In part two, Cole and I pick up right where we left off and go even deeper into the craft, the personal, and the philosophical sides of improv. Cole opens up about Two Worms, the duo format he does with Meg that he calls his favorite thing to perform in the entire world. He shares the story of a quarter falling out of his pocket during their very first set and how it became one of the most beautiful moments of his improv life, because both he and Meg chose to let the real world bleed into the story.

This episode also takes an emotional turn when Cole talks about Rengar, his dog who passed away from kidney disease after a year-long fight to keep him alive. Cole shares what it was like to lose the thing that defined him, how it pulled him off stage for a long time, and what it looks like to slowly rebuild your creative fire after grief. He talks about being more specific now about what he wants to perform and why he's drawn to projects that let his uninhibited creativity fly.

We get into the hot seat questions past midnight, and Cole gives deeply thoughtful answers about his favorite characters to play, including monkeys that are always smarter than the humans, tiny things, Satan, and kaijus. He breaks down his approach to space work, why he believes improvisers should complete their object work instead of dropping it, and why when someone endows you with a different object than you think you're holding, you should never change your physicality.

Cole closes with one of the most beautiful pieces of advice I've heard on this podcast: all he's doing is making stuff up and immediately believing it. We also have a passionate conversation about what grounded really means, why it has nothing to do with realism, and why a clown who wants to be a cop but can't take off his nose is one of the most grounded scenes you could ever do.

Send us a message, question, or topic!

Support the show

Follow us on Instagram - @thejoyofimprovpod

Support the podcast with a small tip - https://ko-fi.com/thejoyofimprov

Email any questions or ideas to joel@thejoyofimprov.com

Host: Joel Camargo - Insta - @joelc1225
Audio Editor: Matt Issacs - Insta - @mattisaacs20