Here, friends, is the first episode of The Sam Dingman Show, with our very special guest, the marvelous Meghan O’Keefe.

I know what you are thinking: 

"Sam, what the cripes are you DOING.  In the course of the last few months, you have canceled, launched, re-launched, and endlessly tweaked anywhere from three to ninety-seven podcasts.  Why in the world should I listen to this, let alone believe that it will last for more than a few weeks?"

In this you are justified, friend.  I can blame you not one whit.  But the difference this time is that I recently made the decision to stop doing improv in favor of focusing on podcasting and writing more solo material, for these are the things that hath set my heart to singin’ over the course of the last year or so.  The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I have not once, ever, in my whole dang life, PICKED something that I wanted to do and just DONE it.  

Such, friends, is the goal of The Sam Dingman Show.  I have always thought that having my own radio show would be a beam of pure awesome, and so I’ve decided that if that’s what I want, I ought to not let anything stand in the way of it, for I am a man who has spent a ludicrous amount of time, energy, and moneybucks filling his house with recording equipment.  The only thing preventing me from having my own show on my own terms has, in fact, been myself.  Having spent many a month telling myself I couldn’t stop doing improv or various other things, for reasons I was always unable to name, I continued inventing reasons to avoid challenging myself to go after something I wanted.  

I realized, however, that such thoughts are riddled with HOOEY, and that if committing to radio and solo show writing is what I want to do, I ought to do it, because dammit, what am I waiting for?  As I creep stealthily towards my thirtieth birthday, I have realized that no one is going to ring my doorbell and present me with the opportunities I seek, served on a platter of sterling silver convenience by a waiter who is also a successful Hollywood talent agent.  Worse, the result of thinking that way was that I was going into each improv rehearsal and show with a certain amount of resentment—not towards my amazing teammates or the incredible theater that supported us, but rather towards myself and my choices.  That, my friends, simply was not fair—to those same teammates, that same theater, or to myself.  

And so, a few weeks ago I talked to the fine peoples at the PIT and told them I would like to step down from house team duty for this cycle, and I also challenged myself to make that decision worthwhile by formulating a plan which would allow me to serve my passions to myself on a platter of radio equipment.  Beginning today, it is my goal to make four radio shows every week, the nature of which is described in this piping-hot new episode.  I hope you will enjoy it should you elect to listen, and that if you do, you will be back tomorrow, when another episode arrives.  AND SO IT SHALL BE, ‘TIL MEMORY…