The sixth and final member of our Travelogues cast: Jp Boudwin. While his name is surprisingly easy to mangle, his comedy is hard to forget. Jp stormed onto the scene sometime within the last year and has quickly emerged as one of Philadelphia’s most prolific comedians. He does it all: improv, sketch, stand-up, hosting the weekly Propaganda Party at the Starlight Ballroom (every Thursday night at 8pm- except tonight, of course). He’s also a pretty nice guy. Let’s hear it, folks. THREE CHEERS FOR JP!

Name

Jp Boudwin

Hometown

Upper Darby, PA

Stage Name

It’s currently “LackAdazeicaL”, but I’m changing it to Prince’s symbol.

Credits Include:

Camp Woods sketch comedy, Rookie Card, Philly Improv Theater’s 3 Mad Rituals, Polaris’ Propaganda Party.

Favorite Onstage Moment?

Winning Sophomore year battle of the bands after being a band for a 2 weeks! Too many comedy related ones.

Any good travel horror stories?

I went to Pittsburgh and everything was closed. Also it sucked.

Why are you doing this show?

I’m an attention whore.

Why do you do comedy?

I’m an attention whore.

This concludes our Travelogues cast interviews. Or does it? In a way, yes. But in another, more accurate way, no. We’ve got some nice lil’ bits from Nathan Edmondson and Matt Holmes of the Rare Bird Show coming up later today. We also sent the questionnaire to Alexis Simpson, but it just came back to us with an O Magazine subscription renewal. What the hell, Alexis? Anyway, see you later tonight?

We sat for a long time thinking about what to write in this introduction. What do you write about Mary Carpenter that reflects both her onstage talent and her offstage grace, without making her uncomfortable with all this internet idolatry? Well, I guess you could pit it this way: when Chicago’s legendary Second City came knocking on Philadelphia’s door this past summer, it surprised no one to discover that they wanted to hire themselves a Carpenter.

Name

Mary Carpenter

Hometown

Born in Villanova, currently living in Mt. “Hippie” Airy

Stage Name

Phantom Junior

Credits Include:

ComedySportz Philly, Suburban Love Songs and Disco Descending (1812 Productions), City Of Nutterly Love (Philadelphia Theatre Company) , Co-founder of Freefall Productions,  Dazed and Amused: The 24 Hour Improv Marathon.

Favorite onstage moment?

Hitting on the cop who just pulled me over and later meeting in Applebees under the harsh light of reality.

Any good travel horror stories?

Going on a sailing trip with people who “Knew” how to sail, and having to be towed in twice.

Why are you doing this show?

Because Alexis asked

Why do you do comedy?

Cheaper than therapy

This Travelogues cast interview features someone who is best described as a Philadelphia improv powerhouse. We bolded the word powerhouse to hammer home our point. We bolded the word hammer because it makes us think of “acclaimed” rapper MC Hammer, and this improviser is also pretty sick when it comes to rocking a microphone. Also because jokes always come in threes.

If there’s an improvised show in Philadelphia she’s probably had some hand in it,  whether via performance or coaching those who perform. At last October’s 5th Annual Philadelphia Improv Festival, she racked up four, count ‘em, FOUR, appearances. So it’s no surprise that she’s a part of PJI’s upcoming The Mike Connor Travelogues.

Comedian, Actress, Improviser, Director, Teacher, Clown, Ridiculous MC. Please Kristen Schier, don’t hurt ‘em.

Name

Kristen Schier

Hometown

Chardon, OH

Stage name

Angela Landsbury (ed. note:  Our alternative post title was Hilarity, She Wrote!)

Credits Include:

The N Crowd (Artistic Director), Fletcher, The Real Housewives of Philadelphia

Favorite Onstage Moment?

Feeding an albino iguana crickets and breaking down.

Any good travel horror stories?

I once went cross country with my family for two weeks in a winebago touring civil war battle fields.

Why are you doing this show?

Somebody asked me to.

Why do you do comedy?

I want people to love me

Our next cast member is not a man to be trifled with. He was Batboy in Batboy: The Musical. . He’s the Philly Phanatics’ right-hand man. He knows several hundred forms of Boring Kung Fu. Who is this modern miracle? Let’s find out.

Name

Jason Stockdale

Hometown

Philadelphia

Stage Name

The Wizard of Waverly Place

Credits Include:

ComedySportz Philly, Philadelphia Improv Festival Producer, Freefall Production’s Choosical

Favorite Onstage Moment?

Last night I played a dead unicorn doing a trapeze act.

Any good travel horror stories?

