Breaking Ground: A Groundlings Podcast

Host Michael Churven takes you backstage for a freewheeling conversation with current and former members of the world famous Groundlings main company. Discover the origins of famous characters and sketches created on the Groundlings main stage and meet the comedians who have made The Groundlings one of the world’s most successful comedy theaters for over 45 years.

Best of: Writing Partnerships 10/14/2020

Best of: Writing Partnerships This week on the podcast we’re bringing you another special compilation episode with clips from episodes that have featured the amazing writers and writing teams that have been formed at the Groundlings. From having their scripts picked up to winning prestigious awards for their work, you’ll find the stories and advice from these writing teams illuminating and inspiring. You can listen to these full episodes and many more at groundlings.com or wherever you get your podcasts. /episode/index/show/groundlingsbreakingground/id/16396883

Best of: 45th Anniversary Panel Series 09/30/2020

Best of: 45th Anniversary Panel Series This week on the podcast we’re bringing you another special compilation episode with clips from the 45th anniversary panels that were featured last year as part of the Groundlings anniversary celebrations. The panelists discuss a huge range of topics, from embracing the Groundlings as a place to discover your comedic voice, to creating solo shows, to how improvising and performing sketches at the Groundlings can help your writing career. /episode/index/show/groundlingsbreakingground/id/16217438

Kevin Kirkpatrick & Allison Dunbar 09/24/2020

Kevin Kirkpatrick & Allison Dunbar Kevin Kirkpatrick, a Groundlings alumni, and Allison Dunbar from the current main company, have the kind of collaborative partnership that the Groundlings is all about. They are both huge admirers of each other's work, and when they come to write, their similar sensibilities mean that the writing process is a total joy for them. /episode/index/show/groundlingsbreakingground/id/16143206

Best of: Starting Out 09/09/2020

Best of: Starting Out This week on Breaking Ground we’re bringing you a special compilation episode with past guests as they reveal how they discovered the Groundlings and what their first steps were like in the Groundlings training program. From enormous excitement to intense fear, everyone’s beginning to the journey is unique, but there are as any many similarities as there are differences. You can listen to these full episodes and many more at groundlings.com or wherever you get your podcasts. /episode/index/show/groundlingsbreakingground/id/15941306

Tom Maxwell Part II 08/26/2020

Tom Maxwell Part II In episode two of a special two episode series, Groundlings co-founder Tom Maxwell talks about the development of the Groundlings style of sketch and improv, the creation of classic exercises and drills that are still performed in student shows to this day, and how the company transformed from a roving band of improvisational actors to find its permanent home on Melrose Ave. /episode/index/show/groundlingsbreakingground/id/15769208

Tom Maxwell & Don Woodard 08/19/2020

Tom Maxwell & Don Woodard In episode one of a special two episode series, Tom Maxwell and Don Woodard talk about the creation of the Groundlings theater dating all the way back to the first workshops run by Gary Austin. Tom discusses the growth of the theater, what it was like for Don to have Tom as his teacher, and how they later came to form their extremely successful writing partnership. /episode/index/show/groundlingsbreakingground/id/15677432

Maryedith Burrell 08/12/2020

Maryedith Burrell Maryedith Burrell is one of the early members of the Groundlings troupe and went on to have an extraordinary career, starring in ABC’s Fridays and Ron Howard’s Parenthood, writing on the Peabody Award winning Faerie Tale Theatre, and recurring on Seinfeld and Home Improvement. In this episode, Maryedith talks about being part of the comedy renaissance in Los Angeles, performing with Phil Hartman and Laraine Newman and why improv is ultimately a philosophy for life. /episode/index/show/groundlingsbreakingground/id/15554993

Brian Palermo 07/29/2020

Brian Palermo From his time in the Groundlings main company to being an original cast member of one of Los Angeles' longest running improv shows to his dozens of film and television credits, Brian Palermo has been entertaining American audiences for decades. In this episode, Brain talks about being part of the iconic Groundlings Beverly Winwood show, his love for improv and how he developed a speciality for teaching improv to non-actors. /episode/index/show/groundlingsbreakingground/id/15396236

Women In Comedy Panel 07/22/2020

Women In Comedy Panel In this week’s special episode, host Michael Churven brings you a panel discussion with the main company women of the Groundlings Theater as they talk about working to find your essence, having confidence in your comedic point of view, and the importance of breaking through negative expectations. /episode/index/show/groundlingsbreakingground/id/15302570

George McGrath 07/15/2020

George McGrath George McGrath is a national treasure. He was a member of the Groundlings main company in the 1980s and 90s and went on to an acting and writing career that has spanned over four decades. His first writing job earned him an Emmy nomination on Pee Wee’s Playhouse, and was nominated several more times, in particular for his work on HBO’s Tracey Takes On that he wrote with the brilliant Tracey Ullman, for which he also won a GLAAD award. /episode/index/show/groundlingsbreakingground/id/15216203

Phyllis Katz 07/08/2020

Phyllis Katz Phyllis Katz is a pioneer member of the Groundlings. From her first performance in a Groundlings sketch as a terrified pageant contestant to running workshops that helped create some of the world’s most famous characters, Phyllis’ talent and comedic direction is felt through generations of Groundlings performers and writers. In this episode, Phyllis talks about the early days of the theater, her love for musical improv and the joy she gets from teaching and directing. /episode/index/show/groundlingsbreakingground/id/15127661

