Episode 151: Ted Waltmire was a librarian, pianist, and community musical director until his life completely changed in 2009 when he suffered a stroke and lost the ability to play the piano with his left hand. After many years of rehab therapies his friend Dale Galiniak, who worked for him at the library suggested Improv.
He had an “aha” moment when he realized that despite his continued physical limitations, he could play improv games. He jumped in with both feet and pursued classes at Second City Chicago and landed in a writing class. When his teacher learned his story he suggested that Ted write his life story, which became a musical directed by Jay Sukow and musical director by Stephanie McCullough. Stephanie said about Ted, “He is such an impressive person. His musical abilities are outstanding.”
Ted’s story is inspiring to anyone, but especially to people who have had similar life changes. We laughed and cried and I know you will love Ted as much as I do.
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. You may enjoy hearing from improv teachers and innovators including Colin Mochrieand David Pasquesi*Improv Interviews podcast‘ is introduced by Susan L. Parker of yourinternationalvoice.com
EPISODE 147 & 148 Bill Chott is a fabulous human being who is a writer, improviser and actor. And a very hardworking one! He is an alumnus of ComedySportz, IO and Second City. He toured with the Second City troupe in the ’90’s. He played with many well-known improvisers and his talent with musical improv is second to none! In our chat we explore his career which includes films and Television like The Ringer, The Wizards of Waverley Place, Young Sheldon, Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story and This is Us. His writing credits include The Dana Carvey Show, SNL and recently “Too Funny to Fail” The Life and Death of The Dana Carvey Show”. He shares his audition story with SNL that didn’t get him in the cast but landed him on The Dana Carvey Show. Bill is a generous, kind soul and has a big, big heart. I know you’ll love him as much as I do.
PART 1
PART 2
Welcome to Part 2 of our chat with the wonderful Bill Chott. We had so much to talk about and continue learning about Bill and his story. In Part 2, Bill shares his struggles with obesity and how he has overcome them today.
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. Our Audio Editor for Improv Interviews is Bright Su.You may enjoy hearing from improv teachers and innovators including Colin Mochrieand David Pasquesi
EPISODE 146 Meet the fabulous Katy Schutte. Katy is a well-respected improviser, comedian, director, teacher, and author and we had an in-depth dialogue about her career. We spoke about her philosophy on improv and life and our mutual challenges with anxiety. Her book, The Improviser’s Way: A Longform Workbook” has been an essential read for improvisers around the world. One of my favorite quotes from this fascinating chat is,
“Our career shouldn’t be a ladder but an open playing space.”
She trained in Drama at the University of Hull before finding her true passion at iO Chicago, Second City Chicago, and with teachers from The Annoyance Theatre, UCB, and other world-class improv training schools. Katy was been a member of the award-winning improv company The Maydays since their founding year in 2004. She performed in a “twoprov” with Rachel Blackman for over a decade and performs in the science-fiction show Project2.
Katy is a Funny Women Finalist and has written and starred in several acclaimed live comedy shows including Schutte the Unromantic and Who Ya Gonna Call? (the Ghostbusters fan-tribute musical). You can often catch her in TV commercials and nerdy comedy shows. Katy lives in London and teaches and performs all over the world. “Our career shouldn’t be a ladder but an open playing space” Be sure to watch her terrific Musical Improv with the Maydays in 2017 to see how remarkable she is! Click the links below to learn more about Katy
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. Our Audio Editor for Improv Interviews is Bright Su.You may enjoy hearing from improv teachers and innovators including Colin Mochrieand David Pasquesi
David Razowsky is a beloved improv performer, coach, director, and author. His new book, A Subversive’s Guide to Improvisation, has received rave reviews from improvisers around the world. I first met David in 2017 and was delighted to catch up with him recently to talk about his writing process and life in the theatre.
He started his journey in improv with The Geese Theatre Company. Geese Theatre Company has been at the forefront of arts in criminal and social justice settings. The company is renowned for its ability to engage with some of the most disengaged populations within the prison system.
He was s the Artistic Director at Second City Hollywood. He had 10 revues at Chicago’s Second City performing with the likes of Steve Carell, Stephen Colbert, Amy Sedaris, and Rachel Dratch, He has taught all over the world and his students adore him.
Be sure to see his Tedx Talk at https://youtu.be/Jp2EcuMbAmY
To learn more about David, visit https://www.davidrazowsky.com/
Be sure and get his book to learn more about this special soul and his improv wisdom. He is such a delightful and fun person. I know you’ll enjoy this as much as I did!
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.
Our Audio Editor for Improv Interviews is Bright Su.You may enjoy hearing from improv teachers and innovators including Colin Mochrieand David Pasquesi
Meet the delightful Erin Diehl as she shares her acting and improv journey. Erin loved dancing at a young age and her mother introduced her to acting she had her first performance at 3 1/2 years old and she fell in love with the theatre and performing. She understood the power of humor
Erin Diehl is a graduate of Clemson University and former experiential marketing and recruiting professional as well as a veteran improviser from the top improvisational training programs in Chicago, including The Second City, i.O. Theater and The Annoyance Theatre. Erin conducts workshops across the country leveraging improvisational techniques to improve employees’ skills in corporate settings.
