Hindsight Hour: Conclusion

After two years and two seasons I put this project to rest with the release of these last two episodes. It started as a very vague concept and, over time, developed into something I'm really proud of. I've learned a lot about narrative more specifically narrative improv and I think through the repetition of some of the scenes and themes have been able to highlight some interesting and cool interpersonal commonalities. Over the total 14 episodes there is a lot of great performances and content. Some hilarious stuff and some real honest-to-goodness emotion. I'm grateful for all the time and effort that went into this, doubly grateful for the generosity of time and talent from a list of incredible collaborators top of that list being Tim Joyce my director and podcast partner for four years running. It's been a fulfilling experience, thanks to all who listened.

Domestic life. The first triplet of scenes addresses the contentiousness of cohabitation, the last scene tackles a pregnancy scare.


Growing pains. The first scene depicts the age-old dorm-room pot-bust. The second couplet delves into a student-professor stand off

Season 2:
Directed by Tim Joyce
Improvised by  Damian Anaya, Mike Brunlieb, Sarah Cowdery, Laurel Krabacher, Rosie Moan, Jimmy Pennington, Meaghan Strickland, and Andel Sudik

Hindsight Hour: Family 4

A focus on parental conflict. The first couplet of scenes looks at the expectation of a conventional family, the second at the great "guest list" debate.

Directed by Tim Joyce
Improvised by Damian Anaya, Mike Brunlieb, Laurel Krabacher, Rosie Moan, Jimmy Pennington, and Meaghan Strickland

Hindsight Hour: Work 3

The ennui of the employed. The first couplet of scenes looks at the modern and pervasive idea of the "cool office" followed by an HR encounter and then a run-in with co-worker lethargy.

Directed by Tim Joyce
Improvised by Damian Anaya, Mike Brunlieb, Laurel Krabacher, Rosie Moan, Steve Nelson, and Meaghan Strickland.

Hindsight Hour: College

A peak into contentious collegiate life. The first couplet of scenes looks at classroom disruption, the second at the dorm room bust.

Directed by Tim Joyce
Improvised by Damian Anaya, Mike Brunlieb, Sarah Cowdery, Laurel Krabacher, Steve Nelson, Meaghan Strickland and Andel Sudik

Hindsight Hour: Relationships 3

Romantic minutia and crisis. The first couplet of scenes explores scheduling/planning within a LTR. The second couplet looks at problematic birth control and how a pregnancy scare can escalate.

Directed by Tim Joyce
Improvised by Damian Anaya, Mike Brunlieb, Laurel Krabacher, Rosie Moan, Steve Nelson, Jimmy Pennington, Meaghan Strickland and Andel Sudik

Hindsight Hour: Family 3

A look at familial worry and expectation. The first couplet of scenes delves into sibling concern, the second investigates that tension familiar to a certain generation- parental marriage pressure.


Directed by Tim Joyce
Improvised by Damian Anaya, Mike Brunlieb, Sarah Cowdery, Laurel Krabacher, Rosie Moan, Jimmy Pennington, Meaghan Strickland and Andel Sudik

Hindsight Hour: Work 2

I'm happy to start releasing season 2 of this podcast. I've changed up the format to streamline it. It's shorter and I provide brief explanations before each scene or scene-couplet. Lot of great work done by all those involved. Give it a listen!

 A descent into the daily grind. Two sets of two scenes- the first couplet exploring layoffs, the second that lazy co-worker. Season 2 opens with a streamlined format to better dissect the theme and the capriciousness of inspiration.

Directed by Tim Joyce
Improvised by Damian Anaya, Mike Brunlieb, Sarah Cowdery, Laurel Krabacher, Rosie Moan, Steve Nelson, Jimmy Pennington, Meaghan Strickland and Andel Sudik

The Numbers For 2015

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

I went on 3 vacations. To LA(to visit Alex), Denver(to visit Beanpole), and The Badlands(with Nicole on the motorcycle).

I was laid off for the 1st time and spent 2 months unemployed.

I started 1 new job.

I did 54 shows with Deep Schwa.

I did 47 shows with Sight Unseen.

The Night Shift had 2 shows and retired.

I conceived and co-wrote 2 plays. Contention and My Two Sons which had 12 and 11 performances respectively.

I released 6 episodes of my podcast Hindsight Hour which constituted the first season.

I wrote 62 poems, 10 essays, and did 15 readings.

I applied to 4 graduate schools for poetry.

I saw 76 movies in the theater.

I read 33 books, my favorite of which was The Fifth Head of Cerberus by Gene Wolfe

I went to 2 author readings.

I went to 0 concerts.

I went to 1 opera.

I went to 0 funerals.

I went to 1 wedding.

Nicole and I celebrated our 2nd anniversary. Some days were tough, some were easy, we loved each other every day.

