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Improviser Katie Ozog sits down with podcast hosts Puss and Kooch to talk about what it feels like to be a veteran member of the DC improv community, constant failure, and the possibility of getting Botox.
Katie Ozog on Heavy Flo with Puss and Kooch
The following interview has been edited for length and clarity. To hear everything Katie has to say, listen to her podcast episode.
A middle child and her need for attention
Now that I’ve excavated my childhood through the beauty of being able to change VHS tapes to DVDs and streaming, I’ve realized I craved attention at all times. I was a middle child, and I was desperate for attention. So looking back, that might have been my first entrance into the world of performance, just being a human child in the middle of a bigger family.
We have a weird layout in my family. My brother and I are very close in age: we’re 16 months apart. And then my parents took a four-year break, then had my brother. Then four years after that, they had my sister. So it’s almost two separate families with the same biological parents because there’s a younger generation and an older generation.
How do you think that impacted you?
I think when my younger brother was born, I was like, “What the eff is this?” I had been an only younger baby for four years, and I was not cool with it. Then when my sister was born, I became one of two middle children. And I’ll tell ya, it shows. Both of us are really always fighting to be heard. And we’re heard! My family’s like, “Shut up! We get it! You’re here!” to both of us.
If you’re ever on my Instagram, there’s a video of me as a baby clown. It’s bananas that I was not immediately put into commercials. I had so much energy. My parents should have thrown me into something, but they never put me into any sort of acting classes.
I actually didn’t start doing any sort of acting until high school, and I was not a theater kid. People often think I scream theater kid, but I was a cross country and track kid. That, to me, was a very formative comedy experience because it was a group of young women who were all so hilarious and were just ourselves around each other. It was wonderful. It was such a gift to have in high school, to be able to be goofy. We would go on long runs by ourselves and just be absolutely bananas with each other.
But every time I auditioned for a play, I made it to the callbacks and then got cut. Acting and performing is a hard life, and you should only do it if you can’t think of anything else you want to do. I’m going to keep that in mind, and I always think about it. It is hard, but I want to do it. I love doing it, and I get a lot of joy out of it.
Getting into comedy and performing
When I went to college, I brushed off my failure of never getting cast in a high school play. The first week of school at Michigan State, I didn’t know anyone. The first week I was there, I thought, “What the hell have I done to myself? Why am I here? I should have gone to a school where I knew everyone.”
Then I went to a fair and got a bunch of flyers. I went back to my dorm room, laid out the flyers, chose three or four things, and those were the three or four things I ended up doing for four years in college.
I auditioned for a sketch comedy TV show called Sideshow. I was very used to not getting accepted at auditions, so I remember I was nervous. But I had nothing to lose because no one knew me because I was a baby freshman. I auditioned and made it, and it was one of the best things I ever did in my whole life. It’s how I have my job now. It’s how I have a lot of friends I know. And it’s probably the reason why I did improv.
The way the show worked, every year was a season. They had a little mini television network with four or five shows. There was a sitcom that taped live, called The Show. And we were Sideshow, which was the sketch comedy show.
We shot sketches, and then we’d make an episode. Now it’s all on YouTube, so all they do is release YouTube sketches. But at the time, we would make episodes. So we would have credits and interstitials and sketches, and we’d plan it out. It was such an amazing experience to go through that and to understand how that works and to see the inner cogs of what that experience is like.
What did you study at Michigan State?
I studied public policy and did two majors that pretty much don’t exist anywhere else. I did social relations and policy, which is basically social policy that’s more US-focused. Then I did comparative cultures and politics. A lot of it had to do with media, looking at how nations perform themselves and comparing different countries and how they express their world view. It was a really interesting class. I didn’t end up going into public policy, but I moved to Washington, DC, anyways.
Now I work at Discovery Communications. And I got that job, not through anything to do with my major, but through Sideshow, the sketch comedy show. I’ve known Ryan Alloway since we were 18 or 19 years old. He had done an internship at Discovery, and then recommended me for this internship. I remember telling him, “I’m not qualified to do this! I don’t know what this is!” And he told me to just go in and try it. I ended up getting into the final rounds of the interviews, interviewed for it, and got it. So that’s how I got on my career path, because of this show.
