Terry Bu Podcast

Terry Bu

LA Comedians talk to each other about mental health, comedy journey, open mics, how to do standup, life, LA comedy scene, depression, spirituality, race, politics, and other juicy stuff

  1. Susan Ware interview

    07/21/2025

    Susan Ware interview

    Susan Ware is a comedian that I deeply admire ever since I was booked on the same show at Ireland's 32 in Van Nuys thanks to Tim McCray and Ian Ira Rousso. Susan's comedy is smart, succinct, witty and reminds me a lot like Mitch Hedberg. Susan is actually half-Syrian and a long time resident of North Hollywood. Susan loves Anthony Jeselnik, Maria Bamford, Steven Wright, Bernie Sanders and Hilary Clinton. She doesn't like younger comics doing sex jokes and talking about pronouns. Susan actually went through an Ice House comedy training program with Bobbie Oliver and apparently introduced Bobbie to the Tao building as a real estate person. She's originally from San Francisco. Susan gave us a lot of good advise on comedy and pauses. I learn a lot from Susan's pauses because literally she can do a 10 minute set and it will be more impactful just because of the well-timed pauses and you wouldn't even notice the 10 minutes passing by. She said she makes sure to say jokes aloud while practicing and editing like a ruthless person. Her original goal for moving to LA was to become a TV screenwriter which explains her writing skills. She's been doing comedy since she was 65 and now turning 81 this year. She doesn’t like Trump very much and calls him a narcissist. I honestly think Susan is one of the best comedians I ever met. Thank you so much for the visit, Susan! We ended up talking a lot about politics and shitting on Trump and ICE together lol. #terrybupodcast #losangeelscsomedyscene3

    1h 4m
  2. Mary Gallagher interview

    07/21/2025

    Mary Gallagher interview

    Mary is another great comedy connection I made through the Flappers scene so I guess it's no surprise that I was excited to have her over for the podcast interview. Mary Gallagher is a seasoned American comedian, actress, host, improviser, writer, and comedy coach based in Burbank with over 30 years of experience in the comedy world. Her daughter went to school right down the street from me. She's also a die-hard vegetarian since childhood and a Sagittarius and lost her own sibling, like myself. She hails from Wisconsin. Mary describes herself as actually a very quiet, reserved person since childhood and grew up in a strict military family, which was quite a surprise. We talked a lot about comedy, trauma, healing and Pauly Shore and Sam Kinison and English stuff. I first ran into Mary back in 2023 when I started hosting Friday mics with Hazel at Flappers comedy club. Mary has appeared in over 50 national commercials and guest-starred on popular TV shows such as Friends, Grey’s Anatomy, NCIS, How I Met Your Mother, and The West Wing. She also hosted three national TV shows and has worked widely as a comedian/MC at military functions, colleges, corporate functions, non-profits, churches, and comedy clubs across the U.S. (By the way, this is all from ChatGPT because ChatGPT sure knows a lot about her) She also leads live workshops titled “Stand-Up Comedy and Wellness”, designed to cultivate confidence and joy through humor in settings like acting schools, wellness retreats, and corporate events Mary’s style is rooted in kindness and clean humor—she believes in “kind comedy,” comparing her approach to comics like Brian Regan and Ellen DeGeneres. Beyond stand-up, she’s a children’s cartoonist and author of books like The Girl You Are and Gino Has a Birthday, using illustration to foster self-esteem and emotional wellbeing. Recently she was performing for the troops and spreading mental health awareness in her comedy. Please follow Mary at https://www.instagram.com/myfriendmary and also @MaryGallagherComedian  Thank you so much, Mary!#terrybupodcast #losangelescomedyscene

    1h 1m
  3. Chris Dunham interview (LA based comedian, teacher, podcaster, fourth wall OG)

    07/10/2025

    Chris Dunham interview (LA based comedian, teacher, podcaster, fourth wall OG)

    Chris Dunham is a regular comedian at the Fourth Wall and a teacher here in LA. His Teacher's Lounge podcast with Matt Jones is blowing up on TikTok, IG and more! Chris kills on stage every chance he gets and actually is one of the few people who warned me NOT to post on social media the "Terry Bu 48" women comedians that I have a crush on. When I did it in front of him at Fourth Wall, he said to me hey Terry it took a lot of balls to do what you just did but do be careful that it might upset people who are NOT on it! He was totally right lol.Chris is also a former collegiate basketball player at Duquesne University and part of a team that played against Kobe Bryant!! He told me it’s always been the cool kids vs the uncool high school cliques in the comedy scene. The coolest person is NOT in the cool kids table but the actual outsider who’s observing everything and aware of what’s going on. Chris was full of knowledge on weird things happening in the public education system like how they get sued for stupid things and can't even have detention/suspension anymore to discipline students. His students seemed happy that he's blowing up on social media. There's a bunch of teachers I realized in the comedy scene, and whenever I talk to people like Chris, I feel like I should have gotten a teaching job, although it sounds very hard to deal with students. Thank you so much, Chris! Please follow Chris at Chris Dunham (@heymrdunham) and  @TheTeachersLoungeLive ​

    57 min

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LA Comedians talk to each other about mental health, comedy journey, open mics, how to do standup, life, LA comedy scene, depression, spirituality, race, politics, and other juicy stuff