Arts
In the Before Times of Yore, podcaster/producer/comic Spencer Blair chats about his mostly-improvised hosting set at Strip Joker. We discuss his improv background, how he got into hosting/producing shows all over Chicago, the internal dynamics of Strip Joker, and being terrifyingly confident onstage, all before we dive into the set. Spencer can be found on the podcasts 'Desks & Dayjobs' as well as 'Please Make This', and is currently a co-producer of Strip Joker. Timestamps: 01:00 – Hosting Set @ Strip Joker Mentions of Martin Felshman, Rachel Relman, ‘A Dog’s Journey’, Lexipro 10:36 – “When did you realize comedy was a thing you could do?” Mentions of Comedy Sportz, Imposter Syndrome 12:33 – “Maybe you should stop trying so hard” Mentions of Scott Duff, Le Aboav 14:03 – The Funny Friend 15:05 – “I went to a small, Christian university” Mentions of Orange County, Improv Groups; Improvcivable, Improv Shmimprov, Disney Cruises, The Walt Disney Corporation 17:30 – “Doing the Chicago thing” Mentions of iO, Second City 18:41 – “I’ve never consistently mic’ed” Mentions of Hobart Thompson, The Chill As Fuck Show, Droday, Dewayne Perkins, Michelle Wolfe, Brooklyn Nine-Nine 21:25 – Stand-Up vs. Improv Mentions of The Improvised Shakespeare Company, Second City 23:10 –The Chill As Fuck Show and Strip Joker Mentions of Brittany Meyer, Le Aboav, Strip Joker Deluxe, Scott Duff, Uptown Underground, That Dude Jeff, Sunny Grissom 27:57 – “The trick is being terrifyingly confident onstage” 29:09 – “The Scientific Method, but applied to humor” Mentions of Samantha Berkman, Kink-Shaming 30:54 – Getting into the Set 30:55 – Ad Libs 31:22 – “Are you as horny as I am?” Mentions of Body Positivity, Sex Positivity 32:10 – “I don’t write comedy down” Mentions of Tad Walters, Kirkwood 34:00 – “Everybody’s gay dad” 34:58 – Seasonal Depression Mentions of Lexapro, SSRI, Edging 38:29 – “A hot guy and his boyfriend” 40:37 – Coming Down from Lexapro Mention of Grindr, Christmas 43:18 – Gay Dating Apps 44:00 – Crying at a Movie Poster Mention of Johnny Rockets, ‘Homeward Bound’ 48:30 – Losing the Audience 50:10 – The Oppressor in the Safe Space 52:16 – “Two white guys unpacking it on a podcast” Mention of Casey Larwood 521:54 – Self Awareness 53:23 – Spencer Shaved His Legs 54:27 – Wrapping It Up 57:25 – “I’m definitely more comfortable with queer comedy” 59:40 – Advice for Aspiring Comedians 1:00:25 – “The reason we do open mics is to see, meet, and network with people” 1:02:49 – Asshole with Great Jokes