Podcasts about san francisco improv festival

Meet my amazing friend, Diana Brown. I've taken several Improvised Shakespeareworkshops with Diana and she is a real gem! We had so much to talk about that this is Part ! Diana is an improv artist, teaching artist, actor, producer, director and voiceover talent. She was voted Most Valuable Mentor and Teacher at the San Francisco Improv Festival. Diana was named as one of The Improv Boosts 2025 Sudden Impact Teachers. She leads the improv program at Berkeley Repertory Theatre's School of Theatre. Diana is an instructor, producer and a member of the leadership team with Leela Improv Theatre in San Francisco. She presents the improvised Shakespeare program at All Out Comedy Theatre, is a guest teacher with BATS (Bay Area Theatre Sports) and teaches with Greater Than The Sum. Diana enjoys helping improv artists find and amplify their unique gifts! She genuinely believes everyone is infinitely fascinating and endeavors to instill that belief in her students. She believes the truth is the most compelling thing we can offer up on the stage and encourages her students to bring their truth to their characters whether they're naturalistic or fantastical. She's presented Improv workshops, intensives and “workshop to show” experiences at SAVI Fest, Northwest Improv Fest, Improv Fest Ireland, Belfast Improv Fest, Queen City and Comedy Experience, Uptown Improv Festival, Vancouver Improv Festival, Tucson Comedy Arts Festival, Ocean State Improv Festival, Gather Spring Improv Retreat, Cornerstone Improv, O-Town Improv festival, Countdown Improv Festival, Camp Improv Utopia West, Experience, IMPRIDE, Unscrewed Theatre, 2nd Best Comedy Fest, Denver Improv Festival, Unscrewed Theater in Tucson, AZ, All Out Comedy Theater in Oakland, CA, Sealevel, San Francisco, CA, Phoenix Theater, San Francisco, CA. Diana plays in the Shakespeare inspired, Gamesome Frolic. She's half of the duo Bingewatch, plays in the Tennessee Williams inspired duo Fleeting Reminiscence, the trios POPTOP, Slumber Party, the duos Horrible People, DJ, Secret Lives of Villains, Salt and Pepper, Davenport & Brown, and the Twilight Zone inspired ensemble But of Mind. Diana appeared as a guest artist with BATS Improv in San Francisco and is a member of the acting pool with the San Francisco sketch comedy company Killing My Lobster. She has appeared at Impro Amsterdam, the Liverpool Improv Festival in Mark Smith's Taxi Tales, the Vancouver Improv Festival, Uptown Improv Festival, Improv Fest Ireland, Gather Spring Improv Retreat, Rise Comedy Fest, SF Sketchfest, The Queen City Comedy Experience, San Francisco Improv Fest, Improvaganza Hawaii Festival of Improv, San Diego Improv Fest, O-Town Improv Fest, New York Improv Festival. Vintage Improv Fest, 2nd Best Comedy Fest, New Orleans Improv Fest, Twin Cities Improv Fest, Alaska State Improv Fest, Tucson Comedy Arts Fest and others. Diana also performs in scripted theater productions including Playground Solo Fest 2025 and at theaters and theatre festivals around the country. You can reach Diana at: Check out Bingewatch Improv my duo with Dan Wilson: https://www.contemporarytheatercompany.com/ocean-state-improv-festival Or her website at: https://www.dianalynnbrown.com

After taking a workshop with Jill Eickmann I was so delighted to chat with her. Jill's teaching is incredibly supportive and validating! Jill Eickmann, MA, LMFT, is San Francisco's Leela Improvisational Theater's Co-Founder, Artistic Director, and Director of Corporate Training. Training.Informed by her diverse training and experience, Jill designed Leela's holistic 5 level improv curriculum. She oversees all elements of Leela's Corporate Training program including client communication, curriculum design, casting, hiring, and training teaching artists, and facilitation. Jill is a licensed psychotherapist, drama therapist, play therapist, and self-revelatory theatre director who continues to teach and present on the psychological implications and therapeutic benefits of improvisation. With training and experience facilitating groups for individuals struggling with social anxiety & shyness, teaching foster parenting classes, and designing corporate training programs, she is passionate about utilizing improvised role play as “Rehearsal for Life.” Clients include: Adobe, The Clorox Company, IBM, Facebook/Meta, Google, Levi Strauss & Co., LinkedIn, McKinsey & Company, Coinbase, Walmart, and YouTube (among others.) She has produced events and held board positions for The San Francisco Improv Festival, and is the Executive Producer for Femprovisor Fest, SF's Feminist Improv Festival. Jill received her BFA in Theatre/ Acting from University of Florida and MA in Counseling Psychology, Drama Therapy from California Institute of Integral Studies. She studied in New York, Chicago, and San Francisco with some of the best from Upright Citizens Brigade Theater (UCB), The Second City, iO Chicago (Formerly Improv Olympic), Annoyance Productions, SF Clown School, and Magnet Theater. In addition to performing in duos and small ensemble projects with Leela's past and present faculty members, she has performed across the country with notable improvisors including Chad Damiani, Dan Fogler, Law Tarello, Jay Sukow, Tracy Burns, Brian James O'Connell, and Sunita Deshpande. (among others.) As a therapeutic performance artist, she regularly performs with playback theatre actor/director, Roni Alperin in their playback theatre duo, and in an improvised therapy format, “In Session” for the treatment of your favorite fictional character. In their duo, “Intimacy,” Jill collaborates with somatic practitioner, Chelsea McAlexander exploring the intersection between improv and consent. “The Friendship Show” a solo self-revelatory theatre performance, is Jill's mission to heal adult loneliness through theatrical improvisation. Always looking to push the boundaries of the art of improvisation, Jill has conceived and directed original formats and theories in long-form improv performance, from a darkly psychological “Improvised Black Mirror” format, to incorporating contact improv and improvised dance in “Story Dance”, as well as on-line formats like, “The Before Times” which was performed at Seattle's (On-line) Festival of Improvised Theatre with inner monologist, Joe Bill. Most notably, Jill customized a private improv class for cast members of The Lion King – Broadway Tour. Her artistic mission is to inspire people of all walks of life to invest in an improv practice that is connected, mindful, joyful, transformative, and courageously surrenders to TRUTH. To learn more about Jill, check out these links. Websites: http://www.leela-sf.com http://www.leela-nc.com http://www.jilleickmann.com Visit my website where I speak to today's leading innovators of improv. My guests are improvisers and therapists from all over the world who share their stories and offer insight into the unique ways they use improv. margotescott.com/podcast/

