Let's Talk About Sets!

PAIN The delightful charm monster, Patrick Holbert, joins us to pick away at PAIN in stand-up comedy. We talk about how pain is the source of much of stand-up, both physical and emotional, and how usually the audience needs to know that the pain is ultimately “ok” in order to laugh. We cover generational pain, the occupational hazards of talking about pain, how to refocus personal pain onto a “shared” experience rather than just making it about you, and how Patrick went about talking about his painful experiences the first time. It’s a fun talk with old friends about a major element of comedy as a whole, and stand-up in particular, which we trace through a few key bits from Patrick’s own material and a seminal late night set by Gary Gulman. ABOUT THE GUEST COMIC Patrick Holbert is a working NYC comic with a funny, sex positive podcast with his wife, “Who Cares About Ross and Patrick.” He performs nationally in his one man show for colleges called “Punch Line Drunk,” and he’s debuting his sex positive solo show with the semi-working title “Charming Pervert.” He also performs in rehab centers and shelters for audiences new to recovery. He has performed on Sirius XM and hosted the internationally syndicated TV show “The Movie Loft.” He has appeared on TruTV’s “Hack My Life” and “Mysteries at the Museum” on the Travel Channel. Patrick is often asked to emcee comedy shows because of his playful wit and affability. The NY Times called him the “charming M.C.” of the children’s variety show he previously performed in weekly. You can also check our his archives from when he was co-hosting “The Comic’s Table” podcast. FEATURED BITS ON THIS EPISODE – Gary Gulman – The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (2017) – Patrick Holbert – On Alcoholism: https://youtu.be/_sVw8klAQwI – Patrick Holbert – On Infidelity: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5P1Dg02d2h4 And a huge thanks to to our guest, Patrick Holbert! FOLLOW PATRICK HOLBERT: INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/theholbertreport TWITTER: https://twitter.com/holberreport FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/patmiscellaneous WEBSITE: https://patrickholbert.com GET MORE PATRICK: Podcast – Who Cares?…about Ross & Patrick: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/who-cares-about-ross-patrick/id1317664095 Trailer for his show “Punchline Drunk”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuReV1-soAU Oh Salt N’ Peppa, will you be our quarantine? SUPPORT “Let’s Talk About Sets!”: If you’re feeling grateful, consider sponsoring us on Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/letstalkaboutsets Or, if you want to send us a one-time tip say thanks: Venmo: https://www.venmo.com/Jeff-McBride Paypal: jeff@letstalkaboutsets.com AND PLEASE DO SHARE US ON SOCIAL MEDIA: https://www.facebook.com/letstalkaboutsets https://www.twitter.com/letstalksets https://www.instagram.com/letstalkaboutsets Special thanks to our intern Mona Ahmed!

MORALITY The Daily Show’s Roy Wood Jr. examines MORALITY in the context of stand-up comedy. Stand-up dances the lines of right and wrong, good and bad, proper and improper. Sometimes the question is,”Why in the world are you behaving like this?” Other times it’s, “Why is the world behaving like this?” The comedy we laugh at the most always plays with transgression, so what are some methods a comedian uses can deal with topics that push our moral sensibilities? Roy discusses how he spoke with an upset audience member at a show that went off the rails, how to he avoids “I’m right” comedy, and how he moved from “just funny” to “funny with something to say.” We get into how the Daily Show taught him that sometimes the joke is adjacent to the issue, rather than the issue itself. Some of the best parts of the interview are at the end where we talk about the road, how Roy worked the system to get ahead, the way he organizes his material, and when gives advice to inexperienced comics. ABOUT THE GUEST COMIC “I try to be what I wish I’d had. That is exactly how I see it.” – Roy Wood Jr. A comic who works with him recently said me, “People talk about Roy like he’s dead.” Like they’re giving a eulogy. From his profound work ethic to his commitment to help with black issues to the way he treats younger comics, Roy’s reputation is matched only by his skill as a comedian. Roy Wood Jr’s comedy has entertained millions across stage, television, and radio. Roy joined “The Best F#@ing News Team” in 2015 as a correspondent on Comedy Central’s Emmy-nominated hit series, “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah.” In 2017, he was named the new host of Comedy Central’s storytelling series, “This is Not Happening,” which will launch a fifth season next year. His first Comedy Central one-hour stand-up special, “Father Figure,” premiered in 2017 along with an extended uncensored album of the same name released by Comedy Central Records. His second Comedy Central one-hour stand-up special, “Roy Wood Jr.: No One Loves You,” will premiere at the beginning of 2019 on January 25th. Wood, a native of Birmingham, Alabama, began his comedy career in 1999 at the age of 19 while attending Florida A&M University. In October 2006, Wood made his network television debut on “The Late Show with David Letterman.” In 2008, he appeared on HBO’s historic “Def Comedy Jam” and was later selected by America as one of the top three finalists on “Last Comic Standing” on NBC. Wood has appeared on “The Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson,” TBS’ “Conan,” “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon,” “Late Night with Seth Meyers,” and “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” He also performed for the troops on USO tours to Guam and The Philippines. FEATURED BITS ON THIS EPISODE – Roy Wood Jr. – Love Snitchin’ (No One Loves You, 2019) – Roy Wood Jr. – America Hazes Minorities (Father Figure, 2017) – Roy Wood Jr. – Why I Chose Wisconsin (Things I Think, I Think, 2013) SEE ALL THINGS ROY: https://www.roywoodjr.com Buy to his albums: https://www.roywoodjr.com/store FOLLOW HIM: – INSTAGRAM: http://instagram.com/roywoodjr – TWITTER: https://twitter.com/roywoodjr – FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/roywoodjr – WEBSITE: https://www.roywoodjr.com And, as always, big thanks to Salt N’ Peppa for how much you don’t get hot and bothered by all this parody song shit we do.