I was on a national tour, going down a mountain in western Idaho in a TOTAL blizzard, and our driver was very inexperienced. She totally did great, but we were literally barreling down the road passing eighteen-wheelers that were pulled over to the shoulder, and couldn’t hardly see anything. It was hairy.

Why are you doing this show?

To have my name associated with PJI and Mike Connor. And I’m totes free Thursday night.

Why do you do comedy?

It’s better than sitting home watching John Carpenter’s Ghosts of Mars for the seventeenth time.

Kristin Finger! Are you insane?

If we had to judge based on this picture, we’d have to go with … yes. But there’s nothing wrong with being insane- at least not the kind of madness that leads you to do improv, direct Color Guard, and star as Gwen Stefani on an episode of MTV’s Made. That’s the kind of madness we’d happily put into a clean luer-lock syringe and inject directly into our bloodstream.  Say no to drugs, kids. And say “YES!” to the delightful psychiatry of the fabulous Kristin Finger.

Name

Kristin Finger

Hometown

Horsham, Pa

Stage Name

Kristin “pull my” Finger

Credits Include:

ComedySportz Philly, Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, MTV’s Made

Favorite Onstage Moment?

my first comedy sportz show!

Any good travel horror stories?

I went to Ohio…

Why are you doing this show?

my mom paid alexis to let me be in the show

Why do you do comedy?

so people will laugh at me

In the interest of continuing our series of Travelogues cast interviews, we are continuing our series of Travelogues cast interviews! A bit “on the nose”, yes, but we like to think that an enormously large bullseye is still a bullseye.

This episode features one Sean Curran, Philadelphia-ish based funny man, ComedySportz Philadelphia player since 2005, and the Editor in chief of Gamervision.com.

Cast Interview # 2

Name

Sean Curran

Hometown

Doylestown, PA

Stage Name

Shoeless Sean Curran

Credits Include:

ComedySportz Philadelphia

Favorite Onstage Moment

It’s a tie between the time Dave Jadico kissed me on the lips, and the time I kissed him on the lips. Either way, kissing Dave Jadico.

Any good travel horror stories?

Once while driving back from Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio (home to the world’s tallest roller coaster), my wife and I stopped at a little motel somewhere off of route 81. The only room available was a smoking room, which meant that it smelled like a 70 year old musty ashtray. Also, the room’s bathroom locked with a deadbolt from the outside. Think about that – it locked from the outside of the bathroom. This means you can’t lock people OUT of the room, you can only lock them IN.

Why are you doing this show?

I wanted a chance to stretch my longform legs, as it were. I also need to show my parole officer that I CAN be around other people in a calm manner. One of those is true, one isn’t. Can you guess which is which?

Why do you do comedy?

Two reasons: 1. I’m very starved for attention of any kind. 2. Applause powers my pacemaker. Without the adulation of the masses, I would die. One of these is true, one isn’t. Can you guess which is which?

Lately the PJI offices have been a shitstorm of a flurry of activity. There are only ten days and counting until Opening Night and Also Closing Night of The Mike Connor Travelogues (featuring a set from Philly improv powerhouse Rare Bird Show). This show probably ranks like first or third on the list of The Biggest Events in the Course of Human History, so you can imagine how insane things are here at PJI headquarters.

Pictured: The chaos at PJI Headquarters. PJI is an equal-opportunity employer.

We figured, “Why not frost this chaos cake with some buttercream madness”?  So in celebration of the ridiculous arsenal of comedic talent we’ve assembled for the upcoming show, we came up with exactly two brilliant ideas. Idea #1: send the performers a mini-survey and post their brilliant responses here on the PJI blog. Idea #2: build a twenty-foot replica of Mr Peanut out of airline peanuts, and blow it up (sending peanuts peanuts flying as far as the forces of physics will allow). We couldn’t find any good explosioning music, and also we can’t afford the insurance. So you’re gettin’ cast surveys. Deal with it.

CAST INTERVIEW #1

Name

Michael Connor

Hometown

Penndel, Pennsylvania

Stage Name

Michael James Peter Thaddeus Reginald Buckingham Milford Brett-Connor III esq.

Credits Include:

The N Crowd, The Hopper Brothers

Favorite Onstage Moment

I changed a line in a play to include my friend’s name who was in the audience and implied that he was learning disabled. No one else in the audience knew I did it. But I did. And my friend did. And when you watch the footage that was shot from that night’s performance, you can hear him boo as I left the stage. What are friends for if not to imply they’re learning disabled?

Any good travel horror stories (besides the ones you’re telling Nov. 12th, of course)?