In this throwback, If This Is True would like to introduce you to Shaun Landry! Shaun is at least a quintuple threat of actor, improviser, teacher, director and theater president. This Chicago native is the artistic director of Oui Be Negroes, founder of the West Coast Improv Alliance, cofounder of the San Francisco Improv Festival and founder of the Ledge--a new non-profit theater in Los Angeles. Shaun has come a long way from her days with Second City TourCo. She has worked with prisoners and dementia patients using improv techniques. We talked about working with drama therapy and what it takes to make it in the business and to start your own theater. Give it a listen!

The Gates of Heaven are forever open, and no one is prevented from entering by any will or power but his own; but no one can enter the Kingdom of Heaven so long as he is enamored of, and chooses, the seductions of hell, so long as he resigns himself to sin and sorrow. There is a larger, higher, nobler, diviner life than that of sinning and suffering, which is so common in which, indeed, nearly all are immersed- a life of victory over sin, and triumph over evil; a life wise and happy, benign and tranquil, virtuous and peaceful. This life can be found and lived now, and he who lives it is steadfast in the midst of change; restful among the restless; peaceful, though surrounded by strife. —- This meditation was written by James Allen the author of "As A Man Thinketh." Production, Voiceover, and Original Commentary by Yogi Marquis. --- About James Allen James Allen was born in Leicester, England, in 1864. He took his first job at age 15 to support his family after his father was murdered while looking for work in America. Allen was employed as a factory knitter and a private secretary until the early 1900s when he became increasingly known for his motivational writing. His 1903 work As a Man Thinketh earned him worldwide fame as a prophet of inspirational thinking and influenced a who's-who of self-help writers, including Napoleon Hill. (From https://us.macmillan.com/author/jamesallen) To Learn more about James Allen Visit the James Allen Institute at https://www.jai.org.uk/ About Yogi Marquis Yogi Marquis is a writer, healer, and mystic. He is the host of the podcast “Yogi Marquis Meditations” and he serves as a VIP Coach with Celebrity Dating Coach, Damona Hoffman. Marquis' yogic journey began as a guest on the Discovery Network Show “Guru2Go” where he was taught Breath of Fire to unleash his Kundalini. Since then, Yogi Marquis has appeared on several television shows including BET's Hell Date, MTV's Room 401, and Jimmy Kimmel Live. He has amazed crowds while sharing the stage with President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, Academy Award Winner Jamie Foxx, Senator Barbara Boxer, and Mayor Karen Bass. Yogi Marquis has led workshops for organizations including Airbnb, Nextdoor, The Democratic National Committee, Uber/Postmates, Common Sense Media, and The Girls Club of Los Angeles. He has healed audiences with laughter at the World Famous Comedy Store, UCB Theater, and the San Francisco Improv Festival. Yogi Marquis was certified as a breath-work and meditation teacher by renowned yoga instructor, Alex Nashton. He is currently writing his first book, An Autobiography of an Urban Yogi. ------ Follow Yogi Marquis: Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/YogiMarquis Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yogimarquis/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@yogimarquis Twitter: https://twitter.com/YogiMarquis Medium: https://medium.com/@YogiMarquis --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/yogimarquis/support

