176. Jane Wickline & Liva Pierce: SNL, Dukes, and Working Out Songs

Summary

Podcast Summary: Mike Birbiglia's Working It Out - Episode 176

Title: Jane Wickline & Leva Pierce: SNL, Dukes, and Working Out Songs
Hosts/Guests: Mike Birbiglia, Jane Wicklein, Leva Pierce
Release Date: July 7, 2025

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1. Introduction to Jane Wicklein & Leva Pierce

Mike Birbiglia kicks off Episode 176 by introducing his guests, Jane Wicklein and Leva Pierce, two dynamic talents in the comedy scene. Jane is known for her contributions to Saturday Night Live (SNL), particularly her memorable Weekend Update songs, while Leva is a versatile stand-up comedian, actor, and writer.

Mike Birbiglia [00:57]: "Jane Wickline and Leva Pierce. This is a really cool episode today."

2. Formation of the Comedy Duo Dukes

The conversation delves into how Jane and Leva teamed up to form their sketch comedy duo, Dukes. Contrary to the typical storyline of friends meeting in school, their partnership blossomed through mutual recognition of each other's work online and serendipitous in-person encounters at comedy venues.

Show Hornbuckle [03:43]: "Both of us were making videos in college. I was making videos more on Twitter and Jane was making videos on TikTok."

Leva Pierce [04:20]: "We decided to watch The Graduate somewhere on the bus ride."

3. Navigating the New York Comedy Scene

Moving to New York presented its own set of challenges. Both Jane and Leva navigated the competitive landscape of comedy, dealing with intimidation and the sheer volume of talent. They shared anecdotes about attending numerous open mics, often competing with seasoned comedians, and the emotional toll it took.

Mike Birbiglia [08:35]: "When you moved to New York, are you, like, oh, so no odds of this working?"

Leva Pierce [10:35]: "And it's so exhausting. Every part of it is so exhausting."

4. Early Struggles and Bombed Sketches

One of the early attempts by Dukes, a sketch titled "City Council," unfortunately didn't resonate with audiences, leading to an undeniable bomb. This experience, while disheartening, became a pivotal learning moment for the duo, teaching them resilience and the importance of refining their material.

Leva Pierce [12:30]: "We have a sketch in our first and second shows called City Council that we were like, this is our ticket."

Show Hornbuckle [13:14]: "City council is a sketch about two characters going to the town hall because they have too many scarves, hats, gloves."

5. Developing Original Comedic Songs

A significant portion of the episode focuses on Jane and Leva's creative process in developing original songs for their shows. They work collaboratively, often bouncing ideas back and forth, and refining their material based on feedback and personal insights.

Featured Song: "Please, Mr. Pornhub"

The duo presents their in-progress song, "Please, Mr. Pornhub," which humorously critiques the extremes of modern pornography by yearning for more meaningful and intellectually stimulating content.

Jane Wicklein [03:13]:

They say porn is far too extreme now.
Well, it's not extreme to me.
All of these films put me right to sleep.
Threesomes, foursomes, five sums and I'm just bored.
Give me something more.
A video of sex that shocks me to my core.
Please, Mr. Pornhub, don't you Understand?

I want a film to take me by the hand.
I need new porn to treat me like a friend.
Teach me how to be a better man.

Leva Pierce [04:34]:

Show me a porn that makes me want to take dance classes.
Show me a porn that lays out a new government.

6. Collaborative Creative Process

Jane and Leva emphasize the importance of open and honest feedback in their collaboration. They discuss how they utilize various communication methods, such as texting and voice memos, to share ideas and critique each other's work. This transparent feedback loop is crucial for refining their sketches and songs.

Leva Pierce [26:17]: "We're texting each other, sending each other voice memos, and we're very comfortable telling each other when we don't like things."

Show Hornbuckle [27:05]: "Does this spark anything at all?"

7. Overcoming Creative Block and Integration into Shows

The duo shares strategies for overcoming creative blocks, such as integrating audience suggestions into their performances. They also discuss the structural elements of their shows, aiming to maintain a fluid and engaging performance without disruptive pauses or blackouts.

Show Hornbuckle [24:23]: "Our writing needs to be clear. Then we're like, got it. Then we go back and literally rearrange the words to sound like Yoda is talking."

8. Current Tour and Future Projects

Jane and Leva are currently touring with their sketch show Dukes, performing in various cities including New York, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Chicago, Minneapolis, San Francisco, Portland, Oregon, Seattle, and Los Angeles. They express excitement about their upcoming performances at Joe's Pub in New York City.

Show Hornbuckle [01:40]: "Summer in Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Chicago, Minneapolis, San Francisco, Portland, Oregon, Seattle, Los Angeles, and then at Joe's Pub in New York."

Additionally, they hint at future projects, including the development of new songs and sketches, aiming to push the boundaries of traditional comedy and create more nuanced and thought-provoking content.

9. Closing Collaborations and Future Endeavors

As the episode winds down, Jane and Leva perform snippets of their songs, showcasing their creative prowess and the seamless integration of music into their comedy. They also discuss potential future collaborations and the ongoing process of refining their material.

Mike Birbiglia [32:23]: "This is Mike Birbiglio. This is Tiny Comedy Desk Concert. I love that song."

Show Hornbuckle [47:08]: "You can follow Jane Wicklein at @aignewickline and Leva Pierce at @ChoppedLeva."

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Mike Birbiglia [09:11]: "Where do I start? Like, what do I do?"
• Leva Pierce [10:56]: "I have a log of everything."
• Show Hornbuckle [12:43]: "We couldn't get through it."
• Leva Pierce [19:03]: "I'm glad that that happened because I, like, walked in and I saw the stage. I, like, immediately burst into tears."
• Show Hornbuckle [28:37]: "We're just gonna take the audio we have so far and we're just gonna clip it."
• Leva Pierce [35:44]: "I've been watching too much porn with my arms crossed."
• Show Hornbuckle [39:18]: "I don't want my friends sad. But chaos gives the days momentum."

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Conclusion

Episode 176 of Mike Birbiglia’s Working It Out offers an insightful look into the collaborative journey of Jane Wicklein and Leva Pierce. From their serendipitous meeting to overcoming early setbacks and developing unique comedic material, the episode underscores the importance of resilience, creativity, and sincere collaboration in the world of comedy. Their innovative approach to integrating music and sketch comedy sets them apart, promising engaging performances both on tour and in future projects.

For those interested in experiencing their comedic brilliance firsthand, Dukes is currently touring and can be followed on Instagram:

• Jane Wicklein: @aignewickline
• Leva Pierce: @ChoppedLeva

Enjoy their performances and keep an eye out for more episodes of Working It Out as Jane and Leva continue to shape their unique comedic journey.

Transcript

[Mike Birbiglia]

So this is a song from the touring Dukes show right now that's in process, which is good for working it out.

[Leva Pierce]

And it's a song about basic. It's about what we think about porn.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Okay, perfect.

[Jane Wicklein]

They say porn is far too extreme now. Well, it's not extreme to me. All of these films put me right to sleep. Threesomes, foursomes, fivesomes. And I'm just bored. Give me something more. A video of sex that shocks me to my core. Please, Mr. Pornhub, don't you understand? I want a film to take me by the hand. I need new porn to treat me like a friend. Teach me how to be a better man.

[Mike Birbiglia]

That is the voice of the great.

