The Numbers For 2014

For the second year in a row I went 365 days without a drink.

I went on two vacations, one to Richmond, VA the other to New York City.

I saw 72 movies in the theater.

Deep Schwa had 51 shows.

Prime had 49 shows.

The Night Shift had 20 shows.

The Hague had 3 shows and was cut.

We formed Sight Unseen and had 12 shows.

I read 37 books, my favorite of which was My Real Children by Jo Walton.

I wrote 46 poems and did 5 readings.

Tisher, Tim, and I released 10 episodes of Bubble Boys compromising season 2 completing the series.

Tim and I recorded the first season of a new podcast The Hindsight Hour yet to be released.

I conceived of and co-wrote a play, Contention, which will open in the new year.

I made 1 collage.

I made 1 mix tape.

I wrote 1 song.

I moved twice.

I went to 1 audition.

I rode my motorcycle for 7 glorious months.

I went to 0 concerts.

I went to 11 plays.

I went to 2 weddings.

I went to 0 funerals.

I had the love of a beautiful and supportive woman for the entire year.

Goodbye Tisher

About five years ago I met Tisher for dinner with my friend Wes and his girlfriend at the time Jess. I had just come from seeing The Cove for the first time. A profoundly moving documentary about dolphin slaughtering in Japan. I was all amped up about it, politically and emotionally charged. I didn't know anything about him at the time save he was on Neapolitan at iO which everyone was lauding as the next great group which I, of course, resented. He was kind of a dick as I recall, pretentious and full of himself, taking multiple opportunities to ridicule the premise of The Cove and undermine my obvious passion for it. I decided I hated him.

Two years later we started temping at Groupon at the same time. The day after the big snow storm, this was 2011, all the temps went into to work and most of the normal employees didn't. We started talking at lunch about this guy who played at iO and how much we didn't like him. He had a repertoire of offensive trope characters he always played and we bonded over talking shit about this guy and feeling superior. I'm a touchy-feely type of guy and so after that I would pat him on the back or give his shoulders a little rub when I would walk by and he started to do the same to me. From that moment on we were friends. We sat next to each other at work for the next six months and started seeing each others shows and going to movies.

A year later we were having lunch at work and we started to talk about doing a project together, that project turned into Bubble Boys our improvised comedy serial. It, to date, has been the most challenging and satisfying creative project I've done and I couldn't have found a better collaborator than Tisher.

Over the course of our friendship we've seen each other at some low points and there was never any doubt we would stick by and support each other. Our friendship went from work friends to improv friends to something a lot deeper and more complex. I've kept no secrets from Tisher and used him as a sounding board almost daily. I relied on him as a social buffer, social blanket, and social bloodhound- I not necessarily being in the loop as much as him.

Along with him inspiring and fueling me in our partnership with Bubble Boys he also inspired me to create a character, some bizarro version of him which I've written a couple short posts as and a lot of quotes on Facebook. He was always kind and game in regards to this portrayal which is not necessarily flattering and which for me was a huge experiment I learned a lot from. I didn't know how or was incapable of writing in a voice other than my own before I started to create a fictitious version of him. That has been a huge gift, has opened up some abilities and avenues I didn't know were available.

Tisher has not only been a great friend to me but to many people. He will be missed as a friend and as a unique and engaging performer. His effortless blend of high-brow concepts and content with low-brow presentation are unlike anything anyone else is doing. His moving leaves a hole in the Chicago comedy community.

But Tisher is off to greener pastures in NYC where I know it is just a matter of time until he finds success like our other Chicago friends who have fled to the coasts. I will cherish our time together in Chicago and look forward to the next stage in our friendship.

Bubble Boys: The Hitler You Know Is Better Than The Hitler You Don't

Season 2 comes to a close with a collision of insanities. Tisher and I figured we had to have an episode with Hitler and the germ of it came from the Tom Cruise flop Valkyrie. Brunlieb and Andel were our first thoughts when it came to Hitler and Eva and they had instant chemistry in the studio. We had been trying unsuccessfully for a while to get Conner on the show and finally were able to by having him call in. The whole episode was a real sick and twisted joy.

Lots of gratitude and thanks to all those who guested on season 2 and all those who listened. It's been an extremely gratifying labor of love.


The Bubble Boys take on the most important mission of their lives: the demise of Adolf Hitler.

Featuring:
Steve Nelson as Sven Ingaborg
Andrew Tisher as Henry Mossmouth
Michael Brunlieb as Adolf Hitler
Andel Sudik as Eva Braun
and Conner O'Malley as General Daytona

Bubble Boys: Gypsies

This episode features some of our most inspired casting. Carmen and Devin as a gypsy couple bring all the absurd insanity we knew they would. This episode is somewhat inspired by Chocolat, Snatch, and my more and more unfettered love of the supernatural and scrying. Only one more week till the startling conclusion of season 2.