Man attains in the measure that he aspires. His longing to be is the gauge of what he can be. To fix the mind is to foreordain the achievement. As man can experience and know all low things, so he can experience and know all high things. As he has become human, so he can become divine. The turning of the mind in high and divine directions is the sole and needful task. What is impurity but the impure thoughts of the thinker? What is purity but the pure thoughts of the thinker? One man does not do the thinking of another. Each man is pure or impure of himself alone. The man of aspiration sees before him the pathway up the heavenly heights, and his heart already experiences a foretaste of the final peace. —- This meditation was written by James Allen the author of "As A Man Thinketh." Production, Voiceover, and Original Commentary by Yogi Marquis. --- About the Author James Allen was born in Leicester, England, in 1864. He took his first job at age 15 to support his family, after his father was murdered while looking for work in America. Allen was employed as a factory knitter and a private secretary until the early 1900s, when he became increasingly known for his motivational writing. His 1903 work As a Man Thinketh earned him worldwide fame as a prophet of inspirational thinking and influenced a who's-who of self-help writers, including Napoleon Hill. (From https://us.macmillan.com/author/jamesallen) To Learn more about James Allen Visit the James Allen Institute at https://www.jai.org.uk/ About Yogi Marquis Yogi Marquis is a writer, healer, and mystic. He is the host of the podcast “Yogi Marquis Meditations” and he serves as a VIP Coach with Celebrity Dating Coach, Damona Hoffman. Marquis' yogic journey began as a guest on the Discovery Network Show “Guru2Go” where he was taught Breath of Fire to unleash his Kundalini. Since then, Yogi Marquis has appeared on several television shows including BET's Hell Date, MTV's Room 401, and Jimmy Kimmel Live. He has amazed crowds while sharing the stage with President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, Academy Award Winner Jamie Foxx, Senator Barbara Boxer, and Mayor Karen Bass. Yogi Marquis has led workshops for organizations including Airbnb, Nextdoor, The Democratic National Committee, Uber/Postmates, Common Sense Media, and The Girls Club of Los Angeles. He has healed audiences with laughter at the World Famous Comedy Store, UCB Theater, and the San Francisco Improv Festival. Yogi Marquis was certified as a breath-work and meditation teacher by renowned yoga instructor, Alex Nashton. He is currently writing his first book, An Autobiography of an Urban Yogi. ------ Follow Yogi Marquis: Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/YogiMarquis Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yogimarquis/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@yogimarquis Twitter: https://twitter.com/YogiMarquis Medium: https://medium.com/@YogiMarquis --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/yogimarquis/support

Shaun joins Jennifer and David on a bridge to talk about her journey through improv, performing with her husband, and what starting a new theatre was like. Shaun Landry is the Founder of Los Angeles' new theatre The Ledge Theatre.  She also co-created the first African American Improv Ensemble in the country OBN, and co-created The San Francisco Improv Festival.  She performs with her husband Hans Summers as Landry & Summers since 1986, teaches at The Pack Theatre and has done a large amount of acting and improv things. She also is finding it hard to write in the third person the older she gets.  www.ledgetheatre.org and www.shaunlandry.com

If This Is True would like to introduce you to Shaun Landry! Shaun is at least a quintuple threat of actor, improviser, teacher, director and theater president. This Chicago native is the artistic director of Oui Be Negroes, founder of the West Coast Improv Alliance, cofounder of the San Francisco Improv Festival and founder of the Ledge--a new non-profit theater in Los Angeles. Shaun has come a long way from her days with Second City TourCo. She has worked with prisoners and dementia patients using improv techniques. We talked about working with drama therapy and what it takes to make it in the business and to start your own theater. Give it a listen! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/christopher-hall7/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/christopher-hall7/support

Marcus Sams is the founder of Moment Improv Theater in San Francisco, the artistic director of The San Francisco Improv Festival, and one half of one of my favorite improv duos, Liss n' Sams, with the incredible Joe Liss. We talk to Marcus about doing Duo Improv, the importance of emotions and where he thinks Zoom improv is going in the future. (https://www.patreon.com/improvnerd/posts?filters%5Btag%5D=Ad-free%20podcast%20episodes)

In this episode of Yes But Why, we talk to performer and scientist, Mithra Vankipuram. Mithra Vankipuram is a performer and improv instructor from the Bay Area. She is the Producer-in-Chief at The San Francisco Improv Festival as well as a Senior Research Scientist at HP Labs. She is a community builder in the San Francisco improv scene. She is also the Chair of HP's Palo Alto Women's Impact Network. Mithra believes in evolving the cultural growth of her science/technology workplace by leading initiatives to empower women and minorities.In our conversation, Mithra shares her philosophy on being your most authentic self. We talk about how to use improv in the real world for making friends and for dealing with awkward situations. Mithra shares stories of her own journey as an actor. We talk about navigating emotions onstage and off. We discuss integrating the yes and philosophy of improv into your daily life. Support Mithra by supporting the San Francisco improv scene and The San Francisco Improv Festival. Yes But Why Podcast is a proud member of the HC Universal Network family of podcasts. Download the FREE HC Universal Network app for Android and iDevices or visit us at HCUniversalNetwork.com and join the fun.This episode of Yes But Why podcast is sponsored by audible - get your FREE audiobook download and your 30 day free trial at http://www.audibletrial.com/YESBUTWHY.

In this episode of Yes But Why, we talk to performer and scientist, Mithra Vankipuram. Mithra Vankipuram is a performer and improv instructor from the Bay Area. She is the Producer-in-Chief at The San Francisco Improv Festival as well as a Senior Research Scientist at HP Labs. She is a community builder in the San Francisco improv scene. She is also the Chair of HP's Palo Alto Women's Impact Network. Mithra believes in evolving the cultural growth of her science/technology workplace by leading initiatives to empower women and minorities. In our conversation, Mithra shares her philosophy on being your most authentic self. We talk about how to use improv in the real world for making friends and for dealing with awkward situations. Mithra shares stories of her own journey as an actor. We talk about navigating emotions onstage and off. We discuss integrating the yes and philosophy of improv into your daily life. Support Mithra by supporting the San Francisco improv scene and The San Francisco Improv Festival. Yes But Why Podcast is a proud member of the HC Universal Network family of podcasts. Download the FREE HC Universal Network app for Android and iDevices or visit us at HCUniversalNetwork.com and join the fun. This episode of Yes But Why podcast is sponsored by audible - get your FREE audiobook download and your 30 day free trial at http://www.audibletrial.com/YESBUTWHY.