[Mabel Lewis]

Jane Wickline and Leva Pierce. This is a really cool episode today. Leva is a stand up comic, actor and writer. Jane is a comic, actor and writer.

[Mike Birbiglia]

You might know from Saturday Night Live.

[Mabel Lewis]

Jane's done a whole bunch of these Weekend Update songs on Saturday Night Live as a cast member that are a riot. Together they're the stars of a sketch.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Comedy duo called Dukes, which is co.

[Mabel Lewis]

Directed by our very own Working it up producer Mabel Lewis, along with show Hornbuckle.

[Mike Birbiglia]

That sketch show is on tour. It's hilarious. I saw it at UCB Theater in New York. It is fantastic. You can catch that Dukes show this.

[Mabel Lewis]

Summer in Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Chicago, Minneapolis, San Francisco, Portland, Oregon, Seattle, Los Angeles, and then at Joe's Pub in New York.

[Mike Birbiglia]

City, which I'm going to definitely go see. We will link to their tickets in.

[Mabel Lewis]

The show notes today, they talk about sketch comedy duo collaborations versus stand up. What it felt like for Jane to be cast on snl, how their story mirrors Don't Think Twice, my movie. A little bit. We talk about music. We work on two songs that they're.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Working on for their tour right now.

[Mabel Lewis]

That really don't need notes. But we kicked around some notes and.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Ideas and I think it's really fun.

[Mabel Lewis]

To talk about the creation of comedic songs. And I work out some of my own material under Jane playing piano, which.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Is kind of really exciting actually, and.

[Mabel Lewis]

Maybe a maybe a preview of things to come. Thanks everybody for all the feedback on my Netflix special, the Good Life.

[Mike Birbiglia]

It has been overwhelming.

[Mabel Lewis]

It's meant a lot to me. I'm currently writing my next movie and.

[Mike Birbiglia]

I'm dipping my toe back in.

[Mabel Lewis]

Stand up a little bit. This summer I'm popping in on John Mulaney's tour for five shows along with Nick Kroll and Fred Armisen in New Haven, Connecticut, Bethel, New York Portland, Maine, as well as Garrison grounds in Halifax. In September, will be in Vancouver at Stanley Park. A bunch of really fun shows with my friends. You can get [e-mail] check out the good Life on Netflix. Now enjoy my conversation with the great janewicklein and Leva Pierce.

[Mike Birbiglia]

How did you get together as a duo? Because you didn't. You didn't go to school together as far as I understand. But you're young, you're in your mid-20s. Like, how'd you get here?

[Show Hornbuckle]

I feel like I was aware of Jane from online.

[Leva Pierce]

Yeah.

[Show Hornbuckle]

I had seen her videos. Both of us were making videos in college. I was making videos more on Twitter and Jane was making videos on TikTok. And then.

[Leva Pierce]

So I was like, aware of you.

[Show Hornbuckle]

Yeah, but we met at a mic. Classic place to meet.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Yeah, sure. Yeah, yeah.

[Leva Pierce]

This time didn't take. Then we ran into.

[Mike Birbiglia]

This time didn't take.

[Leva Pierce]

Then another one. Still no.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Nothing.

[Show Hornbuckle]

Yeah, we were kind of seeing each other. We're seeing each other at the same time.

[Mike Birbiglia]

You're like. But online. I like her so much. Yeah. What is happening in the irl?

[Show Hornbuckle]

I know. Yeah. Well, I also.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Third time.

[Leva Pierce]

Third time.

[Show Hornbuckle]

Well, we kind of got stuck into talk. We finally kind of had to talk to each other because we were taking the same bus.

[Mike Birbiglia]

There you go.

[Leva Pierce]

I don't know if this is like a bus.

[Show Hornbuckle]

It was a long bus from Williamsburg. And then we kind of. That's. I think we really said, who are you?

[Leva Pierce]

We said, who are you? We talked to her like, it was like a. Like a 35 minute bus ride. And we decided to watch the Graduate somewhere on the bus ride. And then we went to leave his house, like Sunday. No, that night.

[Mabel Lewis]

Oh, really?

[Show Hornbuckle]

Yeah, yeah, we went. Because I. I think I. We've been. I think we'd been talking about Sketch we liked and we were talking about Nichols in May, of course. And I was like. And I was like, oh, you know, I. You know, I love their movies. Whatever. And then you're like, I've never seen the Graduate. And I was like, let's watch it tonight. Which is honestly, like, I don't know why I was being your boyfriend. Like, I don't know.

[Mike Birbiglia]

I was like, was it romantic?

[Show Hornbuckle]

Girl, you have to.

[Mike Birbiglia]

It wasn't a date. It was just a.

[Leva Pierce]

It really sounds like. It sounds like a date, but it wasn't.

[Mike Birbiglia]

It sounds like someone had an agenda romantically.

[Leva Pierce]

It sounds like an agenda, but.

[Mike Birbiglia]

But it wasn't.

[Leva Pierce]

I don't think so.

[Mike Birbiglia]

And you both knew it wasn't Yeah.

[Show Hornbuckle]

I don't think so much.

[Leva Pierce]

I also, like. I just, like, didn't. I, like, wanted to make friends. I, like, wanted so bad. Like, I was.

[Mike Birbiglia]

You were, like, new to the city.

[Leva Pierce]

I was new to the city. I should, like, start.

[Show Hornbuckle]

She moved to the city.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Leave. Were you new to the city?

[Show Hornbuckle]

I had been here a little bit longer, but I had. I was. I was probably. You had come, like, maybe a couple months ago from Philly, and I had come from Chicago. But, yeah, I'd been here a little bit longer, so I knew. I knew more people at the mic. Like, I remember I kind of was saying hi to people at the mic. People was like, who's Jane?

[Leva Pierce]

Who's this girl?

[Mike Birbiglia]

Who's this new girl?

[Show Hornbuckle]

And I said, I'm gonna take you under my wing.

[Mike Birbiglia]

No, you what?

[Show Hornbuckle]

I said, I'm gonna take her under my wing.

[Mike Birbiglia]

No, same age, same height. I'm gonna take her under my wing.

[Show Hornbuckle]

I'm actually taller by 2 inches, so.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Is that true? You're both really tall. You're both really tall, Both significantly taller than me. Are you pushing like, six three?

[Show Hornbuckle]

Yes.

[Mike Birbiglia]

And Jane's six one.

[Leva Pierce]

I'm six. I'm six flat, but a real six. Like, not a. You know, I'm not six in the way many, many are.

[Mike Birbiglia]

On snl, you make jokes about how tall you are. You're taller than tall. You're taller than Colin.

[Leva Pierce]

Yeah, I think so. I don't know.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Not Che. I think Che's probably 6:1.

[Leva Pierce]

I'm not sure. I have a log of everything.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Catch me. It's worth noting your show Dukes is co directed by Mabel Lewis, our producer and show, Hornbuckle. But tell us more about the show. Cause all I know is you met and you watched the Graduate. Did you watch the Graduate that night?

[Show Hornbuckle]

We didn't finish it. We switched it.

[Leva Pierce]

Which also makes it sound like it was a date, but it wasn't.

[Show Hornbuckle]

Yeah, Jane just went home.

[Leva Pierce]

But we went home. We didn't finish it. And I have this feeling that if I ever do finish the Graduate, that something bad will happen to Dukes. So now I feel a superstition around the end of the Graduate, which also, it's, like, funny because it's one of the most famous movie endings of all time.

