IRRELEVANT SHOW HEAD WRITER NEIL GRAHN ON HOW TO GET AHEAD IN COMEDY WRITING, WHY STAYING TRUE TO YOUR VISION CAN PAY OFF + HOW SKETCHES GO FROM PAGE TO STAGE ON HIS HIT CBC SERIES (MF GALAXY 114)

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STRATEGY FOR NO-NONSENSE ACTING, LEGENDARY COMEDY TROUPE THREE DEAD TROLLS IN A BAGGIE, PERCENTAGES GAME OF WRITING + RECORDING THE IRRELEVANT SHOW, MONEY VS POWER IN COMEDY

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 If you listen to CBC Radio then you’ve almost certainly heard the comedy of Neil Grahn. He’s been a debater on The Debaters, but he’s best known as one of the sketch comics on and lead writer for The Irrelevant Show.
Years ago Grahn was part of a pioneering sketch comedy troupe in Edmonton called Three Dead Trolls in a Baggie which included Cathleen Rootsaert, Wes Borg, and the late Joe Bird, which was briefly a television show. He’s currently the writer/director/producer behind the Gemini Award-winning series Taking It Off, and he’s a documentarian with many films to his credit including one about Amber Valley, one of the earliest African towns in Alberta. He’s constantly busy writing pilots and hustling to put new work into gear. The man is a machine, with plenty of wisdom to share about making it in the business of comedy writing.

In today’s episode of MF GALAXY, Neil Grahn discusses:
  • The no-nonsense approach to acting for actors and directors and why both must be open to whiplash-inducing turns
  • Why being a great comedy writer means risking never earning a living
  • His legendary E-Town comedy troupe Three Dead Trolls in a Baggie and how it didn’t get its name
  • The percentages game of writing and recording his hit comedy radio programme The Irrelevant Show
  • What more money costs you in show biz, and why making comedy on CBC radio is such a creative joy
  • How sketches go from the page to the stage on The Irrelevant Show
He spoke with me at his home in South-West Edmonton on November 19, 2014. And now on MF GALAXY, my conversation with Neil Grahn.

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neilgrahn.com
deadtroll.com

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