UCB and TGS: Jon Gabrus

Listen up, comedy fans! "UCB and TGS" features some of UCBComedy.com's funniest writers and performers that play "TGS Writers" on the hit television show 30 Rock. You know, the people on the receiving end of Liz yelling "BLERG"?


"Working on 30 Rock is the only job that I have had where I get pissed if I have to miss a day," says UCB standout Jon Gabrus. "It's exciting to be even a minor part of such a huge, awesome, talented cast and crew. Everyone on that show is nice and awesome at their job -- it's a production like none other."

UCB audiences know Gabrus as a member of the UCBT weekend team The Law Firm and from his performances with the group Outlook of the Poet. His ongoing UCB show, Blackout Drunk, centers around terrible and true stories of things that have happened to him when he has been wasted -- like the time he ate a dead snake.

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Gabrus eats much better fare on the 30 Rock set, with mixed results. "There is a lot of farting," says Gabrus. "We eat like kings from craft services, and then six guys sit in a small room for nine hours -- it gets a little weird."


Despite any gastrointestinal issues, Gabrus mentions that summer hiatus is making him sad, as he loves kicking back with the other "writers" when they are waiting to be called on set. "I got to know these dudes so much better over the course of the season. I need my Anthony Atamaniuk fix real bad."

Gabrus on UCBComedy.com:

UCB and TGS: Sue Galloway

Listen up, comedy fans! "UCB and TGS" features some of UCBComedy.com's funniest writers and performers that play "TGS Writers" on the hit television show 30 Rock. You know, the people on the receiving end of Liz yelling "BLERG"?

Sue Galloway is 30 Rock's resident scene stealer as Sue LaRoche-Van der Hout, The Girlie Show's "Girl Writer" of European descent (French? Dutch? French AND Dutch?).

Sue and Keith Powell, who plays "Toofer"

Sue says of her first day on the 30 Rock set, "I called my boyfriend at the time, John Lutz, because I was pretty sure he was going to be there too. John and I traveled all the way out to Queens from the Upper West Side together for the first day and it was great. The TGS writers spent long hours together there the first few seasons. LONG! But we all enjoyed each other's company. And I enjoyed John's company so much that I married him!"


A veteran of the UCB stage, Sue has been in shows such as the Real Real World, Beneath Gristedes, the Harold team 1985, and her one-woman show Homebody. Her current improv team, The Law Firm, joins the Friday night line-up on May 7, 2010. (Check it out!)

Sue's other New York theater credits include: Free To Be Friends (co-writer and performer - NY Fringe), Beaver (Horsetrade Theater Company) and Rosemary with Ginger (Actors Studio). Additional television credits include: Babylon Fields (CBS), Fat Guy Stuck In Internet (Adult Swim), Munchies (Fuse), and The Nighttime Clap (Fuse).

Sue is also a freelance joke writer for SNL's Weekend Update and a lifetime member of the Actors Studio.

Watch Sue in the video Do You Work Here?:



Late for Lunch:

UCB and TGS: Nate Smith

Listen up, comedy fans! "UCB and TGS" features some of UCB Comedy's funniest writers and performers that play "TGS Writers" on the hit television show 30 Rock. You know, the people on the receiving end of Liz yelling "BLERG"?

The role played by UCB powerhouse Nate Smith on 30 Rock has been dubbed "Johnny Reaction" by fellow UCB writer Geoff Garlock. "That sums up my role on the show," says Nate. "No talking, just a lot of looking the way somebody looks after somebody else just said that thing. I love doing it."

On 30 Rock, Liz Lemon once referred to the TGS staffers that surround Twofer and Frank as "the writers who never talk," but on set the "fake writers" are known by another name: "the UCB guys." Nate says, "Having where we come from be acknowledged by the crew feels like a compliment."


Nate definitely fits the title of a "UCB guy." He has been part of dozens of shows on the UCB stage and currently performs with the Harold team Badman. Nate also regularly directs at the UCB, including Cool Your J, Highly Evolved Human, I Laughed Until I Died and sketch shows for Maude team Slow Burn. He is also a founding member of the indie improv and sketch group, Rogue Elephant, who have performed their extremely popular monthly show for over five years. (Their huge fan turnout will soon force them to relocate from Under St. Mark's Theatre.)

Nate recently starred in UCBComedy.com's racy new video, Atheists Having Sex:



He also penned this sketch for the UCB show Beneath Gristedes:



And look for Nate in a lead role in the upcoming independent feature, Hello Lonesome, directed by Adam Reid!

As an actor, writer, director and documentary producer/editor (the man does it all!), Nate has a lot going on -- and his many projects can all be found on his recently launched website. Check it out!

UCB and TGS: John Murray

Listen up, comedy fans! This is the first post of a new feature, "UCB and TGS," which will feature some of UCB Comedy's funniest writers and performers that play "TGS Writers" on the hit television show 30 Rock. You know, the people on the receiving end of Liz yelling "BLERG"?

Next time you watch 30 Rock, look closely: UCBNY favorite and all-around great guy John Murray has been acting on 30 Rock since the second season. Initially, John thought playing a TGS writer would be a one-time gig, but he now makes regular appearances on the show. "It's a cool job," says John. "I get to work with the best actors on television and hopefully make a scene funnier by reacting to what they're doing. Every day, I learn something new about acting or how a television show is put together by simply sitting back and watching the cast and crew."

For John, one of the highlights of working on 30 Rock was the chance to perform with the cast as part of 30 Rockprov at the Del Close Marathon. "It was the perfect mix because UCB got me the role and there are so many improvisers that work on 30 Rock," notes John. "It was also nice to do scenes with people who star in the show and react by well... talking."

When he's not dodging projectiles launched by Liz Lemon, John lends his acting talents to an array of UCB Comedy videos, including a video with the Beta team Diamonds, Wow! and the new UCB Comedy web series How to Make A Situation About You. He also cites Monkey King, written by former "TGS Writer" Sean Clements, as a personal favorite. (Sean has since moved to L.A., 30 Rock is filmed in New York.)







John Murray is no stranger to the UCB stage, either – he started taking classes in 2004. He recently joined the house team Death by Roo Roo and can be seen performing with them every Saturday night. “Right now, all I do is look forward to Saturday so I can play with those guys,” says John. Prior to joining Roo Roo, John was a member of Bastian, which as of 2009 became the longest running Harold team in UCBT history. He is also a member of the Maude team Stone Cold Fox.