[Show Hornbuckle]

I think you know it.

[Leva Pierce]

I know what happened.

[Mike Birbiglia]

And it's on a bus, no less. At the back of a damn bus. Okay, so the two of you met. Here's what I find funny about this, too, is you met in a way that feels like a date. It wasn't a date, but you were watching a movie, but you didn't finish the movie, which also feels like a date. But also, isn't that what comedy duos are all about? It's a type of love affair, even if it's not actual romantic love.

[Leva Pierce]

Absolutely.

[Show Hornbuckle]

Absolutely. Yeah.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Tell me more about that thing I just said.

[Show Hornbuckle]

I believe it was a yes or no question.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Okay, so you met and then you were like, let's try to do a sketch. Were you intimidated by the scene? Cause, like, that's the thing I get from people when they ask questions is they're kind of like, where do I start? Like, what do I do? And it's a hard question for me to answer. Like, when I was starting out in, like, when I was in college, I was doing mics in, like, 1998. And it's like, I would say there's, like, 10,000 comedians in the country, which is an insane amount of comedians, if you think about that. Like, 40 are gonna make it. Yeah, that's, like, not great odds. Yeah, I would say right now there's like a hundred thousand, if I was gonna guess.

[Show Hornbuckle]

Yeah. It's crazy.

[Leva Pierce]

That's crazy.

[Mike Birbiglia]

I mean, like, what, like, when you moved to New York, are you, like, oh, so no odds of this working?

[Show Hornbuckle]

Yeah, it was definitely, like. Yeah, I remember feeling very intimidated. Like, I also am curious. Like, when you came and started, when you started micing, like, how would you find out about mics?

[Mike Birbiglia]

I would look in timeout New York.

[Show Hornbuckle]

That's where it would be posted.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Swear to God.

[Show Hornbuckle]

Oh, my God.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Card magazine. It was online, too, but I, Like, I had the paper timeout New York, and I would go to the Back to the listings of comedy shows.

[Show Hornbuckle]

Wow. And it would just be, like, by club. Would it just be by club?

[Mike Birbiglia]

Broken down, it would be by club. And it would be. Yeah, by room. And it would be like. And I would show up, and here's the bane of my existence. Sometimes people ask me with don't think twice. Who were the people who I was jealous of? Cause movies are all about jealousy. For me, it was Demetri Martin. And the reason why is that I would show up at these mics, and if I was lucky, after the third time, fourth time going, they'd be like, sure, you can go on. And they'd be like, have you heard of Demetri Martin? Yeah. Yeah, he's good. This is the bane of my existence. Just like, so this person's good. They wouldn't be like, you're good. They'd be like, this person's good. And it drove me nuts. But I think Demetri is great. I consider him a friend, but, like, it did drive me nuts.

[Show Hornbuckle]

Yeah. I feel like there were certain people where you got there and they were the mayor and they knew everyone.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Yeah, that's always a thing, right? There's always. You show up at the mic and there's the mayor of the mic.

[Show Hornbuckle]

Someone's, like, shaking everyone's hands. You're like, who is that? Like, it's literally just like, they've been around the circuit for longer, so they know more comedians. Well, it's funny. It feels like you're like, oh, my God, this person.

[Mike Birbiglia]

No, of course. They're the king. It's funny. Like, the advice that people would give me starting out and I never wanted to do it was just like, just hang out. I know, that's, like, advice people always give you. And, like, for introverted comedians, you're like, I don't want to.

[Leva Pierce]

Yeah.

[Show Hornbuckle]

Yeah.

[Leva Pierce]

And it's so exhaust. Like, every part of it is so exhaust. But it also. What is really nice and comforting about it to me is that on any given day between like 5 and 10pm, there's like, they're like three places where there are a lot of people that you could just show. It's like a show up to.

[Show Hornbuckle]

Yeah, yeah. I would say. Yeah. That's why I asked, because I was like, for us, it's Instagram.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Right.

[Show Hornbuckle]

That's where all the mics are everywhere.

[Mike Birbiglia]

I'm out in New York.

[Show Hornbuckle]

Yeah.

[Mike Birbiglia]

That seems pretty user friendly, actually. So there's mics, but then there's probably too many people.

[Show Hornbuckle]

Yes, right. And then everyone's getting like, one. Like, right?

[Mike Birbiglia]

There are mic. You'll do one. You'll do 90 seconds.

[Show Hornbuckle]

Yeah, yeah. Like, I feel like the norm at most is like two to three minutes, which is.

[Mike Birbiglia]

So are you short? Are you serious?

[Show Hornbuckle]

And you wait, like, at two hours.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh. We used it when I did mics in college. Like, it was like, you get five minutes. And that seemed like nothing.

[Show Hornbuckle]

I feel like it affects, like, the way that people are writing jokes in Brooklyn. This is an idea I'm coming up with on the spot. But I do. No, no.

[Mike Birbiglia]

This is huge. This is huge.

[Show Hornbuckle]

Write this.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Here, let me get a pen. Let me get a pen.

[Show Hornbuckle]

This is.

[Mike Birbiglia]

I'm.

[Show Hornbuckle]

I feel like, because the mic slots are so short, like, when you look at a lot of. I mean, when I think about a lot of my friends who are standups, they are writing Very short, tight jokes, which is good. But I'm like, I feel like you would think, I feel like for a while I thought of Brooklyn is like the alt place to be. Like, everyone's doing crazy stuff. Like everyone's going to be throwing pies at each other or something. Like, I didn't think. But actually right now I would say, like, there is like a lot of people are just doing very like classic.

[Mike Birbiglia]

One line, two line jokes, kind of Mitch Hedberg esque.

[Show Hornbuckle]

Yeah, there was a lot of one line comedians, which is kind of surprising. And yeah, I didn't expect that.

[Mike Birbiglia]

What's the worst? You guys remember bombing on these mics together or separate? Just in shows, like two person shows or doing standup.

[Show Hornbuckle]

Oh my God.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Like, did you ever bomb so bad that you were like, I quit?

[Leva Pierce]

Yes. We have a sketch. We had a sketch in our first and second shows called City Council that we were like, this is. This is our ticket.

[Mike Birbiglia]

This is it. No, no, that's all. That's how, you know, and it was.

[Leva Pierce]

Like we couldn't get through it. Anytime we ran it, we. We like just like couldn't say the.

[Show Hornbuckle]

Words because the audience. You just got to get through this. Because we can't get through this.

[Mike Birbiglia]

What do you mean? Because it's boring?

[Leva Pierce]

No, because we were like, this is funny as.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Breaking through it. Oh, my God. Yes.

[Show Hornbuckle]

And then we did it and it.

[Leva Pierce]

Was like, it was like.

[Show Hornbuckle]

It also happened undeniably.

[Leva Pierce]

Like it was a. The show went very well overall and it was like an undeniable bomb. And it was like city council.

[Mike Birbiglia]

City council, yeah. So what is the sketch? What is city council?

[Show Hornbuckle]

City council is a sketch about two characters going to the town hall because they have too many scarves, hats, gloves.

[Mike Birbiglia]

I already love it.

[Show Hornbuckle]

Jewels on them. And they want the city council to. To help them with how much stuff is on them.

[Leva Pierce]

And. And it's just shouting about how there's too many jewels and it's untenable and.