CLEAN (part 2 of 2) In this second part of our CLEAN comedy interview of the pathologically nice Steven Rogers, we jump right into great material. We listen, laugh, and geek out over it through the lens of everything we explored about clean comedy in part one, so if you haven’t listened to the first installment, do that now. The bits we picked are fantastic–you’ll get some legendary Ray Romano, a taste of the genius Finish comic, Ismo Leikola, and some early hilarity from the brilliant buffoon that is Nate Bargatze. And we listen to Steven’s appearance on the The Late Show with Stephen Colbert! The episode touches on about how clean comedians get creative with curse-substitutes, how clean can be just making the audience fill in the filth themselves, “I know I look like” jokes, clean comedy and irony, logical absurdity, ya know, more things. [New feature–check out the chapters in your podcast app!] ABOUT THE GUEST COMIC Steven Rogers is a “real sweetie pants” of a guy, and I have to say this next thing or else it’ll hurt his feelings: he’s very, very funny, too. His disarming charm is only matched by his humility, which translates into a delightful sense of humor about himself. You can feel the good-heartedness wafting off of him like the pungent scent of New York City street in the summertime. Steven made his national TV debut in 2019 on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and has been featured in multiple comedy festivals such as Lucy Fest in Jamestown, NY and the Manhattan Comedy Festival where he was named “Funniest Clean Comedian.” He also has a popular anxiety themed podcast with Andrew Schiavone called, “Panic Attacking.” Steven’s comedic ability has established him as a feature act in comedy clubs and also a regular opener for Brian Regan in theaters across the country. FEATURED BITS ON THIS EPISODE – Steven Rogers – Steven’s New Girlfriend – Ismo Leikola – Chivalry Is Dead (2018) – Ray Romano – Becoming 40 (Live at Carnegie Hall, 2001) – Nate Bargatze – Cops (Laugh Factory, 2012) Thank you, Steven, for a damn good time. Yes, we accept Brian’s request to be on the show. We’ll see if we can fit him in sometime. SEE STEVEN LIVE: http://www.stevenrogerscomedy.com/shows Listen to his podcast “Panic Attacking”: Apple – https://open.spotify.com/show/6trZdCda1lC6f0U5B6m1dH Spotify – https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/panic-attacking-podcast/id1464091051 FOLLOW HIM: – INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/notsteverogers/ – TWITTER: https://twitter.com/notsteverogers – FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/srcomedy/ – WEBSITE: http://www.stevenrogerscomedy.com/ Special thanks to Ray Romano, Ismo Leikola, and Nate Bargatze. AND A GARGANTUAN THANKS TO THE SHARP-AS-A-TACK AND ALWAYS RELIABLE MONAH AHMED!!! Seriously, Monnaahhh, you’re amazey-ballz. (She helps with research, organization, and communication; she makes the work that goes into this so much better. Anyone else who gets to work with her should count themselves lucky.) Thank you! And, as always, big thanks to Salt N’ Peppa. Would you like a pony ride? I bet you like ponies. C’mon…you know you want to. Oh, and we mention a podcast on “Parapraxis and Elvis” that is rather interesting. Here’s a link: http://revisionisthistory.com/episodes/30-analysis-parapraxis-elvis

The way-too-likable, philosophically funny comic, Bret Raybould, explores the role of PRESENCE in stand-up from a makeshift recording studio inside Bret's private plane. We break this topic down into "being present" and "stage presence", touching on the stages of learning, flow state, body language, not giving a fuck, and knowing your act. Bret tells us how dealt successfully with following SNL's Leslie Jones after she brought down the house. We dig into these aspects of presence and a lot more via bits by Brody Stevens, Patrice O'Neal, and Dane Cook. All this while we eat gold-crusted caviar off the backs of Bret's devoted team of silent manservants.