In this episode of Yes But Why, we talk to performer and scientist, Mithra Vankipuram. Mithra Vankipuram is a performer and improv instructor from the Bay Area. She is the Producer-in-Chief at The San Francisco Improv Festival as well as a Senior Research Scientist at HP Labs. She is a community builder in the San Francisco improv scene. She is also the Chair of HP's Palo Alto Women's Impact Network. Mithra believes in evolving the cultural growth of her science/technology workplace by leading initiatives to empower women and minorities. In our conversation, Mithra shares her philosophy on being your most authentic self. We talk about how to use improv in the real world for making friends and for dealing with awkward situations. Mithra shares stories of her own journey as an actor. We talk about navigating emotions onstage and off. We discuss integrating the yes and philosophy of improv into your daily life. Support Mithra by supporting the San Francisco improv scene and The San Francisco Improv Festival. Yes But Why Podcast is a proud member of the HC Universal Network family of podcasts. Download the FREE HC Universal Network app for Android and iDevices or visit us at HCUniversalNetwork.com and join the fun. This episode of Yes But Why podcast is sponsored by audible - get your FREE audiobook download and your 30 day free trial at http://www.audibletrial.com/YESBUTWHY.

In this episode of Yes But Why, we talk to performer and scientist, Mithra Vankipuram. Mithra Vankipuram is a performer and improv instructor from the Bay Area. She is the Producer-in-Chief at The San Francisco Improv Festival as well as a Senior Research Scientist at HP Labs. She is a community builder in the San Francisco improv scene. She is also the Chair of HP's Palo Alto Women's Impact Network. Mithra believes in evolving the cultural growth of her science/technology workplace by leading initiatives to empower women and minorities.In our conversation, Mithra shares her philosophy on being your most authentic self. We talk about how to use improv in the real world for making friends and for dealing with awkward situations. Mithra shares stories of her own journey as an actor. We talk about navigating emotions onstage and off. We discuss integrating the yes and philosophy of improv into your daily life. Support Mithra by supporting the San Francisco improv scene and The San Francisco Improv Festival. Yes But Why Podcast is a proud member of the HC Universal Network family of podcasts. Download the FREE HC Universal Network app for Android and iDevices or visit us at HCUniversalNetwork.com and join the fun.This episode of Yes But Why podcast is sponsored by audible - get your FREE audiobook download and your 30 day free trial at http://www.audibletrial.com/YESBUTWHY.

This week on Yes But Why Podcast, Amy talks to San Francisco improvisers, Jill Eickman & Steven J Burnett. This interview happened when they brought their absurdist duo improv troupe, Magic, to Austin for the Out of Bounds festival. Jill Eickman is the founder and artistic director of Leela Improv Theater Company in San Francisco, CA. She is also a Producer/Board Member for The San Francisco Improv Festival and Founder/Executive Producer for Femprovisor Fest: SF’s all womxn’s improv festival. Since 2003, Jill has directed hundreds of original improvisational theatre productions at Leela; and, in the training center, she has taught her signature style of improvisation to thousands of improvisers of all ages and walks of life. Steven J Burnett is the associate artistic director of Leela. Steven joined Leela in 2013 and was a founding member of Leela’s resident Harold Team, Sketchy Alley. He plays regularly in many troupes but he especially loves playing in Magic with Jill. In this episode, Jill and Steven talk about mindfulness and balance in the practice of improv. This was a deep dive into the minds of conscientious improv instructors. Jill, Steven and Amy chat about drama therapy, social activism, and inspiring mentors! We also giggle A LOT about selfcare and the wacky characters in our lives!Support Jill Eickman & Steven J Burnett by taking classes and by watching shows at Leela in San Francisco! If you are not in San Francisco, that’s OK too. Watch videos of their shows and keep an eye out for when their troupe, Magic, might be touring to your town! Yes But Why Podcast is a proud member of the HC Universal Network family of podcasts. Download the FREE HC Universal Network app for Android and iDevices or visit us at HCUniversalNetwork.com and join the fun.This episode of Yes But Why podcast is sponsored by audible - get your FREE audiobook download and your 30 day free trial at http://www.audibletrial.com/YESBUTWHY.