So had I never done that show in college, had I let the failure of getting rejected by all those plays get to my head and never auditioned for that show, my life would be completely different. I have no idea what I would be doing right now. It’s one of those weird “Choose Your Own Adventure” moments in life. It’s very strange.
How did you get into improv when you moved to DC?
I moved here two weeks after graduating from college. Again, it was another situation where I didn’t know very many people. I knew Ryan and a smattering of some college friends who were only here for the summer, but I didn’t have a cushion of friends. So again, I was presented with this scenario of, “What do I do? How do I make friends?”
I’d heard of improv, so I Googled improv in DC and found Washington Improv Theater and DC Improv. I think the DC improv classes had already started, but WIT was still enrolling, so I signed up for a class. I realized I needed an outlet that was not work. That’s a hard thing when you graduate from college and don’t have all those extracurriculars anymore. I realized that was missing from my life, and I needed it.
Did you make any friends in that improv class?
Everyone was very nice, but I was 21 when I took this class. I was much younger than a lot of the people who were taking it. My experience of the WIT program, in general, is probably different than a lot of people’s. It was 2010, and the education system was different. The teachers were a lot different than they are now. I never had that experience of becoming best friends with my class.
That’s kind of the narrative in the improv world—or in any sort of extracurricular you do as an adult—that you’ll get friends or date people in your class. There’s all this pressure, socially. I met some very nice people. One of the funniest people I ever met in classes lives in New York state now with his wife, and they’re both Episcopalian priests. He was so funny. He was the funniest person in our class.
That’s what I really loved about taking classes with WIT: you would meet people from all different walks of life. But I didn’t really meet anyone who I found more of a groove with and became a team with until I took some elective classes. So it’s okay if that doesn’t happen for you.
I was a lurker. I just lurked all the time. I would go to shows by myself. I don’t know why I was looking at this, but I was looking at a really old YouTube video of Palooza from 2012. I had volunteered to be there, but it was during Hurricane Irene. I just want WIT to know this: I traveled on the Metro during a hurricane to volunteer to get hours so I could take classes. At one point, they moved the camera into the audience. When the camera pans, I was in the audience alone. It was so bizarre to see. I mean, I knew I was going to a lot of those shows alone. But to see it on camera years later, it was a jarring experience.
Taking the time to get to the top
I started classes at WIT in 2010 and finished in 2012. In the fall of 2014, I was cast on a Harold team called Fisticuffs and was on it for six months.
What were you doing during that break?
I finished classes and took Harold and then auditioned for Harold and didn’t make it. After auditions, Mark Chalfant sent an email with a litany of reasons for why people might not have been chosen. It was really helpful because it gave you things you could work on without giving specific notes.
One of those reasons was something like, “We just don’t know you. We haven’t seen you. We don’t know your style.” And I think when you’re on an audition, you’re judging the audition. But it’s important, especially in improv, to know the context of someone’s background in performing.
So I remembered that and was like, “Well, I guess that’s a good note.” I was going to shows, but I wasn’t in any practice groups. I just felt like that’s what was expected after you finished Harold class: you auditioned for Harold. But was I ready? Probably not. Was I ready when I was on Fisticuffs? I don’t think so.
In that intervening time, I kept doing improv. I took a lot of electives at WIT. One was called “The Play Is the Thing,” and it was about an improvised play. It was very cool because you could utilize more of your acting skills. It got into more emotional play in a somewhat dramatic way, which was exciting. I’d never done that in improv before.
That class then turned into a team that was very intense for one year. We practiced once a week for three hours. I don’t think we were ever in a WIT run, but Mark gave us space. And then we put on our own shows at DCAC. We did two shows a night on Friday and Saturday. That’s what I did for this one hardcore year, and I think that was what prepared me to do Harold. But I would also go to jams. I went to JJ Jackson’s Bagelz and Jam. I went to Improv Sandbox and Harold Night. Go to jams. That’s how you get your reps in.
I also took Harold again, with Kate Symes, the summer before I auditioned. And that audition felt so much more calm and casual. I was just focused on doing the Harold and having fun instead of wondering what everyone was thinking of me.
What do you do in auditions? Do you have a style or a ritual?
I try to be well rested. I think it’s also good to remind yourself why you’re auditioning and what your goals are. I think there are so many things you learn in improv, and it’s hard to pick “the thing” you’re going to do in this audition. But you should just be your authentic self. If you’re not someone who does a lot of character voices, you don’t have to do that at a Harold audition. You don’t have to be someone else. I try to remember that.
