The Constant Struggle

E45: Write Better with Clint Murphy

Clint Murphy is a sci-fi screenwriter living in Toronto with his wife and two daughters. He recently made it to the 2nd round in an HBO-sponsored one-hour original pilot contest at the Austin Film Festival, where he returned with a wealth of knowledge and insight he was happy to share with TCS.
Clint spoke to Nick and Brie about his writing and structure processes, about the art of pitching and the benefits of watching it firsthand, and he gave us a little preview into his exciting future projects, which lead to an insightful commentary about the representation of race on TV. 
Clint has many awesome writing, producing and directing projects on the go and it doesn't look like he plans on slowing down anytime soon. His episode has everything you need to get the writer in you motivated and excited about tackling your new project (or projects!)
Check out Clint's Facebook Page or Follow him on Twitter to keep up with his awesome new projects!
Thanks for listening & #StruggleOn

E44: The Constant Struggle's 2017 Year in Review

#SPOILER ALERT!  In this episode, we talk a BUNCH about Star Wars : The Last Jedi. So if you haven't seen it yet, we're warning you ahead of time.
Everyone's saying 2017 was a garbage fire, and in many ways it was.
But creatively, for Nick and Brie, things seem to be headed in the opposite direction. Slowly, but surely we're seeing progress on our creative fronts. So this episode focuses on our creative accomplishments in 2017; be they finishing the first draft of a novel (WHAT!) or landing a dream job at comedy-Hogwarts (what-whaaat?)
We also chat about our struggly-creative goals for 2018. How can we keep this progress going? 
Well, it certainly helps that you listening and engaging with us along the way, and we thank you ever so much for that. So take a few moments, celebrate your 2017 accomplishments and join us in continuing the creative struggle in 2018. 
Be safe out there & #StruggleOn!
 
Nick & Brie
Follow us on Twitter: @StrugglePod

E43: Jason Loo - The Comic Artist Toronto Needs

JASON LOO is the creator of The Pitiful Human-Lizard, a working-class superhero defending the city of Toronto. Now in its' 16th issue and a part of the Chapterhouse, Jason talks to Nick and Brie about what it's like being a comic book artist in Toronto and creating a superhero who is quintessentially Canadian, all while maintaining a full-time job at a local library. He tells us about the recent onboarding of Chapterhouse's new Chief Creative Officer; Jay Baruchel (ever heard of him?) Jason also shines a light on the Canadian superhero renaissance we're currently seeing. Recorded at the Northern Belle bar (pardon the background noise,) this was a wonderful chat about comic books and Canada. After all, as Loo puts it: "We need to stop looking down south. Canada needs our own role models," of which Jason has now become one of our own.
Buy your copies of the Pitiful Human-Lizard at Chapterhouse.
Check out Jason on Twitter and The Pitiful Human-Lizard on Twitter & Facebook
Thanks for listening & #StruggleOn!
Nick & Brie

Making It All About Janet Davidson

JANET DAVIDSON is an improvisor, actor & Second City instructor who's just gone on an epic journey of self-discovery to Vancouver and is returning to Toronto with a brand new perspective. Nick & Brie caught up with Janet one evening in the Second City Training Centre to find out more about Janet, her passion for both playing and teaching improv, her struggles with dyslexia and hypersensitivity, and her ongoing mission of raising up the women in the improv community. With chats about travel, mental health and the woes of online dating, you won't want to miss this episode that is ALL ABOUT JANET, even though she'd prefer it wasn't.
Follow Janet on Twitter: @MissJanetDavids
Thanks for listening & #StruggleOn!

E41 - See Shit, Do Shit & Eat Shit with Moniquea Marion

MONIQUEA MARION is an improviser, character actor and YouTube creator embarking on a new project, in which she plans to travel across British Columbia on her motorcycle and document her experiences along the way in a webseries. Nick and Brie caught up with Moniquea shortly before leaving on this adventure to talk comedy, career and ego-checks. With fun chats along the way about foodieism, travel and real-talk about burn-outs, failures and our inability to celebrate achievements, it's a wild ride into Moniquea's creative journey you won't want to miss. 
Follow Moniquea on her BC journey on Twitter: @moniqueamarion
Check out her incredible Moniquea Marion 365 project on YouTube
Thanks for listening & #StruggleOn

E40 - WatsonCast

It's a hostful episode, folks! This time, Brie interviews Nick about how his book is coming along as well as his new sugar/gluten-free lifestyle and Nick interviews Brie about how she just LEFT HER JOB FOR A YEAR to pursue her comedy FULL TIME!  So yeah... lots of ground to cover.
Tune in and check in with the hosts of the Constant Struggle's constant struggles!
 
 

E39 : Dina Senior: Daytime Vampire

DINA SENIOR: Improviser, Actor, Voice-Actor, Improv Teacher, Daytime Vampire.
DINA talks to Nick and Brie about being a performer in the Niagara Region and the plethora of opportunities that exist in the thriving community theatre scene. She talks about her struggles finding the time to realise her creative goals while juggling a full-time job as well as her side-businesses in fermented health food (like kombucha,) & soap-making. Dina's also jazzed about her latest project; a new improv group called "Niagara Improv" with monthly shows in the Niagara Region. 
Find out more about Niagara Improv on Facebook: Niagara Improv
Follow Dina on Instagram: @thebathbombshell
 
Thanks for listening & 
#StruggleOn
 
 

E38: Comedy Cramming with Camille Côté

 
CAMILLE CÔTÉ talks to Nick & Brie about finding her voice in stand-up comedy, her style of writing as well as her experiences in the Toronto comedy scene. She opens up about a heckler who attacked her personal values at a Hamilton club and dishes about the inside scoop working in a hair salon to pay the bills and to balance her life as a hustling stand-up comic.
Follow Camille on Instagram: @coteandscarf

E37: BAXO & the Aluminati

 
BAXO (visual artist) talks to Nick & Brie about his signature artistic style "Aluminism"; how he discovered it and how he creates masterful pieces that look vastly different depending on how it's hit by the light. He also talks about what it's like to be an artist in Welland and the Niagara Region, where a thriving arts community is growing as well as the balance of art and lifestyle. 
#StruggleOn

E36 - Matt Schmid Wants to Win You Over

In  our latest episode, we chat with Matthew Shmid, all the way from Philedelphia, PA! Matt was in Toronto recently for the Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival and we caught up with him to chat about some of the #struggles involved with being sketch comedy writer and performer in the USA.
We discover how Matt came to comedy performance; his slew of bizarre and sometimes abusive side hussles, and the cost of traveling around the country performing.
We also find out what it's like to be in a sketch duo / romantic duo in The Incredible Shrinking Matt & Jaquie. 
And we also unearth Matt's love of our great Canadian sketch forefathers; the Kids in the Hall.
Tune in & enjoy our episode with our first "designated American!"
xoxo
Brie & Nick