Interview: Mike Birbiglia Says ‘The Old Man and The Pool’ Almost Featured an Actual Swimming Pool

The scenery for Mike Birbiglia’s The Old Man and The Pool is simple, but effective.

Onstage at New York City’s Vivian Beaumont Theater, Birbiglia stands in front of a ramp-like structure, which mostly resembles graph paper, the occasional projection transforming the backdrop into a medical chart, a journal entry, and the infamous YMCA pool that serves as the engine for the 46-year-old comedian’s latest special. As Birbiglia navigates his own anxieties around aging and mortality, he even performs a few stunts, running partway up the ramp’s curvature, or laying down against its subtle slope.

But in an exclusive interview with Awards Radar, Birbiglia revealed that he and Tony Award-winning scenic designer Beowulf Boritt almost opted for a much more elaborate — and physical — display onstage.

“Initially we had conceived of the set design as being an actual pool onstage that has a transparent front,” says Birbiglia. “When people walk in the theater, I am actually swimming laps in the pool back and forth, and then I get out as the lights come down.”

The idea went as far as Birbiglia, Boritt, and director Seth Barrish working with Los Angeles’ Mark Taper Forum —where Birbiglia first workshopped The Old Man and The Pool in 2022 — to house an entire water tank. When Birbiglia and his collaborators eventually scrapped the idea, it was not due to the logistical or physical demands of the design, but rather the creative needs of the project at hand.

“The fear with set design is if you do it right, you’re helping transcend the audience into a place they weren’t going to get,” says Birbiglia. “If you’re pushing it too far, you’re just hitting people over the head with it.”

The simplicity of the scenic design in The Old Man and The Pool allows Birbiglia and his world-class storytelling to take center stage. Likewise, the entire team behind the special were united in their goal of transferring the immersive live experience to Netflix, where the recorded special will live in perpetuity. Everything from the wardrobe to the lighting to the sound design helped maintain a focus on Birbiglia’s vulnerable brand of comedy. It is therefore no surprise The Old Man and The Pool landed an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Writing in a Variety Special.

And as Birbiglia relishes in the special’s success — not to mention tours the nation with his latest show Please Stop The Ride — he has found an especially exciting way to invite fans to the celebration.

“We’re going to take the [joke cards] from The Old Man and The Pool and we’re framing them with show artwork on the bottom right, and then we’re auctioning it off on Charitybuzz to benefit the YMCA in New York City,” says Birbiglia.

Leave it to Birbiglia to bring The Old Man and The Pool full-circle, giving back to the incredible organization that serves as the butt of so many hilarious jokes in the special.

Check out our full conversation with Mike Birbiglia below, where he explains how he goes about naming his comedy specials, and even reflects on the overall state of comedy today.