Is there something you internally feel when something is going well? In the moment, can you tell what’s happening?
There are definitely times after auditions where I think, “Well, I wish I wouldn’t have done that one thing.” It’s hard because I do dwell on things. I give it a day where I think about it every hour and then leave it in the past. But I think it’s hard because you don’t know why you weren’t chosen unless you ask. And even then, it’s kind of like, “Are you asking because you want feedback, or are you asking because you just want to know why?”
But I don’t have a strong sense of, “I’m not gonna get this,” or, “I’m totally gonna get this.” I like to be surprised, I guess.
I think a lot of people talk about how they don’t make Harold the first time or don’t make it a couple times. That’s a very common experience. What I feel like people don’t talk about a lot is how many times they’ve auditioned for things they haven’t gotten, even after they make ensembles. I think it’s a good thing to do.
Every time I audition, I’m glad I did it, even if I don’t get it. I just think it’s good to have the experience and exercise those audition muscles. Because then every time you do it, it becomes a little less painful when you’re rejected from it. I think DC’s improv community isn’t as high-pressure as other bigger cities tend to be. So I think sometimes there’s a little bit of reluctance to audition a lot because it’s not something we’re used to. But I wish people would do it more because I think people put a lot of weight on auditions. There’s a small chance you’ll get it. More likely, you won’t get it. So just do it and have that experience.
I remember the first time there were ensemble auditions, my first thought was, “Oh no, they don’t want to see me” I thought I was doing people a favor.
I’ve definitely thought that, too. But you just have to force yourself to do it. Because you can think of a million reasons why you shouldn’t audition. Last year, Second City put out an open call for their winter show at the Kennedy Center, and I just decided to audition. I knew I probably couldn’t do it because I had a full-time job. And I knew it was going to be really scary because I had to sing and memorize something and have a headshot. I didn’t think I would get it.
That’s an audition that did not go well. I was trying to print my acting resume on the printer at my office, but it wasn’t working. I was frantically running around, and when I got there I was super frazzled. I think I was late, and it didn’t go great. But I did it. I forgot some of my monologue. I felt really sad afterward because it’s not fun to have a bad audition. I never heard back, but now that I look back on it, I’m so glad I did it.
I’m going to use someone else’s experience to talk about this, as well. My soulmate of comedy is Erica Geiser, who now lives in Chicago. Some sort of casting agency had come to a show that Erica was in, and they reached out to a couple of people in the show and said they wanted them to audition for this TV show. It was a pilot for a major network show. And Erica is kicking ass in Chicago. She’s doing amazing things, but she has a day job. She’s not necessarily going on a ton of auditions.
She told me all these reasons she wasn’t going to do it. And I felt like I was an agent. I was like, “You have to do it!” It’s such a weird experience when you give yourself advice that you wouldn’t take.
She did the audition. She didn’t get it, but I think she was happy she did it because she had the experience of going in. And now she goes on more auditions. You’ve gotta dip your toe in the water.
Failure leads to a comedy soulmate
When I joined the Harold program, I was on Fisticuffs, which was a great team. It was a great group of people, but I don’t think I did a good job on that team. Now that I think back on the shows, I realize I was still really getting my bearings in the format. But we forged a bond toward the end of our cycle, and we were really upset that we were going to get broken up.
We wrote this email saying, “We shouldn’t get broken up for these reasons,” and we were being kind of strident about it. I think a lot of Harold teams have felt that, and it wasn’t the last time I would feel that way on a team. But in the end we’re not controlling this. We are in a program run by a theater, so there’s only so much you can budge.
I remember being devastated when we were broken up. Jordana and I were on the phone for hours talking about what we should do. But they put us on different teams in pairs, and I ended up on a team with Richie Pepio.
I had seen Erica on Knife Club, which was another Harold team. I remembered watching her and thinking she was really funny. She wasn’t really in the show a lot, but when she came out, she would just slice into whatever scene was happening. It was amazing, and I very vividly remember watching her.
I don’t even remember how our friendship blossomed, but Richie was a very tight-knit team. I think sometimes what Harold teams need is a cult leader as their coach, someone that has a really strong perspective on what they want. That’s what our coach, Rich Nyman, had. Not everyone’s going to like it, but he had a vision.