[Mike Birbiglia]

And the humor of this is that they're like entitled people who have too much stuff and like they're complaining about the wrong thing. Is that the joke of it?

[Leva Pierce]

Yeah, let's.

[Show Hornbuckle]

You know what, let's clear the. Working it out.

[Leva Pierce]

Let's just do this. Just city council block. What you're looking for, the audience was looking for too.

[Mike Birbiglia]

A premise.

[Show Hornbuckle]

A premise.

[Leva Pierce]

Okay.

[Show Hornbuckle]

Doing that with you.

[Leva Pierce]

It was also like we were kind of talking in a way where people were like, no one can understand you.

[Show Hornbuckle]

We were also, though, we were writing basically. I feel like sometimes when we edit something, like, we'll get the note from our amazing directors show and Mabel that, like, our writing needs to be clear. Then we're like, got it. Then we go back and literally rearrange the words to sound like Yoda is talking. Put that up. And I was like. We're like, this is funnier.

[Mike Birbiglia]

City council, I am at.

[Show Hornbuckle]

Yeah, yeah. It was like hats and boots.

[Leva Pierce]

Pulled upon our arms and all around our ears and heads.

[Show Hornbuckle]

Yeah, Just like complete nonsense, gibberish. Yeah. So.

[Mike Birbiglia]

So you did city council. It bombed. Then we decided how hard did it bomb? Like, where you're embarrassed to walk off stage and talk to people.

[Show Hornbuckle]

Well, I didn't want to do the next sketch, I'll say that. Oh, okay.

[Mike Birbiglia]

How many did you have to do?

[Show Hornbuckle]

That was like, in the middle of the show? I think we had to do like three or four after that. So it was tough.

[Mike Birbiglia]

So Jane plays. You play songs. You did. I think your first song was party.

[Mabel Lewis]

Song on Weekend Update.

[Mike Birbiglia]

It's so good. And it was also a little surreal here at the show because Mabel is our producer. Like, Mabel, your friend had this. Has this hit song on snl. So what's going on there? Which is also, by the way, a Don't think twice esque situation in the sense that the three of you are friends and then the four of you are friends, including show. And then, like, one of the friends is on snl, so then, like, the other ones aren't. So what's that?

[Show Hornbuckle]

What's that?

[Mike Birbiglia]

Like, Leva, I have to check my. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

[Show Hornbuckle]

I thought I was up there.

[Mike Birbiglia]

You are.

[Show Hornbuckle]

You are.

[Mike Birbiglia]

You are so sad. I remember.

[Show Hornbuckle]

I'm like Phantom of the opera, like a 30 rock. But no. What? Jane. It's actually really funny because Jane had actually a whole thing about don't think twice during the audition process. Do you know about this?

[Mike Birbiglia]

No, No, I know nothing of this. Really?

[Leva Pierce]

Oh, yes. So, yeah, it was a huge part of my. Our. All of our friend Rain, who at the time I was just becoming friends with, sent a text that was like, I'm having a. I'm having a movie night. We're going to watch this movie called Don't Think Twice. And. And. And I. I like, told Lev about. And leave was like, you can't watch that right now.

[Mike Birbiglia]

He's in the middle of the audition process.

[Leva Pierce]

It was like, like three weeks before the screen test. And leave it. I know you want to go to this party. You're not allowed to.

[Mabel Lewis]

My gosh.

[Show Hornbuckle]

And then I was worried it was. You were so. Because I was so. Jane went through so many rounds of auditions. Like, it took all summer. It took up your whole summer.

[Leva Pierce]

Yeah.

[Show Hornbuckle]

And so it was, like, so in the heart of that, and I was just worried that it was gonna. I was worried. And you were also so worried about if you would become different, and I was worried that that movie was gonna scare you.

[Leva Pierce]

I wasn't worried if I would become different. That makes it sound like I thought it was. Yeah. That's locked.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Leave. Become different. Long 10 minutes of silence. Thanks for coming on.

[Show Hornbuckle]

Yeah. Oh, my God. You know what? My car's here.

[Leva Pierce]

No.

[Mike Birbiglia]

So you were like, don't be on the split. Nice.

[Leva Pierce]

Our first split about whether it would actually be okay for me to watch the movie, and I didn't go. And also, it was, like, at the beginning of a friendship, it's so important to go. To go to the event. I sound like I've never had a friend before on this podcast, so I don't think. Yeah. But, yeah, ultimately, I didn't go, and then I watched it later, and I think Leipa was right.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Right. It's a lot on the brain.

[Leva Pierce]

Yeah. It's a great movie, by the way.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Oh, thanks. Well, it's funny, like, when I. There is something from the movie that is intimidating, I think, which is what? I did a series of readings in our apartment with friends, like, screenwriters and actors and Jormitacone from Lonely Island. He gave notes on a bunch of it, and he was like, you really have to show when Keegan and Gillian's character go in them. Looking at the pictures in the walls of, like, the past cast members and hosts. And of course, they're all fake because we couldn't go to snl, so we had to make this fake wall of, like, Mindy Kaling and Aziz Ansari and, like, all these people who are, like, stars but actually aren't cast members on these shows. But the whole idea was, like, what is it like to be surrounded by these photos of, like, comedy royalty and just to be, like, thrown by it? And did you feel like that when you went in there at all, like, for your test, were you, like. Were you intimidated by, like, the space?

[Leva Pierce]

Yeah, I cry. I actually showed up 40 minutes early by mistake to the screen test. And because of that, they let me go into the studio. Like, they let me go into the studio to see it before I was actually going out to audition. It was before everyone had set up, so I got. I. I was glad that that happened because I, like, walked in and I saw the stage. I, like, immediately burst into tears. I'm like, I'm so glad this is happening when it's not.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Oh, my God.

[Leva Pierce]

When no one is set up. And then, like, tears.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Tears. Like, you had to wash your face tears or just, like, choked up. The.

[Leva Pierce]

Jenna, the stage manager was like, it's okay. It happens a lot. Like, I forget what she said, but it was like, it was. She was very sweet about it, and she was like, clearly. I mean, I'm sure. I'm sure the screen test, like, I'm sure that people are getting emotional seeing it for the first time, like, constantly. So, yeah, she didn't seem faced at all. And I thought that was funny.

[Mike Birbiglia]

And so then.

[Leva Pierce]

Yeah, it was very.

[Mike Birbiglia]

So then. When you got cast, do you. Did.

[Mabel Lewis]

Did Lauren call you?

[Mike Birbiglia]

Did he come? Did he ask you to go to his office?

[Mabel Lewis]

Who told you?

[Leva Pierce]

Rebecca Schwartz, the casting executive, called me. So Lorna didn't tell me, but it was after. It was right after my interview with him, which was after the second screen test. So it was a very. It was, like, very, very slow, and then very fast. It was like, as I was walking away from my interview with Lauren, and I also didn't know what I was being hired for because everyone, like, when you're screen testing, you're kind of. It's kind of for writer or cast. And at that point, my reps told me they were. They were kind of like, we would be shocked if it wasn't writer. Like, we're just kind of like.

[Show Hornbuckle]

Because I.

[Mike Birbiglia]

There's. Because they're supportive, because they're.

[Leva Pierce]

Or just, you know, like, it's like, what I did. And I was like, okay. And then. And so in the call, I was like, what. What am I being hired for?

[Mike Birbiglia]

I just don't. Like.