This week on Yes But Why Podcast, Amy talks to San Francisco improvisers, Jill Eickman & Steven J Burnett. This interview happened when they brought their absurdist duo improv troupe, Magic, to Austin for the Out of Bounds festival. Jill Eickman is the founder and artistic director of Leela Improv Theater Company in San Francisco, CA. She is also a Producer/Board Member for The San Francisco Improv Festival and Founder/Executive Producer for Femprovisor Fest: SF’s all womxn’s improv festival. Since 2003, Jill has directed hundreds of original improvisational theatre productions at Leela; and, in the training center, she has taught her signature style of improvisation to thousands of improvisers of all ages and walks of life. Steven J Burnett is the associate artistic director of Leela. Steven joined Leela in 2013 and was a founding member of Leela’s resident Harold Team, Sketchy Alley. He plays regularly in many troupes but he especially loves playing in Magic with Jill. In this episode, Jill and Steven talk about mindfulness and balance in the practice of improv. This was a deep dive into the minds of conscientious improv instructors. Jill, Steven and Amy chat about drama therapy, social activism, and inspiring mentors! We also giggle A LOT about selfcare and the wacky characters in our lives!Support Jill Eickman & Steven J Burnett by taking classes and by watching shows at Leela in San Francisco! If you are not in San Francisco, that’s OK too. Watch videos of their shows and keep an eye out for when their troupe, Magic, might be touring to your town! Yes But Why Podcast is a proud member of the HC Universal Network family of podcasts. Download the FREE HC Universal Network app for Android and iDevices or visit us at HCUniversalNetwork.com and join the fun.This episode of Yes But Why podcast is sponsored by audible - get your FREE audiobook download and your 30 day free trial at http://www.audibletrial.com/YESBUTWHY.

This week on Yes But Why Podcast, Amy talks to San Francisco improvisers, Jill Eickman & Steven J Burnett. This interview happened when they brought their absurdist duo improv troupe, Magic, to Austin for the Out of Bounds festival. Jill Eickman is the founder and artistic director of Leela Improv Theater Company in San Francisco, CA. She is also a Producer/Board Member for The San Francisco Improv Festival and Founder/Executive Producer for Femprovisor Fest: SF’s all womxn’s improv festival. Since 2003, Jill has directed hundreds of original improvisational theatre productions at Leela; and, in the training center, she has taught her signature style of improvisation to thousands of improvisers of all ages and walks of life. Steven J Burnett is the associate artistic director of Leela. Steven joined Leela in 2013 and was a founding member of Leela’s resident Harold Team, Sketchy Alley. He plays regularly in many troupes but he especially loves playing in Magic with Jill. In this episode, Jill and Steven talk about mindfulness and balance in the practice of improv. This was a deep dive into the minds of conscientious improv instructors. Jill, Steven and Amy chat about drama therapy, social activism, and inspiring mentors! We also giggle A LOT about selfcare and the wacky characters in our lives! Support Jill Eickman & Steven J Burnett by taking classes and by watching shows at Leela in San Francisco! If you are not in San Francisco, that’s OK too. Watch videos of their shows and keep an eye out for when their troupe, Magic, might be touring to your town! Yes But Why Podcast is a proud member of the HC Universal Network family of podcasts. Download the FREE HC Universal Network app for Android and iDevices or visit us at HCUniversalNetwork.com and join the fun. This episode of Yes But Why podcast is sponsored by audible - get your FREE audiobook download and your 30 day free trial at http://www.audibletrial.com/YESBUTWHY.

This week on Yes But Why Podcast, Amy talks to San Francisco improvisers, Jill Eickman & Steven J Burnett. This interview happened when they brought their absurdist duo improv troupe, Magic, to Austin for the Out of Bounds festival. Jill Eickman is the founder and artistic director of Leela Improv Theater Company in San Francisco, CA. She is also a Producer/Board Member for The San Francisco Improv Festival and Founder/Executive Producer for Femprovisor Fest: SF’s all womxn’s improv festival. Since 2003, Jill has directed hundreds of original improvisational theatre productions at Leela; and, in the training center, she has taught her signature style of improvisation to thousands of improvisers of all ages and walks of life. Steven J Burnett is the associate artistic director of Leela. Steven joined Leela in 2013 and was a founding member of Leela’s resident Harold Team, Sketchy Alley. He plays regularly in many troupes but he especially loves playing in Magic with Jill. In this episode, Jill and Steven talk about mindfulness and balance in the practice of improv. This was a deep dive into the minds of conscientious improv instructors. Jill, Steven and Amy chat about drama therapy, social activism, and inspiring mentors! We also giggle A LOT about selfcare and the wacky characters in our lives! Support Jill Eickman & Steven J Burnett by taking classes and by watching shows at Leela in San Francisco! If you are not in San Francisco, that’s OK too. Watch videos of their shows and keep an eye out for when their troupe, Magic, might be touring to your town! Yes But Why Podcast is a proud member of the HC Universal Network family of podcasts. Download the FREE HC Universal Network app for Android and iDevices or visit us at HCUniversalNetwork.com and join the fun. This episode of Yes But Why podcast is sponsored by audible - get your FREE audiobook download and your 30 day free trial at http://www.audibletrial.com/YESBUTWHY.

Live from the San Francisco Improv Festival, Jamie Wright tells us the story of one of the most famous improv groups ever. The Committee, the most historic improv group in America with some of the most legendary improv performers, and the inventors of the classic improv style "The Harold". Some of San Francisco's best improvisers Sam Shaw, Lisa Rowland, Sean Geary and Marcia Aguilar join in the improv section of the show. San Francisco Improv Festival is one of the best festivals in America, it was a true pleasure to share the stage with these amazing performers at this hilarious and fun festival.

Episode 2 of the Extreme Improv Podcast! Recorded live  at PianoFight during the San Francisco Improv Festival in the United States of America! Featuring host David Pustansky playing fun and silly improv games with Rachel Jayne and Angus Dustagheer. See who will be crowned the Extreme Improv Podcast Champion in this awesome USA special! We really hope you enjoy the show and will consider subscribing!