Sven and Henry fall in with a band of Roma and get a glimpse into the Other World.

Featuring:
Steve Nelson as Sven Ingaborg
Andrew Tisher as Henry Mossmouth
Carmen Christopher as Edward Mirgál and Madame Petitfeet
and Devin Bockrath as Celine de Beauvoir Petitfeet

Bubble Boys: Bunker Buddies

The conceit of this episode is similar in form to the first season episode Moonshiners. We liked that one so much we wanted to have SAND back, this time with Thomas in toe, for another episode which consisted of one long unbroken take. It was also inspired by that war movie cliche of soldiers who don't know each other being thrown together, becoming best friends, and revealing a vast amount of personal information to each other. The climactic end of the season is fast approaching.


Sven and Henry are pinned down by gunfire with soldiers from another squadron and secrets come to light.

Featuring:
Steve Nelson as Sven Ingaborg
Andrew Tisher as Henry Mossmouth
Mike Brunlieb as Casey "Cool"
Thomas Kelly as Eugene Buck
and Scott Nelson as Roy Christino

Bubble Boys: USO Show

This episode has been our most ambitious. It seemed obvious that a USO show would figure into this season at some point and we wanted to do something to challenge ourselves in regards to the format. We wrote sketches and songs to create a USO show within the episode book-ended by how Tisher and I get involved. It's not exactly period and it's not exactly appropriate but it is a lot of fun. Molly, Steph, and Sarah we're incredible to have in the studio, they had instant chemistry which added such a fluid excitement to the recording and to the finished product.


The Bubble Boys are pressed into theatrical service when three actresses are in need of two leading men.

Featuring:
Steve Nelson as Sven Ingaborg
Andrew Tisher as Henry Mossmouth
Sarah Ashley as Florence Ziegler
Stephanie Jones as Sapphire Michaelson
Molly Ruthenberg as Marla Hopebottom
and Tim Joyce as Errol Burrows
"Pop: Bubble Boys" composed by Andrew Tisher and Michael Malarky
"Krazy Krauts" composed by Steve Nelson

Editing 2

Tonight Tisher, Tim and I edited the Bubble Boys USO episode tonight. At this point it feels like we've got it down to more of a science. We use to spend a lot of time listening to the takes and simply cut them down for time. Now there is a lot more finesse involved. We have started intuiting each other's ideas for cuts. We've been able to easily weave a sequence or exchange from listening to long takes. We cut almost all pauses during dialogue exchanges. We spend a lot more time adding sounds to build out the world of the episode and selecting tonally appropriate songs.

Recording episodes is a real pleasure, having talented friends in and working under our particular narrative restrictions is a joy. It is a different and possibly more gratifying thrill to edit an episode. To create something that is definitive. To put this thing together like a puzzle, to mold it, to shape it into some semblance. Discussing the merits of different punchlines, diversions, scenes, or narrative arcs. Framing something, setting something up, paying it off.

As we've progressed the characters Tisher and I play have come sharper into focus. They are more concrete and so easier to play. Tonight we recorded two songs Tisher and I wrote, edited them, and dropped them into the episode. There's a very unique type of magic in the studio. I love it.

Bubble Boys: On Patrol

This episode came about because Tisher and I wanted to have an episode that was mostly just us, where we got to spend some time with Sven and Henry without the filter of a direct narrative arc or guests. Through an overlap of casting and almost as a lark we had Mark on to play auxiliary characters. He was amazing and just having him there shifted what the episode was going to be in a great way. We figured out we need characters to bounce Sven and Henry off of or they don't really pop. The format for the episode is a common troupe used in long standing TV shows. What sprang to my mind was an episode of House where we just see the day-to-day comings-and-goings of the hospital without the arc of a particular case for House to solve.


A day in the life of Private Ingaborg and Private Mossmouth.

Featuring:
Steve Nelson as Sven Ingaborg
Andrew Tisher as Henry Mossmouth
Mark Logsdon as Johnny Petro, Cookie, Pierre, and German Soldier
and Tim Joyce as Comms Officer and German Soldier

Bubble Boys: 5 Life Lessons

This week is BBII mid-season break, episode six will come out next Wednesday. In the mean time Tisher and I wrote a piece for Matt over at The Steamroller. For those unfamiliar with the show I am Sven and Tisher is Henry. Click below.

5 Life Lessons from Bubble Boys' Sven and Henry

You can catch up on previous episodes over on iTunes.