Life Is Like A Movie w/ Sean Price

This past weekend Sean invited me to be a guest on his podcast. We talked about tons of movies and capped it off with a run down of our top 10 lists for 2015. If you like movies give it a listen!

Hindsight Hour: Relationships 2

The season 1 finale. An investigation of romantic relationships. From endearments to the embittered, from diffidence to infidelity. Episode six explores disenchantment, betrayal, and heartbreak.

Directed by Tim Joyce
Improvised by Michael Brunlieb, Sarah Cowdery, Annie Donley, Scott Nelson, Steve Nelson, Tyler Parker, Meaghan Strickland, and Ingrid Walla.

Hindsight Hour: Family 2

An investigation of the nuclear family. From sibling disappointment to paternal oversight, from romantic advise to teenage rebellion. Episode five explores youthful selfishness, parental inconsideration, and childhood defiance.


Directed by Tim Joyce
Improvised by Michael Brunlieb, Paul Chimko, Sarah Cowdery, Annie Donley, Kevin Knickerbocker, Mike Malarkey, Nick Mestad, Scott Nelson, Steve Nelson, Tyler Parker, Meaghan Strickland, and Ingrid Walla

Hindsight Hour: Friendship

An investigation of friendship. From growing apart to moving on, from church solicitations to pet remonstrations. Episode four explores reconnecting, compromise, and companionable conflict.


Directed by Tim Joyce
Improvised by Paul Chimko, Sarah Cowdery, Annie Donley, Kevin Knickerbocker, Mike Malarkey, Nick Mestad, Scott Nelson, Steve Nelson, Tyler Parker, Meaghan Strickland, and Ingrid Walla.

Hindsight Hour: Relationships

An investigation of relationships. From sexual droughts to lakeside breakups, from carnal insecurity to amorous discontent. Episode three explores sensual compatibility, the act of separation, and romantic stagnation.

Directed by Tim Joyce
Improvised by  Mike Brunlieb, Sarah Cowdery, Annie Donley, Kevin Knickerbocker, Nick Mestad, Scott Nelson, Steve Nelson, Tyler Parker, Meaghan Strickland, and Ingrid Walla

Hindsight Hour: Family

An investigation of the nuclear family. From curfew violation to "the talk", from paternal frustration to maternal guidance. Episode two explores familial rules, parental expectations, and youthful experimentation.

Directed by Tim Joyce
Improvised by  Paul Chimko, Sarah Cowdery, Kevin Knickerbocker, Mike Malarkey, Nick Mestad, Steve Nelson, Tyler Parker, Meaghan Strickland, and Ingrid Walla

Hindsight Hour: Work

My new podcast Hindsight Hour is first and foremost an experiment. Each episode has a theme and within are scenes improvised by my talented friends based on the same handful of scene premises. I wanted to try something non-narrative and be more deliberate and alternative with the soundscape. To look at where people get their inspiration and to identify commonalities within various themes. I'm very proud of the finished product, how successful we were in realizing those ideas is up to the listener. Tim and I put a lot of work into these and I'm very excited to release episode #1.

An investigation of the workplace. From the break room to human resources, from office spats to questionable employer flirtations. Episode one explores the menial, the humdrum, and the quiet seething frustration of the work-a-day clock-puncher.

Directed by Tim Joyce
Improvised by Paul Chimko, Sarah Cowdery, Annie Donley, Kevin Knickerbocker, Mike Malarkey, Nick Mestad, Scott Nelson, Steve Nelson, Tyler Parker, Meaghan Strickland, and Ingrid Walla

2015 Goals

Apply to MFA programs in acting and poetry. I've thought about going back to school for a while. Now with my interest, and I think my ability, significantly sharpened I'd like to take the next step. Over the past couple months a lot of my peers have moved on and it made me want to make a big change. I have the discipline and the desire now to take full advantage of some advanced schooling, a mindset and a position I certainly wasn't in during undergrad.

Put up another play. We're about half way through Contention and it's been a very gratifying experience. Makes me definitely want to do it again at some point this year. I got two ideas for shows rolling around, one about Terry Gross which is kind of flushed out, and the other involving the Tarot which is just the beginning of an idea.

Put out Hindsight Hour. My experimental improv podcast has been gestating for a while. At this point it's all recorded and Tim and I have listened to all the material and mapped it out, we just have to get to the actual editing. I imagine it'll go relatively quickly but because of the holidays and busy schedules we haven't been able to get started quite yet.

Go on at least two vacations. I love to travel, I love to visit my friends out of state, I love to be in nature, but there is always so much going on in Chicago it's hard to carve out some time(and money) to get away. This year I want to go on two vacations which are independent of any specific obligation. Right now I'm planning to visit the Beanpole in Denver end of May/early June. I'd also like to go to LA, Richmond, and take a motorcycle trip The Badlands.

