DamnCrackers Comedian Interviews

Our Article on Mike Birbiglia

Mike Birbiglia - Inspiring Young Crackers Everywhere

Biography

Mike Birbiglia was always a writer. As a child he wasn’t good at sports but he could write about losing very well. So he wrote about his experiences. He wrote poems and mini-plays and drew pictures of bears and his family and the girls he liked at school.

In his sophomore year at Georgetown University, Mike won “The Funniest Man on Campus” contest earning him the chance to perform at the D.C. Improv. It was there that he would hone his act for 3 years, conveying his awkward experiences with fearless vulnerability.

Upon graduation, Mike took his act to New York City. In just one year, Mike broke into the city’s clubs, appeared on Comedy Central’s “Premium Blend” and was chosen to perform in the “New Faces” category of Montreal’s prestigious Just For Laughs Comedy Festival, where he was a standout and attracted the attention of the booker for “Late Show with David Letterman.”

In December of 2002, Mike made his debut on “Late Show” as one of the youngest comedians to perform on the show. Mike is now a regular on the late night talk shows and headlines clubs, theaters and Festivals across the country including the Bumbershoot Festival in Seattle, the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, Bonnaroo in Tennessee and Bulmer’s International Comedy Festival in Dublin, Ireland. He performs regularly in NYC at The Comedy Cellar, the UCB Theatre and the premiere downtown comedy show, “Invite Them Up.”

On February 5, 2004, Mike released his self-produced comedy CD, “Dog Years,” which was recorded live at the D.C. Improv and can be purchased through Mike’s website: www.birbigs.com. The site also features Mike’s “Secret Public Journal,” a bi-weekly travelogue of Mike’s awkward adventures from his life on the road.

In 2005, Mike became a regular, bi-weekly contributor to the syndicated radio show, “The Bob and Tom Show,” delivering live, on-air his “Secret Public Journal.” In December of 2005, Mike released the CD, “My Secret Public Album, Volume 1a,” featuring the best-of his recordings of his “Secret Public Journal.”

On March 5, 2004, Mike premiered his first “Comedy Central Presents” half-hour stand-up special which was such a hit that Comedy Central asked Mike to do another special within two years. On March 3, 2006, Mike debuted his second “Comedy Central Presents” half-hour special which was recorded in December at The Hudson Theater in NYC.

On February 7, 2006, Mike released a CD/DVD compilation, “Two Drink Mike,” on the Comedy Central Records label, placing Mike on the Comedy Billboard chart and winning him new fans across the country. From February through May of 2006, Mike toured colleges across the country in his “Medium Man on Campus” tour. Conceived and produced by Mike and sponsored by Comedy Central, the tour featured Mike and some of his comedic friends from Comedy Central live in performance, direct from TV onto college campuses across the country.

From the tour, Mike created six “Secret Public Journal” video vignettes which are available on Comedy Central’s Motherload website. This fall, he will headline the “Bob & Tom Comedy Tour” in theaters nationwide, and has many film and television projects in development. Mike made his film debut starring in Per Anderon’s “Stanley Cuba” and is developing a one-person show called “Sleepwalk with Me,” which he’s shaping into his next television special and CD. At 28, Mike is perhaps the fastest rising comedian in the country and doesn’t show any signs of slowing down.