Today's episode features Jill Eickmann. Jill Eickmann is the Artistic Director and Co-Founder of Leela, a San Francisco based improvisational theatre company and training center. She has directed over 100 original productions with Leela and serves as a Producer/Board Member for The San Francisco Improv Festival and Executive Producer of Femprovisor Fest: SF's all female-identified improv fest. She has taught her signature style of improvisation to thousands of improvisors of all ages. Most recently, she taught a six week private improv class to cast members of Disney's The Lion King - Broadway Tour. Jill was the founder of the three person improv ensemble, Road Dawgz, where she performed with Tony Award Winner Dan Fogler (Balls of Fury, Good Luck Chuck) and Law Tarello (The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee) throughout NYC. Her Bay Area performance highlights include Life and Adventures!, Sacrifices and Transformations, God Put A Smile Upon My Face (her one-woman show), and The Razowsky Project, collaborating with the Artistic Director of The Second City (Los Angeles), David Razowsky. She currently performs with Leela's Armando Company and duo, Shades of Grey with Marcus Sams, as well as directs multiple Performing Improv Ensembles (PIE) within Leela's PIR Program. She studied in New York and Chicago with some of the best from Upright Citizens Brigade Theater (UCB), The Second City, IO (Improv Olympic), Annoyance Productions, and Magnet Theater. Jill is also a licensed marriage and family therapist and drama therapist, and self-revelatory theatre director who continues to research and teach the psychological implications and therapeutic benefits of improvisation. She worked for many years as an adoption social worker, creating and supporting diverse families (single parent, LGBT, trans-racial) built through the California foster care system. Through the use of drama therapy, improvisation, and role play, she helped diverse individuals commit and connect to one another, ultimately becoming a family who can survive any crisis that comes their way. She enjoys working with local start-ups, established companies, and business leaders to support a positive working environment while fostering boundless collective creativity. Past clients include The Clorox Company, Adobe, Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, Conoco Phillips, Go Pro (among others.) You can find Jill on social media: https://www.facebook.com/LeelaSF

Pamela and I talk about volunteerism, “your story”, social entrepreneurship, Universal Giving and why she’s not a pessimist. Biography Pamela Hawley is the founder and CEO of UniversalGiving™ an award-winning nonprofit that helps people give and volunteer with vetted, quality opportunities all over the world. Opportunities range from giving $25 to provide a month of meals to a child in Haiti, to volunteering with migrant children in Beijing, China. Pamela started in community service at age twelve, after experiencing life-changing poverty on a family vacation. She and her father were in a marketplace and looked down a side cul-de-sac where she saw a whole line of half-clothed, begging, unwashed, starving children. The word UNACCEPTABLE came across her mind, and led her to volunteer all over the world (Read more here). Some of Pamela’s many volunteer experiences include working with microfinance in rural India, sustainable farming in Guatemala, earthquake relief work in El Salvador, and computer training in Cambodia. She has a Political Science degree cum laude from Duke University and a Masters in International Communication from the Annenberg School of Communications, USC. Pamela is on the Duke Northern California Board and Duke Innovation & Entrepreneurship; part of Duke Angel Network (DAN); and most recently received the Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award for the Political Science Department at Duke University. She is a guest lecturer at Stanford, Harvard, Berkeley and USC. Pamela speaks on leadership, Corporate Social Responsibility, social entrepreneurship, volunteerism, world economics/cultures, and how these affect business and global philanthropy.    Pamela is a winner of the Jefferson Award (the Nobel Prize in Community Service), and has been invited to three events at the White House. UniversalGiving has been featured on the homepage of BusinessWeek, Oprah.com, CBS, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times. Pamela was a finalist for Ernst and Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award and is an Expert Blogger for Fast Company and CSRWire. She also writes Living and Giving, a daily blog with the mission of “Inspiring Leaders to Live with Excellence and Love.” Pamela is an actress, improviser, dancer and singer with over 100 performances in San Francisco, New York, and Los Angeles. She is and improviser trained by The Groundlings and Second City Chicago, a graduate of the Upright Citizens Brigade, and a BATS improv player. Her experience includes solo and group singing, voiceovers, sketch, theatre and television.  In 2015, she opened at the San Francisco Improv Festival with Leela’s Armando Company and its founder, Armando Diaz. Also, in 2015, she performed with Leela’s Armando Company at the SF Sketchfest. Pamela has created two improv groups: The Hills Are Alive with the Sound of Improv!, a fully improvised musical inspired by The Sound of Music; and Jackson Soup, a dynamic duo improv team. Pamela performed with Opening People's Minds (OPM), which won the award for Best Sketch Comedy in 2009 at the San Francisco Fringe Fest and garnered praise from reviewers such as LA Weekly. As part of the improv group Fosse Posse (based on choreographer Bob Fosse), she performed 40-minute improvised musicals, winning 9 out of 10 competitive shows (Watch a video here). Pamela donates a portion of every show’s proceeds to UniversalGiving™. Most important to Pamela Hawley is her family. Her parents Wally and Alex have been married more than 50 years; they are two of her best friends. She also loves being an aunt to Will, Connor, and Lindsey.  Every Sunday is family day. Read more about the foundation here. ---------- For more information about my podcasting, writing and public speaking please visit my site here. With thanks to producer Josh Snethlage and Mixed Media Sound. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

LIVE from SF Improv Festival 2015 - Recorded LIVE from the 2015 San Francisco Improv Festival, improv legends Susan Messing and Bob Dassie join Matt Besser on this week's improv4humans! They'll explore meeting with a genius surgeon who likes to be addressed as a cat, an airline that allows sitting in the cockpit as an alternative seat, and wearing very revealing clothes to a wedding. Make sure to get the Upright Citizens Brigade television show season 3 now available on DVD, the UCB Comedy  Improv Manual , and Dragoon's new album at  dragoongalaxy.bandcamp.com !