Submit poetry to at least ten publications. My passion for poetry has grown over the past two years. I've written a lot more and done readings and it feels like progress. I'd like to get my stuff out there on a broader scale, maybe to get published, maybe to win a competition, but more importantly to get into the habit of submitting. To get a better idea of what people outside of my little community think of my writing, how it stacks up.

Make a video. I've had an idea for a while for a faux instructional short inspired by Tisher but haven't found the time or discipline to write it. I've also got some great feedback from some people suggesting Contention, with some substantial cuts, might be a good short film. I'd like to realize one of the two at some point this year.

MBSing

Monday I had the pleasure of being a guest on Mary Beth's podcast MBSing. We talked about movies, inspiration, writing, and I spoke about my love of poetry. I also read some of my favorite poems and a couple of my own. It was a real fun time, click below to listen.

MBSing with Steve Nelson- Poetry

Hindsight Hour

Yesterday I had my first recording session for my new podcast project theoretically titled "Hindsight Hour". Tim and I are collaborating again, which is fun and easy, it feels good to get back into his studio. Our working relationship is very fluid because of all the time we spent on Bubble Boys.

Tim and I are still working on the format of the show but basically each week will have a theme like "The Work Place" and will contain scenes improvised from written premises. The goal is to have more realistic grounded type scenes in an effort to get at some commonalities within these generalities and to see how different performers find inspiration with the same prompts. What the end result will sound like I have no idea.

We had Annie, Brunlieb, and Scott in the studio yesterday and it was such a joy. I am very grateful to work with Annie one last time before she leaves and always stunned and delighted by Brunlieb and Scott. They really sunk their teeth into the stuff I threw at them. I'm taking more of a directing role with this project which has its own challenges and excitements.

Today Malarkey and Chimko came in to record, I did some scenes with them, one where I was their dad busting them for curfew which felt real good. Their first team at iO was the first one I coached so we have a bit of a paternal dynamic which added to it. With Malarkey also leaving at the end of the month it was important and gratifying to have them in, felt like closure.

Everyone was responsive, game, and creative and made this new project, which isn't totally defined, really fun to start work on. They gave me some great material and triggered some ideas on how to put it together.

It's incredibly satisfying to start work on a project. I realize it's the thing I've been missing the past couple months which has caused a bit of angst. At the end of the month lots of folks are taking off and it feels like things here are starting to roll.

Projects/Goals

To keep things straight in my head and to hold myself accountable in some measure these are the projects I'd like to realize in the coming months.

The Hindsight Hour. With Tisher gone I'd like to start another improvised podcast. This time dramatic or with a more dramatic conceit. Each episode would revolve around a theme, emotion, or idea, contain improvised scenes with different approaches to the subject, with unconnected narratives, more an anthology format. I plan to start recording in September.

You Are All Swine. A short 7-10 minute video project based on the fictionalized version of Tisher I created on Facebook and with the couple pieces I wrote for this blog. I would play Tisher(I have one of his shirts) and it would be an instructional type video letting people know how uneducated and repulsive they are, I'd go through a couple different interactions, asking a woman out, buying something from a convenient store etc. I plan to write it in the next couple weeks and film it before winter.

The Girlfriend Show. During Ted and I's sketch show two years ago I had the idea for a show based around past relationships, last year I interviewed a couple of my ex-girlfriends about our relationship and relationships in general and used that as the show inspiration. Jamison and I generated about 30 scene premises from the interviews we had a couple rehearsals but it stalled out because of The Annoyance move. At this point we got a cast and a director and just need the slot. I hope to have a hard date by mid September.

Sight Unseen. Jimmy's been teaching at The Annoyance the past year but hasn't been improvising much, he put together a team of some incredibly talented and disparate personalities, we have our first show this Tuesday at the Upstairs Gallery. We hope to get some kind of run in the next couple months.

Poetry Contest. My grandma has been encouraging me recently to enter some poetry contests, not any in specific, just advocating I get my work out there. This past Monday Brunlieb was gracious enough to give me some time at Quenchers to read some of my poems and it went surprisingly well. I got a good sense of what people liked and what they didn't, what resonated, and what edits needed to be made to some of the pieces. It gave me the confidence to pull the trigger and start submitting. I plan to have submitted to at least one competition by the fall.

Groh Show #20

After a couple months off Groh Show is back in a big way. We recorded this episode last week during the big storm. Lots of interesting topics are discussed from creative ambition to sandwich delivery.

After we recorded Danny and I hung out at Daniel's for a while waiting for the storm to blow over. Danny wanted to play video games so Daniel set him up with BioShock Infinite. It proved a bit much for him so Daniel took over and we just watched. I haven't watched someone play a video game for probably 15 years. It was funner than I remember.