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    Back to The Business

    The Business

    Mike Birbiglia on how improv made him a better director

    Comedian Mike Birbiglia's new film Don't Think Twice follows a close-knit improv group that starts to feel the strain when one of its members gets a big break on a hit TV show. Birbiglia tells us what improv and directing have in common, and how he's set out to "hand-deliver" his film to theaters.

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    By Kim Masters • Aug 6, 2016 • 29m Listen

    For his first film, comedian Mike Birbiglia turned his one-man off-broadway show Sleepwalk with Me, about the struggle to make it as a stand-up, into an indie movie. Now he's again writing, directing and acting in a new film, Don't Think Twice. This time Birbiglia shifts his attention to a close-knit improv troupe, and the fallout when one member gets a dream job on a hit TV show. He tells KCRW's Matt Holzman how improv made him a better director and why he's traveling around the country holding free improv workshops.

    Photo: Comedian Mike Birbiglia, director of Don't Think Twice. (Evan Sung)

    In this episode

    2 stories
    1. 1:24

      Hollywood News Banter

      Matt Belloni, executive editor of the Hollywood Reporter joins Kim Masters to discuss top entertainment news stories of the week.

      Read the story
      7 min
    2. 8:36

      'Don't Think Twice' director Mike Birbiglia

      Improv theaters like the Upright Citizens Brigade and Second City have long served as proving grounds for future Saturday Night Live stars. But of course, only a few standout performers ever actually get there.

      Read the story
      20 min
    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Kim Masters

      partner/writer at Puck News, host of KCRW's “The Business.”

    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Kaitlin Parker

      Producer, 'The Business' and 'Hollywood Breakdown'

      CultureEntertainmentArts

    In this episode

    2 stories
    1. 1:247 min

      Hollywood News Banter

    2. 8:3620 min

      'Don't Think Twice' director Mike Birbiglia

    Back to The Business