Wrestling Team

Where do creative people come from? On Beginnings, two fledgling...

Thu, 24 May 2012 09:21:00 -0400

Where do creative people come from? On Beginnings, two fledgling comedians talk origins with professional creators and others just starting out, and hopefully answer their parents’ question, “What are you doing?”

On today’s show, we talk to Seth Reiss. Seth is a writer and performer based in Chicago, and is currently head writer at The Onion. He also contributes to McSweeney’s and previously wrote for the Sklar Brothers show Cheap Seats. As well, Seth is 1/4 of the sketch group Pangea 3000, which can be found performing all over the country. In April, Seth came over to the Brooklyn Wrestling Team apartment and talked with us about sweet Southwest PA, moms and baby dolls, and about being an asshole to clear the tension.

Some live shows! 6/12: Beginnings: Live at UCB East, 9:30pm w/ Kurt Braunohler (IFC’s Bunk), Dan McCoy (The Daily Show) and saxophone/drum trio Moon Hooch! Also 6/21: our musical Rockefeller Centaur at UCB Chelsea, 6:30pm!

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Every other week on Beginnings: Field Guide, creators...

Thu, 17 May 2012 08:57:00 -0400

Every other week on Beginnings: Field Guide, creators deconstruct their favorite projects - from conception to finished product - in order to explore the many different paths the creative process can take.

Matt Ruby is a stand-up based in New York whose blog Sandpaper Suit is one of the best resources for discussing the ins and outs of actually writing and performing comedy. Matt also co-hosts Hot Soup, a monthly stand-up show at UCB East and tours around the U.S. performing at clubs and festivals like SXSW and Bridgetown.Two weeks ago, we discussed his early creative experiences on Beginnings proper, and on today’s Field Guide, he leads us through the origins of one of his jokes!

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On the second Tuesday of every month at UCB East, two fledgling...

Thu, 10 May 2012 08:48:00 -0400

On the second Tuesday of every month at UCB East, two fledgling comedians talk origins with professional creators, and hopefully answer their parents’ question, “What are you doing?” This is Beginnings: Live!

Holy Habitat for Humanities! This past Tuesday at UCB East we taped our 50th full episode of Beginnings, and hachi machi - our guests were so nice and funny that waves of good humor spread over the audience like a cool breeze coming from a desert oasis constructed entirely out of Ocean City, Maryland Fudge Factory brand fudge. Jon Glaser (writer on Conan, creator and star of Adult Swim’s Delocated), Rachel Dratch (star of SNL, author of the new book Girl Walks into a Bar), Leo Allen (writer on SNL, co-creator of Jon Benjamin Has a Van, co-producer of Comedy Bang! Bang!) and James McNew (Dump, Yo La Tengo) all joined us for a night of songs, prawns and Shauns! Put your laughing gloves on, folks, because you’re gonna need ‘em!

And if you enjoyed this, please subscribe on iTunes, and also join us every month at UCB East on the second Tuesday at 8pm. Next month (6/12) features Kurt Braunohler (IFC’s new show Bunk and 1/2 of Kurt and Kristen) and Dan McCoy (writer on The Daily Show and 1/3 of The Flop House Podcast). It will be a comedy blast!

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Where do creative people come from? On Beginnings, two fledgling...

Thu, 03 May 2012 08:52:00 -0400

Where do creative people come from? On Beginnings, two fledgling comedians talk origins with professional creators and others just starting out, and hopefully answer their parents’ question, “What are you doing?”

Matt Ruby is a stand-up based in New York whose blog “Sandpaper Suit” is one of the best resources for discussing the ins and outs of actually writing and performing comedy. Matt also co-hosts a monthly show at the Upright Citizens Brigade’s East Village Theatre and tours around the U.S. performing at clubs and festivals like SXSW and Bridgetown. A few weeks ago, Matt stopped by the Brooklyn Wrestling Team Apartment to discuss his creativity as well as cleverness and New Yorker comedy; hippies, shrooms and tree energy; and the entitlement of rich people. Plus we debut a new segment that will be renamed in the future because of its awful current name!

Plus, don’t forget to come to the next Beginnings: Live - our 50th Episode Spectacular - with Rachel Dratch, Jon Glaser, Leo Allen and James McNew!!!! Tuesday May 8th at 8pm at UCB East!

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Every other week on Beginnings: Field Guide, creators...

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 09:46:24 -0400

Every other week on Beginnings: Field Guide, creators deconstruct their favorite projects - from conception to finished product - in order to explore the many different paths the creative process can take.