[Leva Pierce]

Either way is amazing. Let me know. And, yeah, I cried. Yeah, I cried and cried. I cried. I've cried in front of so many people. There. There. Immediately. Which is a funny, funny foot to start on.

[Mike Birbiglia]

I asked the PDD guys who wrote the sketch with you and Marcelo.

[Leva Pierce]

Them.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Yeah, I told. Well, I asked them, you know.

[Leva Pierce]

Now you asked them?

[Mike Birbiglia]

Well, I asked them if they. Because I improvise with them sometimes at ucb, and it's super fun. But I asked them because they were some of the writers on the sketch with you and Marcelo playing the couple who shouldn't be together or, like, you don't understand why they're together.

[Leva Pierce]

Yeah.

[Mike Birbiglia]

And they were like, it's partly inspired by, like, Jane and Marcelo's. Actual dynamic at work.

[Leva Pierce]

Yeah.

[Mike Birbiglia]

And imagining what if they were a couple. Basically, they're these characters who. Your character is very quiet.

[Leva Pierce]

Yeah.

[Mike Birbiglia]

And his character's very loud.

[Leva Pierce]

His character's very loud. Well, we sit next to each other at the read, and I was like. I was immediately. I was like, why? Why. Why are we best friends? Right. Like, he's just like. He's just, like, amazing. I didn't like, he's just so fun. And it is sort of every time I talk to him, I'm like, this is like, I'm seeing this from above. This is funny.

[Mike Birbiglia]

And you're in love with him.

[Leva Pierce]

And I'm in love with him, of course.

[Mike Birbiglia]

And so that's.

[Leva Pierce]

I confided in them. Yeah.

[Mike Birbiglia]

And I confided in them, and then they wrote the sketch.

[Leva Pierce]

And they wrote the sketch, and I was like, kind of feels like could have. Could have gone about it a different way, but. Yeah.

[Mike Birbiglia]

So, okay, so you're on tour right now. How are the crowds? Like, what's the demographic that, like, you see a lot and then what's, like, the demographic you don't see a lot? Like, are you surprised by who shows up?

[Show Hornbuckle]

I would say it was exactly who I expected to see. It was people who looked like us.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Yeah. It's like a mirror.

[Show Hornbuckle]

Yeah. Bisexuals and lesbians coming out to support.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Sabrina Carpenter came out. Did Sabrina Governor call you when you did that song about her?

[Leva Pierce]

I was. I was nervous that I was. I. I. I created a whole narrative in which that. In which I. In which she was mad at me. But then, of course, it was a complete, Complete paranoia.

[Mike Birbiglia]

I feel like she would love it.

[Leva Pierce]

She. We had met, and she was so nice, and she was amazing. Yeah.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Has she come to your shows?

[Show Hornbuckle]

Sabrina?

[Mike Birbiglia]

Yeah.

[Show Hornbuckle]

Oh, my God.

[Leva Pierce]

Every damn week.

[Show Hornbuckle]

Yeah. We can't get rid of her.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Front row of every show. Chico State.

[Show Hornbuckle]

I'm tripping over her backstage.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Suni. Suny Paltz. So I gave you a couple notes when I saw the show. Was it helpful?

[Mabel Lewis]

Not helpful?

[Mike Birbiglia]

Annoying?

[Show Hornbuckle]

It was actually so helpful. Yeah. When you. When you came to our show, you were very kind to call us after. And one thing you said blazed, like, completely transformed our summer work, basically, which is, like, every time you have a blackout, it's slowing down the show, and then you have to, like, win back the audience. So a huge thing we're working on right now and actively talking about is how do we make a sketch show with no blackouts? And that is everything is fluid, basically. And, like, one thing and Mabel Phrased it well, of like, so then, so then, so then.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Yeah, that's how I always think of my story. So then instead of. And then. Yeah, and also, like, the gold standard of that is. And I just interviewed him last week. It's gonna come out and August on this podcast, Bob Odenkirk with Mr. Show. Like, if you watch those Mr. Show, it's all the sketches become the next sketch, become the next sketch, become the next sketch. And it's like, it's kind of mind boggling. And it's like, if you read his book, it's like, you see, like, oh, it's completely by design.

[Leva Pierce]

How do you do that? Do you like, do you generate a lot first and then string it together? Or do you have. At what point do you come up with what the overarching thing is?

[Mike Birbiglia]

So it's all generative all the time. Like, like all the cards you see around you on the walls are like, they're seeds of jokes.

[Mabel Lewis]

And, like, a lot of them are junk.

[Mike Birbiglia]

You know what I mean? Like oxy at the hotel, it says on the wall, it's just a lady offering me oxy in a hotel elevator.

[Mabel Lewis]

And it's like, there's not that much.

[Mike Birbiglia]

To the story, you know what I mean?

[Show Hornbuckle]

Until you run into her marriage one year later.

[Mike Birbiglia]

There's one that says, marriage is teamwork. And the only joke is we've lost a lot of games. And it's like, in other words, there's not a lot there, but it's a lot of things are. If you could string things together, five things together, you're like, oh, that could be a beat of the show. If this. So then this, so then this, so then this. And then it's like a potentially a chunk of the show. And then long term, the goal with my shows is like that it gets to a point where like, essentially like 40 of these things line up and they become. It becomes like eight chunks of whatever, five. But yeah, that's kind of the goal. So it's always generative. So, like, you know, around here, like with Gary and Mabel and Peter and Joe, like, I'm just kind of pitching jokes like this all the time. Is that what you guys are like in terms of, like, generating? Are you like, bouncing stuff off each other all the time? Like, what about this? What about this? What about this?

[Leva Pierce]

Yeah, definitely.

[Show Hornbuckle]

We're texting each other, sending each other.

[Leva Pierce]

Voice memos, and we're very comfortable telling each other when we don't like things, which is like, just like throwing stuff at a Wall.

[Mike Birbiglia]

How do you phrase it? Do you phrase it nicely or meanly?

[Leva Pierce]

Like, sometimes it's just, like, you don't. Like, it'll be a lot of messages, and you just don't respond to them.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Just like, Simon and Garfunkel. Garfunkel has, like, a string of texts in Paul Simon's.

[Leva Pierce]

It's like this cat.

[Show Hornbuckle]

And he's like, yeah, Jane, the other day was like, oh, you never replied to me about this, like, idea for a song. And I was like, oh, yeah? Why didn't I reply? Oh, yeah? Because I didn't get it.

[Leva Pierce]

And then I explained it and it was like, no, I mean, get it. Like, I didn't like it.

[Mike Birbiglia]

What's the best way to get feedback, like, from each other?

[Show Hornbuckle]

I think when we know that we want to, it's very clear to know when something is going to be picked up versus dropped. Because it's like, the things. If we bring an idea and the other person is immediately like, oh, and what about this? Like, it's like, you know there's something there because it's already generating. Like, it's already generative. But if you bring something and the other person is just like, I can't add on to this in any way.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Show Hornbuckle]

I don't understand where it goes. It's a dead end.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Totally.

[Leva Pierce]

Pitching something to your, like, one dearest friend. And you just have to keep talking because it's like. Like kind of have to keep talking into. Into nothing. Because you just. Until. Until the silence is filled.

[Mike Birbiglia]

No, totally. Like, I think sometimes it's like when you're collaborating with people, it's like, you're like. They come in with the idea, and it's like you. Yes. And they. Yes. And. And at a certain point, you get bored of yes and ing. Cause it's just not there. And then you're just like, all right, we'll let that go.

