The Need to Fail with Don Fanelli

Latest Episodes:

Episode 126: Celeste Ballard Jan 28, 2020

Show notes

Celeste Ballard (Wrecked, Sweet/Vicious) had a couple of dark creative periods in the last year which made her pass at an initial invitation to be on the show. Now she opens up about failed pitches and pilots, a personal setback that she used to jolt her career forward, the value in being Lorne Michaels' assistant, the importance of stating what you want, and shares a step by step process on how she pitches a show.

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Episode 125: Lance Rubin Jan 21, 2020

Show notes

YA author, Lance Rubin (Crying Laughing, Denton Little's Deathdate) was dropped by his acting agent and manager on the same day... which led him towards a career he did not plan for. We talk about the internal and external struggles that made the business side of acting difficult, how being on the other side of casting helped him realize why he sucked at auditioning, and the tools he uses to stay focused to write while raising two kids.

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Episode 124: Brett Davis Jan 14, 2020

Show notes

Brett Davis (The Podcast for Laundry, The National Lampoon Radio Hour) takes us through many performance failures over his career, one which lead to a full on fist fight between his writing partner and some drunk audience members. We chat about the only episode of The Special he decided not to air, why he decided to end his public access show, feeling like a home-schooled comic and not going the traditional route, and the amount of pressure he puts on himself before every show.

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Episode 123: Larry Owens Jan 07, 2020

Show notes

Larry Owens (A Strange Loop, High Maintenance) got rejected from his top three acting school choices and as a playwright from Yale. We talk about the daily setbacks during his Steppenwolf training, how you must fail during a monologue in order to perform it correctly, and why he turned down the chance to star in television show to perform as the lead in an Off-Broadway musical.

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Episode 122: Jocelyn DeBoer & Dawn Luebbe (Part 2) Dec 17, 2019

Show notes

In Part 2 of our conversation with Jocelyn DeBoer & Dawn Luebbe (Greener Grass, Adam Ruins Everything) we cover all things film festivals. We chat about getting rejected from Sundance four times before getting in, the ceremonious turned unceremonious conference call when they learned their pilot was a no go, and how they tackled filming 17 locations in 19 days for their Greener Grass feature.

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Episode 121: Jocelyn DeBoer & Dawn Luebbe (Part 1) Dec 10, 2019

Show notes

Jocelyn DeBoer & Dawn Luebbe (Greener Grass, Buzz) were going through a dry spell in Los Angeles, so they walked on a treadmill next to each other at the gym, simultaneously watching Twin Peaks. In Part 1 of our conversation we talk about how Jocelyn helped create her own team and indie show after not getting onto a UCB Harold Team which eventually worked out to her advantage and how Dawn had one foot out the comedy door and was going to move to San Francisco before getting an opportune phone call from two of her future teammates. We chat about what it was like to start over in Los Angeles after crushing it in New York, what motivated them to create their Greener Grass short and why they eventually decided to start directing their own projects.

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Episode 120: Paul Welsh Dec 03, 2019

Show notes

Paul Welsh (Brooklyn99, Crazy-Ex Girlfriend) was flown out back out to NY after he moved to LA and crushed his Daily Show audition - and didn't get it. We chat about why it took him multiple attempts to get onto a UCB Harold Team, how he dealt with a failed pilot he co-wrote, and how a short film he made, whose script got him his agent, got into zero festivals.

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The One Year Project: Dan Black (Parts 1 & 2) Nov 26, 2019

Show notes

In our final One Year Project, guest Dan Black (Comedians of Wrestling Podcast, Adam Ruins Everything) feels like he goes backwards in his career some years. Like when he had to go back to work as a temp CPA and participate in a company wide intro to improv workshop after having improvised for years. The first part, recorded in 2018, Dan talks about how the barriers of working a corporate CPA job for many years turned him off to the business side of showbiz, how he manages his expectations, and how it felt watching Jimmy Fallon leave during the opening of his one man show. Part 2 (1:31:47) covers the unexpected opportunity that popped up, that put his 2019 goals on hold.

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The One Year Project: Langan Kingsley (Parts 1 & 2) Nov 19, 2019

Show notes

Langan Kingsley was one job away from having to temp again. In Part 1, recorded in 2018, Langan had written on two shows and filmed an Adam Sandler movie, but was looking into the abyss of 2019 with nothing on the horizon. We chat about how her failures are related to fear, the cosmic promise she made if she ran into Amy Poehler, and how things usually happen for her when she loses all hope. Part 2 (47:43) covers her journey through 2019, where the job she thought she interviewed well for she didn't get and the job she didn't interview well for, she got.

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The One Year Project: James III (Parts 1 & 2) Nov 12, 2019

Show notes

Our second installment of the One Year Project follows James III's (Astronomy Club, All That) into the unknown of 2019. Part 1 was recorded in December of 2018, where James was coming off of a good year but had nothing on the horizon. We talk about his imposter syndrome, the fear of getting into comedy, the genesis of the Black Men Can't Jump in Hollywood podcast, and the difficulty of balancing individual goals with group goals. Part 2 (58:30) picks up in 2019 where things were slow for a bit but rapidly picked up all at once. We talk about pitching, selling, writing, and acting in Astronomy Club's new Netflix series, being rejected from a writing job he was perfect for, and why he thinks he should go to therapy.

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