50 EPISODES AND >100K DOWNLOADS! Thank you to everyone who supports and listens to our show! And thank you to all of our guests and interns who’ve contributed their time and expertise! And thank you SOOOO much to our Patreons and the listeners who’ve sent us tips to help support what we do! CONTRAST Former NYC comedy wunderkind, now a full grown rocket-to-the-top funny manchild, Usama Siddiquee, returns to the show to explore the central pillar of laughter, CONTRAST. The foundation of humor, contrast can be traced through every level of stand-up, from the overarching contrast between the audience reality and the comedian’s subversion of it–all the way down to contrasting something as simple as the speed with which the comedian delivers the material. When two things seem the same, and then they’re revealed to be different–humans love that! Suddenly experiencing differences in meaning, morality, scope, delivery, intensity, gravity, truth, etc. in a surprising way gives us the giggles. We talk about how to employ it, how it functions, and we laugh a bunch. Usama joyfully magics contrast into his material and into our recording. This is a funny one. ABOUT THE GUEST COMIC Texas-raised Usama Siddiquee is a stand-up comic, actor, podcaster, and light-speed comedy host. His high-energy comedy style and turbo-riffing can be seen all over the U.S., and since he was last on the show, Usama was passed at the prestigious Comedy Cellar comedy club here in Manhattan. He most recently traveled to Montreal as one of the New Faces at Just For Laughs in 2018. He made his standup television debut on BET’s 50 Central. He was a finalist for the 2017 NY’s Funniest Competition at Caroline’s; a finalist in the 2017 NBC Standup Competition; 1st place winner of the 2016 Laughing Devil Cup Comedy Festival in New York; the 1st place winner of the 2015 Yonkers Comedy Festival as well as the 1st place winner of the 2015 Make Me Laugh Albany Comedy Festival. Usama was also featured this year on videos for NBC, Buzzfeed, Refinery29, The Scene, Mic.com, FusionTV, and Huffington Post. FEATURED BITS ON THIS EPISODE – Nate Bargatze – Global Warming (2019, Tennessee Kid) – Usama Siddiquee – Islam Is The One True Religion (2017, Gotham Comedy Club) – Andrew Shulz – Trannies (2019, The Andrew Shulz – YouTube Channel) – Demetri Martin – Yep (2012, Standup Comedian) Thank you, Eli DiSabato, our new Executive Producer in training! And thank you, Usama, I guess. CHECK OUT USAMA’S PODCAST (Hassan Minaj was a recent guest!): Mango Bae hosted with Pranav Bahary: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCy6bxCzM7NDY252Ci7QPDkA SEE USAMA’S LIVE SHOW: Easy Buckets @ Rebecca’s in Brooklyn: https://www.eventbrite.com/o/usama-siddiquee-and-talib-babb-15233873846 FOLLOW USAMA: – INSTAGRAM.com/usamabinlaughin – TWITTER.com/usamabinlaughin – FACEBOOK.com/usamabinlaughin – WEBSITE: http://www.usamastandsup.com/bio-encore SUPPORT “Let’s Talk About Sets!”: If you’re feeling grateful, consider sponsoring us on Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/letstalkaboutsets Or, if you want to send us a one-time tip say thanks: Venmo: https://www.venmo.com/Jeff-McBride Paypal: jeff@letstalkaboutsets.com AND PLEASE DO SHARE US ON SOCIAL MEDIA: https://www.facebook.com/letstalkaboutsets https://www.twitter.com/letstalksets https://www.instagram.com/letstalkaboutsets Lastly, CHECK OUT OUR LIVE COMEDY AT OUR NEWLY RENOVATED SPACE: https://www.brickspotcomedy.com Special thanks Nate Bargatze’s brilliant moronism, Andrew Schulz’s progressive unwokeness, and Demetri Martin’s adult whimsy. And, as always, who’s my favorite hip-hop girl group, huh?! Who’s my whittle special group? Yes you are, Salt N’ Pepa. And I just learned I was spelling your name incorrectly for a few years. But, retroactively, the misspelling was all part of the justifiably fair use of your hit song we’ve parodied beyond recognition.

THE SETUP Undeniably funny, whitely awkward Geoffrey Asmus joins us to explore THE SETUP in stand-up comedy. Like most things in life, the bulk of the work goes into setting things up. If the punchline is the slide, the setup is the stairs to the top. But what is the setup for a joke? Information? Structure? Misdirection? A wink? Any of the above? Is the setup the premise, or is a premise just a part of the setup? We explore these comedy nerd questions along with some setup structures, and we bitch about people getting upset at setups without waiting to hear the whole joke. We also dig into some of Geoffrey's and Harrison's material to talk about how they reworked their setups to make their jokes land, and we have a great time listening to and frog-dissecting material from two opposite ends of the stand-up spectrum: Rodney Dangerfield and Ari Shaffir. ABOUT THE GUEST COMIC Geoffrey was selected as a ‘New Face’ performer at Just For Laughs Montreal and was featured on FOX’s ‘Laughs’ and Kevin Hart’s LOL Network. He has also performed at the Laughing Skull, Bridgetown, Limestone and Boston comedy festivals and won 3rd place in Atlanta’s 2017 Laughing Skull festival. Geoffrey has opened for Brian Posehn, Aparna Nancherla, Todd Barry, Daniel Sloss and Alonzo Bodden