Her work with clients such as United Airlines, PepsiCo, Aon, Warby Parker, Lowe’s, Groupon, Deloitte, Motorola, Walgreens, Uber Freight, and The Obama Foundation earned her the 2014 Chicago RedEye Big Idea Award and has nominated her for the Chicago Innovation Award every year since 2015. Erin was a speaker for DisruptHR Chicago, hosted the 2016 RedEye Big Idea Awards, and has spoken at HRMAC Chicago, SHRM Chicago, the Business Marketing Association, and Emerging Leaders of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce. She is also a proud member of The Chicago Innovation Awards Women’s Cohort and a graduate of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business Program.
Among her many accolades, Erin is most proud of successfully coercing over 26,000 professionals to chicken dance.
More about Erin Diehl:
Be sure to check out her website at : https://www.learntoimproveit.comHere are some more ways to connect with Erin:
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/
ents. Our Audio Editor for Improv Interviews is Bright Su.You may enjoy hearing from improv teachers and innovators including Colin Mochrieand David Pasquesi
Meet my dear friend, Bright Su. He is an extraordinary person and I am so glad to have him as a good friend. Bright Su is an improv coach based in San Jose, Ca, USA, and the author of Ji Xing Xi Ju (May 2020), the first complete improv book originally written in Chinese. He is the current Editor-in-Chief of Applied Improvisation Magazine. In this episode, we talk about the unique improv game’s factor VIP (Vocal, Interpersonal, Physical), and very practical Facilitation Technique 4D (Describe, Demo, Do, Debrief), and more. You’ll really love this interview.
More about Bright Su:
Visit www.BrightImprov.com Follow WeChat Official Account “BrightImprov”
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/
ents. Our Audio Editor for Improv Interviews is Bright Su.You may enjoy hearing from improv teachers and innovators including Colin Mochrieand David Pasquesi
A Las Vegas native Phil Faiss is a truly inspiring person. We played together last year inThe Best Improv Class ever and also did a scene with our mutual friend, Jay Sukow. We laughed so much during this chat and even did a scene together! His introduction to theatre was in high school in “The Diary of Anne Frank”. He soon discovered that musical comedy was his favorite genre and hasn’t stopped. He later realized that his high school drama teacher actually was teaching improv games. He shares his journey including working at Walt Disney World and talking to guests in the Tiki room. A wonderful story of his friends at Disney who worked on productions at an empty theatre after hours including “Sweeney Todd”.
Be sure to check out “Netflix and Phil” where he chats with other improvisers and is so much fun! CLICK FOR PLAYLIST
One of the good things to come from the past few years is the proliferation of online improvisational theatre classes and the ability to play in a global community.
My friend, Karla Dingle is an amazing actor who has provided a platform for improvisers around the world to play and study together. Karla is the force behind Queen City Comedy, with the best workshops and classes, shows in Charlotte, NC, and an online community that offers talented instructors and opportunities for improvisers to play together. I’ve had the honor of studying with Karla and she is a dedicated artist whose enthusiasm for this art form is so apparent in her classes. She brings great knowledge as well as compassion, and validation brings out the best in actors.
Karla Dingle (she/her) has spent her life on the stage. She began taking theater classes at age 5 and continued to study acting until receiving her Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Georgia Theater in 1998. Karla began performing improv in Charlotte in 2009 and continues to educate herself through workshops and classes at Second City, Hoopla, The Groundlings, and more. Karla is also an actor and voiceover artist.
More about Karla: Karla is the Education Director and an Instructor at Queen City Comedy in Charlotte, NC in the US. https://www.queencitycomedy.com/ She is also the Improv Director and an Acting Instructor at a local studio in Charlotte, NC. You can see her performing with Now are the Foxes Improv Comedy
Getting to know Molly Erdman was such a great experience! Her positive energy and honesty made this interview so much fun. Her improv journey started as a little girl when she and her best friend Suzannah. They would create stories and plays and learn all the words to favorite musicals like “Annie”. One of their performances included all the songs and dances from Thriller. By the time she was in high school, she started her first improv group, which still exists to this day. She chose Tufts for college because they had a great improv performance when she visited.
By the age of 31, she had met her improv goal of playing on the Main Stage at Second City Chicago. She moved to LA to pursue acting and improv. You might have seen her in the Sonic commercials.
During the pandemic, she realized she wasn’t missing improv and was burnt out. That’s when she decided that she wanted to do something else. Her sense of social justice impelled her to ask herself, “How can I help?” Molly decided to pursue a Marriage and Family Therapy Degree and is interning as a therapist at a local school, and she will be graduating in December 2023. Molly has contributed so much to the improv world and will certainly make a difference as a clinical therapist, where she can use therapeutic improv.