[Show Hornbuckle]

Yeah.

[Mike Birbiglia]

What about a new thing?

[Show Hornbuckle]

Yeah, yeah, totally. So I feel like it's always. Before we even say that's good or bad, it's like, does it.

[Leva Pierce]

Is this an area that's important?

[Show Hornbuckle]

Is this fertile? Like, does this, like, spark anything at all?

[Mike Birbiglia]

So you're doing the show at Joe's Pub in September.

[Show Hornbuckle]

End of August.

[Mike Birbiglia]

End of August. Do you wanna. You brought the piano.

[Show Hornbuckle]

Should we do a pitch?

[Leva Pierce]

Oh, yes.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Should we talk about it? Should we talk out some songs?

[Show Hornbuckle]

Yes.

[Mike Birbiglia]

That you're working on currently?

[Show Hornbuckle]

Yes.

[Leva Pierce]

That would be amazing.

[Show Hornbuckle]

Okay.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Did I miss anything? Mabel?

[Mabel Lewis]

I think it's all gold.

[Mike Birbiglia]

I think we'll I think we'll trim the ore and we'll keep the gold.

[Leva Pierce]

Keep. Keep the first 10 minutes. I forgot that we're gonna talk about.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Oh, here we go. Here we go.

[Leva Pierce]

Oh, right.

[Show Hornbuckle]

Okay.

[Mike Birbiglia]

We're just gonna take the audio we have so far and we're just gonna clip it. So it's all the parts where you say you hate each other and you hate each other's ideas.

[Show Hornbuckle]

The part where I said Jane was worried she was gonna become different and.

[Leva Pierce]

She'S like, no, I'm not.

[Mike Birbiglia]

That's the whole episode.

[Show Hornbuckle]

I guess I was worried. Oh, no.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Just for the listeners. Just for the listeners. We're setting up the piano right now. This is just some patter on the side. Mabel. Did we get it? Did we get it? Okay. Great.

[Mabel Lewis]

Support for working it out comes from Quints.

[Mike Birbiglia]

We love Quince.

[Mabel Lewis]

Quince is an online retailer that has clothes, accessories, home goods and more. It's all ethically made. Made to last. I love shopping on there. It's summertime. You can get some new summer clothes. Go to quince.com check out their special summer collections, click on the Vacation shop or the summer Edit. You'll find nice, lightweight clothes for the summer. They've got summer accessories like sunglasses, backpacks, sneakers. Really nice stuff. Great prices. Quince only works with factories that use safe, ethical and responsible manufacturing practices. And premium fabrics and finishes. Stick to the staples that last with elevated essentials from Quince. Go to quince.comperbigs for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. That's Q-U-I-N-C-E.com B I R B I G S to get free shipping and 365 day returns. Quince.comforbigs support comes from Mint Mobile. You know what doesn't belong in your epic summer plans? Getting burned by your old wireless bill. While you're planning beach trips, barbecues and three day weekends, your wireless bill should be the last thing holding you back. With Mint Mobile, you can get the coverage and speed you're used to, but for way less money. And for a limited time, Mint mobile is offering three months of unlimited premium wireless service for 15 bucks a month. So while your friends are sweating over data overages and surprise charges, you'll be chilling, literally and financially this year. Skip breaking a sweat and breaking the bank. Get this new customer offer and your three month unlimited wireless plan for just 15 bucks a month at mintmobile.com burbigs that's mintmobile.com burbigs upfront payment of $45 required, equivalent to 15 bucks a month. Limited time. New customer offer for three months only. Speeds may slow above 35 gigabytes on unlimited plan. Taxes and fees extra. See Mint Mobile for details. Support for working it out comes from Wondery. It's not every day that a housewife is caught on camera evading arrest. You'd think if you were committing fraud, you'd lay low. Not if you're a Real Housewife of Salt Lake City. Jen Shaw on Wondery's podcast the Big Flop comedians joined Misha Brown to chronicle pop culture's biggest failures and try to answer the age old question, who thought this was a good idea? In 2020, the Real Housewives of Salt Lake City took Bravo by storm. The execs at Bravo thought that women marrying their grandpas were going to be the draw. Instead, it was a woman who was defrauding millions of dollars from elderly victims to finance her lifestyle.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Oh, my God.

[Mabel Lewis]

And she did it in plain sight. Ben Mandelker and Ronnie Caram from the hit podcast Watch what Crappens joined Misha to dive into the drama of it all. And you don't want to miss it.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Watch full episodes of the big flop.

[Mabel Lewis]

On YouTube or listen wherever you get your podcasts.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Okay, so this song. So this song that you're working on, you've done twice?

[Leva Pierce]

Yes.

[Mike Birbiglia]

But you're kind of like working on it on the shows through the summer. So by the time it's at shows pub, it's gonna rock.

[Leva Pierce]

It's gonna be about something completely different.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Do I need to know the staging context of this to help understand it?

[Show Hornbuckle]

No, I think it's lyric forward.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Lyric forward. Like Dylan.

[Leva Pierce]

Like Dylan.

[Mike Birbiglia]

So this is a song from the touring Dukes show right now that's in process, which is good for working it out.

[Show Hornbuckle]

Yes.

[Leva Pierce]

And it's a song about basic. It's about what we think about porn.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Okay, perfect.

[Jane Wicklein]

They say porn is far too extreme now. Well, it's not extreme to me. All of these films put me right to sleep. Threesomes, foursomes, five sums and I'm just bored. Give me something more. A video of sex that shocks me to my core.

[Show Hornbuckle]

I want a porn that's idea driven and Socratic. A cerebral porn. We're at the peak of the action. This stepdaughter asks a really wise question.

[Leva Pierce]

I want a new kind of porn that's less literal. Maybe the actors turn to Claymation in the middle or something. Mixed media like that.

[Jane Wicklein]

Please, Mr. Pornhub, don't you Understand? I want a film to take me by the hand. I need new porn to treat me like a friend. Teach me how to be a better man.

[Leva Pierce]

Show me a porn that makes me want to take dance classes.

[Show Hornbuckle]

Show me a porn that's just a live stream of lightning flashes.

[Leva Pierce]

Show me a porn that lays out a new government.

[Show Hornbuckle]

Bury a bone for me and let me discover it.

[Leva Pierce]

I've been watching too much porn with my arms crossed. Move me to put one hand in my pants and the other on my chin like the Thinker.

[Show Hornbuckle]

I want to watch a porn that has my childhood best friend in it. And she's laughing and she's saying, I forgive you.

[Leva Pierce]

I want a porn that's like the Great Pyramids of Giza, where in 5,000 years, when they see it, they're like, how the hell did they make this?

[Show Hornbuckle]

You know those videos where a girl is telling you how to jerk off and talking to the camera? That's kind of like the porn version of a filibuster. She just says random stuff for an hour, kind of just killing time. Just an idea I had that's interesting.

[Leva Pierce]

I want a porn that's shot over the course of 12 years, like, boyhood.

[Show Hornbuckle]

Right?

[Leva Pierce]

And because then you could see, like, different sexual eras of the character's lives. Like.

[Show Hornbuckle]

Yeah, starting with teen and ending with milk.

[Leva Pierce]

Yes, exactly.

[Show Hornbuckle]

Show me a porn that makes me want to quit literature.

[Leva Pierce]

Show me a porn that will make me quit missing her.

