Meet Brian Shortall | writer, actor, director, producer, improviser

We had the good fortune of connecting with Brian Shortall and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Brian, have there been any changes in how you think about work-life balance?
Years ago, I realized the balance of work and life was not “designated creative time” vs. “the rest of my living life.” The lines could be blurred – in a good way. When being open to creative inspiration at all times, work no longer seemed to me like WORK. It was just integrated into my life. And my “life balance” was unaffected, maybe even augmented, because there was no pressure to set aside time to write or rehearse sides for an audition.

What that means is, I’m constantly taking little notes throughout the day on my phone: things that make me laugh or situations that just intrigue me; whatever may compel me to write it down. So I may be, at my son’s baseball game, but I’m also “working” in that I’m catching whatever inspired me, before it flutters away never again to be remembered. This way, I’m not sitting in front of my computer during “writing time”, demanding my brain to create something on demand. I know many people that prefer this way. And it works well for a lot of them. My own experience that way has produced inferior results,

Same applies for preparing for an audition. For me, giving too much import to the audition, poring over the lines, the reads of the lines, the blocking, etc. – it just kills all the creative spark for me, not to mention manifests unnecessary anxiety.

Now I’ll have the sides on my phone and reference them maybe a few times throughout the day. Giving some passing thought to the words or the character, but generally just carrying on with my day. If I do this enough times between when I receive the audition and when I audition, the important nature of the audition itself has dissipated. It’s just these pages I’ve been glancing at for a few days. It’s still fresh to me. I know the lines, but they’re not rote. And there’s no nervous “got your back” energy. It’s just a smooth transition to saying those lines front of people. Familiarity is high, expectation is low. Emotions are stable.

Learning to apply this approach to work/life balance consistently, and without guilt (which I would sometimes feel about “not working enough”) was a creative game changer.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Movies, TV, music and books were my main focus as a kid. I didn’t care about sports, never wanted to be an astronaut. That has proven to be beneficial as well as detrimental in adulthood, because I have no reference level, or opinion of professional basketball, for example, or what crazy thing that political media person said/did today. As a result, I can easily get bored with topical chit-chat, However, I AM able to give a fairly cogent literally analysis of the plot of 2001. I’m a hit (and run) at parties.

Recently, I’m most proud of writing my first book, Victor Vs Video Games. It’s the story of a fictional Trial of the Century as told through the eyes of a juror, who is stricken with acute chronic Awesomeness. It’s based on not-true events.

I’ve been performing and teaching improv for over 25 years. I started in my hometown of Chicago at The Second City Theatre as well as iO Theatre. I got to perform with the Second City around the world, in places like Bosnia and Austria and a resident stage in Las Vegas.

Long-time improvisers like me made homes at theaters out here in Los Angeles – like The Second City Hollywood, iO Los Angeles, UCB, etc – but many of those theaters closed around 2020, leaving a lot of talented performers, as well as eager-to-learn students with nowhere to perform or learn. There are some still-standing stalwarts open as well as smaller theaters around town that are slowly gaining momentum, but the talent pool here is huge!

I’m excited about a live, long-form comedy show I created called HighProv. It features veteran improvisers from all over Los Angeles in a 420-friendly environment. I put up shows at The Green Room On Ventura in Sherman Oaks, a 21+ private event space. While checking out an open mic there one night (called The Higher Mic) I met the event coordinator, who said they were looking to try an improv night. I half-jokingly suggested the name HighProv, and now it runs there, one Friday a month. It’s a really cool and stylish space, unlike anything else I’ve seen in L.A. Audiences are verrrry chill and ready to laugh.

Loving this part of your question: How did you get to where you are today professionally. Was it easy?
And my answer is: LOL

If you don’t learn to overcome the challenges, then you eventually just change careers. Lots of people I know have done that. Lucky for me, I can’t do anything else.

A lesson I’ve learned along the way is to simply listen to myself. I know what’s good. I wasted a lot of time in this industry considering other people’s opinions of something I wrote, performed or created. Even though I knew my idea made me laugh more, or was more intriguing. I’d defer to people who I thought were holding some magic key; like they knew something I didn’t know. Spoiler: they didn’t. Just as I know nothing about what anyone else’s creative vision is. If you have a creative drive to do something, then do just that. Drive it forward. Move everyone else out of your way. They may have points to be made and helpful notes, and by all means, consider them fully. I’ve altered plenty of material over the years because of a good note. But at the end of all of that, it is your vision of what you’re creating that matters most. And to be clear, I’m a huge believer in collaboration – it’s not always one person that holds the creative vision. It could be a writing team, or a close-knit production company, etc.

When you create, listen to yourself. Never mind what “the best show on television” is or whatever. Who cares? Create YOUR vision.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Studio City farmers’ market Sunday morning for some breakfast. Then drive through the canyons to Will Rogers Beach. If that gets crowded, drive up the PCH to Zuma Beach. Hit The Reel Inn for some seafood lunch.

Get a hike in at Fryman Canyon or Franklin Canyon, for a beautiful hidden oasis in the hills.

Hit Universal Studios for that backlot tour.

Go to where Arclight Hollywood used to be and cry. Shop for some vinyl and/or movie paraphernalia at Amoeba. See a movie at The Egyptian. Scope out Griffith Observatory.

Hugo’s Tacos for another lunch. Iroha Sushi on Ventura Blvd for a dinner.

Take in a Dodgers game (my son got me into baseball, since he plays).

A night drive up Laurel Canyon, to Mulholland Drive, stop at a scenic lookout over the Valley. Drive down into it via Beverly Glen.

I like showing people the Valley, especially. It sometimes doesn’t get the credit it deserves for being a fun, chill place to live and hang.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Shoutout to my wife, Karen, who also works in this often disappointing, consistently dissipating industry. She’s a successful writer and producer, who somehow has kept working through the wild west nature of this business for the last several years. She deserves credit for her resolve and recognition for her talents, both creative and personal, as she’s also an awesome mom to our two kids.

Instagram: @brianshortall

Image Credits
headshot credit Maya Adrabi

mustache photo by Ilse Salas

The Green Room stage photo by Matt Craig

photo of me on stage credit Ithamar Enriquez

With (right to left) Rodrigo Garcia, Daniel, Giménez Cacho, Igor Jadue-Lilo and Natalia Solián for the Netflix feature FAMILIA