Hi buddies,

It’s my birthday month! And it’s the dead of winter. Like a lot of folks, I tend to get sad in the winter time. And I get sad around birthdays. This is NOT a cry for help. Merely an observation. So I’ve been allowing myself to feel a little blue but also think about all the bright spots in my life. I have a lot, in no particular order:

Loser Boy: people always said it’s hard to make friends as an adult, so I feel really lucky to have found a group of people who not only HARD YES weird stuff I pitch onstage, but also HARD YES my weirdness in real life. They are fantastic performers and people, and I’m surprised and delighted I found them last year.

Muddy Paws Rescue: I’m volunteering with MPR, a 501c3 nonprofit organization working to save the lives of thousands of dogs in need through foster-based care, advocacy, and community outreach. I’m an adoptions counselor for them and I get to play with pups and match them with people looking to adopt. It’s a great feeling. Come volunteer/foster/adopt :-)

Therapy: I’ve been in therapy for almost a year and a half and it’s literally the best thing. I’m very lucky I’ve been able to afford it/have an insurance that pays for it. I know not everyone has that opportunity.

Lots of supportive friends and family: I had a ton of people reach out for my birthday, and I feel very supported and loved. My family always gives me really great advice and are a phone call away. When I get overwhelmed, they’re there for me. I mean, they’re there for me when I’m not overwhelmed too. I can always count on them.

Plant babies: I have many plant babies in my home. They are super cool.

Writing projects: I’ve got several projects in the pipeline, both stuff on my own and with writing partners. It’s fun to write!

UCB classes: When I did the work study program, I got a lot of class credits. So I’m using them: I’m in an academy improv class with Alex Dickson that I love and in sketch 101. It’s fun to be a student again. A good reminder to keep learning/stay teachable.

What else: neighborhood dogs, cheese, Netflix, sourdough starters, walking to work and seeing the Chrysler building, warm coats, hot coffee, instagram dogs, avocados, humidifiers…

When I think of these nice things, is my seasonal depression solved? NOPE! The sad is still there (it’s seasonal depression, after all). In the improv class I’m taking now, “Improv is Feeling” we had to watch the Brene Brown Ted Talk about vulnerability. If you haven’t watched, watch it here, it’s very cool. I know it’s from 2013, I’m know, but I hadn’t watched it!

She talks about our desire to numb the bad feelings, and how it mutes our ability to feel the full spectrum of human things. Including joy and love. So, I’m trying to notice all of it, the nice and the not-nice things in my life and see how that feels. I guess the point isn’t to feel less sad. It’s to allow a little more space for all the feelings. And to notice. And notice that I do feel a bit less sad…

Then again, I’ve no idea. Just spit-balling here. Today is cold but sunny. A crisp, beautiful New York morning.

I’m worried this blog post is “off-brand”/too rambling. But everyone on this email list (I think?) is interested in my life and my life isn’t just my glamorous adventures as a NYC comedienne/actress. It’s mostly the latter. But, alas, not all glamour.

Don’t worry, next month I’ll have funny video to share. Hugses to all xoxo

Hi Gang,

2020 has already started off with a bang! I was cast as the lead in a webseries called Murder of the Weekend. It’s a murder-mystery comedy with a great script by Hayes Biche. The cast and crew was truly amazing and we shot it in seven days and it was nuts - real low budget indie filmmaking shenanigans. Also it was an ALL-FEMALE CAMERA TEAM, including our fabulous DP, Lauren Mendoza. She was kind enough to share some stills with me (see below). I’ll let you know when it’ll be released, since I don’t know how long post-production will take.

Additionally, I’m working on some writing projects this year, and have some sketches/character videos planned for you. I’ll keep a lid on those for now, but they’ll be fun.

Something I can share is my indie improv team, Loser Boy, now has a monthly residency at the Tank. The Tank is a non-profit theatre that gives emerging artists a place to produce their work at no-cost to them. They are a wonderful organization and truly unique in their mission in NYC. LB is grateful for their partnership and we can’t wait to present our show - Form-ication (gross). We want to give improvisers and audiences the opportunity to see new/rarely done forms. We’re the second Monday of the month starting in January and running through August. If you are here in town, get your tickets here.