Bubble Boys: Butler Boys

This episode was a real treat. We got to have Craig back on the show as well as Sarah and Brian who I had never worked with before. The show has been a great way for me to get to work with people that I've watched and admired but rarely if ever get a chance to perform with. The inspiration for this episode comes a bit from Downton Abbey and Gosford Park but mostly we just wanted Craig and Sarah to play snobby English aristocrats. We're taking a mid-season break next week so catch up on previous episodes or rate us on iTunes.


On a layover in England, before their deployment to the front, the Bubble Boys are forced into servitude.

Featuring:
Steve Nelson as Sven Ingaborg
Andrew Tisher as Henry Mossmouth
Sarah Cowdery as Lady Cornelia Vanderlongerbottom and Maid
Brian McGovern as Winston Churchill and Stableboy
Craig Uhlir as Lord Hodgeborn and Hip-Hop
and Tim Joyce as Errol Burrows

Bubble Boys: Mutants

This episode is inspired a bit by the Toxic Avenger and Matthew Broderick 80's movies WarGames and Projext X. I think its a great frame work to showcase some of the bizarre and dark inclinations of our wonderful guests. I'm continually amazed how much more sophisticated and provocative Tim's sound design gets with each episode. You can almost feel the sludge dripping off the tentacles of this motley crew.


Sven and Henry receive their first assignment- guarding a top secret nuclear facility.

Featuring:
Steve Nelson as Sven Ingaborg
Andrew Tisher as Henry Mossmouth
Joey Dundale as Waltraud Babyman
Jo Feldman as Thunderpot Fieldmouse
Alex Honnet as 2nd Liet. Roy Tennisonn
and Drennen Quinn as Ted Danson

Bubble Boys: Boot Camp

This episode takes a lot from Full Metal Jacket and a little from Weekend At Bernie's. This is a big step on our way to a substantially more irreverent season. Lots of great stuff from our guests, I feel very grateful to have my good friends and former improv teammates be part of the show.


The Bubble Boys get drafted and shipped off to basic training. Will they be bolstered up or broken down?

Featuring:
Steve Nelson as Pvt. Sven Ingaborg
Andrew Tisher as Pvt Henry Mossmouth and Gen. MacArthur
John Pantlind as Pvt. Freddy Dolt
Jimmy Pennington as Drill Sgt. Emily Shankshrifte
and Vince Portacci as Pvt. Lawrence Fischburg

Bubble Boys: The Death Of Tesla

The idea for this episode came about when Tisher and I were researching 1943, come to find out Tesla died January of that year. We had referenced Tesla in the finale of season 1 and really wanted to have Bill back to reprise his role as Gustus so it seemed like a natural pairing. This episode also takes a little inspiration from David Bowie's Tesla in The Prestige.


Sven and Henry visit Henry’s uncle Gustus in hopes of receiving residuals from their voice changing gum. This leads to a cross country confrontation with the most mysterious scientist of the century: Nikola Tesla!

Featuring:
Steve Nelson as Sven Ingaborg
Andrew Tisher as Henry Mossmouth
Bill Arnett as Gustus Mossmouth
Griffen Eckstein as Nikola Tesla and Hitchhiker
and Tim Joyce as Sgt. Mertz

Bubble Boys: Rosie The Riveter

Bubble Boys Season II is underway. Our old-time-radio style show is back and this time set during WWII. This season features some stellar performances from some amazing improvisers. New episodes every Wednesday. Listen here or subscribe on iTunes.


Season 2 begins with our heroes donning dresses and infiltrating the most secretive of American sects: the women’s workforce.

Featuring:
Steve Nelson as Sven/Selene Ingaborg
Andrew Tisher as Henry/Helen Mossmouth
Annie Donley as Mitzie Slaughter
Allison Ringhand as Norma Titan
Lily Sullivan as Ronnie Winkle
and Tim Joyce as Ron Skelton

Season 2 Intro

Tisher, Tim, and I have been working hard over the past couple months on our improvised comedy radio serial and we're finally ready to start releasing episodes. Bubble Boys Season 2 promises more idiocy, lunacy, and idolatry than the original. New episodes each week with an array of amazing guests. Listen to the intro below and look for episode one next week.

Photo Shoot

Today Tisher and I got dressed up and went out to Montrose beach and Marty was kind enough to take some pictures for the forthcoming season of Bubble Boys. It was freezing but surprisingly beautiful. Snow whipped with sand and everything frozen.

