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Welcome to another episode of the Comedic Pursuits podcast. I’m your host, Seth Payne.

I’m very excited for this episode because I got to sit down with one of my dear friends,. He’s someone I connected with right away in the comedy scene and an inspiration to me. He’s creative, crazy, hilarious, and cracks me up every time I see him. He brings so much energy to any room he’s in, let alone any project he’s part of.

I’m talking, of course, about Robin Doody.

Highlights from my interview with Robin Doody

We’ll talk about Robin growing up in Houston, Texas, and his transition from lacrosse bro to political madman. His interest in politics led him to DC, at which point he got involved with improv and moved through the ranks very quickly. He’s a ridiculous person. I enjoy every interaction I’ve had with him.

Robin was part of former WIT ensemble Commonwealth for a year before it was sunset. We’ll get into that, but I’m very happy to report that Robin has since been doing a lot of other creative projects.

Without further ado, Robin Doody.

Some parts of this interview have been edited for clarity. To hear Robin’s full responses, listen to his podcast episode.

Growing up, part one

I never identified as a creative person when I was younger, which I think was a missed opportunity. But I played the violin, and I performed a lot. I started playing the violin when I was four. We would do bank performances during the holiday season, but my favorite thing was doing Christmas carols around a neighborhood in Houston. We would also play fiddle at the Houston Rodeo. That was probably my first huge performance with a big crowd.

I always considered myself to be funny, and I was a class clown, for sure. I would push the limit a lot, and I liked to make my friends laugh. In retrospect, I was disrespectful to teachers and that wasn’t chill.

I didn’t do any theater in school, though. I did sports, and I was always the funniest kid on the sports team. I don’t have any regrets, but if I could do it over, I would probably give up the sports and focus on theater. When I’m feeling selfish, I wish I’d had a mentor to push me to do that.

The beginnings of a political career

After high school, I went to Rice University and majored in history. After I graduated, I moved to Galveston,