fun, but never at anybody else's expense, my number one role. And if you lead with start every day with a smile, one, you catch yourself going there. You know, you make it part of your mantra. So you catch yourself when you realize, oh, I'm crossing into the cruel area. Let me stop. I'm not helping at this point. And you're more likely 90% of the time, 95% of the time, to lead the way you should. But uh just to give a cap on that. But yeah, so you're gonna you're gonna bring us some uh impersonations before you go?

SPEAKER_03 56:54

I do. I can bring I can give it, I can give, I can give you a little taste. I can give you a little taste.

SPEAKER_00 56:58

I want to interview your characters.

SPEAKER_03 57:00

Uh that honestly, do that for a couple of questions and I'll just go. That'll be fun. Um, what is the question you always wanted to ask Obama?

SPEAKER_00 57:07

Obama. Um what would it take to get you back for a third term?

SPEAKER_01 57:13

Uh well, to get me back for a third term, the first thing you have to do. To be honest, what I want is for new seasons of Invincible to come out sooner. That's gotta happen for me to be back in office. I love the current season, but it takes too long to get there. And that is why I would I would that is why I would run for a third term.

SPEAKER_00 57:40

Do you like the violent superhero cartoon parodies?

SPEAKER_01 57:43

Absolutely! They're my favorite. Uh I will do any I'll watch any one of those at any time. Uh, and I will have a great time doing it. With my daughter Sasha Malia.

SPEAKER_00 57:53

So, uh, invincible or the boys?

SPEAKER_01 57:56

Uh personally, invincible.

SPEAKER_00 57:59

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 58:00

Because I'm invincible too. My reputation is good.

SPEAKER_00 58:04

So you don't like the exploding penises?

SPEAKER_01 58:06

No, I don't!

SPEAKER_00 58:07

Yeah, that went too far for me.

SPEAKER_03 58:09

Yeah. Anyway, uh, so let me ask, let me give you one, let me give you a couple of this. Okay, let me give you um let's see, here's another phone. Let's go back to Gollum. Asking Gollum a question is always a fun one.

SPEAKER_00 58:21

Gollum, I hear you have a whole new series coming to TV.

SPEAKER_04 58:33

Don't want to talk about it. That's what you might even do in precious plan.

SPEAKER_00 58:38

But do you feel any pressure because of like Harry Potter getting a whole new series like 10 years after the movies? That, you know, just redoing the same. Oh, are you is it gonna be a different enough series?

SPEAKER_04 58:48

Oh no, precious. We can make it work, I wonder what we need. We'll make it pretty and nice. Yes, precious, yes, yes, maybe.

SPEAKER_00 58:59

Now, how do you feel about the Rings of Power series?

SPEAKER_04 59:01

Oh, it was terrible, Precious. Don't prepare no precious.

SPEAKER_00 59:12

Well, you know, your precious was is about to be created. It's not made yet in this area. Like season three, I think we're gonna see your precious made.

SPEAKER_04 59:23

We just don't want it everything.

SPEAKER_00 59:24

Alright.

SPEAKER_04 59:25

We don't want it.

SPEAKER_00 59:30

And I have to ask, uh, if you don't mind bringing out Arnold.

SPEAKER_02 59:33

Of course, I'll be here for you anytime you need me.

SPEAKER_00 59:36

Are you watching the new uh Predator movies? What are you thinking?

SPEAKER_02 59:40

What I tend to watch is I like to watch the new Predator movies because I like to see them, I like to see his threads. Because when I went into the original movie, when I would smell his threads, his dreadlocks smelled like Cheetos. And I have to tell you, they were my favorite cheat snack when I was working out because I just thought they were better than everything else. I just needed a Cheetos when I said, Hey, you I come come here, come kill me. I'm here. You brought Cheetos for me. I want to eat them.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:05

Is that why you turned on Donald Trump?

SPEAKER_02 1:00:07

Exactly.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:08

Okay. I don't know why he I try this is the most political I've made of on my podcast. I've been trying to avoid politics. I've been really trying to avoid it. I've been really trying to avoid it. Hey man, this has been awesome. I really want to thank you for coming out. We gotta do this again. I've got to get through the cast. I'm gonna start when we do more comedy and talking more. And uh I'm almost thinking about just putting this up tonight because we got a show in Long Island tomorrow and say, oh my god, maybe I'll just put up tonight and what the hell? And uh release they're supposed to do this in art in a in a planned way. I I don't do anything in a planned way, I'm improv. But uh, but you know, check out Steven doing comedy. Go to Long Island. I have a new website just for those Long Island shows. Long dash island-improv or li improv also goes there. But uh, but Steven also does our shows, improv for kids shows, uh New York Improv Theater Shows, eight improv shows. We have way too many websites. I know. I'm having a branding uh meltdown, uh, especially under the new SEO problem. So it's like I I probably should really bring everything. It's probably confusing the new SEO by having too many websites. So uh but anywho, thank you, sir. Uh anything specific you want to plug other than our own shows coming up?

SPEAKER_03 1:01:19

Um aside from our own shows, not a whole lot, no. Um, but even so, please come by Oceanside tomorrow, uh, April 11th. Uh yeah, yeah. Now I have to post this tonight. Um now you gotta you gotta do it. This would have been four weeks from now, but uh this would have been, but even so, please stay followed on our social media accounts, all ASMR off mine. You can follow at Stephen Prestia, just my name, S-T-E-V-N-P-R-E-S-T-I-A. Um, that's basically all the things we really want to talk about us today.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:46

But I've we'll put all those links in the show notes, of course. Yes, indeed. Awesome. Thank you, sir. We'll see you soon. Thank you. Remember, have fun and yeah, improv comedy, Times Square, Long Island. We got some shows in Brooklyn coming up. I got some murder mysteries in Westchester, DC, Boston, Baltimore, Philadelphia. We're traveling all over. We're in Rehobit the other day doing murder mystery and uh down by the show. And we're gonna have some fun. Thank you guys. Have a great night. Having fun with Walt Fraser. Try to do this without looking, leaving, but I have to look just to stopping now.