[Show Hornbuckle]

Porn that convinces me there's something bigger after we die.

[Jane Wicklein]

Please, Mr. Pornhub, what's so hard to get? I want a genre not invented yet. I need new porn to treat me like a friend Teach me how to be a better man.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Nice.

[Leva Pierce]

That's the first one.

[Mike Birbiglia]

This is Tiny Desk. I'm Mike Rubiglia. I'm the host of Tiny Desk Concert. Tiny Desk Comedy Concerts. That was awesome. I. I mean, it's no notes. It's perfect. It's so funny. It's a great. It's a great song, too. Like, nice melody. I love that it goes from, like, specific to broad and esoteric. Like, I just love that. Like, I enjoy it so much. Like, from, like, ridiculous things to, like, start a government and all that. I had one thought. It's like, a random pitch that you might just.

[Show Hornbuckle]

I know we need a patent.

[Mike Birbiglia]

I wrote down a couple of things, but it's like, oh, right, we're recording this. Yeah, yeah. But here. Either way. But, like, I just thought, like, there is a version of it where you could end the show on it and Kind of essentially narrow it down to your describing yourself singing the song that you're singing. It's like, I want to porn this. Two best friends on stage singing to each other.

[Leva Pierce]

You know, that's really cute.

[Mike Birbiglia]

But it's like, that might have a good vibe, too, also, because you could theoretically, like, open the show on the front of the porn song and then end on the back of the porn song, and the porn song becomes what you're doing.

[Leva Pierce]

Mm.

[Show Hornbuckle]

Yes. Yeah.

[Leva Pierce]

This is actually great to hear because we have specifically been thinking about struggling with intro and closing for.

[Show Hornbuckle]

Yeah, we've been changing it around a lot.

[Mike Birbiglia]

The reason it's exciting to me is, like, one, because it's super creative and original and nothing like anything I've heard. And then also just opening and closing on a song. It's like kind of like a classic, like, Second City thing or, like. Yeah, open and close with a song. It's just like. It leaves people, you know, tapping their toes on the way out, which is like. It's a cliche, but it's also fucking true. But I think that's great. Like, I, like, My only thought is just like. Is, like, ending in a way that, like, is you.

[Show Hornbuckle]

Yeah. Coming to.

[Leva Pierce]

Yeah, I love that idea for an ending.

[Mike Birbiglia]

It's kind of like the end of the Graduate. Have you ever seen the end of the Graduate? Do you have another song you want to work on?

[Show Hornbuckle]

Yes.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Okay.

[Show Hornbuckle]

I have one more.

[Leva Pierce]

This one is farther, I would say.

[Show Hornbuckle]

This one.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Yeah, Farther away.

[Show Hornbuckle]

Farther. Like, we've done more edits on Poor Tong. And this one we have done fewer edits on, so it's earlier draft. Okay. This is a song about when gossip is so fun that it makes you forget your troubles.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Okay.

[Leva Pierce]

Life felt so dark. My hair sucked and my dog was sick.

[Show Hornbuckle]

Hated my vibe. My mom fell, my tongue hurt from fruit.

[Jane Wicklein]

Darkness was closing in.

[Leva Pierce]

I needed a miracle bad.

[Show Hornbuckle]

That's when I heard gossip that turn things around.

[Jane Wicklein]

Cause then my friend did something so insane.

[Show Hornbuckle]

She slept with her boss, who was the ex of this girl who was our other friend. She blew up everything. Everything.

[Leva Pierce]

Devastated. But I felt an unmistakable and involuntary glee.

[Show Hornbuckle]

So we gathered round her on the couch and she asked for advice.

[Jane Wicklein]

And the whole thing was just so fun for me.

[Show Hornbuckle]

And especially, especially because we know everyone involved.

[Leva Pierce]

Well, that was fun. Now it's done. I am bored again.

[Show Hornbuckle]

I don't want my friends sad. But chaos gives the days momentum.

[Jane Wicklein]

The drama's gone.

[Show Hornbuckle]

The days pass and the days turn into weeks.

[Leva Pierce]

I wondered if the Swedish suicide pods will come to the US and how.

[Show Hornbuckle]

Much they will cost.

[Jane Wicklein]

But then our friend did something so insane.

[Leva Pierce]

He invited this guy who was kind of his ex to this birthday thing for his other ex.

[Show Hornbuckle]

It was crazy.

[Leva Pierce]

And he encouraged them to hook up. And then he got all hurt when they did.

[Show Hornbuckle]

But it's his fault.

[Jane Wicklein]

He complained about it on the couch.

[Show Hornbuckle]

We tried not to laugh, but inside, we were truly happy. Sappy and unbelievably. The exes had the same first name.

[Jane Wicklein]

Life felt so nice.

[Show Hornbuckle]

All this gossip to block the feel of doom. My thoughts and mine felt clear and free, and it felt so good. Rose with the sun met the day. I felt hope and peace and love for mankind. But. Jane.

[Leva Pierce]

Yeah, what?

[Show Hornbuckle]

I don't want to talk about it.

[Mike Birbiglia]

What happened?

[Show Hornbuckle]

I did something so insane.

[Leva Pierce]

What?

[Show Hornbuckle]

I slept with the roommate of my very good friend and didn't tell the friend. And then the friend found out, and it turned out that my friend and the roommate had been hooking up for months.

[Leva Pierce]

Oh, my God.

[Jane Wicklein]

Well, it's spun into a giant fight.

[Leva Pierce]

That consumed their whole life and damaged their core friendships irreparably.

[Show Hornbuckle]

It was horrible.

[Leva Pierce]

It put me in such a good mood that I text my ex. Do you want to go on a road trip?

[Mike Birbiglia]

This is Mike Birbiglio. This is Tiny Comedy Desk Concert. I love that song. I feel the same way about gossip. I had one thought on just, like, pivoting to the gossip, which is like, gossip lines that are like, but you're not going to believe this part, you know? Or like, but listen to this. Or like, no, but seriously, Tina showed up without a costume. Um, those are just, like, random things I jotted down. But, like, that kind of like the. The phrasing when you were like, but.

[Leva Pierce]

I think I shouldn't tell you this, right?

[Mike Birbiglia]

I shouldn't tell you this. Don't. Seriously, don't tell me this.

[Show Hornbuckle]

But, yeah, like, more conversational.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Yeah, exactly.

[Show Hornbuckle]

But like.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Like, I feel like if you. If you blew out, like, my examples suck. But like, if you blew out, like, all those phrasings of, like, how you preface gossip, I feel like that would be fun. But I love that song. I think it's great. I don't know. Where do you want to go with it? Like, I like. Because you're like, it's not as close as the other one. But I'm like, it seems great.

[Show Hornbuckle]

No, I think we're just trying to make the gossip examples right now. They're all kind of. Well, we were having this conversation. This is the kind of conversation we have in rehearsal is like, all of our examples are about hooking up. What's gossip? That's not hooking up.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Right.

[Show Hornbuckle]

And so we wanted to kind of diversify the gossip.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Well, it's funny. We in the Please don't destroy improv shows that we do, I said to Mabel one day when we were first doing. I went, what should we get? As our suggestion? She was like, gossip. We do gossip sometimes, and we've been doing that ever since. We get great suggestions from the crowd.

[Show Hornbuckle]

It's always amazing.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Yeah.

[Leva Pierce]

Put out a.

