improvisation – Margot Escott, MSW, LCSW

Jay Sukow Part 2

In Part 2 of our interview with Jay Sukow, he continues the story of his improv journey and his time at Second City, Chicago. His first teachers were Stephen Colbert, David Razowsky, and Steve Carell. He describes Colbert as a joyful teacher using silly play.

In his very first class, Colbert instructed students first to “get up and walk around with a string from the top of your head to the ceiling (a variation of Viola Spolin’s Space Walk) then leading with other parts of the body. At that point, Jay was sold and knew this was his gig!

The pandemic didn’t slow Jay down as he does most of his work online these days and loves the ability to work with students from around the globe.

Jay shares his belief in the ensemble which influenced his choice to be a teacher/coach and work with improv groups. He loves working with people who aren’t necessarily interested in stage improv, but rather in self-discovery.

You can find out more about Jay and his classes at: jay@todayimprov.com

Or Follow him on Facebook. If you’ve never taken a class with Jay, Today’s the Day!

Margote18 · Jay Sukow – Part 2

Margote18 · Jay Sukow Part 1

You may enjoy hearing from improv teachers and innovators including Colin Mochrie and David Pasquesi *Improv Interviews podcast‘ is introduced by Susan L. Parker of yourinternationalvoice.com

Kenn Adams on Improvisation

What an enjoyable and informative interview with Kenn Adams. He is a high-energy person with a wealth of experience in improv and playwriting and we had a lively chat. He is the creator of the classic short-form improv games Sit, Stand and Kneel and The Family Dinner (a.k.a. Ding/Buzz or Biography) as well as The Story Spine, a simple exercise for understanding story structure that has been embraced by improvisers, writers and teachers the world over. I got to play Story Spine with him and had so much fun!

The Talented David Pasquesi

David Pasquesi is considered one of the greatest improvisers today! He is a very humble and accepting spirit and his quick wit is phenomenal. With his partner, T.J. Jagodowskie, their show, T.J & Dave, has been delighting audiences for many years, around the world. David is an actor, producer, writer, and director. We chat about his time at Second City learning from legendary artists such as musical director, Fred Kaz and teacher Del Close. He was greatly impacted by Del Close and uses that education today. You may have seen him as Andrew in Veep and as Mok Shaiz’s Majordomo in The Book of Boba Fett and in a series created by Jon Favreau as a spin-off from The Mandalorian series. What a wonderful experience getting to know David!

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Jane Morris Comedy Legend

What a treat to interview Jane Morris again! We first spoke with this well-respected actor, writer, improviser, and comedy legend in March 2019. Jane is a very, very funny person and I learned so much about her improv philosophy. She is also a very gifted writer and director! We spoke about her ongoing career as an actor in film and TV and also about the actors and directors she worked with that including Gary Marshall. Marshall was especially taken with her character work and they worked on several projects together. You may remember her as Nora O’Dougherty from her many appearances on the Drew Cary show.

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Robert Moyer – Improvisational Theatre Pioneer

Robert Moyer has devoted his life to playing and teaching Improvisational Theatre with Viola Spolin and Paul Sills. He tells his improv story about when he first met Paul Sills and later worked with Viola Spolin.

Robert and I met at Spolin workshops with Aretha Spolin Sills. His accomplishments are inspiring and after a long career of acting, directing, and teaching, he took up performance poetry in 1998 and has since won many poetry slams, including the 2011 and 2012 Poetry Slams conducted by the Poetry Council of North Carolina. He also won an honorable mention in the 2012 Free Verse(written) competition held by the Poetry Council. In 1999 he won a Head to Head Haiku Slam and began writing haiku in earnest.

Robert began publishing in 2005 and has since had hundreds of poems published in major haiku journals including Modern Haiku, Frogpond, Simply Haiku, Bottle Rockets, and many others. He has been anthologized widely, most notably in the tenth-anniversary collection of Acorn, and the seventh cycle. For the past 22 years, he has been the theater artist-in-residence, and resident poet at the Arts-Based School, a K-8 charter school that integrates the arts into the teaching of the standard course of study. He conducts projects in a variety of areas including, but not limited to, poetry, puppetry, history, Shakespeare, sequencing, stories, and, of course, theater.

Part 2. ROBERT MOYER – IMPROVISATIONAL THEATRE PIONEER

Our fascinating interview with internationally recognized artist Robert Moyer focuses on his relationship with Carol and Paul Sills and their gifted daughters. Bob shares Viola and Carol’s love of children and for the past 22 years, he has been the theater artist-in-residence, and resident poet at the Arts-Based School, a K-8 charter school that integrates the arts into the teaching of the standard course of study. He conducts projects in a variety of areas including, but not limited to, poetry, puppetry, history, Shakespeare, sequencing, stories, and, of course, theater.