among others. Geoffrey Asmus began performing stand-up in 2013 immediately after wasting $143,548 in college. Within a short time, Geoffrey won Comedy on State’s “Funniest Person in Madison 2015” and Penguin Comedy Club’s “Funniest Person in Iowa 2015,” both times beating out the guy who invented meth, Quentin. FEATURED BITS ON THIS EPISODE - Rodney Dangerfield - The Stars Salute the President (1981) - Harrison Tweed - Musicians - Geoffrey Asmus - A Joke About Soccer - Ari Shaffir - The Chicken Bit (2015, Passive Aggressive) OTHER LINKS MENTIONED: - Laughing Skull Comedy Festival in Atlanta: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DZyLKL6mS4 - Twitter War: https://www.facebook.com/TwitterWarComedy/ - Geoffrey's weekly show in Brooklyn: https://www.facebook.com/Airplane-Mode-1047421245414364/ And a huge thanks to to our guest, Geoffrey Asmus! FOLLOW GEOFFREY ASMUS: INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/geoffreyatm/ TWITTER: https://twitter.com/filthyson FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/filthyson WEBSITE: http://www.whitecomedian.com/ SEE GEOFFREY LIVE: http://www.whitecomedian.com/shows Special thanks to Rodney Dangerfield's single premise and Ari Shaffir's mind-boggling joke structure. Oh Salt N' Peppa, our souls shall unite, and you'll see how much we love thee! SUPPORT “Let’s Talk About Sets!”: If you’re feeling grateful, consider sponsoring us on Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/letstalkaboutsets Or, if you want to send us a one-time tip to say thanks: Venmo: https://www.venmo.com/Jeff-McBride Paypal: jeff@letstalkaboutsets.com AND PLEASE DO SHARE US ON SOCIAL MEDIA: https://www.facebook.com/letstalkaboutsets https://www.twitter.com/letstalksets https://www.instagram.com/letstalkaboutsets CHECK OUT OUR LIVE COMEDY AT OUR CHIC, RENOVATED PERFORMANCE SPACE: https://www.brickspotcomedy.com CREDITS: For this episode, our sometimes editor and executive producer, Bobbi Jeanne Misick, has our heartfelt gratitude. She's absolutely wonderful to work with--she's punctual, highly skilled, communicates clearly and with a great sense of humor, and on top of all that, she's goodhearted gem of a human being and a good comic. Thank you Bobbi Jeanne!To find out more about this badass, go to https://bobbimisick.squarespace.com/about

JOKE THEORY (PART 1) The magically funny, wildly prolific, and hyper-analytical Comedy Cellar comic, Harrison Greenbaum, delivers a masterclass on JOKE THEORY! He's been doing comedy since he was 18 years old, and he wrote his Harvard psych thesis on stand-up! Harrison enthusiastically shares his favorite joke theories he's learned from others; and he generously outlines his own original theories. These are, truly, some of the best and most actionable approaches to jokes we've ever heard. Want to know why your joke doesn't work? Try his Three C's. What makes a joke worth telling AND laugh-inducing? Make sure it has both the Twist AND the Point. He talks about his dead-simple method of slimming down premises (which is forehead-smackingly brilliant), and he shares how he's always thinking in terms "audience processing time" to trim the fat off his jokes. And there's a lot more! His scientific approach to jokes gave us gem after gem of comedy craft. In this episode, part 1, we cover the theories. In part 2, we see them applied in his material. ABOUT THE GUEST COMIC Harrison Greenbaum been featured on America's Got Talent, Last Comic Standing, AXS.TV's Gotham Comedy Live, along with many other TV appearances. He's won numerous awards for his comedy, including the Andy Kaufman Award for creativity and originality in comedy, the Shorty Award from Comedy Central, and Best Emerging Comic from the New York Comedy Festival. He's got writing credits up the wazoo, performs in over 600 shows a year, and on top of all that, Harrison also saws doves in half and conjures flocks of women into the air as magic. Or something like that. FEATURED BITS ON THIS EPISODE - Emo Phillips - How God Works (1980) - Harrison Greenbaum - America's Got Talent (2017) HARRISON'S JOKE THEORY ARTICLES http://harrisoncomedy-blog.tumblr.com/post/1005084660/the-secret-of-comedy-or-the-necktie-theory-of http://harrisoncomedy-blog.tumblr.com/post/1353987057/why-we-laugh-or-joke-resonance-and-universal http://harrisoncomedy-blog.tumblr.com/post/84849841005/the-twist-and-the-point-part-i-the-twist http://harrisoncomedy-blog.tumblr.com/post/84940811000/the-twist-and-the-point-part-ii-the-point And a huge thanks to to our guest, Harrison Greenbaum! What a mensch. FOLLOW HARRISON GREENBAUM: - INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/harrisoncomedy/ - TWITTER: https://twitter.com/harrisoncomedy - FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/hrgreenbaum - WEBSITE: http://www.harrisongreenbaum.com/ SEE HARRISON LIVE: http://www.harrisongreenbaum.com/tourdates.html - The Dark Horse Comedy Club in NYC on Fri, January 25, 9:00pm – 10:30pm - Gotham Comedy Club in NYC on Mon, January 28, 7:00pm – 8:45pm CHECK OUT HIS MAGIC: http://www.harrisonmagic.com/ Special thanks to Emo Philips' weirdly perfect jokes. And, forever and ever, you spice up our lives, Salt