[Mike Birbiglia]

You know, but you could even do that. You could be like, does anyone have any good gossip? And then you could improvise singing the gossip. Who?

[Show Hornbuckle]

That's good.

[Leva Pierce]

Oh, yeah.

[Show Hornbuckle]

For a show.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Does anyone have any good gossip?

[Leva Pierce]

24 hours before a show? Be like, the people from this.

[Mike Birbiglia]

No. Even in real time, you can be like, shout out if you have any good gossip, and then you could try to make a song in real time of it.

[Leva Pierce]

That's awesome. Should we try that?

[Show Hornbuckle]

Yeah, that would be so fun. Especially one of the smaller venues who work well.

[Mike Birbiglia]

It's easy.

[Show Hornbuckle]

And you just, like, look right at everyone's right there.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Yeah.

[Show Hornbuckle]

Yeah.

[Mike Birbiglia]

That seems fun.

[Show Hornbuckle]

Yeah. Yeah. Because we just were like, we want to. We kind of feel like we're telling the same story a bit. Because it's all about, like, hooking up and exes.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Right.

[Show Hornbuckle]

So we're trying to, like. I think we're trying to, like, make it more.

[Mike Birbiglia]

You also might want to think about, like, what your parents gossips, like, friends gossip is like, I always find that's, like, kind of wild.

[Leva Pierce]

Yes.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Because it's like. It's like the stakes of it are.

[Mabel Lewis]

So different from the thing that you're thinking about.

[Leva Pierce]

Yeah.

[Mike Birbiglia]

It's like my dad's friend has Alzheimer's, and he. And he's not allowed out of this one room.

[Show Hornbuckle]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. It becomes, like, judging.

[Mike Birbiglia]

It's a little too dark. Just reassociating here.

[Show Hornbuckle]

Put me in a good mood, I guess. No, honestly, I do feel like my parents gossip a lot about is, like, judgmental of the way that their other friends deal with their aging parents. And they're like, can you believe this? They're like, we would never do that.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Totally, Totally. But I love that song. Oh, and also, well, one other thought is. One other thought is just making the dark stuff darker. I just think, like, that, like, the way that this show is going to work is, like, that song is going to work. I think more is like, it's like impending doom. That Everyone in the room can hear, feel, and then, like, it's like the fun embrace of, like. Yeah, but how about this, right?

[Show Hornbuckle]

Yes.

[Leva Pierce]

My tongue hurt from fruit. It's just the saddest thing we could think of.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Yeah. Yeah. My tongue hurts from fruit is a riot. I love that. Okay, so here's what I got. We'll see if playing piano under it will be anything. Should I tell you what it is? I mean, it's basically just an essay I wrote, okay. In my book, the new one I wrote with my wife Jenny and her poems and my stories. But, yeah, something like under that. Like, this is called Me and My Wife on a Plane that's Crashing. My worst nightmare is being in a plane crash with my wife. Not because I don't love my wife, but because somehow I feel like I would be blamed for the plane crash. We'd find out we're going down, and she'd look at me and say, I told you we shouldn't have gone on this flight. And I'd say, first of all, you didn't say we shouldn't go on this flight. Second of all, we're visiting your parents in Florida. I didn't want to do either of those things. I didn't want to visit your parents in Florida, and I didn't want to die in this plane crash. She'll say, never mind, it doesn't matter. I'll say, okay, but it does matter because you literally just told me we shouldn't go on this flight and that didn't happen. She'll say, you know, I hate going on planes. I'll say, right, but everybody hates going on planes. You can't own the idea of hating going on planes. She'll say, whenever we fly, I always tell you we're going to crash. I'll say, right, but that's the risk you always assume when you fly in a plane and everyone thinking life is really a risk reward situation. In this case, the reward was going to be seeing your parents. And the risk was we would die. And as it turns out, we're going to die. So I don't even think we should talk about it anymore. I think we should just spend the last 10 minutes of our lives enjoying each other's company, since we are deeply in love and I wish to spend the final minutes of my life with you in peace. She'll say, that's what I wanted to do. I'll say, actually, you didn't. She'll say, it doesn't matter. It literally doesn't matter. Oh, look, it Seems like they might be able to land the plane after all. And I'll say, do you know if you can order an Uber to a field? She'll say, I don't use Uber anymore because of the way they underpay their employees. There's that one story in the Times about that driver committing suicide. And I'll say, right, but if it's the only way to get out of the field, I think we should make an exception. She'll say, it's up to you. I don't care. And I'll say, say, but you just said you cared. She'll say, I would just appreciate it if we could try Lyft first. And if Lyft isn't available, we can do Uber. In conclusion, my greatest fear is being on a crashing plane and knowing I'm right and being told I'm wrong and then dying. That's it.

[Leva Pierce]

Amazing.

[Mike Birbiglia]

I like the piano on your head.

[Show Hornbuckle]

That was fun.

[Mike Birbiglia]

We do a thing called Working it out for a cause at the end. And if there's a nonprofit you like to contribute to, we contribute to them. We link to them in the show notes and we encourage the listeners to contribute as well.

[Leva Pierce]

Amazing.

[Show Hornbuckle]

Oh great.

[Leva Pierce]

Okay.

[Show Hornbuckle]

I am going to nominate for this the Samir foundation, which is a group that supports medical education and medical resources for for medical students in Gaza.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Awesome.

[Show Hornbuckle]

Yeah.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Well, we will contribute to them. We'll link to them in the show notes. Jane and Leva Dukes, love your show. I can't wait to see it again at Joe's Pub. And thanks for coming up.

[Leva Pierce]

Thank you so much.

[Show Hornbuckle]

This is so fun.

[Leva Pierce]

Working it out.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Cause it's not done.

[Mabel Lewis]

We're working it out cuz there's no that's going to do it. For another episode of Working it Out, you can follow Dukes on Instagram. Dukes the show, you can follow JaneWicklein aignewickline. You can follow Leva Pierce at Choppedleva. They're on tour now.

[Mike Birbiglia]

See the show. So funny. You can watch the full video of.

[Mabel Lewis]

This episode on our YouTube channel, ikebirbiglia. Subscribe we are posting more and more videos.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Some exciting new ones coming soon.

[Mabel Lewis]

Check out birbiglas.com to sign up for the mailing list and be the first to know about my upcoming shows. Our producers of Working it out are myself, along with Peter Salomon, Joseph Birbiglia and Mabel Lewis, who is the co director of the Duke's touring show, associate producer Gary Simons. Sound mix by Kate Belinsky. Special thanks as always to my friend Jack Antonoff. And bleachers for their music. Special thanks to my wife, the poet J. Hope Stein, and our daughter Una, who built the original radio fort made of pillows. Thanks most of all to you who are listening. If you were enjoying this very unique show that we created five years ago, do me a favor and go over to Apple Podcasts and just say, hey, I like, I like this podcast and here's an episode that I like the best that I feel like you might get into. We got over 170 episodes. They're all free. No paywall. Tell your friends, Tell your enemies, tell your best friend.

[Mike Birbiglia]

Maybe, maybe some night you say, hey.

[Mabel Lewis]

Do you want to watch a classic movie? And then not watch the rest. And then afterwards, when we would have watched the rest, we listen to an episode of a podcast where two creatives work out their own creative process and maybe give each other a few tags. Thanks for listening, everybody.

[Mike Birbiglia]

We're working it out. We'll see you next time.