Mike Birbiglia

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Mike Birbiglia bigraphy, stories - Comedian, actor, writer

Mike Birbiglia : biography

June 20, 1978 –

Mike Birbiglia (born June 20, 1978) is an American comedian, writer, actor, and director.

On This American Life

Birbiglia is a regular contributor to the Public Radio International-distributed program, This American Life.

Discography

  • 2004: Dog Years (out of print) (self-produced, winner of the "Just Plain Folks" comedy album of the year)
  • 2005: Invite Them Up (Comedy Central Records compilation CD of NYC indie comics)
  • 2005: My Secret Public Album, Volume 1a (weekly guest spots on The Bob and Tom Show)
  • 2006: Two Drink Mike
  • 2007: My Secret Public Journal Live
  • 2008: What I Should Have Said Was Nothing (DVD)
  • 2011: Sleepwalk with Me Live

Early life

Birbiglia was born in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, the son of Mary Jean (née McKenzie) and Vincent Paul Birbiglia.http://www.monocinema.com/comedian-mike-birbiglia-on-his-new-movie-sleepwalk-with-me.htmlhttp://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/p/a/t/Edward-J-Patton-NY/WEBSITE-0001/UHP-0733.html He is of part Italian descent.http://www.stltoday.com/entertainment/movies/reviews/comedian-birbiglia-invites-us-to-sleepwalk/article_8ccc2dd8-fc7f-11e1-8e1c-0019bb30f31a.html Birbiglia attended St. John’s High School, Shrewsbury, Massachusetts for one year, and graduated from St. Mark’s School, Southborough, Massachusetts in 1996Birnbach, Lisa; Kidd, Chip, , Random House Digital, Inc., 2010. Cf. , St. Mark’s School website, Thursday, May 5, 2011 and subsequently graduated from Georgetown University in 2000. During college Birbiglia performed as a member of the Georgetown Players Improv Troupe.

Professional work

Birbiglia has starred in three Comedy Central specials and has released three albums with Comedy Central Records: Two Drink Mike (2006), My Secret Public Journal Live (2007), and Sleepwalk With Me Live (2011). My Secret Public Journal Live was named one of the best comedy albums of the decade by the Onion AV Club and Sleepwalk With Me Live debuted at #1 on the Billboard Magazine Comedy Charts.

In 2008, Birbiglia opened Sleepwalk With Me, a one-man show that straddled standup comedy and theater, off-Broadway at the Bleecker Street Theatre. The show was presented by Nathan Lane and the New York Times called it "simply perfect." Time Out New York named it their "Show of the Year" in 2009.

Birbiglia followed up his theatrical debut with Sleepwalk With Me & Other Painfully True Stories, a book which debuted as # 29 on the hardcover nonfiction New York Times Bestseller List and number four on the hardcover nonfiction section of the Washington Post Political Bookworm Best Sellers. Birbiglia was also a finalist for the 2011 Thurber Prize for American Humor for Sleepwalk With Me & Other Painfully True Stories.

In 2011, Birbiglia mounted his second one-man show, My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend, which ran for four months off-Broadway and won the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Solo Show. Birbiglia is currently touring My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend around the world with tour dates in the US, Australia, Canada, and the UK.

Birbiglia made his feature film debut with Sleepwalk with Me, a film based on his one-man show of the same name which he wrote, directed, and starred in. The film premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival and won the NEXT Audience Award. It was selected in the "Festival Favorites" category at the South By Southwest Film Festival in Austin, TX and also appeared in the Nantucket Film Festival where it won the award for best writer/director. The film was produced by Jacob Jaffke and This American Life’s Ira Glass and stars Birbiglia, Lauren Ambrose, Carol Kane, James Rebhorn, and Cristin Milioti and has cameos by Kristen Schaal, Wyatt Cenac, David Wain, Jessi Klein, John Lutz and Marc Maron.