Recorded LIVE from the 2015 San Francisco Improv Festival, improv legends Susan Messing and Bob Dassie join Matt Besser on this weeks improv4humans! Theyll explore meeting with a genius surgeon who likes to be addressed as a cat, an airline that allows sitting in the cockpit as an alternative seat, and wearing very revealing clothes to a wedding. Make sure to get the Upright Citizens Brigade television show season 3 now available on DVD, the UCB Comedy Improv Manual , and Dragoons new album at dragoongalaxy.bandcamp.com !See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This episode was pre-recorded for airing on KWTF Sonoma County Radio on March 17, 2015. In this episode, Tristy takes a trip to San Francisco, to interview Executive Producer and Director of Femprovisor Fest, Jill Eickmann. She is also a Producer for the San Francisco Improv Festival and Co-Founder and Artistic Director of Leela. ENJOY!Songs played:San Francisco by Foxygen (2013)Talk with Jesus by The Jones Sisters from the 2008 album Como Now: The Voices of Panola County, MississippiVie Nouvelle by Houria Aichi (1995)Money Honey! by Wanda Jackson (2014)Fake French by Le Tigre (2001)Come on, Petunia! by The Blow (2007)Don’t forget to stay connected on all the social media places!Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, 8Tracks, Pinterest, SoundCloudPlease feel free to rate and subscribe and do all the things the robots like to push us up the ladder on I-Tunes at https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/spilling-rubies/id928952261

This episode was pre-recorded for airing on KWTF Sonoma County Radio on March 17, 2015. In this episode, Tristy takes a trip to San Francisco, to interview Executive Producer and Director of Femprovisor Fest, Jill Eickmann. She is also a Producer for the San Francisco Improv Festival and Co-Founder and Artistic Director of Leela. ENJOY!Songs played:San Francisco by Foxygen (2013)Talk with Jesus by The Jones Sisters from the 2008 album Como Now: The Voices of Panola County, MississippiVie Nouvelle by Houria Aichi (1995)Money Honey! by Wanda Jackson (2014)Fake French by Le Tigre (2001)Come on, Petunia! by The Blow (2007)Don’t forget to stay connected on all the social media places!Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, 8Tracks, Pinterest, SoundCloudPlease feel free to rate and subscribe and do all the things the robots like to push us up the ladder on I-Tunes at https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/spilling-rubies/id928952261

The cliffhanger is resolved! LIVE from the San Francisco Improv Festival on September 18th, 2013 at the Eureka Theatre in San Francisco! When we left our hero we had just found out that the evil planet destroyer Asteron was his … Continue reading →

Illusionoid was chosen to perform at the prestigious San Francisco Improv Festival that took place just last week! And here’s the show! Recorded LIVE on September 18th, 2013 at the Eureka Theatre in San Francisco! When the evil Asteron threatens … Continue reading →

