In a recent interview with Complex, Riggle talked about his career and sports and junk but the most compelling parts came when he opened up about his time at UCB:
That was everything to me. That was my whole foundation…It was early enough where they didn’t even have a theater. Amy Poehler, Matt Walsh, Matt Besser, and Ian Roberts were the teachers. I was one of the first students to go through the UCB…They only had three levels back then and I took each one twice, just so I could get each teacher at least once. Eventually, I started teaching there. It was awesome and I give them all the credit in the world.
He then talked about the one moment performing at the UCB that changed his life:
One of the first times I was invited to do “Asssscat.” It was a big moment because I’m on the stage doing improv with my teachers and I was so nervous. The show is split into two halves. So, you do half the show, take a halftime, and finish the rest of it. The first half of the show, I never came off the wall. I didn’t do one scene. I just stayed on the wall the whole time. So, we went back into the green room and Ian Roberts was like, “Hey, you gotta come off the wall and play with us.” And I was like, “Yeah, I will.”They knew I was nervous. Then, Ian said something to the effect of, “Just get out of your own way.” He said, “Even if you don’t have a thought, step off the wall and just trust it.” So, we went out for second half and I just went for it and got out my own way. Now, I also knew I was going to do comedy for the rest of my life.
I bet the other improvisers really appreciated his sweaty-handed tag outs.
