February 2012
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Headshots
Having lived in Chicago for a year and a half, out here acting and going on auditions, it’s hard to believe I never had professional headshots done. Back when I was in Miami with Just The Funny, we had a guy come by one day to take cast photos so I ended up using that one for a while. Just before leaving town, I had my photographer buddy Mario do a quick one for me so I had something current...
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WatchPromise Ring set from the 2012 Gainesville Improv Festival. Suggestion: “Chicken”
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GIF 2012
The Gainesville Improv Festival was a blast. We drove from Chicago all the way to Gainesville in about 16 hours, passing through Indianapolis, Louisville, Nashville and Atlanta along the way. The boys of Promise Ring bonded with the fellas from Wolodarski…8 men, 1 van, 1 hotel room. Both teams had killer sets, we saw some other great teams perform and soaked in the Florida weather.
Here are...
January 2012
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Second City 2012 Staff Show
Some shots from the 2012 Staff Show, performed live on the Mainstage during the annual Second City Holiday Party:
Kicking off the show with a musical number. Dave and I represent BizCo.
My favorite sketch to write and perform. Daniel and I do our best “caaaaaaps”.
“Wouldn’t that be sweet?” “That would be SO sweet!”
FISH EATER / Night Staff
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Put Me In Coach, I'm Ready To Play!
2012 is off to a killer start. I feel so blessed and fortunate to be in the position I am right now. Yes, I have a ridiculously busy schedule on my plate but I wouldn’t have it any other way. Coming into this year, I was mentally prepping myself for all the work I was going to be putting in. I’m doing a show at Second City called 3x3x3 with my buddies Chris and Steve where we each...
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December 2011
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Birthday!
26. An even number, so not too bad. I mean, 27 definitely sounds worse…but 26 is no 25. Regardless, I am now entering the second quarter-century of my life and I’m pretty excited for what’s in store.
Cubby Crunch Ice Cream Birthday Cake from Bobtail! My lady treats me right. :)
Christkindlmarket downtown at Daley Plaza. Lots of German/Christmas stuff plus the most amazing...
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Closing Time
Damn you, Semisonic, for making that song which inevitably comes to mind whenever some important chapter in your life comes to an end. Last night was no such exception, as I wrapped up my 5B Graduation Shows at iO.
MIKEROCOSM - on the very same couch where this whole thing started for me.
It’s been a long, wild ride. 63 weeks, to be exact (7 levels, 8 weeks each plus 7 weeks of...
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24
Take that, Jack Bauer! I worked a whole 24 hours for the annual “Letters to Santa” event at The Second City. It’s an improv marathon of sorts benefitting families who are less fortunate during the holidays. Last year, it took place during my birthday so I only stayed in spurts. This year, I plowed through along with a few other coworkers and made it until the end.
Highlights...
November 2011
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The Graduate
Monday night, I became a graduate of The Second City’s Conservatory program. When I first moved here in 2010 with the Puma scholarship that allotted me a year’s worth of training, the Conservatory is the one thing I had my sights set on. It’s the program you have to go through at Second City and now I can proudly say that I have done just that.
I remember the first nerve-racking...
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October 2011
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Opening Night
Tonight, me and the rest of the current Second City BrownCo cast open our new show Barackolypse Now! We rehearsed three times a week for the past two months, previewed our material for the producers and re-worked everything over and again. Now, we’re ready to rock and roll for the next ten weeks!
I always hate the few minutes before a show leading up to the call for “places,” so...
September 2011
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Barackolypse Now!
So, this is what I’ve been working on for the past two months:
New BrownCo show presented by The Second City’s Outreach & Diversity. Classic Second City scenes, original material, music and improv. I wrote some stuff that made it into the show, including the closing rap.
Check it out…all the info’s here!
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Doesn't It Feel Good To Threadless?