Tim Bagley 06/24/2020

Tim Bagley Tim Bagley made his way to Los Angeles as part of the famous American singing group ‘The Young Americans’. But it wasn’t long after landing in Los Angeles that Tim found The Groundlings where he was in the main company from 1990 to 1995. In this episode, Tim talks about working in the main company with his favorite writing partners like Lisa Kudrow and Mike Hitchcock, where he draws inspiration for his award winning solo shows, and how pushing into uncomfortable areas creatively has helped Tim. /episode/index/show/groundlingsbreakingground/id/14946821

Wendi McLendon-Covey 06/17/2020

Wendi McLendon-Covey It took Wendi McLendon-Covey four years to sign up for her first Groundlings class. Wendi even had to ask her friend to make the call because she was so nervous. But once Wendi was finally in class, she soared. She made her way from the Fun Shop intro class to the Groundlings main stage and has gone on to star in Reno 911, Bridesmaids, and now currently stars on ABC’s The Goldbergs. /episode/index/show/groundlingsbreakingground/id/14856701

Chris Kattan 06/10/2020

Chris Kattan Chris Kattan’s sketches and characters (Mr Peepers, The Roxbury Guys, Mango) are some of the most iconic ever to come out of Saturday Night Live. In this episode, Chris takes us back to the beginning when, as a young kid, he watched his father Kip King perform on the Groundlings stage with other founding members, and where Chris first got the opportunity in the Groundlings training program to develop characters that would later propel him to amazing heights on SNL. /episode/index/show/groundlingsbreakingground/id/14762813

Writing Solo Shows 05/27/2020

Writing Solo Shows In addition to being a place of great collaboration in its sketch and improv shows, the Groundlings has also become an incredible platform for solo performers. Several solo shows created on the Groundlings stage have gone on to be produced on Broadway and at international comedy festivals such as The US Comedy Arts Festival and The Edinburgh Fringe Festival. /episode/index/show/groundlingsbreakingground/id/14576498

Phil LaMarr 05/20/2020

Phil LaMarr Phil LaMarr is a Groundlings alumni who began studying improv long before he found the Groundlings theater. He has trained with some of the all-time best improv teachers like Del Close in Chicago, but it was at the Groundlings with its emphasis on characters that Phil found his home. /episode/index/show/groundlingsbreakingground/id/14485517

Greg Worswick & H Michael Croner 05/13/2020

Greg Worswick & H Michael Croner Greg Worswick and H Michael Croner are current Groundlings who first met when they started writing together in the Sunday Company around 2011. They’ve had many hit sketches together and two of the characters that they created on the Groundlings stage were picked up and turned into a series by Comedy Central. In this episode, they talk about their favorite sketches, why they love writing together and discuss the highs and lows of writing prop-heavy sketches. /episode/index/show/groundlingsbreakingground/id/14395754

Mindy Sterling 05/06/2020

Mindy Sterling Mindy Sterling is best known for her role as Frau Farbissina in the Austin Powers films. It was at the Groundlings Theater where Mike Myers workshopped his Austin Powers variety show with Mindy and several other Groundlings. Mindy relives her experience of working with Mike, the joy she discovered through performing and directing on the Groundlings stage and why improv is still a big part of her life. /episode/index/show/groundlingsbreakingground/id/14294087

Writing For Television & Film Panel 04/29/2020

Writing For Television & Film Panel In addition to generating some of the world’s best comedic actors, the Groundlings theater has also produced a slew of incredible writers who have won Oscars, Emmys and Peabody awards. Join our panel of Groundlings who write for film and television as they discuss their writing process, which elements are essential for great storytelling and how their Groundlings training in sketch and improv helped them master writing for longer formats like sitcoms and feature films. /episode/index/show/groundlingsbreakingground/id/14185940

Lisa Schurga & Ryan Gaul 04/22/2020

Lisa Schurga & Ryan Gaul Lisa Schurga and Ryan Gaul have the rare experience of knowing each other and working closely long before ending up in the main company at the Groundlings together. Lisa and Ryan relive their first encounter in an improv class over 20 years ago at the Improv Asylum in Boston and they talk about how their Boston roots continue to be an anchor for some of their greatest characters. /episode/index/show/groundlingsbreakingground/id/14088146

Mitch Silpa & Jim Cashman 04/15/2020

Mitch Silpa & Jim Cashman Mitch Silpa and Jim Cashman are Groundlings alumni who have been writing together for almost 20 years. From their beginnings in the Groundlings main company to having their first sitcom script produced as a pilot for Fox, this hilarious writing duo talk about their writing process, why they enjoy trimming their own material and why improv is an invaluable skill for writers. /episode/index/show/groundlingsbreakingground/id/14023127

Tracy Newman & Jonathan Stark 04/08/2020

Tracy Newman & Jonathan Stark The Emmy and Peabody award-winning writing team of Tracy Newman and Jonathan Stark met at the Groundlings theater, but it was not until after they both retired from the main company that they started writing together. Tracy and Jonathan talk about how they got their start writing a spec script for Cheers, what it was like to write Ellen DeGeneres’ famous coming-out episode on the sitcom Ellen and how the person who types in a writing team is usually the one with all the power. /episode/index/show/groundlingsbreakingground/id/13991846

Lisa Kudrow 04/01/2020

Lisa Kudrow Lisa Kudrow is widely recognized as creating one of the greatest characters in American television. Her role as Phoebe Buffay on Friends was called ‘a delivery system for joy’ by the New York Times. But the origins of Phoebe go all the way back to her training at the Groundlings. /episode/index/show/groundlingsbreakingground/id/13991744

Breaking Ground: A Groundlings Podcast

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