Running Late with Scott Rogowsky

Kevin Allison and host Scott Rogowsky

By Tara Raiti

Scott Rogowsky’s live, late night talk show, Running Late, commenced The Pit’s first annual Sketchfest Thursday night, 10/11. It featured members of two comedy groups, Elephant Larry and Harvard Sailing Team followed by comedians Kevin Allison and Jamie Lee. Jerf, Ge-off (Elephant Larry), Clay and Sara (Harvard Sailing Team) shed light upon the successes of having a large comedy group and also tackled the definition of “sketch” comedy. The second half of the show gave a strong taste of what an entertaining live talk show is all about.

“I don’t think anyone is doing it in the world, except maybe Bangladesh. You might want to check on that, cause’ they have close-knit family tribal situations,” talk show host Scott Rogowsky said jokingly.

The “it” he was talking about is a father and son talk show duo. Rogowsky gladly shared the stage with his father, also known as his sidekick and former “roommate,” Marty.

Guests of the show

“It’s nice having someone to deflect off of. I don’t like having the spotlight on me all the time. I can throw it to dad,” Rogowsky said.

The back and forth chit chat and occasional teasing of one another gave this talk show an element of endearment and genuineness.

For those of you who may not know, Rogowsky previously worked on the sports comedy talk show, 12 Angry Mascots, where he admitted to having more control over the conversation during interviews. Running Late has been a new experience for Rogowsky since its start this past year. Now, he says it’s more about letting the guests drive the conversations. While he tries to reign in the direction of the conversation, going off topic can bring about some juicy stories.

“I want to get to the things people want to hear about but not necessarily the thing that they can just Google and find for themselves. It’s cool to get stories out there that have never been told before,” Rogowsky said.

Kevin Allison (The State, Risk! Podcast) shared his gutsy college audition story for his first comedy group. His approach to the group’s acceptance was by proving his “complete insanity.” He recalled taking off all of his clothing in the grimy bathroom of a bar and breaking out into song, an ode to the group. Allison’s self-described “sincerity in his storytelling” is what makes comedy successful.

Host Scott Rogowsky before the show

The final guest, Jamie Lee, recently on Conan, took the stage with a standup performance. It was brief, but just enough time to get some more laughs in before the show ended. Get more info on upcoming shows here: http://www.runninglateshow.com/