N' Peppa. SUPPORT “Let’s Talk About Sets!”: If you’re feeling grateful, consider sponsoring us on Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/letstalkaboutsets Or, if you want to send us a one-time tip to say thanks: Venmo: https://www.venmo.com/Jeff-McBride Paypal: jeff@letstalkaboutsets.com SHARE US ON SOCIAL MEDIA: https://www.facebook.com/letstalkaboutsets https://www.twitter.com/letstalksets https://www.instagram.com/letstalkaboutsets CHECK OUT OUR LIVE COMEDY AT OUR NEWLY RENOVATED SPACE: https://www.brickspotcomedy.com CREDITS: For this episode, our sometimes editor and executive producer, Bobbi Jeanne Misick, has our heartfelt gratitude. She's absolutely wonderful to work with--she's punctual, highly skilled, communicates clearly and with a great sense of humor, and on top of all that, she's goodhearted gem of a human being and a good comic. Thank you Bobbi Jeanne!To find out more about this badass, go to https://bobbimisick.squarespace.com/about

CONFIDENCE The delightfully confident comedian, Sally Ann Hall, joins us to explore CONFIDENCE as it pertains to the craft of stand-up comedy. What is confidence conceptually? Why is it so critical for a good performance? Where does it come from and how can a stand-up develop it? How do you explain the relationship between portraying yourself as a low-confident person in your material while simultaneously displaying immense confidence as a performer and a writer? We fucking loved recording this! ABOUT THE GUEST COMIC Sally Ann Hall goes by Sally Ann, not Sally. She’s vivacious and spicy, a tour de force on stage and an absolute pleasure off of it. She bubbles with funny, energy, and joy. Born in Alaska and raised in Idaho, she is now based in New York and frequently hits the road. She’s got the performance chops of the “very good actor”* that she is. She’s a busy comedy bee, performing at famous NYC clubs such as Broadway Comedy Club, Comic Strip Live, LOL Comedy Club, The Stand, New York Comedy Club, Greenwich Comedy Club, Eastville, and Gotham. She is also the a winner of both the She Devil Comedy Festival and he Laughing Devil Comedy Festival. *Verbatim from her website landing page. FEATURED BITS ON THIS EPISODE - Jerry Seinfeld - Confidence (On Comedy With Larry Wild, 2008) - Sarah Silverman - If You Have To Explain It (Jesus Is Magic, 2005) - Sally Ann Hall - Circumcision - Mike Birbiglia - Delusion (Sleepwalk With Me Live, 2011) And a huge thanks to to our guest, Sally Ann Hall! FOLLOW SALLY ANN HALL: INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/hallabackearl TWITTER: https://twitter.com/supersallyann FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/s.a.halla WEBSITE: https://funnysallyann.com/ SEE SALLY ANN LIVE: She’s doing an hour on 01-22-2018 for Carolines Breakout Artist Comedy Series: http://www.carolines.com/comedian/breakout-artist-comedy-series-sallyann-hall/ And check out her monthly show, “LEFT BREAST COMEDY HOUR!”, which is moving to The Knitting Factory in January: https://www.facebook.com/leftbreast/ Special thanks Jerry Seinfeld’s armor of self-assuredness, Sarah Silverman’s edgy lovability, and Mike Birbiglia’s storytelling genius. And, as always, big thanks to Salt N’ Peppa. One day, somehow, we’ll join hands and sing our song together with the all-new lyrics we wrote for you in this homage/parody we’re so completely sick of. CREDITS: For this episode, our sometimes editor and executive producer, Bobbi Jeanne Misick, has our heartfelt gratitude. She's absolutely wonderful to work with--she's punctual, highly skilled, communicates clearly and with a great sense of humor, and on top of all that, she's goodhearted gem of a human being and a good comic. Thank you Bobbi Jeanne!To find out more about this badass, go to https://bobbimisick.squarespace.com/about

SELF-DEPRECATION Jacob Williams (MTV's Wild 'N Out, Colbert, America's Got Talent, & a lot more) KILLED it in this episode! We absolutely could not stay on topic, and so what? This conversation was UNDENIABLY funny! It starts to really pick up steam at about 30 minutes, Jacob has us in literal tears of laughter at the halfway point. Between all the goofing around, we hit every angle we could think of on self-deprecating humor in stand-up. We think Jacob is a grand master of it, and that's why we chose him for this topic. With respect to the theme, we cover: - Relating to the comic's negative traits and experiences - Comedic license - Anger and self-esteem - Being "ok" with the subject of the self-deprecating humor, be it a personality trait or negative experience - Over-reliance on self-deprecation - The role of shame - The effectiveness of juxtaposing self-deprecating jokes with material that targets the same failing in someone or something else ABOUT THE GUEST COMIC He recently made his late-night network television debut performing stand-up on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (CBS). Jacob first made his primetime network television debut as a stand-up comedian on America's Got Talent (NBC) and advanced to the Semifinals. He also performed on the Comedy Central shows Adam Devine's House Party and Roast Battle. Jacob has been a cast member on the