How has it taken me this long to get into Threadless? Sure, I’ve heard of the online t-shirt store that prints shirts based on community-voted designs before but I never paid them much mind. I pass their Broadway store all the time and stopped in on Labor Day for their $10 sale. It’s pretty dope that their only retail location in the whole U.S. is just a block away from my apartment.
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Reunited And It Tastes So Good
After over a year of withdrawal, I finally made a trip downtown to the new Chick-fil-A on Chicago Ave. This wasn’t the first time that I attempted to eat mor chikin. There was, of course, the unfortunate incident I had about a month ago as I walked up to a dark, empty restaurant only to realize that it was a Sunday.
Nonetheless, I made it! This place is no joke…it’s by far the...
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Take Me Out to the Ball Game
The other day I was treated by my buddy Patrick to a day at the ballpark. He’s a lifelong, die-hard White Sox fan…I took him up on the offer to be able to visit a new stadium as well as listen to him curse his team out, both of which were well worth it.
The seats were great and it was an all around good time. Now that I think about it, I’ve been to 4 MLB parks, 2 NFL...
August 2011
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Mr. Sunshine
Last month, I got together with some improv buddies to take part in the 1440 Film Frenzy sponsored by the Chicago Comedy Film Festival and iO Chicago. In 24 hours, we made a silly little film called Mr. Sunshine. They screened the films at iO, we won the audience vote, and our film will now be screened at the festival on Saturday, October 15 at ShowPlace ICON.
It was a fun, exhausting and surreal...
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Fait Accompli
In the current Mainstage show at Second City, the term “fait accompli” is a motif strung throughout the two-act revue. In the very first scene, one of the characters explains, “It means: fate accomplished.” Although I hear it all the time, it struck a chord with me today as I reached my one year anniversary of being in Chicago.
That’s right, it was exactly one year...
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Laugh Out Loud
A couple of months ago, I announced that I got hired by an improv comedy theatre out in the suburbs. Last night was finally my first night of performances at Laugh Out Loud and I had a blast! The venue is a nice size with floor seating and then a few rows on a raised platform. The stage, as you can see below, comes equip with curtains, various entrances and tons of props.
Each show consists of...
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Camp Life
This is the first week I’ve had off in a while. I started off my summer at a temp office job and immediately followed that with working at the arts camp that occupied my life for the last six weeks. As nice as it is to begin the transition back to my “normal” schedule (and I use the word normal loosely, as it is anything but that), I’m definitely going to miss what this...
July 2011
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Here's To You, Mr. Robinson
As I’ve mentioned before, one of the perks of working on the night staff at The Second City is the opportunity to watch the pros in action every single night. It’s an invaluable learning tool, studying the insanely talented performers as they build a show from scratch and then continue to fine-tune their creations (i.e. characters, beats, scenes, etc.) throughout the course of their...
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Guess Who's Back...PUMA's Back
I was walking past the administrative offices of Second City last night and saw this poster up on the wall. I’m famous, y’all!
Seriously, though, I can’t endorse this scholarship enough. It literally changed my life…COMPLETELY. I stood in front of this poster for a few minutes, staring at the photos and recounting the moments of this crazy journey that Puma/The Second...
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Troy & Abed
I guess since I posted that pic of the ladies from Community, it’s only right that I post something about some of the guys in order to maintain equality on here and dissuade any claims of male chauvinism (but seriously, look at that picture again…WOW, amiright?!?!).
Anyway, it just so happens that I’ve recently seen the real-life counterparts of my two favorite characters from...
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Shoot The J!
Not sure if it’s the side effects from the antibiotics I’m taking but I feel like I’m in a bit of a funk again. I did “ok” in class tonight but generally left with a sour taste in my mouth…like if I was an athlete who had an “off” night. And like some of the great NBA stars who work tirelessly at trying to perfect their craft, I didn’t want to...
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Here’s the final track from the “Yes Yes Y’all Rap Workshop” I did at Second City. We recorded it the last week of class and Ross put all the verses together. I’m the first one up…and I am only proud of my ability to make one whole stanza about a late, great American actor.