Mike Birbiglia

Mike Birbiglia
Mike Birbiglia is an Italian-American stand-up comedian. Birbiglia is from Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, but he presently lives in New York. During Birbiglia's sophomore year at Georgetown University, he earned himself The Funniest Man on Campus title. He also won the chance to perform at the D.C. Improv.

By Mike being involved with Georgetown's Improv group, he went on to create many long term friendships. He also ended up meeting many new people in the ensuing years. In fact, by performing here, he managed to create a path for himself that would help him through his career.

After graduating, Mike went to act in New York City. There, within a year, Mike appeared in many of the city's clubs. He also appeared on Comedy Central's Premium Blend and was selected for the New Faces category of Montreal's prestigious ?Just For Laughs' Comedy Festival. Interestingly, Mike Birbiglia has a sleepwalking disorder. In order to make sure that he does not wander off and get himself in trouble, Mike sleeps in a sleeping bag. This bag is zipped with special mittens that prevent him from escaping unintentionally or consciously. Mike has told his viewers a story on the The Bob and Tom Show, about a time when he experienced a life threatening incident while sleepwalking, Mike had jumped through the window of his room. The only positive side of his sleepwalking is that he has sometimes used it as material for his shows.

Mike Birbiglia's debut took place in December 2002 on The Late Show. He was at that time the youngest comedian to perform on that show. Since then, he has become a regular face seen on late night talk shows, and he even headlines clubs, theaters and Festivals across the country. Some places where he has featured include the Bumbershoot Festival in Seattle, Bonnaroo in Tennessee, the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, and Bulmer's International Comedy Festival in Dublin, Ireland. Mike Birbiglia performs regularly in NYC at The Comedy Cellar, and the UCB Theatre. Birbiglia has also launched his self-produced comedy CD, Dog Years.Mike also emerged a regular contributor to The Bob and Tom Show in 2005. His bi-weekly appearance would include live on-air readings from his Secret Public Journal. This journal was a bi-weekly travelogue about Mike's awkward adventures. By December 2005, Mike launched My Secret Public Album, Volume 1a. This CD featured the best-of his Secret Public Journal.

Mike premiered his first Comedy Central Presents half-hour stand-up special (2004). This was a major hit, and led him to a subsequent offer within two years. Mike released another CD/DVD compilation, Two Drink Mike, in 2006. This was on the Comedy Central Records label, and this release placed Mike on the Comedy Billboard chart. Mike toured colleges from February till May 2006, in his Medium Man on Campus tour. The concept for this tour belonged to Mike, but it was sponsored by Comedy Central, and he had some of his comedic friends from Comedy Central perform live.Besides the comedy shows, Mike has featured in commercials for Suddenlink Communications.Apart from where he has been largely successful, Mike's work has been admired in Germany and the Ukraine.Mike recorded his latest comedy album, Secret Public Journal Live at the Funny Bone in Columbus, Ohio on July 21st, 2007.Mike recorded his 3rd Comedy Central Special on November 14th 2007. This is a one hour special called What I Should Have Said Was Nothing. This recording is about Mike's most popular Secret Public Journal Live bits. There is also a DVD with the same name that Mike has released. He has also released a 30 minute behind-the-scenes documentary from his 2006 Medium Man on Campus Tour.From his tour, Mike managed to create six Secret Public Journal video vignettes. These are all available on Comedy Central's Motherload website. In 2006, Mike made the headlines of the Bob & Tom Comedy Tour in theatres across the nation.

Mike has headlined the Shredd and Ragan Comedy Series in Buffalo, NY. This resulted in the hosts taking note of his huge guitar mooch. This is because he is always borrowing a guitar prior to his show.Mike has also made his film debut, and has starred in Per Anderson's Stanley Cuba. Mike is also developing a one-person show which to be called Sleepwalk with Me. This show will be shaped into Mike's next television special and CD.With the kind of creativity that Mike Birbiglia has, he seems to be an unstoppable force in entertainment. It can be observed that he has had a small start to his career, but his creativity and charm has turned him into something really big in a short span of time.