Improv Nerd With Jimmy Carrane

TJ Miller, a hilarious stand-up and star of HBO's Silicon Valley, sits down with Jimmy at The Annoyance Theater in Chicago to talk about why physicality is important in comedy, how he developed his great work ethic and his unique approach to acting and auditioning.

Bob Dassie is a legendary improviser and teacher. He performs with his wife, Stephanie Weir, in Weirdass, and has also been improvising with the group Dasariski for 17 years. We talk to him about his incredible work ethic, he philosophy on getting better and making the positive choice in a scene.

Marty DeRosa is a comedian who is considered the king of Chicago crowd work, using a lot improvisation in his stand-up act. He is a founding member of Comedians You Should Know and he co-host the hilarious podcasts Marty & Sarah Love Wrestling, and Wrestling with Depression. Jimmy talks to him about experiencing the death of one of his siblings and a parent at a young age, his dad, and how he uses improv in his stand-up.

Jeff Quintana is the Artistic Director and co-founder of The Villain Theater in Miami. He is a respected teacher and improviser who has studied in New York and Chicago. In this episode that was recorded live at The Villain Theater, Jimmy talks to Jeff about his dream of opening up an improv theater, being homeless in New York, and how to create a character immediately at the top of an improv scene.

Joe Bill is an international improv teacher and performer. He is a co-founder of the Annoyance Theater and tours with Mark Sutton in Bassprov. He has taught at Second City, The Annoyance and iO Chicago and continues to teach around the world. Jimmy sat down with him in this live episode to talk about The Annoyance, the day he quit stand-up, and his unique psychological approach to improv.

Simon Helberg is best known as Howard from the hit CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory. He is currently staring in the new film Florence Foster Jenkins with Meryl Streep and Hugh Grant. We talked to him about following in his father's footsteps at The Groundlings, how acting is like improv and the importance putting your stuff up.

This is our 200th episode of Improv Nerd! To acknowledge this milestone, we have compiled 15 of our favorite past guests' advice for people who are going into improv or comedy today. You will hear wisdom from people like Adam McKay, the ladies from Broad City, Lauren Lapkus, TJ and Dave, Jill Soloway, Bob Odenkirk, Jon Favreau and more. Take a listen!

Matt Dwyer is a writer, stand-up and podcaster. He was one of the youngest people to be hired for the Second City Touring Company at the age of 21. He has written for Funny or Die and Jonah Ray's Hidden America on Netflix. We talked to him about hanging out at Second City when he was high school, how getting fired at Second City led him to stand up, and the importance of writing for improvisers.

Mike Birbiglia is the writer, director and star of his latest independent film, "Don't Think Twice," about a popular New York improv group where one of the member gets his big break. Jimmy talks to Mike about some of themes in his film, like jealousy, self-sabotage and fame. Also, Mike talks about falling in love with improv and why it's so important for him to create his your own projects.

Peter Grosz is best known as one of the two guys in the Sonic commercials, but he has also written for The Colbert Report and Late Night with Seth Meyers. He has performed at The Second City etc., the UCB, Boom Chicago, and iO Chicago. Jimmy talks to him about why he still loves improvising, getting hired to write for Colbert and why he likes to play the unlikable Sidney Purcell in HBO's VEEP.

Kelsie Huff is one of Chicago's hottest comedians. She has studied at iO Chicago and Second City and she teaches the popular Feminine Comique, which is a stand-up class geared towards woman. Jimmy talked her at this year's Chicago Women's Funny Festival about how she uses improv in her stand-up, how to make the transition from storytelling to stand-up, and how she has been able to transform pain into comedy.

Jason Winer is a director, an Emmy-award wining producer, and writer. He has directed and produced such hit sitcoms at Modern Family, Life in Pieces and The Crazy Ones. Jason studied at iO Chicago back in the late '90s and was part of the team The Tribe. Jimmy talked to him about learning to improvise at young age thanks to his supportive parents, his initial reaction to Modern Family, and he how he works with actors.

Nia Vardalos is an actress, screenwriter and director, best known for her critically acclaimed films My Big Fat Greek Wedding I and II. Jimmy talks to her about how she went from working in the box office at Second City to getting hired as actor, using improv to write her screenplays and the importance of following your heart.

Tara DeFrancisco and Rance Rizzutto are masters of musical improv, touring around the world doing their critically acclaimed two-person musical improvisation show: HERE. Jimmy sat down with the recently married couple and talked them about how they first met, the power of musical improv, and why they like to make their audience cry as well as laugh.

Ed Furman is a writer, actor and improviser who has performed in three Second City revues and co-written Chicago's longest running musical Co-ed Prison Sluts at The Annoyance Theater. He's also written a sketch project for NBC, two children's plays and a best selling book. Jimmy sat down with Ed and talked to him about starting out at the Annoyance, how he developed his unique comedic voice and not worrying about getting the laughs when he improvises.

Miles Stroth is the founder of the Pack Theater in Los Angeles. He is also an incredible improviser, teacher and director who was part of the legendary improv group The Family at iO Chicago in the '90s. Jimmy talked to him at his theater in Los Angeles about being a hit by car, what he's learned from other improvisers that makes him so good, and how the UCB Cagematch changed how he improvises.

Hello from the Magic Tavern is a fully improvised comedy podcast that's exploding in popularity. In this episode, Jimmy sits down with creators Arnie Niekamp, Adal Rifai and Matt Young at the Chicago Improv Festival to talk to them about how they all met, how they developed great chemistry, and how they go about creating their magic world.

Kevin Nealon was on Saturday Night Live for nine seasons, and was best known for his characters Mr. Subliminal, Hanz and Franz with Dana Carvey and being the host of Weekend Update. Jimmy talks him about why he didn't think he'd ever get hired by SNL, how having a full life is helpful in a career in comedy, and the importance of being original.

Pete Gardner plays Darryl Whitefeather on the hit CW sitcom My Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. Jimmy sat down and talked with him about why he moved to Chicago in the '90s to study improv, the importance of taking acting classes even when you are on hit sitcom, and his relationship with his father.

Kate Flannery is best known for playing Meredith on the NBC series "The Office." She is also part of the comedy lounge act The Lampshades and was a member of Second City Touring Company and The Annoyance Theater in Chicago. Jimmy talked to her about what is like to be on a hit sitcom, her days in Chicago and why she still keeps a costume change in her car.