Improv Town Podcast

In this episode I talk with Brian James O'Connell of the Pack Theater and Camp Improv Utopia all about Position Play. If you've never heard of position play, then you're in for a real treat.

In this episode I talk with Frederic Barbusci all about the French-Canadian improv scene

Bruce Springsteen loves Improv Town. And America. Thanks to Stuart Moses of the Improv London podcast for getting us in touch with the boss. Check out his podcast for more great conversations about improv.

In this episode of Improv Town I talk to longtime UCB teachers and performers Ben Remeaka and Doug Moe. Ben is a longtime member of UCB weekend time Airwolf and Doug is the co-author or the NYT bestseller "How to not get shot and other advice from white people" with D.L. Hughley. Don't forget to rate and review us wherever you're listening.

When justice calls, 3 mild-mannered men become improv team CRISIS and create the origin story of a made-up superhero in the form of reading a comic book. CRISIS: AN IMPROVISED COMIC BOOK is a unique fusion of variety show and pulp superhero story, with all of the strengths of both mediums but none of their weaknesses. And remember, all that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good people do not see this show. Ever since that fateful night when Matt Kerstetter, Kevin Tully, and Mark X Guinn witnessed the murder of all of their parents at once in an alley behind an improv comedy theater, they swore together to become more than men. They have traveled through time and space, honed their improv skills among wolves, kidnapped by a secret organization that conducted terrible experiments on them, augmenting their "Yes, And" skills beyond the normal human limit and after escaping, a wizard sent them to the past, when they all punched Hitler at the same time brining them to present day America. By day they are millionaire playboy-philanthropists, and by night they are the improv team CRISIS! When their powers unite they are able to accomplish what no one of them can do alone, and improvise the origin story and adventures of a never-seen-before superhero in the style of reading a graphic novel. They also team up with Superfriends in the comedy community who perform sets inspired by comic book tropes. FRIENDS, PLEASE RATE AND REVIEW THIS PODCAST!

In this episode I interview Will Luera. Will Luera is the former artistic director of Improv Boston, where he created the “Free Form” improv style, also known as Boston or Big Bang style improv, which is known for its fast yet seamless transitions between scenes. Will is now the Director of Improvisation at Florida Studio Theatre, which is a 5-stage theater in Sarasota that also does scripted work. Among other things, Will is also the Director of Big Bang Improv, Artistic Director of the Pilsen Improv Festival, Artistic Associate of the Chicago Improv Festival, Artistic Advisor to the Women in Comedy Festival and Part-time Faculty at Boston College. Will tours globally as an improv and theater actor, director and instructor.He performs and teaches regularly all across North America, South America, Europe and Asia.

Jim Foley is a veteran member of the Bit Players, Rhode Island’s most award-winning comedy troupe. The plan was to talk about genre and compare genre work across short-form and long-form but as that “sound check” suggests, we spend a lot of time just geeking out about what we love about improv. Don’t worry though, eventually we do get around to talking about both short and long-form genre work and after a few afternoon drinks we even do a ridiculous sci-fi scene for y’all at the end. As always, if you like this podcast, please rate and review us wherever you listen and like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

This episode’s interview is with the legendary Joe Bill. Joe is one of the co-founders of the Annoyance Theater, and is one half of the award-winning improv duo Bassprov, along with Mark Sutton. Joe talks about studying with Del Close and how Annoyance Theater got started. We also talk about the various schools of improv thought and his feelings on Chicago vs. Johnstonian Improv (Impro), plus lots of other great improv tips.

It’s season 2 of Improv Town and we are back at the Ocean State Improv Festival! In this episode I interview Christopher Simpson. In addition to running the fest, Chris is the artistic director of the Contemporary Theater Company in Wakefield RI, a theater that does both scripted and non-scripted work. We talk about how his theater started doing improv, why he thinks Johnstonian improv (impro) is the best fit for them and their community, and tons of other fun stuff. As always, if you enjoy this podcast please rate and review us wherever you listen.

In this episode I talk with Justin Wilder about the importance of being a lifetime learner of improv and why he thinks that even veteran improvisers can improve their game by revisiting the improv basics. You might know Justin from his starring role in the trailer of everybody’s favorite Andy Samberg movie Celeste and Jesse Forever, or from his titular role in the yet unannounced but totally (absolutely, definitely) happening Wes Anderson movie, The Omniscient Owl. Or maybe you know him as the un-sung, un-credited, and off-screen hero of literally every Judd Apatow movie – after all, as you will learn in this awesome interview, not only is Justin Judd’s personal improv teacher and guru, but dare I say, his muse. Justin teaches improv at the Providence Improv Guild, as well as at Rhode Island’s newest improv comedy theater Wage House. He is a longtime member of Up in the Attic, which has performed at the Del Close Marathon, and he is also a member of Jackpot!, the Providence Improv Guild’s new Saturday night house team. They’re fantastic and obviously you can check them out every Saturday night at the aforementioned Providence Improv Guild (see improvpig.com for more details). I had a ton of fun doing this interview, as I’m sure you’ll be able to tell. If you enjoy this episode, please rate and review us wherever you listen to podcasts.