In Die Hard with a Vengeance, the bombs are made of these two chemicals. Separately, the chemicals are harmless. However, when you combine them, they become highly explosive. Similarly, my sister can go for a drive and nothing will happen. I can go for a drive and nothing will happen. But when my sister and I go for a drive together, we always have car trouble.

Why are you doing this show?

I took this long trip. I had all these crazy experiences. I want to tell people about ‘em.

Why do you do comedy?

In first grade Mrs. Dougherty gave out awards to each kid at the end of the year: good speller, good builder, good drawer, etc. I got an award for best sense of humor. I knew then that I would grow up to be an unemployed, judgmental goon with no discernible skills other than finding fault in the way other people live their lives. Thanks, Mrs. Dougherty.

It’s the blog post that America has been waiting for! Our final installment of Travelogues. Philly funny man Mike Connor has been flying from city to city to city, having adventures and reporting them via SMS message. He’s been to Austin, San Francisco, Boston, NYC, West Virginia, Pittsburgh, and New Orleans. In the final chapter, he hits up the Plaiding-est city that ever Plaid-ed:  Seattle, WA. After that he’s off to prance on the sandy beaches of Orlando, Florida.

The mighty Space Needle: America’s Most Interesting Needle ™

9/27/2009

[6:25:34 PM] Just landed in seattle. Cant wait to try to some this jam made from pearls.

[10:10:48 PM] Apparently my friend candice lives in seattle’s skid row. Seattle’s skid row is akin to philly’s olde city.

9/28/09

[05:16:17 PM] Ive seen the space needle. Seen some coffee roasters. Seen some dudes throw some fish around. What else do ya got for me, seattle?

[05:50:03 PM] They say seattle has a starbucks on every corner. Theyre right. Just like every other city. So shut up, and buy me a latte.

9/29/09

[02:41:10 AM] In san fran it was bed bugs. In new orleans it was mosquitos. Now im in seattle & have some gnarly spider bites. Next stop: new smyrna beach, fla the sharkbite

[07:28:09 PM] Some floss. Some floss. My kingdom for some floss.

[08:12:08 PM] Bushmills black label whiskey is called “black bush.” that was a skit on chapelle’s show.

10/01/2009

[06:37:17 PM] I totally saw this chick that was not hot. She got nearer & i thought she was retarded. Then she got even nearer & i realized she wasnt retarded just not hot.

[08:23:08 PM] What am i doing? Oh only doubling my high score on Word Warp. Thats all.

West coast to East Coast; Seattle to Florida

10mph. That’s how they roll on Orlando. Slow and eeeeasy.

10/03/2009

[02:10:51 AM] Boarding my final flight to orlando & alls well

[11:58:44 AM] Disney World: what kind of mickey mouse operation are they running here?

[06:59:20 PM] Entered a raffle for a free tatoo. Came dangerously close.

10/04/09

[06:19:53 PM] Hmmm… What should i do? Oh how bout run along the beach and get all hot then dive in an ocean as warm as a tub and calm as a lake? Yeah. That sounds fuckin great

[08:17:03 PM] Aint gonna let the elevator break us down. Oh no! Lets go!

10/05/09

[12:01:19 AM] The atlantic ocean. Oh and the full moon. And the near cloudless sky. And the mellow tropical breeze. And the dry roasted peanuts. Oh yeah and the beer too.

[04:35:12 PM] Fill in the blank: when you’ve got nothing to do but sit beside the ocean in a tropical paradise and watch monday night football in a tiki bar, life is ________

[05:46:51 PM] Black cherry jim beam es moi dangerous.

10/06/09

[05:18:19 PM] Saw a shark when i was swimming! I hauled ass to the shore in complete girlish terror & got bit by a crab. Escapin a shark & bit by a crab: Is that ironic?

[07:12:16 PM] Yesterday was watchin football drinkin pitchers listenin to the ocean. Today is watching baseball drinkin guiness listenin to a band play irish music.

10/08/09

[02:17:13: PM] Home again. Home again. Lickety split.

Well folks, that’s the final Travelogues text. The bad news is that this means  Mike’s journey has come to an end. The good news is that PJI is turning his adventures into a live comedy show featuring some of Philadelphia’s finest improvisers. The show is scheduled for Thursday, Nov 12th.  Stay tuned for details!

Mike’s next stop is in New Orleans, where he’s privy to fine jazz, alligator meat, and gorgeous scenes like these:

In New Orleans, all roads lead to… PARTY TOWN!!!

Let’s see what Mike’s up to now, shall we?

