On the Cusp

Ben Greene interviews one of the members of the UCB House Improv Team JV, Paul Welsh. Paul is an actor/writer/improviser who has appeared on TV shows like Key and Peele, Children’s Hospital, and Broad City. He has written shows like “Paul Welsh Goes to a TED Conference” and “Men in Paintings: A Night at the Crisp Family Hall of Portraits.” In Ben’s interview with Paul, you’ll get to hear him talk about how sassy he was in elementary school, how many hours he’s put in tutoring high schoolers...

Ben Greene interviews one of the stars of the TBS show, Clipped, Betsy Sodaro. Betsy is an actor/writer/improviser who has appeared on TV shows like Animal Practice, Kroll Show, and Big Time in Hollywood Florida. She is also a member of the UCB House Improv Team, Bangarang and the UCB Maude Team, Nephew. In Ben’s interview with Betsy, you’ll get to hear her talk about why she chose a career in comedy over soccer, working on the Backdraft ride at Universal Studios, and what it was like when...

Ben Greene interviews one of the stars of MTV’s Girl Code, Nicole Byer. Nicole is an actor/writer/improviser who has appeared on TV shows like 30 Rock, The Birthday Boys, and Chelsea Lately. She is also a member of the UCB Maude Team New Money and the UCB House Improv Team Search History. In Ben’s interview with Nicole, you’ll get to hear her talk about how hard her dad tried to get her to love math, how little she got out of acting school, and what it was like to audition for Girl Code.

Ben Greene interviews Peter Harmon, the author of “The Happenstances at the Yellow County Community Swim and Racquet Club the Summer Before Last.” Peter is an author/screenwriter/producer who currently works as a story producer for the TV show, Celebrity Wife Swap. Peter has written a number of produced screenplays including Johnson Family Christmas Dinner, Nora’s Hair Salon 3, and Love in Tokyo. In Ben’s interview with Peter, you’ll get to hear him talk about the time he got a couple of...

Ben Greene interviews one of the writers from the TV show Newsreaders, Tim Neenan. Tim is a writer/actor/improviser who has been writing for UCB LA’s Maude night since December, 2011 (as a member of New Money). In addition to Newsreaders, Tim has written for shows like Filthy Sexy Teen$ and The Onion News Network. In Ben’s interview with Tim, you’ll get to hear him talk about the time he spent working in a plastic bag factory when he first moved to Los Angeles, why he never wants to settle...

Ben Greene interviews one of the members of the UCB Harold Team DunkTank, Jessica McKenna. Jessica is a writer/actor/improviser who has been performing on UCB LA’s Harold night since 2012 and as a member of the UCB Maude team New Money since 2011. As an actress, Jessica has appeared in shows like Riot, The Goldbergs, and Comedy Bang! Bang! Jessica is also one of the founders of the musical sketch group, The Zach and The Jess. In Ben’s interview with Jess, you’ll get to hear her talk about...

Ben Greene interviews one of members of the UCB House Team Search History, Marcy Jarreau. Marcy is an actor/writer/improviser who has been performing on UCB’s Harold night since 2007. As an actress, Marcy has appeared in movies like The To Do List and TV shows like Comedy Bang! Bang! As a writer, Marcy has co-written shows like Girl Camp the Musical and Newsadoozies. In Ben’s interview with Marcy, you’ll get to hear her talk about how sassy she was as a baby, how she withstood multiple...

Ben Greene interviews one of the stars of the upcoming Starz Network series Blunt Talk, Mary Holland. Mary is an actor/improviser who has been performing on UCB LA’s Harold night (JV) and Maude night (New Money) since 2011. As an actress, Mary has appeared in shows like Parks and Recreation, Comedy Bang! Bang!, and Silicon Valley. Mary is also a rotating member of the UCB show ASSSSCAT. In Ben’s interview with Mary, you’ll get to hear her talk about her childhood passion for ninja games, her...

Ben Greene interviews one of the writers from the TV show Comedy Bang! Bang!, Lauren McGuire. Lauren is a writer who has been writing for UCB LA’s Maude night since December, 2011 (as a member of New Money). In addition to Comedy Bang! Bang! Lauren has written a number of sketches for Wits Radio, a nationally distributed radio program on NPR. In Ben’s interview with Lauren, you’ll get to hear her talk about her favorite dirty joke when she was a kid, why she passionately hates Steve Urkel,...

Ben Greene interviews a member of the UCB Harold Team Cardinal Redbird (and his fiancée), Madeline Walter. Madeline is a writer/actor/improviser who has been performing on UCB LA’s Harold night since 2009 and as a member of the UCB Maude team Bonafide since 2011. As an actress, Madeline has appeared in shows like The Birthday Boys, Children’s Hospital, and Garfunkel and Oates. Madeline is also a member of a UCB Digital Writer’s Room. In Ben’s interview with Madeline, you’ll get to hear about...

