Advertise on podcast: Improv Nerd With Jimmy Carrane

Rich Sohn is a master teacher and improviser at The Pack Theater in Los Angeles. He's worked at The Annoyance Theater, iO-Chicago and Second City. We talked to him about how he found his voice as a teacher and improviser at The Annoyance, how the Annoyance style brings such freedom on stage, and what he learned from working with Del and Mick in Chicago in the '90s.

Patti Stiles is a world-renowned teacher and improviser who lives in Melbourne, Australia. She is the author of Improvise Freely: Throw away the rule book and unleash your creativity. We talk to her about why she doesn't like rules in improv, how we can shift from rules to tools, how to enjoy making mistakes more. Photo credit James Penlidis

Patrick McCarthy is an actor, improviser and one of New York's most respected improv teachers. He teaches and performs at The PIT in New York. We talked to him about what truth in comedy means to him, why it's important to take an acting class, and his journey from addiction to sobriety.

Greg Hollimon is an actor and improviser who is best known for his work on Comedy Central's "Strangers with Candy" as Principal Blackman. We talked to him about how to have a great stage presence, why he likes performing with Pimprov and how he got cast in "Strangers With Candy."

Aretha Sills is a legendary improv teacher and writer. She is also the daughter of Paul Sills and the granddaughter of Viola Spolin. If you really want to get a sense of the origins of improv and what it was like to grow up in an improv family and the huge contribution that Viola made to improv, then you will want to listen to this episode.

Marz Timms is an improviser, stand up, teacher and actor. He is the creator of Pimprov, one of Chicago's longest running improv shows. We talked to him about the Annoyance's style of improv, how to be bigger than the stage, how you can get paid in improv, and the difference between stand up and improv.

Dan O'Connor is an actor, improviser, teacher and co-author the new book Ensemble: Using Power of Improv and Play to Forge Connections in a Lonely World. In this episode we talk to Dan about what he learned from Keith Johnstone, how to be more vulnerable in improv, and why it's important to challenge your teachers.

Jude Leak is the writer and director of a new documentary called Inventing Improv, about the mother of improv, Viola Spolin. We talked to Jude about her documentary and how Spolin created the theater games that have been used to teach improv ever since, how her idea to get suggestions from the audience came about, and her huge influence at The Compass Players and Second City. Improv started with Viola Spolin, this is a great episode to understand the history of improv.

Laura Hall is the musical director of the hit TV show "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" She started at Second City in the '80s and she has worked at The Annoyance Theater and i0-Chicago. She has also taught people around the world how to play music for improv shows and has created a wonderful online video course called A Musical Guide To Improv Comedy (laurahall.com). We talk to her about how to improvise a song without rhyming and why Wayne Brady is a musical improv savant. And we also perform some musical improv numbers with her and special guest Rick Hall. If you love musical improv or have always wanted to try it, you are going to love this episode. 

Jeff Rogers is an accomplished improviser. He started out in the '80s, was part of the National Touring Company of The Second City and understudied for the Second City resident company. He is also an actor and a best selling author and his new book is called The PLAYMaker Mindset. He recently reopened the legendary improv school The Players Workshop in Chicago. We talked to him about why it was so important to him to reopen that school, how he brings gratitude on stage with him when he improvises, and what would happen if we got paid to improvise.

Erick Acuña is an improviser, teacher and lawyer. He started improvising in Peru ten years ago before moving to the States and studying at WIT in Washington, D.C. and UCB in New York. We talk to him about how he found his voice in improv, and he shares two exercises you can use to find it. He also talks about what it's like to improvise in English when that isn't your native language and what we can learn from having difficult conversations after a scene that may have reinforced stereotypes. This is a great episode!

Nancy Hayden is the Artistic Director of The Second City Training Center in Chicago. She is also a writer, actor, director, teacher and producer. We talk to Nancy about how she creates characters by using emotions and adjectives, how she believes improv can save lives, and what the future of improv may look like.