Before. During. After.

Smirk Experience

Before. During. After. is a Smirk Experience podcast about performance; from the inside.

Every week Sam Carrington will sit down with a professional comedian. He'll find out what they do in preparation for a show, what they concentrate on while they're performing and what they focus on when it's done, all to maximise their performance.

Because great performances don't just happen, they're built.

Play

Open in

20 episodes
weekly
Avg 1 hr 17 min
English

Episodes 20

Newest Oldest Longest

All20 Unplayed20 In progress0 Played0

#3
Wednesday · 54 min
Best of Before. During. After. -After
Welcome to the 3rd instalment of our 'Best Of' episodes- this 1 is a selection of tips, tricks, techniques and mindsets all about analysing a performance. Thoughts from Garrett Millerick, Ria Lina, Robin Ince, Matt Green, Jenny Collier and Adam Greene.
#2
October 21 · 53 min
Best of Before. During. After.- During
Join us for a look back at some of the best bits from Seasons 1 & 2. This selection is from the During section, with tips about mindset, stagecraft and lots more. Featuring clips from chats with Glenn Wool, Tony Law, Matt Price, Tom Price, James Dowdeswell and Dominic Frisby
#1
October 14 · 1 hr
Best of Before. During. After. -Before
Join us for a look back at some of the best bits from Seasons 1 & 2. This selection is from the Before section; what acts do to get themselves in optimal mood to perform. Featuring clips from interviews with Ian Moore, Ali Hassan, Nathan Cassidy, Adam Bloom, Alexis Dubus and Sarah Iles.
October 13 · 1 min
Before. During. After. end of Season 2
After 2 seasons of back to back episodes we are taking a break. The plan is to rest, regroup and come back even stronger for Season 3. In the meantime expect some 'Best of' episodes, plus you can always go back through our back catalogue of episodes. See you in a few weeks. Sam and BDA team.
S2 · E15
October 7 · 1 hr 28 min
Before. During. After. with Adam Bloom
Sam and Adam have an in-depth look at how to look good in front of a crowd. They cover how great performances start before you've said a word, how being present beats being perfect and how confidence isn't something you're born with but something you earn. If you're interested in reading Adam's brilliant book, then you can get it here https://amzn.eu/d/0oGfPKz
S2 · E14
September 30 · 1 hr 21 min
Before. During. After. with Tony Law
Sam and Tony discuss the relationship between preparation and rigidity, the perils of assuming what an audience will like before you start, how to pull it back when you might be losing an audience and how to make nonsense sound authoritative.
S2 · E13
September 23 · 1 hr 30 min
Before. During. After. with Glenn Wool
Sam and Glenn dlve into what Glenn has learnt by gigging all over the world for 30 years. They cover how he played rooms that had no interest in hearing comedy early on in his career, how stagecraft can control a room without saying a word and how the bad gigs make you a real comedian.
S2 · E12
September 16 · 1 hr 18 min
Before. During. After. with Ali Hassan
Sam and his old show biz mucka Ali Hassan discuss the freedom being totally prepared gives you, that confidence can be projected whatever's happening and however you're secretly feeling and how sometimes you're better off switching analysing a bad gig for a beer with a pal.
S2 · E11
September 9 · 1 hr 35 min
Before. During. After. with Ian Moore
Ian and Sam discuss overcoming, or maybe accepting, imposter syndrome is part of the game, why preparation equals freedom, how comics 'read a room' and how the come down after shows is the hardest part.
S2 · E10
September 2 · 1 hr 20 min
Before. During. After. with Sarah Iles
Sarah and Sam discuss how confidence isn't something you're born with- it's something you build, how nerves aren't the enemy and how taking the risk in the first place is the biggest step to make.
S2 · E9
August 26 · 1 hr 30 min
Before. During. After. with Robin Ince
Sam and Robin have a wide ranging chat, on subjects like the importance of finding your voice (business people call this personal branding) how passion beats perfection every day of the week, how kindness and love is the way forward.
S2 · E8
August 19 · 1 hr 19 min
Before. During. After. with Dan Antopolski
Dan and Sam discuss the perils of comparing audiences, the powerful element of surprise in any communication, how a sabbatical from comedy improved him as a performer and what to do when it starts to go wrong to help keep the show on the road.
S2 · E7
August 12 · 1 hr 41 min
Before. During. After. with Chris Dangerfield
Chris and Sam discuss why likability trumps any other quality a speaker can possess, how bookers didn't know what to do with the most talked about comic of his generation, why he walked away from comedy and some of the most outrageous stories you've possibly ever heard. NOTE- this 1 is definitely not suitable for younger ears.
S2 · E6
August 5 · 1 hr 37 min
Before. During. After. with James Dowdeswell
James and Sam have a lovely chat, covering topics like tricks to stop hecklers, pivotal advice from other comics, the benefits of analysis post show, how to properly reading a room and why reliability beats flashes of brilliance every day of the week.
S2 · E5
July 29 · 1 hr 16 min
Before. During. After. with Tom Price
Tom and Sam have an awesome chat that covers how you should practice everything- especially the ad libs, that audiences want you to succeed, how to quickly analyse any show and move on, plus what interview questions Tom would ban if he could.
S2 · E4
July 22 · 1 hr 12 min
Before. During. After. with Alexis Dubus
Alexis and Sam have a lovely chat that includes how confidence is a costume before it becomes a habit, how great speakers have a conversation with their audience instead of a monologue and how setting out your stall early in any talk is a very handy thing.
S2 · E3
July 15 · 1 hr 24 min
Before. During. After. with Garrett Millerick
Garrett and Sam have a great chat about a range of topics, inclduing how many speakers mess up before they reach the punchline, the power of authenticity, how great things can come out of bad gigs and why politicians today get communication so wrong.
S2 · E2
July 8 · 1 hr 40 min
Before. During. After. with Matt Green
Sam and Matt have a wide ranging chat about the addictive nature of making people laugh, how a comic sees the world differently, the benefits of clarity in any communication and how a full diary can help you overcome any setback.
S2 · E1
July 1 · 1 hr 24 min
Before. During. After. with Ria Lina
In this week's episode Sam and the brilliant Ria Lina have a lively discussion about how confidence is built over time (not something you're born with) how performers can quickly and effortlessly regroup when something goes wrong, the benefits on focussing on providing value to your audience and the strange link between parenting and controlling a room of adults.
S1 · E15
June 24 · 1 hr 26 min
Before. During. After. with Ben Clover
Today's guest is the brilliant Ben Clover, a wonderful comic who now helps other comics with their shows- which means he's very much tuned in to the BDA vibe. Ben and Sam discuss the power of proper preparation, how that prep gives you freedom to ad lib and why listening back to yourself is rarely as bad as you think.

Showing 1–20 of 20 episodes