How wonderful to get to know the delightful Dr. Peter Felsman. He is a therapist, improviser, and researcher. Peter has written several papers and research studies on improv including The use of improvisational theater training to reduce social anxiety in adolescents with Colleen M. Seifert, and Joseph A. Himleb. He hails from New Jersey and was in a family with several psychotherapists, so he knew his path at an early age. In his first stage performance, he played Winnie the Pooh. He told his mother he didn’t like it and she asked what he wanted to do. He replied, “I want to be absent.” He was on stage again in Middle School, playing Uncle Henry in The Wizard of Oz, which was his final performance. He shared that Uncle Henry had to yell, and that was something he was unfamiliar with, as he grew up in a “sound-sensitive” home.
Peter switched to the “Pit,” got a music degree in percussion, and played for many staged performances. He had five degrees from the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor. He earned a BA in psychology, a BS in social psych and MSW, and then Ph.D. in social work, where he began his research work. In 2019, he held a postdoctoral associate position at Stony Brook University. The position was a joint appointment at the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science and the Social Competence and Treatment Lab. He described a meeting with Alan Alda that left a lasting impression on him.
He took his first improv class in college and was immediately inspired to learn more. He later studied at Chicago Second City, the IO and Annoyance, and several other improv schools. His journey into improv and therapy is fascinating and as a therapist, I certainly appreciate what he is contributing to our field.
Episode 151: Ted Waltmire was a librarian, pianist, and community musical director until his life completely changed in 2009 when he suffered a stroke and lost the ability to play the piano with his left hand. After many years of rehab therapies his friend Dale Galiniak, who worked for him at the library suggested Improv.
EPISODE 147 & 148 Bill Chott is a fabulous human being who is a writer, improviser and actor. And a very hardworking one! He is an alumnus of ComedySportz, IO and Second City. He toured with the Second City troupe in the ’90’s. He played with many well-known improvisers and his talent with musical improv is second to none! In our chat we explore his career which includes films and Television like The Ringer, The Wizards of Waverley Place, Young Sheldon, Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story and This is Us. His writing credits include The Dana Carvey Show, SNL and recently “Too Funny to Fail” The Life and Death of The Dana Carvey Show”. He shares his audition story with SNL that didn’t get him in the cast but landed him on The Dana Carvey Show. Bill is a generous, kind soul and has a big, big heart. I know you’ll love him as much as I do.
Meet the delightful Erin Diehl as she shares her acting and improv journey. Erin loved dancing at a young age and her mother introduced her to acting she had her first performance at 3 1/2 years old and she fell in love with the theatre and performing. She understood the power of humor
Erin Diehl is a graduate of Clemson University and former experiential marketing and recruiting professional as well as a veteran improviser from the top improvisational training programs in Chicago, including The Second City, i.O. Theater and The Annoyance Theatre. Erin conducts workshops across the country leveraging improvisational techniques to improve employees’ skills in corporate settings.
Her work with clients such as United Airlines, PepsiCo, Aon, Warby Parker, Lowe’s, Groupon, Deloitte, Motorola, Walgreens, Uber Freight, and The Obama Foundation earned her the 2014 Chicago RedEye Big Idea Award and has nominated her for the Chicago Innovation Award every year since 2015. Erin was a speaker for DisruptHR Chicago, hosted the 2016 RedEye Big Idea Awards, and has spoken at HRMAC Chicago, SHRM Chicago, the Business Marketing Association, and Emerging Leaders of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce. She is also a proud member of The Chicago Innovation Awards Women’s Cohort and a graduate of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business Program.
Among her many accolades, Erin is most proud of successfully coercing over 26,000 professionals to chicken dance.
More about Erin Diehl:
Be sure to check out her website at : 
Meet my dear friend, Bright Su. He is an extraordinary person and I am so glad to have him as a good friend. Bright Su is an improv coach based in San Jose, Ca, USA, and the author of Ji Xing Xi Ju (May 2020), the first complete improv book originally written in Chinese. He is the current Editor-in-Chief of Applied Improvisation Magazine. In this episode, we talk about the unique improv game’s factor VIP (Vocal, Interpersonal, Physical), and very practical Facilitation Technique 4D (Describe, Demo, Do, Debrief), and more. You’ll really love this interview. 
How wonderful to get to know the delightful Dr. Peter Felsman. He is a therapist, improviser, and researcher. Peter has written several papers and research studies on improv including The use of improvisational theater training to reduce social anxiety in adolescents with Colleen M. Seifert, and Joseph A. Himleb. He hails from New Jersey and was in a family with several psychotherapists, so he knew his path at an early age. In his first stage performance, he played Winnie the Pooh. He told his mother he didn’t like it and she asked what he wanted to do. He replied, “I want to be absent.” He was on stage again in Middle School, playing Uncle Henry in The Wizard of Oz, which was his final performance. He shared that Uncle Henry had to yell, and that was something he was unfamiliar with, as he grew up in a “sound-sensitive” home.