hit improv/sketch comedy series Wild 'n Out (MTV) for eight seasons including the current one. He has also provided the voice of a cartoon character on the animated miniseries Football U (MTV Other). Jacob lives in New York City where he performs regularly when he is not on tour at comedy clubs, colleges, and corporate events across America. FEATURED BITS ON THIS EPISODE - Adam Sandler - some very early material from "Laughing Out Loud: America's Funniest Comedians" DVDs (YouTube) - Jacob Williams - The Late Show w/ Stephen Colbert (2018) - Jacob Williams - America's Got Talent (2012) - Jacob Williams - Adam Devine's House Party (Comedy Central: season 3, episode 1, 2016) - Demetri Martin - Late Night W/ Conan O'Brien (06/2004) – Tom Segura - One Day (Mostly Stories, 2017) - David Cross - Random Goofabouts (Bigger And Blackerer, 2010) Thank you, Jacob! We learned so much about dealing with fame and wealth. SEE JACOB LIVE: - Week At The Creek (7pm 12/3 to 12/7) - http://creeklic.com/events/week-creek-jacob-williams-2018-12-03/ - Butterboy at Littlefield - November 26th - https://www.butterboycomedy.com CHECK OUT HIS SUPERCUT OF GREAT LINES FROM WILD 'N OUT WITH 3M+ VIEWS: - https://youtu.be/oc0mR9v1_yE FOLLOW HIM: http://instagram.com/mrjacobwilliams http://www.facebook.com/ - search "comedian jacob williams" https://twitter.com/MrJacobWilliams VISIT HIS WEBSITE: http://www.jacobwilliamscomedy.com TO SEE JACOB LIVE AT YOUR COLLEGE, MAKE YOUR BOOKER CONTACT BASS/SCHULER ENTERTAINMENT: - Email: info@bass-schuler.com - Phone: 773-481-2600 IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN THE STUDY ON SELF-DEPRECATING HUMOR: - fr. The Daily Mail - https://dailym.ai/2qJT1z4 - fr. The Independent - https://ind.pn/2FdQKWS AND THE TED TALK WE REFERENCED ON GROWTH MINDSET: - Carol Dweck - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiiEeMN7vbQ Special thanks to Adam Sandler, Demetri Martin, Tom Segura, and David Cross. And, Salt N’ Peppa, come snuggle with us. SUPPORT “Let’s Talk About Sets!”: Please like us on Facebook and, if you’re feeling grateful, consider sponsoring us on Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/letstalkaboutsets https:/www.facebook.com/letstalkaboutsets Or, if you want to send us a one-time tip say thanks: Venmo: https://www.venmo.com/Jeff-McBride Paypal: jeff@letstalkaboutsets.com Lastly, CHECK OUT OUR LIVE COMEDY AT OUR NEWLY RENOVATED SPACE: https://www.brickspotcomedy.com

PERSPECTIVE Award-winning comedy writer and stand-up comic, Dan Perlman, shares his perspective on PERSPECTIVE in stand-up comedy. Questioning, digging, zooming in and out, and navel gazing are some of the many methods stand-up comics use to quickly shift the perspective on a premise and elicit laughs from crowds. We discuss how providing a new perspective is at the heart of great stand-up. The most memorable bits are capable of briefly re-positioning audiences' mental lens, so we all collectively look at something from another race, gender, age, career, culture, or anything else imaginable. And we geek the fuck out on great material from Roy Wood Jr., Joe Rogan, and John Mulaney. ABOUT THE GUEST COMIC Dan Perlman is a stand-up comedian and writer from New York City. Dan was recently named one of the 2018 New Faces in stand-up at Montreal Just For Laughs and headlined Caroline's on Broadway. Dan created and wrote an animated series, That's My Bus!, which received a pilot order from FOX. Dan has appeared on TruTV, MTV2, and as a cast member on MTV's Vidiots. As a writer-filmmaker, he has had four projects featured in the New York Television Festival, most recently the award-winning comedy series, Flatbush Misdemeanors, in which he co-stars and co-writes/directs. On radio, Dan was a writer for SiriusXM's Bennington and Comedy Contributor for Neil deGrasse Tyson's StarTalk Radio. Dan wrote for the 2017 WGA Awards, hosted by Lewis Black, and the 2018 WGA Awards, hosted by Amber Ruffin. As a stand-up, Dan's festival credits include Montreal Just For Laughs, New York Comedy Festival, SF Sketchfest, Boston Comedy Fest, Limestone Comedy Fest, and Finger Lakes Comedy Competition (2015, 1st place). FEATURED BITS ON THIS EPISODE – Roy Wood Jr. - Black Patriotism (Father Figure, 2017) - Dan Perlman - Pretty Without Makeup - Dan Perlman - Suicide Hotline - Joe Rogan - Marijuana Laws (Strange Times, 2018)* - John Mulaney - Stranger Danger (Kid Gorgeous, 2018)* *These are our names for these bits since they're pulled from Netflix specials. Thank you, Dan, you thought machine! FOLLOW HIM: https://twitter.com/danjperlman https://www.facebook.com/danperl https://www.instagram.com/danjperlman VISIT HIS WEBSITE: http://www.danperlmancomedy.com SEE HIS AWARD WINNING, OSCAR QUALIFIED, BE-LEAVED WEB-SERIES: https://www.flatbushmisdemeanors.com/ Special thanks to Roy Wood Jr.'s brilliant mind, Joe Rogan's bro gravitas, and John Mulaney's perfect choreography. And, Salt N’ Peppa, stay sweet. Never change! SUPPORT “Let’s Talk About Sets!”: Please like us on Facebook and, if you’re feeling grateful, consider sponsoring us on Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/letstalkaboutsets https://www.facebook.com/letstalkaboutsets Or, if you want to send us a one-time tip to say thanks: Venmo: https://www.venmo.com/Jeff-McBride Paypal: jeff@letstalkaboutsets.com Lastly, CHECK OUT OUR LIVE COMEDY AT OUR NEWLY RENOVATED SPACE: https://www.brickspotcomedy.com

