Podcast Episode 125 – 13-Time Emmy Award Winner and Tony Nominated, David Javerbaum

If great comedy was a result of a chemical reaction than the two best elements you could mix up in a test tube would be “Smart” and “Funny.”

Talk to David Javerbaum for about 15 seconds and you realize he’s got a never ending supply of both.

I first met DJ, way back when . . . when I was meeting new writers around the Altar Boyz days, and he was just starting out as a writer on The Daily Show.  That staff writer slot led to a head writer post which led to an Executive Producer position . . . pickin’ up 11 Emmys along the way.

He also co-wrote the musical Cry-Baby, as well as the smash hit Act of God, which was born out of a Twitter account (probably the first Broadway show adapted from tweets as source material).

David has written books, tv shows and a ton more, all with his unique comic voice . . . a voice that I thought we could all learn from, which is why I asked him to appear on my podcast.

He called in from his home in Hollywood (are you surprised that the suits keep him chained to that coast?) and we talked comedy and drama and . . .

  • How he decides whether an idea is a show, a TV show, book . . . or yes, a Twitter account.
  • The most important skill he learned in graduate school.
  • What he thinks about the current state of comedy on Broadway.
  • The role of irony in writing.
  • Ego . . . when to set it aside, and when NOT to.

Enjoy this master class on comedy . . . and when it’s done, inundate David with messages telling him to write more for Broadway because we want his smart and funny chemical compound back on our stages.

Click here for the link to my podcast with David!

Listen to it on iTunes here.  (And if you like the podcast, give it a great review, while you’re there!)

Download it here

 

 

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Ken created one of the first Broadway podcasts, recording over 250 episodes over 7 years. It features interviews with A-listers in the theater about how they “made it”, including 2 Pulitzer Prize Winners, 7 Academy Award Winners and 76 Tony Award winners. Notable guests include Pasek & Paul, Kenny Leon, Lynn Ahrens and more.

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