On today’s episode, we talk to Dan Klein and Arthur Meyer, the creators of the delightful and odd webseries The Jerry Seinfeld Program and part of the sketch group Pangaea 3000. As well, Dan is a writer for The Onion and previously wrote for Sportsdome, and Arthur is a contributor to The Onion, half of the sketch group Two Fun Men and a writer on Jimmy Fallon. Back in February, Dan and Arthur came over to the Brooklyn Wrestling Team Apartment to discuss the origins of their webseries, as well as about forgetting names and shitty philosophy.

PLUS! Don’t miss our live 50th episode spectacular at UCB East on Tuesday, May 8th at 8pm with RACHEL DRATCH (SNL) and JON GLASER (Delocated)!!! Go to ucbtheatre.com to make reservations!

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Where do creative people come from? On Beginnings, two fledgling...

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 23:57:05 -0400

Where do creative people come from? On Beginnings, two fledgling comedians talk origins with professional creators and others just starting out, and hopefully answer their parents’ question, “What are you doing?”

Hello, Beginnings-ers! On today’s episode we talk to Andy Zaltzman, a writer and stand-up based in the UK. Along with the Daily Show’s John Oliver, he co-writes and co-hosts the podcast The Bugle, a satirical news program. Since 1999, he’s performed a new hour of stand-up almost every year at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and he’s written and performed in a number of BBC Radio programs including currently 7 Day Sunday. A few weeks ago while Andy was in town to do some shows, we met up with him at a studio in midtown where we discussed cricket, animal carcass pits and playing Noah’s wife. What do these cryptic teasers mean? Only one way to find out: become like unto a god!

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Wrestling Team on the Here to Help Podcast

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 13:35:46 -0400

Mark and Andy were recently on Andy Rocco and John Robert Wilson’s great podcast Here to Help. Here to Help is a weekly live podcast with a panel of comedians and characters dispensing advice to those in need… or at the very least, they try to relate. On this podcast crossover edition, the Beginnings Boys talked to the Here to Help Hombres about falling down stairs, burning hands, blue hair, boner pills, cat carriers, deciding whether or not to live in a mansion and Microsoft Word shortcuts. This one’s a keeper.

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On the second Tuesday of every month at UCB East, two fledgling...

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 00:29:00 -0400

On the second Tuesday of every month at UCB East, two fledgling comedians talk origins with professional creators, and hopefully answer their parents’ question, “What are you doing?” This is Beginnings: Live!

Holy crumbs, friends! On April 10th, we sat down with some amazing people for our third live episode at UCB East! I hope you’re ready to have fun because we have Kevin Allison from The State and the Risk! podcast explaining how his creativity changed after coming out. We also have Daily Show writer Hallie Haglund discussing her steamy re-write of Little Women. Plus the lovely and wonderful Savoir Adore play a few songs and tell us tales of being hams as children.

You can also catch Savoir Adore in full rock band mode tomorrow (aka Friday, April 13, but not in a scary way) at Mercury Lounge. You should see them. They’re great! Here’s more info!

Our next live show is Tuesday, May 8th at 8pm at UCB East. Don’t miss it! (Or you might develop extra fingers)

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“Last month’s Live Beginnings with Julie Klausner...

Fri, 06 Apr 2012 10:43:27 -0400

“Last month’s Live Beginnings with Julie Klausner and Elliott Kalan was ‘so fun you could bump the mp3 at your next dance-jam and keep the groove-party pumping all night’. That’s a quote from Dance Boy Magazine.

So yeah, it was fun, but April’s show is poised to ‘kick the fun-meter into turbo overdrive’, at least according to The Science Chums Quarterly. Anyway, we’d love to see your gorgeous faces, and the gorgeous faces of all of your gorgeous friends there on April 10th!”

- Magazine Aficionado

Here are the details:

Kevin Allison
(RISK!, The State)

Nick Vatterott is stuck in LA like Snake Plissken, so we have the divine Ms. Hallie Haglund (Daily Show, UCB) to fill his show shoes.

and this is the real kicker…

special musical guest
SAVOIR ADORE!

with your hosts Mark and Andy (Wrestling Team)

Tuesday, April 10th
8pm
UCBEast (3rd St. @ Ave. A)
$5

Facebook Event
Ticket Reservations

Where do creative people come from? On Beginnings, two fledgling...