WRONG Conan alum Mike Recine is a nationally touring headliner and a hysterically twisted joke writer--the perfect guy to explore WRONG comedy. What is it? How can comics do it well, and why can it go so badly? Everyone has laughed at something and said "That's wrong!" Or at least we've all laughed at things that simply are incorrect or illogical. Why? How does that work? What's funny about wrongness, and why is it that kind of comedy such a big deal for society and for stand-up right now? We sink our teeth into all that and a lot more in this hilarious and earnest conversation using material from Dave Chappelle, Patrice O'Neal, Anthony Jeselnik, and Mike Recine himself. ABOUT THE GUEST COMIC Jersey-raised Mike Recine is an accomplished and hilarious headliner and podcaster. He's been on Conan twice, has an album out from Comedy Dynamics, a half hour Comedy Central special, and a successful podcast called "The Sitdown w/ Mike Recine," plus a lot more. His darkly joyful jokes are brilliant, surprising, and often hysterically "wrong," blending observation and personal storytelling with a pitch-perfect dark wit, and he was absolutely perfect for this episode of LTAS. FEATURED BITS ON THIS EPISODE – Dave Chappelle - Joys Of Being Wrong (Bird Revelation, 2017) – Patrice O'Neal - Harrassment Day (Elephant in the Room, 2011) – Mike Recine - Excerpts from Comedy Central's "The Half Hour" (Season 5, Episode 13, 2016) – Mike Recine - Worst Pedophile (Conan, 2016) – Anthony Jeselnik - Seduction (Shakespeare, 2010) Thank you Mike! You really make us laugh, man. CHECK OUT MIKE'S POPULAR PODCAST: - Libsyn: https://sitdownpod.libsyn.com/ - iTunes: https://apple.co/2D1UqtY FOLLOW HIM: twitter.com/mikerecine instagram.com/mikerecine facebook.com/mike.recine VISIT HIS WEBSITE: http://www.mikerecine.com MIKE'S ALBUM: “Union Delegate” - On Spotify - https://spoti.fi/2Murt99 - On iTunes - https://apple.co/2QsAFhF Special thanks Dave Chappelle "old man of comedy" wisdom, Patrice O'Neal's immortal funny bones, and Anthony Jeselnik. And, Salt N’ Peppa, our love abides. SUPPORT “Let’s Talk About Sets!”: Please like us on Facebook and, if you’re feeling grateful, consider sponsoring us on Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/letstalkaboutsets https:/www.facebook.com/letstalkaboutsets Or, if you want to send us a one-time tip to be part of making this happen or just to say thanks, send it to: - Venmo: www.venmo.com/Jeff-McBride - Paypal: jeff@letstalkaboutsets.com Lastly, check out a couple of our other projects: www.latenightromp.com – a weekly show produced by Teresa Sheffield and Jeff McBride in the heart of Manhattan www.special-tonight.com – a monthly dinner/comedy experience produced by Sadiq Samani, Jeff McBride, and master caterer Mike Weinstein www.facebook.com/BeastModeComedy/ – a new weekly Monday show produced by Teresa Sheffield and Jeff McBride www.brickspotcomedy.com (coming soon!) CREDITS: For this episode, our sometimes editor and executive producer, Bobbi Jeanne Misick, has our heartfelt gratitude. She's absolutely wonderful to work with--she's punctual, highly skilled, communicates clearly and with a great sense of humor, and on top of all that, she's goodhearted gem of a human being and a good comic. Thank you Bobbi Jeanne!To find out more about this badass, go to https://bobbimisick.squarespace.com/about

COMMITMENT Andrea Allan, an aggressive, crazy, "wild animal" of a comedian, joins us to chart COMMITMENT through stand-up comedy. When a comic creates a provocative performance or talks about challenging topics, he or she can face overwhelming negative pressure from the crowd. But if the comic pulls through the end and gets a huge laugh, people will say, "She's committed!" You don't need commitment when everyone already agrees with you or if you're playing it safe. Commitment is for when it gets tough, and it's the only way ANYTHING worth doing gets done. So what is it? How do you employ it? What are some tips and tactics for staying committed to a bit? We have a blast in this very dirty episode exploring commitment to character, to tone, to material, to act outs, and to oneself. ABOUT THE GUEST COMIC Andrea is a stand-up comedian and podcaster based in NY. As a stand-up, she has been featured in NY Comedy Festival, been written up in Interrobang and featured in the March Madness Stand Up Competition held at Carolines. She has guested on the podcast Risk!, Lenny Letter Presents, You Know What Dude and Guys We Fucked amongst many others. Her podcast, The Hot Mess Comedy Hour, has been written up in Elite Daily and is a part of ABC's OG podcast Network. The podcast has had many prominent guests including Ari Shaffir, Corinne Fisher, Bonnie McFarlane and Jo Firestone. FEATURED BITS ON THIS EPISODE - Doug Stanhope - Keynesian Economic Theory As Applied To Private Sector Independent Contracting (2011, Before Turning The Gun On Himself) - Andrea Allan - A set at Platform (2018) - Kurt Metzger - I’m basically Salmon Rushdie (2014, White Precious) - Eddie Murphy - Singers Get Pussy (Delirious, 1983) Thank you, Bobbi Jeanne Misick, our new Executive Producer! Your suggestions, feedback,and editing skills are GAME CHANGERS! NEW GAME! TOTALLY CHANGED! And thank you, Andrea, for your scintillating presence. We loved recording with you! CHECK OUT HER VERY POPULAR PODCAST: Hot Mess Comedy Hour https://apple.co/2HJQNWl twitter.com/hotmesspodcast facebook.com/hotmesscomedyhour instagram.com/hotmesscomedyhour FOLLOW HER: twitter.com/andreacomedy facebook.com/andreacomedy instagram/andrea_allan88 (preferred) WAYS TO SUPPORT “Let’s Talk About Sets!”: - Like us on Facebook & IG. - If you’re feeling grateful, consider sponsoring us on Patreon http://www.patreon.com/letstalkaboutsets - Use Venmo to tip us directly. User name is Jeff-McBride Special thanks Doug Stanhope's degrading of language, Kurt Metzger's hysterical assholery, and Eddie Murphy's comedy explosivity. And, as always, just come on over here you little sexy wondermuffins, Salt N’ Peppa, for some hugs to thank you for helping little ol' us with our rinky-dink podcast by not putting lawyers between us, which would be ridiculous to do anyhow considering the fair use parody we're doing, which is really an homage when you think about it. LASTLY, COME SEE US LIVE! The following are quality, live stand-up showcases you can catch in Manhattan, brought to you by Brickspot Comedy, a comedy producer collective that runs the freshly renovated back room of the VSPOT Organic, on 12 St. Marks in Manhattan. See the links for up-coming line-ups. - Mondays @ 9pm - https://www.facebook.com/latenightromp - produced by Teresa Sheffield and Jeff McBride, - Tuesdays @ 9pm - https://www.facebook.com/BeastModeComedy - produced by Teresa Sheffield and Jeff McBride - Thursdays @ 9pm - https://www.facebook.com/ComicsTableLive - produced by Tristan Smith and Patrick Holbert - Fridays @ 9pm - https://www.facebook.com/crossthebridgecomedy - produced by Philip Vassari and Patrick Holbert - Sundays @ 7pm - https://www.facebook.com/TheLastLaughShow - produced Gianmarco Soresi and Jay Schmidt And you should totally see Jeff's monthly sold-out show that pops up at a variety of unique locations: https://www.facebook.com/specialtonight – a monthly dinner/comedy experience produced by Sadiq Samani, Jeff McBride, and master caterer Mike Weinstein

WORD ECONOMY Wordsmith Andy Sandford revs up his writer's Prius to taut WORD ECONOMY. Levity is brevity, but word economy means more than that. We explore how word economy is not "least words possible," but rather the least needed for the goal. Is there a connection with word economist comedians and humility? How do you determine what's necessary and what's not? Andy also shares insight on his writing process and his writing discipline, which is pretty inspiring, along with some sage comedy advice. We laugh and pick apart some great bits by Jeff Caldwell, Ellen Degeneres, and Steven Wright. Also, Andy was on AQUA TEEN HUNGER FORCE! ABOUT THE GUEST COMIC Andy Sandford is a nationally touring comedian who got funny in Atlanta, GA and is now based out of New York City. Andy made his late night debut on CONAN, which was included in The Laugh Button’s “Top 5 Late Night Stand-up Debuts of 2015.“ Andy’s album, Me the Whole Time," made several “best of” lists, including Splitsider’s “9 Best Standup Specials & Albums of The Year.“ Andy also played an animated version of himself on Adult Swim’s Aqua Teen Hunger Force. Brooklyn Magazine named Andy one of “Brooklyn’s Funniest People,” and the Village Voice called him “one of New York’s comedic gems." He's a humble guy with a brilliant wit, and we were glad to have him on the show! FEATURED BITS ON THIS EPISODE - Jeff Caldwell - late night set on Letterman (9/26/2006) - Andy Sandford - Secret Loft Show (2016) - Ellen Degeneres - Johnny Carson (1986) - Steven Wright - Quote (I Still Have A Pony, 2007) Thank you, Andy! I need say no more. Andy has a new album dropping on July 27th from Comedy Dynamics, called, "Shameful Information." You can read more about that here: http://www.comedydynamics.com/andy-sandford-shameful-information FOLLOW HIM: twitter.com/AndySandford instagram.com/andy.sandford CHECK OUT HIS WEBSITE: andysandford.com HIS ALBUM: "Me The Whole Time" - https://open.spotify.com/album/4aimV6ybDJOTi0Epty847q GO SEE HIS WEEKLY SHOW: Permission To Fail: every Monday at the Creek & the Cave (10pm) where very funny, top level NYC comics go to try out their new bits. Special thanks to Jeff Caldwell, Ellen Degeneres, and Steven Wright. And, Salt N’ Peppa, we love you for all this fair use, you’d love us. We’re having a Salt N’ Peppa appreciation party in my apartment after this, so come on over. Lastly, check out a couple other projects: www.latenightromp.com - a weekly show produced by Teresa Sheffield and Jeff McBride in the heart of Manhattan www.special-tonight.com - a monthly dinner/comedy experience produced by Sadiq Samani, Jeff McBride, and master caterer Mike Weinstein https://www.facebook.com/BeastModeComedy/ - a new weekly Monday show produced by Teresa Sheffield and Jeff McBride