5 Life Lessons from Bubble Boys' Sven and Henry

Last year, I spoke with the creators of Bubble Boys, an improvised old-timey radio show podcast following the misadventures of two best friends and inventors, all about the inspiration behind the show's first season. 

Earlier this year, the Bubble Boys returned to the airwaves for a second series, ten years after their release from prison, as World War II rages on. Sven and Henry's myriad real world experiences has afforded them tons of wisdom, which they have been kind enough to share with Steamroller readers. 

You can (and should!) subscribe to the podcast here, it's very funny and features many familiar voices from the Chicago sketch & improv scenes!

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Mike’s Hard’s Hard Laughs Festivade: Your Best Bets

Tomorrow night at the Upstairs Gallery is the second annual Mike's Hard's Hard Laughs Festivade sketch festival, and is definitely the only sketch comedy festival happening this weekend in Chicago. Producer/founder of the festivade, Brian McGovern is here with a guide to some of the best of the fest, hitting the stage tomorrow at 10:30pm. Mike's Hard's Hard Laughs Festivade is a totally free, BYOB affair.

With so many sketch groups coming in from out of town for , it can be a little overwhelming to know which acts to check out.

Well this year The Steamroller and the fest’s curator, Brian McGovern, have made a list of the hardest acts guaranteed to get the hardest laughs. We’ve compiled this list using the most accurate and foolproof methods available to modern journalists to determine who is the funniest: by looking at performer-submitted bios and press photos.

Just a reminder: these are just some of the fantastic acts performing at the Festivade. You should also be on the lookout for some other exciting out of town acts that bear a striking resemblance to Chicago’s finest sketch comedians including Andrew Tisher, Michael Brunlieb, Tim Baltz, John Reynolds and a whole lot more all within the time frame of 10:30 to about midnight.

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A chat with Irene Marquette and Andrew Tisher of The Curio Show: The Early Work

This Wednesday, the first-ever edition of 's new monthly variety show, , goes up at the Upstairs Gallery. The first edition of this conceptually fluid night will focus on films produced by various local performers in their youths, in an era before Youtube or iMovie.

I Facebook chatted with Irene and Andrew Tisher, her co-producer for this month's show, which is subtitled . The show starts at 8pm this Wednesday, September 18th at the Upstairs Gallery.

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Interview: Bubble Boys' Steve Nelson & Andrew Tisher

About a month ago, a friend recommended I check out ​Andrew Tisher and Steve Nelson's improvised podcast , which features a slew of local improvisors working within the confines of a really silly conceit.

Bubble Boys pays tribute to the style of old-timey radio programming, telling the tale of two renegade inventors who, after inventing a shoddy voice-changing gum, go on the run from the law. The show chronicles their misadventures and the many ridiculous characters they encounter as they flee Westward across the country.

I spoke with Steve and Andrew about the show, which recently wrapped up its first season, which I thoroughly enjoyed! Click here to subscribe to the show on iTunes. Read More
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