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 w

Best of: 45th Anniversary Panel Series

Sep 30th, 2020 41m 32s

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

Kevin Kirkpatrick & Allison Dunbar

Sep 24th, 2020 1h

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 wri

Best of: Starting Out

Sep 9th, 2020 51m 52s

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

Tom Maxwell Part II

Aug 26th, 2020 1h 26m

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

Tom Maxwell & Don Woodard

Aug 19th, 2020 1h 25m

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 w

Maryedith Burrell

Aug 12th, 2020 58m 46s

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

Brian Palermo

Jul 29th, 2020 54m 48s

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.

Women In Comedy Panel

Jul 22nd, 2020 1h 17m

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

George McGrath

Jul 15th, 2020 1h 1m

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 P

Phyllis Katz

Jul 8th, 2020 50m 25s

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 co

Tim Bagley

Jun 24th, 2020 1h

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 thi

Wendi McLendon-Covey

Jun 17th, 2020 51m 3s

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 Sho

Chris Kattan

Jun 10th, 2020 1h 1m

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

Writing Solo Shows

May 27th, 2020 1h 24m

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 B

Phil LaMarr

May 20th, 2020 1h 3m

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

Greg Worswick & H Michael Croner

May 13th, 2020 1h 6m

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

Mindy Sterling

May 6th, 2020 49m 7s

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 e

Writing For Television & Film Panel

Apr 29th, 2020 1h 9m

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 televi

Lisa Schurga & Ryan Gaul

Apr 22nd, 2020 1h 9m

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

Mitch Silpa & Jim Cashman

Apr 15th, 2020 53m 55s

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

Tracy Newman & Jonathan Stark

Apr 8th, 2020 53m 17s

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 ab

Lisa Kudrow

Apr 1st, 2020 55m 54s

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

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