John Ross Bowie and Jamie Denbo Don’t Need Your Suggestions For Their Life Improv

The Hilarious World of Depression

American Public Media

Comedy Interviews, Comedy

4.8 • 4.4K Ratings

🗓️ 19 November 2018

⏱️ 51 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In a whole lot of ways, improv comedy is the opposite of depression. It requires you to be present in the moment, unconcerned about past regrets and future anxieties. It means connecting with other people and taking fun risks. And it's full of laughs. Actors and real-life married couple Jamie Denbo ("Orange is the New Black", "Ghostbusters") and John Ross Bowie ("The Big Bang Theory", "Speechless") have plenty of experience in improv, having met twenty years ago in a class taught by Amy Poehler. At the time, John was coming off a breakdown and Jamie was headed for one. They talk about how improv helped and sometimes hindered their path to self-discovery and how they've learned to harness improv's power.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	I'm Cameron Espazito and I have a lot of jobs. I'm an actor. You've seen me on ABC's and a million little things.
0:04.8	I'm a stand-up comic bestselling author, but I am no expert at survival.
0:08.5	On my new podcast Survivor Diet trying, we're going to learn together from shark attacks to
0:13.8	tsunamis and bad breakups. This is your one-stop shop to prepare for the absolute worst-case scenario.
0:20.0	Join me and some special guests on Survivor Diet trying a comedy podcast that prepares you for anything.
0:26.4	Listen and follow wherever you get your podcasts.
0:30.1	Is depression funny? I was ready for this. I wasn't. I should have been.
0:34.5	Now it's it starts every podcast. I know.
0:38.8	Depression is not particularly funny when you're going through it, but if you get just a little bit
0:43.4	past it and you look back and the idea that you're you get to that headspace when you're really in
0:52.8	the thick of it where you think you're the most worthless thing in the world and yet everybody's
0:57.2	thinking about you. There is something inherently funny about that.
1:02.4	You know what? It's not that funny. It's not funny. It wasn't funny when the depression
1:10.0	version of women is ice cream and Bridget Jones and crying and spanks and it's not funny now.
1:17.0	Okay. Fuck, I want to say it again. No, I don't do it again. No, I think you're it's a valid point.
1:22.4	I do think it's funny. I just you know what? Depression can be funny.
1:28.4	She's really sincere. She's really come around. No, but honestly when I was
1:32.4	depression can be funny and you know what? I don't know that I make it funny, but I love listening
1:36.3	to people talk about it and when they when they're brilliantly funny about it, whether it's
1:40.4	Pat and Oswald or Paul of Tompkins, I like hearing other really funny people talk about depression,
1:45.2	but I don't think I can make it that funny. Rachel Bloom handles depression with a great
1:49.2	tone. Oh, I changed my mind. Depression is funny. Watch crazy ex girlfriend. That's super funny.
	...

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