Ben Greene interviews one of the writers from the TV show Cougar Town, Jen D’Angelo. Jen is a writer/actor/improviser who has been writing for UCB LA’s Maude night since April, 2014. As an actress, Jen has appeared in shows like Zach Stone is Gonna Be Famous, and MTVx's Fast Food Heights. In addition to writing for Cougar Town, Jen has been a staff writer for the CBS show The Millers and FOX ADHD's Golan the Insatiable. In Ben’s interview with Jen, you’ll get to hear her talk about how deep...

Ben Greene interviews the host of the news satire show The State of Us, Alex Whittington. Alex is an actor/writer who has appeared in shorts like After Hours (which went to Cannes in 2013), TV shows like AMC’s Turn, and movies like Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. In Ben’s interview with Alex, you’ll get to hear him talk about what it was like to improvise with Will Ferrell, having a near death experience in high school, and why he thinks Los Angeles and Las Vegas aren’t that...

Ben Greene interviews one of the stars of the NBC show Sean Saves the World, Echo Kellum. Echo is a writer/actor/improviser who has been performing on UCB LA’s Harold night since October, 2011 (as a member of Winslow). In addition to S.S.T.W., Echo has appeared in TV shows like Ben and Kate, Rick and Morty, and Comedy Bang! Bang! He is also on the UCB diversity committee and the Thomas Angel Foundation board. In Ben’s interview with Echo, you’ll get to hear him talk about how his childhood...

Ben Greene interviews one of the newest additions to UCB LA’s Maude night, Robert Stephens. Robert is a writer/actor/improviser whose sketch videos have appeared on sites like TheAwesomer.com, Tastefullyoffensive.com, and Funny or Die. He is one of the hosts of the web series The State of Us, and one of the founders of the sketch team Hamilton 100. In Ben’s interview with Robert, you’ll get to hear him talk about the time his mom invaded his health ed class, how good he was at playing cats...

Ben Greene interviews one of the stars of the ABC Family show The Fosters, Hannah Kasulka. Hannah is an actor/improviser who has been performing on UCB LA’s Mess Hall night since the beginning of 2015 (as a member of Junk Science). As an actress, she’s appeared in TV shows like One Tree Hill, True Blood, and Up All Night. She was also featured in the film What To Expect When You’re Expecting. In Ben’s interview with Hannah, you’ll get to hear her talk about writing sad poetry as a...

In Ben Greene’s sixth interview with members of the UCB house team Winslow, he sits down with his longtime friend, Mano Agapion. Mano is a writer/actor/improviser who has been performing on UCB LA’s Harold night since October, 2011. As an actor, he’s appeared in shows like Comedy Bang Bang and Newsreaders. He is also the creator of the Grindr Diaries (http://grindrdiary.tumblr.com/) and UCB’s Diversity Coordinator. In Ben’s interview with Mano, you’ll get to hear him talk about how he dealt...

Ben Greene interviews the smartest writer he knows, Ben Axelrad. Ben Axelrad is a writer who has had multiple scripts optioned by major studios over the past few years. He’s also the founder of the blog Poop Or Chocolate, and the co-writer/director of the upcoming UCB show Helen Jr. 2.0. In Ben G’s interview with Ben A, you’ll get to hear him talk about how he managed to get his own office in high school, doing standup on the streets of New York, and why he never wants to dunk a basketball...

In Ben Greene’s fifth interview with members of the UCB house team Winslow, he sits down with party animal Gilli Nissim. Gilli is a writer/actor/improviser/stand-up who has been performing on UCB LA’s Harold night since October, 2011. She has written for companies like Defy Media and TV shows like Comedy Bang Bang. As an actor, she’s appeared in shows like Children’s Hospital, You're Whole, and NTSF:SD:SUV. In Ben’s interview with Gilli, you’ll get to hear her talk about trying to get...

Ben Greene interviews the creator of the band Hi Ho Silver Oh, Casey Trela. Casey is a singer/songwriter whose music has been featured in a number of awesome projects like, “The Strangely Normal,” “Friendship All-Stars of Friendship,” and the TV show “Californication.” Pinpoint Music said it well when they compared Hi Ho Silver Oh to a pair of prescription glasses. “Hi Ho Silver Oh cuts through the haze and blur of life and simplifies things.” In Ben’s interview with Casey you’ll get to hear...

In this episode recorded in 2012 Ben sits down with the co-founder of the sketch group Tremendosaur, Justin Michael. Justin is a writer/actor/improviser who has been performing on UCB LA’s Harold night since October, 2011 (as a member of Winslow). He has written/directed/acted for Comedy Central, Funny or Die, Above Average, Nickelodeon and Adult Swim. He is also one of the creators of the popular web series “Friendship All-Stars of Friendship” (http://friendshipallstars.com). In Ben’s...