Casey Feigh, founder of Holy Shit Improv, writes about live performance being even more important in the face of AI.
I live in Hollywood. The city of lights, glamour, traffic and media corporations hoarding profits… the American dream!
There are plenty of things to love about Hollywood. Much like Edinburgh during Fringe time, it’s a city of dreamers, artists and creatives, many of whom hope to use their art to inspire change in the world. It’s also a city where a small number of people can make a living performing live theatre on their terms. I’m lucky to be one of those people.
When I moved here 17 years ago, things were very different. Television, magazines, newspapers and radio were all thriving. Movies like Knocked Up, Superbad and Wild Hogs were grossing well over $100 million in box office sales. There were some social media (MySpace and Facebook mostly). Funny Or Die had just launched and would let you upload ANYTHING YOU MADE directly to their site, as did YouTube. It was a great time to dream about a career in comedy and that’s what I did. Well, I did more than dream. I worked at it. I took improv classes at Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB ). I performed at open mics. I started sketch groups and made internet videos; all in the hopes of someone discovering me and giving me my big break.
Slowly I began to see progress. I was placed on house teams and became a teacher at UCB. My sketch group started to make a name for ourselves. We went 'viral', sold some videos to chat show Tosh.0 and began making a little money through YouTube. We even sold a script to Comedy Central. It felt was walking up the stairs of a comedy career and that soon enough I would reach the top…or at least close enough to the top that I could live happily off my network TV sitcoms residuals.
Back then, the goal was to make it on a big network show or movie. That’s where the money was. Performing improv was for fun or exposure. You never knew if anyone made money, but if they did, it certainly wasn’t the performer.
Then Covid hit and things changed. A complete and total shutdown. Giant media companies decided to chase streaming aggressively, with no clear path to profitability. They built a new, smaller version of their industry where everyone involved gets paid less, except for the shareholders.
The big dreams I once had all but crumbled away in a media landscape that doesn’t really exist anymore. Studios now are built to exploit creators. AI is a way to make more content while paying fewer people. Meanwhile comedy venues, to entice the best shows and performers back to their spaces, began sharing profits with the talent. It was suddenly possible to get paid to do improv!
As we continue to live more isolated lives and become more disenfranchised with the media, I believe people are going to crave community. They will be drawn to activities like improv where,simply by being in the room, the audience affects the performance. It’s something real; created without AI or CGI, that will be performed once and never again. A true once-in-a-lifetime experience.
A night at the theatre will seem as unique and exciting as it did 100 years ago. People will want to set down their phones and step away from their screens, so they can laugh in a room full of like-minded strangers. I think the result is a new way forward - comedy will thrive again.
Holy Sh*t Improv just celebrated our three year anniversary and I’m more proud of the shows we’re doing now than any role I’ve played in a TV show or movie. I’m in complete control onstage, improvising as a comedic actor, writer, editor and director. I get to do all the things I love and audiences seem to love it too. We’re bringing our first show to Edinburgh Fringe this August and I’m beyond excited to get in the room to perform to Fringe crowds - I’ve heard they are the best.
I’ve given up on the dream I moved to Hollywood for. Comedy films now go straight to streaming with very little cultural impact and network sitcoms are in decline. But that’s okay. I don’t need to be discovered in comedy. I’m already here: live and uncensored. Well, except for when our Holy Sh*t expletive gets starred out.
