Member Spotlight: Michael Lanzer

This article is part of a series highlighting Humdinger members. Click here if you want to find out more about membership, and other support we provide to comedians.

Michael Lanzer has been a member of Humdinger over many years and three locations. He’s a comedian, actor, improvisor, prolific content creator, puppeteer and puppet builder.

From his web series "Hotelevision"  and "Michael News Now,"  to his felt creations with his company The Puppet Creation Lab Michael is making great use of the resources available to him as a Humdinger member.

How did you first find out about Humdinger?

I met and worked with Directors Evan Munro-Smith, Bec Petraitis, Matt Stewart, Andy Matthews and Alasdair Tremblay-Birchall at C31 and SYN in Melbourne prior to Humdinger's inception! Working across a wide range of projects in community TV and Radio and in many roles allowed me to develop friendships and a working relationship that has continued to today.

Why did you decide to become a member?

I wanted to work in a dedicated space for comedians and have the facilities and network to suppourt my work. I have been a longstanding member across multiple years and venue moves!

The studio has a proven track record of fostering creative and innovative comedic content and  offers a space for experimental and fresh ideas, which aligns with my work

Why is it important to have a space like Humdinger to work from?

I do some of my best creating when I am surrounded and supported by the other creatives at SOS. It is important that I have a singular space to develop and write, as well as film and produce my content.

Tell us a bit about the sort of work are you’re making at Humdinger

I write and produce sketch comedy at the studio, as well as do work for my company, The Puppet Creation Lab. I often use the writing room and rehearsal room to develop my projects.

I have used the downstairs studio to film numerous sketch parodies. I filmed the newsdesk components of my web series 'Michael News Now' in the studio, as well as used various other locations around the studio / office.

I’ve also recorded and filmed numerous sketches in the Podcast studio;

My web series 'Hotelevision' was also largely filmed at the previous office space in Brunswick.

I was also very grateful and excited to participate and perform in the fundraiser live stream for Comedy Lab.

Follow Michael on Instagram, Facebook or TikTok.

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