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 08:49:00 -0400

Where do creative people come from? On Beginnings, two fledgling comedians talk origins with professional creators and others just starting out, and hopefully answer their parents’ question, “What are you doing?”

On this episode, we talk to stand-up comedian and writer Dan St. Germain. With the force of personality of a literary heavyweight, Dan has made a name for himself appearing on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and MTV, and writing for Fuse and The Onion, among many others. He’s been a “New Face” at the 2011 Montreal Just For Laughs Festival, has been nominated for multiple ECNY awards, and this year he’ll be featured on John Oliver’s New York Standup Show. A few weeks ago, Dan came over to the Wrestling Team apartment, and we talked about writing plays and having a literary father, and then Dan called into question the entire nature of the show!

And don’t forget to come to Beginnings: Live at UCB East this Tuesday, the 10th at 8pm! We’ve got Kevin Allison (Risk!, The State), Hallie Haglund (The Daily Show) and the band Savoir Adore as guests!

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Every other week on Beginnings: Field Guide, creators...

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 08:34:00 -0400

Every other week on Beginnings: Field Guide, creators deconstruct their favorite projects - from conception to finished product - in order to explore the many different paths the creative process can take.

On this episode of Beginnings: Field Guide (Beginnings’ sister show, where we have creators walk us through a particular thing they’ve created), we talk again to Devin Clark, the creator, director and executive producer of Ugly Americans, and if you’re not watching that show, you’re a stupid ass-beast. Get it? Anyway, on this episode, Devin talks to us about a painting of his called Fire-Breathing Meat Knife that will be featured in an upcoming art show. Plus, this is our first enhanced podcast, so you can actually see the painting while you listen!

And don’t forget to come to Beginnings: Live on Tuesday, April 10th at 8pm with our guests Kevin Allison (Risk, The State), Nick Vatterott (Conan Fallon) and special musical guest Savoir Adore!

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Where do creative people come from? On Beginnings, two fledgling...

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 08:44:22 -0400

Where do creative people come from? On Beginnings, two fledgling comedians talk origins with professional creators and others just starting out, and hopefully answer their parents’ question, “What are you doing?”

Devin Clark is the creator, executive producer and director of the fantastic Comedy Central show Ugly Americans, which began its life as an animated webseries called 5ON, which Clark created for CC’s Motherload. Clark is responsible for the look and tone of the show, and he began his art career at Syracuse University, where he was a video art major and also created a thrice-weekly comic strip for the school newspaper. Eventually he realized he could combine his two loves – video and cartooning – through animation, which set him on his current path. A few weeks ago, Devin sat down with us at the Wrestling Team apartment to discuss his hippie upbringing and films about jerking off into brownie mix. Totes fun, bro!

And don’t forget to come to Beginnings: Live on Tuesday, April 10th at 8pm with our guests Kevin Allison (Risk, The State), Nick Vatterott (Conan, Fallon) and special musical guest Savoir Adore!

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On the second Sunday of every month at UCB East, two fledgling...

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 08:54:00 -0400

On the second Sunday of every month at UCB East, two fledgling comedians talk origins with professional creators, and hopefully answer their parents’ question, “What are you doing?” This is Beginnings: Live!

Beginnings: Live at UCB East’s second show! On this episode we are joined by the wonderful and funny writers/performers Julie Klausner and Elliott Kalan. Klausner has written for Best Week Ever, is the author of I Don’t Care About Your Band, is host of the podcast How Was Your Week and is the writer and executive producer of a forthcoming NBC series based on the novel Apocolipstick. Kalan is an Emmy Award-winning writer on The Daily Show, has written a number of stories for Marvel Comics and is co-host of the bad movie podcast The Flop House. With all this star power on stage, it’s surprising that Mark and Andy aren’t charred skeletons!

And don’t forget Beginnings: Live’s new time! Starting in April, we’ll be on the second Tuesday of the month at 8pm! Next one is April 10th and we’ll have the hilarious Nick Vatterott (Conan, Fallon) and more!

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Where do creative people come from? On Beginnings, two fledgling...

Thu, 08 Mar 2012 01:44:00 -0500

Where do creative people come from? On Beginnings, two fledgling comedians talk origins with professional creators and others just starting out, and hopefully answer their parents’ question, “What are you doing?”