Mr. Moyer founded and directed the United Stage, a participation story theater company, while teaching creative dramatics both undergraduate and graduate as well as theater at Grand Valley State University (MI). That company over the years has performed for audiences numbering over one million, including appearances at the Smithsonian Institution (6 times), the John F. Kennedy Center for the Arts, and the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Mr. Moyer has directed over 50 productions using the non-verbal, non-psychological approach developed by Spolin. He co-founded and served as chairman of the International Performing Arts for Youth for six years.

You might want to listen to my fascinating discussions with other improv teachers and innovators including Colin Mochrie and Anne Beatts *Improv Interviews podcast‘ is introduced by Susan L. Parker of yourinternationalvoice.com

Cameron Dee: Why Not Improv (You Have Nothing to Gain and Nothing to Lose)

Cameron Dee is a lovely improvisor from one of my favorite places, Edinburgh, Scotland. We met when he was a substitute coach for Class Act curated by Jay Sukow at todayimprov.com. Cameron started doing Stand Up Comedy at age 20 and was surprised how well received he was! He enjoyed the laughs for 7-8 years until he realized he just wasn’t having fun. We chat about his path to improv starting when his family moved from Perth, Australia to Scotland. He continued with standup but found himself losing interest. Took his first 6-week course and has been doing it for the past ten years. We spoke of our mutual admiration for Jules Munns, at the Nursery. Cameron gives his improv philosophy. “You have nothing to lose, and nothing to gain.” Check out his FaceBook and drop into one of his jams! Cameron is planning a world tour. Check it out at: https://camerond.net/world_improv_tour.html

You might want to listen to my fascinating discussions with other improv teachers and innovators including Susan Messing and Anne Beatts *Improv Interviews podcast‘ is introduced by Susan L. Parker of yourinternationalvoice.com

Ed Greenberg – Improv Pioneer

What an honor it was for me to chat with Ed Greenberg about his journey and his love and enthusiasm for improvisational theater. Ed is an improvisational director, actor, and teacher. He began his career as an actor at the legendary improvisational theater “The Committee” in San Francisco, where he worked with his mentor and life-long friend Del Close on the beginning experiments in long-form improvisation. Ed also worked with Viola Spolin and Paul Sills. Ed has directed The Second City, Chicago, worked as an actor in movies and TV, as well as a voice actor in hundreds of radio and TV commercials. their lives quickly and easily.

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Amey Goerlich Amazing Improviser

Amey Goerlich is one incredible improviser and human being. We met through our mutual friend, Jay Sukow and I’m so grateful! We chatted about her Improv Story and how she taught kindergarteners to make a movie! She is so full of life and comfortable to speak with. I felt like I’d known her forever! She shared stories of her early days as an improviser and our mutual love of the fabulous Jane Morris.

After being in LA, Amey made the move to Denver where she runs her theatre, Chaos Bloom. While we were speaking there were finishing touches being made to her theatre and wait till you hear about her wallpaper in the bathrooms. Amey has practiced inclusivity for many years and is a pioneer in online improv as the artistic director of e-mprov.com. She was so generous with her time – we even did a 20- minute scene. Please take a listen and explore the happy world of Amey Goerlich!

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Max Schafer Improv Pioneer

I was so excited to interview my dear friend Max Schaefer, who studied with Viola Spolin and Paul Sills. Max had great tales about his experiences learning improv from Viola and working with Paul at Playback theatre. He is high energy and a living example of “yes, and”. We had a lot of laughs and hope you will as well!

Max Schafer leads Spolin workshops around the world. He is the author of “Viola Spolin’s Theater Games for the Classroom” Multimedia CD. He has studied under and was directed by Viola Spolin. He was stage manager for Paul Sills. He also studied with Carol Sills, Aretha Sills, Alan Arkin, Dick Schaal, Avery Schrieber, Bob Moyer, and Gary Schwartz. Max teaches Spolin improvisation around the world. He has been a distinguished certificated classroom teacher for over 40 years. He is a computer programmer and software publisher. He is a toy inventor and president of a toy company. He is originally from Detroit, Michigan. He now lives in Los Angeles. He runs a Music Improv group. His current Spolin workshop in England on Zoom can be found at https://www.eventbrite.com/…/online-improv-elective… Max runs the World Spolin Network, Musical Improv Network, and Dance Improv Network on Facebook. His “Art Rods” can be found at www.funartrods.com. Paul teaching Spolin games at The Nursery on June 13. This workshop filled up quickly but be on the lookout for Paul Click here for The Nursery Theatre You can follow him on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/max.schafer1

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Buddy LeWayne McQueen Native American Improviser

What a great joy meeting LeWayne McQueen. He is one of very few Native American improvisers in the U.S. I know you’ll enjoy his great energy and humor as much as I did! One of the things he loves to do with Deboope Newe to put his urban Indian culture into the improv itself, put some language, and sometimes singing on display. His mother passed when he was 18, after seeing him compete in the first annual four directions talent competition. We talk about how this loss changed him. He ran his own independent improv show and class for eight years before the pandemic started. He performs with Mancandy, a musical improv show that fluctuates between full musicals and improv musical review style shows.

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