He challenged us, and I think he made me the improviser I am today. That’s when I had my breakthrough, when I was being challenged and doing all these drills. It was great. And I think through that baptism by fire experience, Erica and I became friends. I just don’t even remember a time in my life where she wasn’t there. She’s one of my best friends.
I often think about that. I never would’ve met my best friend and comedy partner. We talk all the time about what she’s doing in Chicago, about writing, about the process, why we’re doing this. It’s kind of like business talk. We talk shop about our lives and how we want our comedy lives to be. It’s really great to have a sounding board like that.
I think about the failure of Fisticuffs. Had that never happened, I would never have met Erica, and she’s a very important person in my life now. So again, you never know what’s going to happen to you in your next stage. Even if it feels horrible, it could be the best thing that’s ever happened to you.
A bold statement from one of the old guard
I’m not trying to shame people, but what really pisses me off about people on ensembles and Harold teams is, you have to go out there and see the shows. Otherwise, you’re in a bubble. If you’re very much in your little commune of your team, you could think you’re the best in the city, but you don’t know what’s going on. You’re not seeing other people’s styles or formats.
That is something I’ve always tried to do, probably because I was going to so many shows alone for so long as a lurker before I ever made it onto the stage in DC. But I think it’s important to go to shows and remember what you like when you watch someone and who inspires you from other teams. Even though I’ve been doing this for a while in DC, I go to Harold Night to see shows. I like seeing people I’ve never seen before and discovering new talent I’ve never heard of.
I get it that people feel burned out sometimes if their whole lives are improv. I’ll also make this bold statement: you’ve got to do other things, you can’t just do improv. So I think you should carve out time to see shows, but also know that you don’t have to see a show every night of the week.
That’s how I feel as an older guard. It’s really important to keep your wits about you and see people doing indie shows. It’s also important to see shows at different theaters. I loved doing Unified Scene shows and adored doing the Character Show at Dojo. There are really great things to see in this huge, bountiful community that we have.
I also think there’s this false assumption that if you are a “veteran improviser” in the community and you’re on a house team, there’s a reaction like, “You’re on all the teams. You have all this opportunity.” And it’s true. You do have a lot of opportunities, and it is a great position to be in because you have more creative autonomy. There are a lot of things that are really great about that position.
But I tried out for and didn’t make October Issue, Citizens’ Watch, In Lieu of Flowers, Hellcat. Those are all huge, wonderful teams that I love and supported, and I saw their shows without any sort of bitterness. I really enjoyed watching them. But I’ve tried out for many things I didn’t make.
So when you look at someone on an ensemble, you might be thinking, “How could I ever get there?” If you’re experiencing a lot of failure, those people are also experiencing failure. Those people are also trying and not getting things they want. I think you have to knock those people off pedestals, and there really shouldn’t be that divide. Because it’s vulnerable to audition. It’s vulnerable to perform. Some people might have more experience than others, but that doesn’t mean they haven’t been in the same boat as you.
And when I say to knock people off pedestals, I mean don’t put them there. I think it’s a little unfair because, sure, this person is on an ensemble, but that doesn’t mean that they’re by any means a perfect performer or even the cream of the crop. They make mistakes. They don’t make shows. They’re human.
It’s just something I wish people talked about more. I wish people talked about rejection and failure more. I think it would normalize it. People wouldn’t feel ashamed. I tried out for Hellcat, and really loved the experience of the audition. I didn’t make it, but I’m not going to be like, “I’m never seeing another Hellcat show in my life!” It was super fun. And when I didn’t make it, it was fine. I had Madeline and other things.
Some final thoughts
Just keep learning. Just keep doing things. Challenge yourself. I think you should challenge yourself constantly. Always do the thing you don’t think you can do. Silence that voice in your head that’s telling you the thousand reasons why you shouldn’t audition.
I’m moving this year, and that’s a scary thing. I’m going to have to start all over again in New York. That’s a challenge, but I’m gonna do it. Just constantly challenge yourself. DC is a thriving community, but it is a smaller community. And I think people think they kind of max out on things or feel like they’ve checked all these boxes. There’s always another box you can check.
I think there’s just so much out there. There are so many theaters and festivals and new opportunities coming into play. Just take those. Do what you can with those.
Thanks for getting wet with Puss and Kooch
Tune in next week for an interview with improviser Eva Lewis!
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