Jodi Lennon is a writer, performer and director based in New York City. Lennon got her start in Chicago performing at Second City, IO, and the Annoyance Theater, and studying under people like Del Close and Dave Pasquesi. In 1995, she co-created and co-starred in the Comedy Central sketch show Exit 57 with Amy Sedaris, Mitch Rouse, Stephen Colbert and Paul Dinello. Recently, Lennon has produced a documentary about Marc Maron called The Voice of Something: A Day In the Life of A New York Comic, which follows Maron around New York in the aftermath of 9/11. Last week, with the death of Davy Jones hanging over their heads, Jodi came over to the Wrestling Team apartment and told us about her parents and their perpetual bits, coming up in Chicago and how to create great characters. Plus, Andy learns a genuine lesson about writing!

Hey! Beginnings: Live this Sunday at UCB East at 6pm with The Daily Show’s Elliott Kalan and author of I Don’t Care About Your Band Julie Klausner! It will be great!

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Last month’s show with Michael Kupperman and Sean Patton...

Mon, 05 Mar 2012 15:54:33 -0500

Last month’s show with Michael Kupperman and Sean Patton was a bonafide hoot, and now the podcast that asks where creative people come from is back at UCB East!

This month’s guests:

Elliott Kalan
(The Daily Show, The Flophouse Podcast)

Julie Klausner
(How Was Your Week?, I Don’t Care About Your Band)

and MAYBE MORE?!?

with your hosts Mark and Andy (Wrestling Team)

Beginnings: Live!
Sunday, March 11
6:00pm
UCBEast
(153 East 3rd St. @ Ave. A)

Reserve tickets here:
http://east.ucbtheatre.com/shows/view/2985

Every other week on Beginnings: Field Guide, creators...

Thu, 01 Mar 2012 09:26:00 -0500

Every other week on Beginnings: Field Guide, creators deconstruct their favorite projects - from conception to finished product - in order to explore the many different paths the creative process can take.

On today’s episode we talk to two of the three creators of the insane webseries Teen Wheels. Dan Klein is currently a writer for The Onion and their “Get Out of My Face” videos and used to write on Sportsdome. He’s also ¼ of Pangaea 3000, one of the best sketch groups in the city. Kelly Hudson is an editor at College Humor and previously worked at Broadway Video, ONN and Vice. She’s also a UCB performer and can be found acting for the house sketch team Beige and writing for their video group Scraps. Teen Wheels is one of our favorite webseries, and Dan and Kelly walk us through how it was made, and along the way we talk about the meaninglessness of our lives!

Plus! Come see Beginnings: Live at UCB East on 3/11 at 6pm. We’ll be talking to How Was Your Week’s Julie Klausner and The Daily Show’s Elliott Kalan! Certified Laffs™!

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Cat Wedding by Will Storie

Mon, 27 Feb 2012 13:48:40 -0500

Cat Wedding by Will Storie

On the second Sunday of every month at UCB East, two fledgling...

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 09:28:00 -0500

On the second Sunday of every month at UCB East, two fledgling comedians talk origins with professional creators, and hopefully answer their parents’ question, “What are you doing?” This is Beginnings: Live!

On February 12th, we sat down with Michael Kupperman and Sean Patton at the UCB’s East Village theater and had a ton o’ fun! Michael is one of our favorite writer/artists/funny people. He made cartoons for TV Funhouse, created the comics Snake ‘n’ Bacon and Tales Designed to Thrizzle, and wrote and illustrated the book Mark Twain’s Autobiography 1910-2010. All are amazing! Sean is also one of our favorite stand-ups. He tours all around the U.S., has been on Jimmy Fallon and Conan, and hosts a show every week at the bar Kabin in the East Village. He is super-funny and charismatic. Ride the wave!

And don’t forget to come out to the next live Beginnings at UCB East on Sunday March 11th at 6pm. One of our guests will be the incredibly hilarious Daily Show writer Elliott Kalan as well as ANOTHER GUEST TOO!

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Every other week on Beginnings: Field Guide, creators...

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 09:07:00 -0500

Every other week on Beginnings: Field Guide, creators deconstruct their favorite projects - from conception to finished product - in order to explore the many different paths the creative process can take.

Myq Kaplan’s a brilliant stand-up whose been on Letterman, Conan, The Tonight Show, Craig Ferguson and many other programs. Last week on Beginnings we discussed his creative past and whether comedians have any more neuroses than the average person, and this week on Field Guide we talk about a song he wrote with his music partner Micah Sherman.

Why not drop us a line at jokes@wrestlingteam.org and tell us your favorite mammal?

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Cat Wedding by Jesse P-S

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 14:13:11 -0500

Cat Wedding by Jesse P-S