9/21/2009

[2:16:58] Talk about friendly. If you tell a new orleanian you’re a tourist be prepared for 3 hours of tips on where to go. Cafe du monde: great. Bourbon street: eh

[3:00:20 PM] Don’t know whats better: powerade after a jog along the bayou or this fat alligator sausage. Air conditioning trumps them both.

[8:02:41 PM] Im on bourbon street. Just walked by three cops while holding an open container. They smiled & nodded. Fuckin n’awlins.

[8:53:03 PM] Bourbon street… Live jazz… Cold beer… So much pleasure… Ahhhh

[10:55:02 PM] The douchebag in me is disapponted by the lack of tits ive seen on bourbon street. But the asshole in me is slowly getting wasted.

A blurry party is a good party.

9/22/2009

[6:05:20 PM] Ive heard beer before liquor, never been sicker. How bout beer before food?

[6:12:59 PM] Dale earnhardt jr. Is doin life insurance commercials with old pictures of his dad in them. I guess, if youre dad dies, you may as well profit off it.

[6:40:33 PM] A nice joplin rag played on a caliope. I fuckin love new orleans.

[6:56:14 PM] So in new orleans coffee, cream, and doughnuts is called cafe au lait and beignets.

A cafe au lait and beignets.

[8:26:30 PM] “New Orleans: we put the FUN in funeral”     best bumper sticker ever

[9:24:33 PM] Walked into a random bar. A random band was playing. They rocked “when the saints go marchin in.” As the bible says “make a joyful noise” thats joyful as crap.

[10:51:10 PM] I actually came to new orleans and have to listen to a band cover “isnt it ironic”. Jesus fuckin ballsack

9/23/2009

[4:10:05 PM] Wow. Dont trust new orleans taxi drivers. Fuckin ripoff artists. Now im fuckin stranded.

[6:10:36 PM] Im standing on a levee

[6:21:01 PM] No lie. The street that runs parallel to the levees is called Leake Street. Aptly named

9/24/2009

[12:40:11 AM] Holy shit. Katrina is the saddest shit ever. Everyone down here has a story. Each one is more devastating than the next. Im on a street car ready to cry.

[10:20:01 AM] Tryin to sleep at the airport but a crying baby woke me up. Add insult to injury, its the ugliest goddamn baby ive ever seen.

That’s all she wrote! Next time: Mike pays a visit to Seattle’s Skid Row.

It’s been over a week since our last Travelogues update. What the hell has that Mike Connor been up to? Sleeping? Shopping? Parasitic infestations? Your guess is as good as ours. Luckily, Mike is texting PJI-PDA/S* Alexis Simpson with all the dirty deeds he’s doing dirt cheap.

We bet there are no fewer than 100 albums in this store with the name “Mike” on the cover. WHO’S GAME?!?

9/15/2009

[1:45:07 AM] As tony bennet sang: “i left my pedometer in san francisco”

[2:27:36 AM] I think my hostel had bed bugs. I woke up with bites all over my body. Sexy leper styles.

IT’S BEAN-TOWN, BABY!

[2:39:18 PM] 3 days of breathing in my cousins house in boston is not unlike three days of breathing on the surface of venus. She smokes a lot. My lungs hurt.

[5:06:12 PM] Just had a sighting of a Vick jersey up here in boston. Thats those puritan dogfighters for ya.

[5:38:33 PM] Im at the bar at the top of the prudential building. Fancy schmancy. I shouldnt be allowed in here. Some economic jim crow law should kick in. No poor folks!

PITTSBURGH/WEST VA/NEW ORLEANS, AKA THE CONTINENTAL US TRIFECTA

9/18/2009

[5:26:35 PM] Made it to Pittsburgh. Waitin on my ride to west virginia. If one more person starts singing “country roads”…We get it. The song mentions the state.

One of them country roads John Denver was always prattling on about.

9/20/2009

[9:37:49 AM] Sittin in the pittsburgh airport. Goin on 2 hours of sleep. Whose idea was it to stay up til 330? New orleans, get ready for a weary traveler.

[12:36:16 PM] Tryin to get a nap during a layover in nyc airport. Some fuckin kid tried to open the jetway door at this gate & it set out this loud ass alarm. Fuckin kids.

[5:16:09 PM] Just landed in the big easy. Gonna take some revenge for what the saints did to our eagles.

[6:24:24 PM] Dude n’awlins is hot. Like stinkin hot. Like really stinkin. Maybe i should cool off with a dip in the gulf.

Tune in next time as Mike hopes for more frequent boobie sightings. We all pray that you will, Mike. We all pray that you will.

*Philadelphia Joke Initiative Producing Artistic Director/Superman, of course.