On a personal note, my goal for 2020 is more empathy, more openness. That’s the whole update. Love you all.

Still from the talented Lauren Mendoza - featuring fellow actor and mensch, Brian Pollack.

End of a decade, gang. Wowowow.

I have no grand, final summation on that subject. Time is a construct. Personally, I’m just plugging away in NYC - my goal is to strengthen my empathy muscles in this next decade. I hope we all work on more empathy.

Ok! Enough philosophizing: On Monday December 2nd, at noon, Helena Farhi, and I dropped our mini-webseries on YouTube. It’s very exciting, because we set a goal and we met it, teaching ourselves producing and directing and sound and editing and color correcting and audio mixing and all that jazz. It’s not perfect but it’s very silly, and that’s exactly what we wanted.

Potato & Button Ride Again is about two idiots who firmly believe that “comedy is better than tragedy”. It’s about fragile egos and juice cleanses and the enduring power of friendship. Also, it’s very dumb. All three episodes are up, Netflix style, so it should take you about 15 minutes to watch the whole thing. Won’t you?

Once again, I’m reminded of how lucky I am to have a tribe of creative people in New York. Compulsively artistic people. People who say “yes”. Some of these friends were onscreen for literally seconds and some WERE NOT ONSCREEN AT ALL WHICH IS NUTZ CUZ THEY ARE TALENTED ACTORS. I’m truly grateful. Here are all the people who lent a hand on this project:

Grace Experience, Stephen Shore, Ariel Seidman-Wright, Dominique Allen Lawson, Kadeem Ali-Harris, Steven Czajkowski, Dana Harris, Kate Owens, Khalifa White, Nicholas Curley, Kalyn Altmeyer, Jamie Fultash, Arden Farhi, Joseph Manning (quick shout-out to our brothers), Jonathan Portee, and Paul Bernardo

And obviously thanks to Helena, who is both one of the best friends a girl could as for, and a killer writing partner. A hell of a combo.

So, here is the playlist of the whole thing. Watch the prequel, Potato & Button: A Journey Through Art, also on Hackstage, if you wish for more Geri and Megan content.

I hope you enjoy this “lil” project. If you do, please like, subscribe, share with all your friends.

I’ve got improv shows and stuff in December too, including at The Tank with Loser Boy next week: tickets here. I love this team and this show.

I announce all my shows on instagram too, sort of ad nauseam: @deirdmanning These days it’s an endless stream of self-promotion, occasionally interrupted by dog-content. I’ve been told it’s funny too though. So follow me :)

Thanks gang. Again, very grateful.

Hi gang,

I set a reminder in my phone that says “Write blog and send your newzletter gurl”. That’s fun, right? Shameless self-promotion is a full time job.

I do have some very fun updates! Helena and I are are madly editing our mini-webseries, Potato & Button Ride Again. Editing is very hard, guys! It’s fiddly work - but we are going to make our deadline on December 2.

Burying the lead a little but I’ve got some great shows coming up, if you are in NYC. I’m in a really cool show opening at Upright Citizen’s Brigade this month! It’s an improv show with a heavy-hitting cast called BEFORE/AFTER, and it’s directed by Johnna Scrabis. We have two Tuesday night shows in November, 19th and 26th at 10:30pm at UCB Hell’s Kitchen. Get tickets here

Maybe that’s too late for you. I get it, cuz it is a school night. In that case, maybe you can come see my indie team, Loser Boy, perform at the Tank on December 10th at 7pm. I adore this team (pictured below) and playing with them is always a highlight of my week. We created this show called Form-ication (gross) which features us and other cool indie teams performing new/rarely done improv forms. It’s a little nerdy/a little niche, but even if you aren’t a big ole improv dork, it’s still really funny! Inevitably, we end up punching someone and/or talking about farts. Truly, there is something for everyone. Get your tickets here

Ok, that’s it! That’s the update. Suddenly, it’s November and the days are painfully short and the seasonal depression starts to creep in. But November also makes me start thinking about things I’m thankful for - my cup truly runneth over. Thanks all :)