We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Philip Markle. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Philip below.

Philip, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

Back when we founded the BCC, the standard practice for performers in comedy theaters in NYC was to work for free. For the promise of “making it big one day.” I thought this was an unfair approach that de-valued the work that performers did not only onstage but to produce their shows and bring in an audience. They should be paid for their creativity. I founded the Brooklyn Comedy Collective (BCC) on the principal to pay artists a cut of the door from Day 1. We also called it a collective because we wanted to avoid the “cool kids” syndrome of cliques at each theater. At the BCC, nobody is cooler than anyone else – we’re all just a bunch of wonderful weirdos creating comedy in Brooklyn. This ethos pairs with our teaching philosophy across all our classes (from improv to stand-up to sketch to clowning and more): the idea of “F*ck it” and “Love it.” F*CK IT means we are not going to take ourselves too seriously or beat ourselves up when we make mistakes. Mistakes are the way we get better, and the more stress we put on being perfect, the less relaxed and playful we’ll be. Once we get out of our own way, we learn to LOVE IT. This means we celebrate what you and your fellow players bring to the table. By holding both ideas in our head, we remember why we fell in love with comedy – one of the most wonderful things in the world – while not taking it too seriously.
Those are the values that formed the mission which has formed the awesome community at the BCC – a place where you find your voice and find your people.

Philip, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

So I began my career as an actor in Chicago, after having graduated from Northwestern University with a theater major. I soon discovered that I was auditioning for “Murdered Guy #2” in Chicago Fire, not anything creative or inspiring. I decided that I’d rather be a writer and performer than wait around for years for juicy parts as an actor, and thus began taking improvisation classes. I trained at all the major schools in Chicago and from there, I began regularly improvising (even a stint on cruise ship!), creating my own musical comedy, and eventually wrote a one-person show which I ended up taking to NYC and deciding to move there permanently.
While I was “Philip Sparkle” onstage, offstage I was Philip Markle with a knack of business and building theaters. I helped found an acting school in the northern suburbs of Chicago, and when I moved to New York City, I led the development of a branch of the Annoyance Theater (my artistic home in Chicago where I learned to let my freak flag fly). After 5 years, I stepped down from running it, and the Annoyance NY closed shortly thereafter. I took a year to travel the world, fly to Bali, figure out what I wanted to do with my life, and upon return I founded my own theater – the Brooklyn Comedy Collective. Now, the BCC teaches thousands of students how to find their voice as comedians across multiple disciplines (improv, sketch, stand-up, clowning, and writing – just to name a few), and hosts 24+ shows a week across our three locations in East Williamsburg, Brooklyn (which the kids refer to as “Chuckle Square”).
I’ve also found that all the skills that go into successful improvisation affect how I run my business, and we regularly apply these lessons teaching other business leaders and employees how to be more empathetic collaborators, more confident communicators, and culture where mistakes are celebrated.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

COVID almost destroyed my business. Performing comedy shows and teaching classes on Zoom took all the joy and raison d’etre out of the picture, and at some point, it began to feel hopeless. I came THIS close to walking away from the theater toward the end of lockdowns, but instead, I took a 24 Day road trip with my dog in a Mini Cooper across the the USA. The time on the open road cleared my mind and gave me the space to really feel if I had it in me to restart the theater. When I got back to Brooklyn, I found a new home for us that very week (Eris Evolution, who hosts their own nightlife and parties after we wrap up shows at 10 PM), and from there, the BCC tok off bigger than ever. I’m glad that I stuck it out.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

A lesson I had to unlearn was not to move or make decisions on impulse. So much of my success I due to just being able to “get shit done,” but conversely most of the mistakes in my life have been a result of moving too fast.
The biggest lesson I had to unlearn was to NOT send the email. And by that I mean, don’t write an emotional email and send it to someone in the moment. You will want to send it. You may even feel that you are righteous and owe it to yourself to communicate how you feel, but I suggest you send it to yourself or a trusted colleague. Sleep on it and then decide if it’s worth sending the next day. Nine out of 10 times, it’s not, and emotional conversations will go better in person or by phone or by Zoom.
I have learned to slow down because in the end it will take much less time cleaning up the mess.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://brooklyncomedy.com
• Instagram: @comedybrooklyn

Image Credits

@photojucie
Arin Sang-urai