Welcome to the blog entry counterpart to Episode 69 of Succotash, the Comedy Podcast Podcast. The biggest news for this show in the past  week is that we're now recommended listening by Stitcher Smart Radio! That's right, particularly if you’re a podcaster just starting out and want to get a handle on this baby widecast medium. Just a couple of days ago, Stitcher mentioned that my appearance on the Podcaster 101 show is featured in their “So You Think You Can Podcast” Top Ten Helpful Tips section! I’ve been tweeting this past week (via @SuccotashShow) that Succotash will have a table set up in the Podcast Lab at this year’s Los Angeles Podcast Festival, which is happening in a couple of weeks — October 4 thru 6 in Santa Monica. You can get more information and get tickets at http://LAPodfest.com. Anybody can stop by our table – if we actually get a table – but I will have a Succotash banner and be giving away some cool magnetic buttons I just ordered – they’re like pins without the pin and feature the Succotash yellow and green logo. (they haven't even been delivered yet but, once they're here, I'll post a picture of them...) So do stop by if you’re at the fest. And, if YOU'RE a comedy podcaster, we’ll have our mics set up and I’ll do an interview with you which we’ll feature on the show. Some friends of Succotash are in town this week. In town meaning San Francisco at the San Francisco Improv Festival. And the friends are the cast of ILLUSIONOID!, one of our favorite podcasts. Paul Bates, Lee Smart, and Nug Nahrgang – the best name in podcasting – will be performing on Wednesday night, September 18th, at the Eureka Theater. So, if you’re in the Bay Area, buy tickets and join me in checking these guys out live and in person. LIVE APPEARANCE I’ll actually be performing live and in person a little later this month. Friday, September 27th, I’m going to be part of Marsh Jam, a new improv free-for-all that’s going up at the Marsh Cabaret in Berkeley. I think that’s at 8:30 and you can find out more at TheMarsh.org. HONORARY ASSOCIATE PRODUCER Special thanks again this show to Tyson Saner, whom I've dubbed as our Honorary Associate Producer for providing us with clips to some podcast he's discovered This episode in particular is loaded with Saner clips and it's a pleasure to have those available. THE TEN MOST ACTIVE ON THE STITCHER TOP 100 COMEDY PODCAST LIST Every week (or so) we're tracking the shows on Stitcher's Top 100 Comedy Podcast list that show the most action, either up OR down. Here's who distinguished themselves this week: 16. Bertcast’s Podcast +1229. The Champs with Neal Brennan & Moshe Kasher +2945. Jordan, Jesse, GO +3161. Smodcast >> FeAB -2766. The David Feldman Show -1770. Dining With Doug & Karen +2578. The Read -2885. The Insanity Check +2186. The Jack Blood Show +1698. Keith and the Girl Podcast -20 DOUBLE DOSE O' DURST AGAIN With this episode, I think I've finally caught up with the backlog of our Burst O' Durst feature, but only because we're playing one more double header with America's "Raging Moderate" Will Durst. THE LAST OF BOGANWOOD, SEASON 1 We feature the eighth and final chapter of Boganwood, Season 1, this show, along with the last snippet of my interview with this podcast miniseries creator, Jason McNamara. It's a bittersweet end of our having played all the episode. Bitter because it's ending, sweet because we've been keeping you occupied while Jabs (Jason to his mum) has been getting Boganwood, Season TWO underway! Check it out at http://Boganwood.com. THE CLIPS Jordan, Jesse, GO!This podcast moved up 31 spots this past week in the Stitcher Top 100 so that’s a good place to start. This is one of the shows in the Maximum Fun podcast arsenal. And they are about to hit Episode 300, so you know they’ve got a handle on this podcast thing. Featuring Jesse Thorn and Jordan Morris co-hosting what they refer to as “a freewheeling comedy podcast about life in your 20’s”. The most recent episode featured a visit with comedian and writer Liz Feldman and they got into talking about a place Jesse takes his 2-year-old. The Insanity CheckThis show, which got into the Top 100 on Stitcher’s Comedy Podcast this week at #85, is hosted by Kriss, Ryce, Dylan and a few other guests here and there. The show focuses on crazy things like working in the corporate world, politics, the entertainment industry and society as a whole. They’ve been dropping shows twice a week – I envy them – and so they recently sailed past 400 episodes. Their latest – Epi408 – is entitled The Can’t U Niggas Troll Convention. Harmontown This past week I reviewed this podcast from Dan Harmon, the creator of NBC’s Community – you know he’s back this season, after leaving last year – and also with Jeff Davis, a great improvisor from Whose Line Is It Anyway. My review is up as part of This Week In Comedy Podcasts on Splitsider.com. It’s a very entertaining show – and they’ve been on for only 2 more episodes than Succotash – maybe there's hope for me yet! Podhouse 90: The Wonderful Pundits of Oz Frank Coniff is a very funny writer and comedian  - he’s currently working on Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell - and has come up with a great concept that bends the parameters of podcasting. They’re these full-length musical comedy plays, with the title springboard off early TV’s “Playhouse 90”. Tyson Saner snipped us off a clip from The Wonderful Pundits of Oz, which picks up after the events as we know them from The Wizard of Oz. Great cast, too, with Coniff, Melissa Villasenor, Dave "Gruber" Allen, J. Elvis Weinstein, David Higgens, Laraine Newman, Emo Phillips, Dana Gould, Mark Thompson, Jamie Haddad Tompkins, and Joe Keyes.  Combat Radio We haven’t played anything from our old pal Ethan Dettenmeier over at Combat Radio in awhile, so it was nice to have Tyson send in a clip from a recent show. Ethan had a couple of comedians in – Eric Mark and Justin Rivera – then threw in the author of Why Are You Single? Sonia Everett McKie just to stir the pot… Inverse DeliriumOur buddy, Geoffrey Welchman, over at the Inverse Delirium podcast, shot us in a clip this week – actually, he sent it in a couple of weeks ago but I lost it somehow. So he’s re-sent it in because he realized that the last couple of clip from Inverse Delirium we played didn’t actually have him in them. Here he is now, in a piece about EVPs or Electronic Voice Phenomena. SModcast >> Edumacation If Kevin Smith’s Smodcast brand were in grocery stores, they would have tons of consumer “facings”, as they’re called, because there are so many different flavors. Tyson Saner sent us in a clip from Edumacation, where Kevin gets schooled by someone new every time. This time, it’s Tonight Show writer Andy McElfresh who gives us the straight scoop on something called prosopagnosia, where the person can't identify people by their appearances, even celebrities. Evil Teddy Bear PodcastKorey Epps and Thomas Fine have hosted over 100 epis of their show. The tagline on their homesite reads: “Two film freaks, one podcast and a shitload of movies.” So this is mainly a movie review/tribute/slapfest. The hosts and their guest, Steve Sievers, about their first Kevin Smith movie experiences. That's is for Epi69. It's pretty jam-packed so I hope you enjoy it. See you soon and, while i'm out, would you mind passing the Succotash! — Marc Hershon