Kate Teichman and Casey Calderiso are the co-founders of Wagehouse, an improv comedy theater in Pawtucket, RI. In this episode we talk all about opening your own improv theater!

During my interview with Kate Teichman and Casey Calderiso about about starting their own improv theater, we went off on a bit of a tangent about doing 2 person improv. Here it is!

In this episode I talk with Mike Amaral of the Providence Improv Guild. We talk a lot about position play, which is the idea that there are four basic scene types (straight/absurd, character, realistic, alternate reality) each with its own broad game construct, and that if you know what type of scene you're in, then it makes it easier to play. Here are my notes on position play! https://www.dropbox.com/s/kvdvw4b6cygzhmh/Position%20Play%20and%20the%20Deconstruction.pdf?dl=0

In part 2 of my conversation with Tim Thibodeau we go inside baseball, talking at length about Improv Forms. We talk Harold, openings, getting suggestions, creating your own forms, engaging the audience, and lots more! You might know Tim as a member of Improv Jones, Providence's longest running improv troupe or as the director of the Providence Improv Fest.

Have you ever wanted to put on a full-length improvised murder mystery but don’t know where to start? In this episode, I share everything you need to know to create a high-quality full-length improvised murder mystery show from scratch. FYI, unlike previous episode, this one is just me talking.

Come be a fly on the wall for my awesome conversation with David Razowsky. Before going on to become Artistic Director of Second City Hollywood, Dave studied with Del Close and has collaborated with so many improv and comedy legends that I don't have the space to list them. He is also the host of the fantastic ADD Comedy podcast, which I highly recommend. Dave likes to refer to his improv theories as "subversive" and in this interview we talk all about his unique outlook on concepts like "yes and", asking questions, taking suggestions, exposition, and tons more. (Spoiler alert: He disagrees with almost everything that is traditionally taught in improv classes)

In this episode, veteran teacher Tim Mahoney talks about teaching improv to non-improvisers, i.e. teaching Improv 101. In this episode, it's not about teaching people how to make better choices, it's about teaching newbies how to get comfortable simply making choices.

In this episode, Tim Thibodeau talks everything you need to know about running an Improv Fest! You might know Tim as a member of Improv Jones, Providence's longest running improv troupe or as the director of the Providence Improv Fest. I interviewed Tim on Fests and Forms and the conversation ended up going on for 2 hours, so I've broken this interview into 2 parts. This is part 1, and part 2 will be all about improv forms!

In today’s episode I interview Mark Meritt, Musical Director at The Mopco Improv Theatre in Schenectady, New York. We talk about all things musical improv, from short form musical improv to long form narrative musical improv and transitioning from short to long form musical improv. We talk about different musical forms, what to do if you don’t have an accompanist, and for musicians, how you can train to become an improv accompanist. As always, if you like this episode, rate and review us wherever you listen to podcasts.

Welcome to Improv Town, the podcast where I interview my favorite improvisers from Rhode Island and a far about an improv topic I think they’re great at. Today’s episode is an interview I got to do with Finish improviser Kaisa Kokko while she was in Rhode Island teaching and performing at the Ocean State Improv Festival. Kaisa Kokko is an improviser, director and communication skills instructor from Finland. She’s studied music, special education, and has masters in Education. Kaisa has studied improv at iO Chicago, Unexpected Productions in Seattle, as well as under a bunch of other great teachers from around the world. In addition to her home country of Finland, Kaisa has taught and performed improv all over Europe and the United States, as well as places like Costa Rica and Peru. In this episode, we talk about teaching and touring internationally, doing improv in your second language, and her appreciation for silence in improv. We recorded this episode outside on the back deck of the Contemporary Theater in Wakefield right on the banks of the Saugatucket River. We were trying to capture the soundscape of Wakefield in June and we managed to pick up some pretty sweet bird sounds, but there are a few times where we also picked up some wind so there are two of three points where things get choppy for a few seconds, but it’s pretty short-lived so don’t freak out or anything ‘cause it’s a great interview As always, don’t forget to rate and review us on iTunes, now on to the interview!

In this inaugural episode I interview Parellelogramophonograph, aka PGraph, about Narrative Improv, and how they are able to create such rich stories on the spot, night after night. PGraph wrote the book on narrative Improv. Literally. “Do It Now”, their collection of essays on narrative improv, is available at PGraph.com