I imagine the pictures will turn out well, how evocative they will be of 1943 and WWII remains to be seen- Tisher and I in dress cloths being buffeted by the wind. But with some imagination, standing there coatless on the iced-over beach head, you can get a glimpse of what that fear might have been like, what determination it might have required. Bubble Boys is a comedy show and we've tried to exaggerate, lampoon, and absurdize 40's tropes and premises. We've endeavored both consciously and subconsciously to be respectful or at least walk the line around outright mockery.

Season 2 will be much more crass, bizarre, edgy, goofy, and dark than season 1 but hopefully not offensive. A teaser will be released January 29th.

The Numbers For 2013

For the first time since 1999 I went 365 days without a drink.

I made 1 major purchase, a Honda VTX motorcycle.

I went on 1 vacation to Richmond, VA.

I saw 88 movies in the theater.

I went through 1 breakup.

Deep Schwa had 51 shows.

Prime had 46 shows.

The Night Shift had 23 shows.

Rick had 9 shows and was cut.

The Hague was formed and had 18 shows.

I created 1 character: Pastor Dirk Deadman.

I did 2 auditions.

I got 1 callback.

I read around 40 books, my favorite of which was The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman.

We rebooted Groh Show and released 4 episodes.

Tisher, Tim and I released 10 episodes of Bubble Boys comprising Season 1.

We recorded 6 episodes of Bubble Boys Season 2, yet to be released.

I made two collages.

Beanpole and I collaborated on 1 project.

I played 2 games of chess, both I lost.

I went to 1 concert.

I went to 0 plays.

I went to 0 weddings.

I went to 0 funerals

I fell in love, once.

Once Begun, Half Done

We had Carmen and Devin in the studio tonight to record our Gypsy episode for this season of Bubble Boys. It went great, they brought it like we knew they would. Carmen went on an impassioned rant speculating about sharing coffee and tea in Hell with the devil and all the world leaders of the 40's. Devin told Tisher and I's fortune with an incredibly grueling description of Tisher and other fallen soldiers ghosts chewing me to death with insubstantial baby ghost teeth. Really great stuff which I can't wait to edit.

This episode marks the fifth in the can. We're at the half way point in the season and on schedule for our January release. We've got the rest of the season written and cast. There's a lot more work to be done, with plans to create a lot more original music and to script in totality a USO show. It sometimes feels like putting together a particularly difficult puzzle. But it's gratifying, extremely so. I am very eager to finish things up and start putting season 2 out into the universe.

Lean On Me

We recorded season 2, episode 2 of Bubble Boys tonight. Bill was back to reprise his role as Uncle Gustus and we had Griffen in to play a 20th century scientific icon. I've been sick this past week and a bit worn out. While recording I could tell it effected my performance, my reaction time and my facility with dialogue. I was kind of beating myself up during and after it for not being able to deliver. After reflecting though I realized the session went great. Bill, the consummate professional, was on from the moment he got in the studio, and Griffen who I don't know that well, he was originally Tisher's casting inspiration, was wonderful. I didn't contribute a ton but what I did was funny and moved the episode along and Tisher was in good form throughout, having Bill in the studio, his favorite teacher, got his mode going.

At this point I can get a much better sense of what we can get out of an episode during editing. So any uncomfortable or long pauses where we(mostly me for this one) take a moment to come up with the next line can get cut out. The final product is going to have a steady flow even if the session came in fits and starts.

It's a great feeling to be working on a project I love and to know that even if I have an off night I can rely on Tisher and Tim and our guests. It's a collaborative project, we all contribute, we all share the creative responsibility and from time to time some people are going to shoulder more of it, and thats OK. The integrity and the end product are still going to be great even if I had a poopy week. That's reassuring.

Season 2

Tonight we recorded the first episode of Season two of Tisher, Tim, and I's radio serial Bubble Boys. This season will take place ten years after the first season in 1943. It felt great to get back in the studio with Tim and Tisher and we hit the ground running. I'm really excited for this season because we figured out a lot of stuff the first time around. We know how to edit, we know our characters, we know how to get what we want out of takes and how they can be chopped up to get what we want. Now we can streamline, focus on the ideas, the story, and the characters. We have a lot of great guests for this season and some exciting episodes planned.

It was a great feeling to get back in Tim's studio. It feels right and comfortable and once we got going things just started to roll. I've been chomping at the bit to get started on season 2 and now that we have I think we are all on the same page, excited and inspired.

We had Allison, Annie, and Lily on for our first episode and to date was the most we've laughed while recording. It may be a little more work during the editing process but it's always worth cracking each other up.

The summer has been great but I didn't have a project to work on. I'm the type of guy that has to have something to work on or work towards. To feel like I'm moving forward, producing content. It's a great relief and a great joy to get back to work on a passion project with a best friend.

We'll be releasing season 2, ten episodes in ten weeks, in a couple months.