Dallas comedian CAIN, fresh off winning the 2025 Pervis Wilson Funniest Stand-Up in Dallas Competition, returns to the FMP to discuss the mysterious and lightly regulated sport of comedy competitions. In this episode, CAIN walks us through his third year in comedy, including the high-stakes strategic dilemma faced by every comic in a competition: Do you burn your best jokes early to survive the first round, or save them for later and risk being eliminated by a guy doing crowd work about Crocs? We also get into CAIN’s open-mic strategy, discuss the Dallas comedy club scene, and his journey to his first headlining show occurring January 11th, 2026, at the Addison Improv.

Brittany Taylor---Improv Guru and Instructor---- joins Mike and Chris to yes-and their brains into shape with a crash course in all things improv: the formulas, the frameworks, and the wonderfully weird archetypes (pirates vs. ninjas).

Brittany breaks down what happens when people try improv for the first time—those classic beginner pitfalls like freezing, plot-dumping, apologizing, or trying to “be funny” instead of letting the funny happen.

She walks us through how improv skills translate directly to stand-up like staying fully committed to the bit even when your brain is whispering “run.” We dig into the mental side of vulnerability, why audiences can feel it when you’re all-in. Brittany also explains the improv techniques every comic should steal.

We sit down with St. Louis comic Sean O’Brien who has opened for legends like Bill Burr, Norm Macdonald, and Nikki Glaser.

Sean got his start bartending at the St. Louis Funny Bone, where he met Mike Lukas — and, in true full-circle fashion, Mike’s show ended up becoming Sean’s very first paid gig.

In this episode, Sean breaks down his writing process, including his daily habit of “moving the pen” for 30 minutes and then teasing out the small interactions and weird moments that become great material. It’s a masterclass in finding the funny in the ordinary — and trusting the muscle. You can find his recent 15-minute show case on Youtube under Nateland Presents.