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
Meet the wonderful team of Jim Robinson and Joy Glasser who use improv with care partners of loved ones with dementia. Jim has a wonderful background in improv and stand-up comedy and Joy’s a gifted coach and writer. Learn how they started this important partnership and their person journeys in improv and dementia. Jim Robinson has a doctorate in Counseling Psychology from the University of Southern California. He teaches improvisation and mental health at Mental Health Resources in Minneapolis. His training in existential psychology emphasized that healing happens in the present through collaborative, inquisitive relationships. As a communication expert, he teaches people to discover the gifts and opportunities in each interaction. (see below for full bio) Joy Glasser received her B.F.A. in Film Production from New York University and her Masters in Teaching English as a Second Language, from Hamline University in St. Paul, MN. She is currently a Certified Executive Leadership and Team Building Coach and Consultant who has successfully worked for decades with corporate clients and individuals in a wide range of creative and medical industries. (see below for full bio)
More about Jim: As an improviser, he creates unscripted scenic theater with like-minded actors based on audience suggestions. This expertise—and his extensive experience working with senior citizens—led him to collaborate with Joy on an improvisation-based approach for caregivers of dementia patients. For the past 28 years, Jim has taught developmental psychology and psychopathology at St. Catherine University and the University of St. Thomas. His work as a professional facilitator includes courses on group processing in the University of Minnesota’s Family Social Science department and Program in Human Sexuality. As a communication specialist, he teaches classes on embodied listening for the University of Minnesota’s College of Continuing and Professional Studies. As a Fulbright Specialist in Pakistan, Jim brought his course “Improvisation and Mental Health” to universities and psychology training centers in Islamabad and Lahore. He has taught these courses in India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Panama as well. In Minnesota, he has used these techniques to work with social workers and nurses, police officers in crisis intervention training, and seminary students. With Joy, Jim has created improvisation workshops that help caregivers navigate the challenges of taking care of dementia patients. In addition, Jim has used his communication and improvisational skills to teach improvisation to senior citizens and international students. His online workshops, including “Managing Culture Shock with the Improvisational Mindset” (with Ethan Goldbach), have been featured through the United States Educational Foundation in Pakistan and the Asian University for Women in Chittagong, Bangladesh. Jim honed these improvisational techniques as a professional actor and writer. He performed on the main stage of Minneapolis’ Brave New Workshop, as a founding member of The Theater of Public Policy, and as cast lead for the Off-Beat Comedy Club onboard the Disney Magic. He currently teaches classes on improvisation and managing stage fright at the Guthrie Theater. Jim lives in Saint Paul, Minnesota. His career has focused on one important message: being in the moment is the most powerful place to be. More about Joy: Some of Joy’s clients include Godiva Chocolate, CNN, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Politico, Simon & Schuster, Catapult, an Academy Award-nominated screenwriter and director, physicians at Allina Health, the support team at the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, Mayo Clinic, and physicians and department chairs at the nationally recognized trauma-one hospital, Hennepin County Medical Center, MN. She continues to focus on facilitating workshops, training, and individual and group coaching in order to heighten self-awareness and communication within teams and for individuals. Joy also created communication workshops for continuing legal education through the Minnesota State Bar Association. For years she gave talks at universities about navigating mental health challenges within the family system and served as a breast cancer patient advocate at Allina Health. She is also the caregiver voice on the board of The Cognitive and Memory Program. Joy’s path began in education. Her desire to learn more about communication brought her to a highly regarded coaching and leadership school, the Coach Training Institute in San Rafael, CA. Afterward, she developed a coaching program for school districts in the Twin Cities metropolitan area where she taught coaching skills to educators and parents emphasizing communication and behavioral skills for their students. Growing out of that experience, her coaching and teaching skills have directly transferred to her current work with physician faculty, department chairs, and residents at Hennepin County Medical Center. She guides her clients in the self-reflection process so they can develop a leadership identity with leadership skills. With Joy’s diverse and rich background and life experiences, she has creatively cultivated the perfect use of her talents—helping others navigate caregiving a patient with dementia. Stepping out of her comfort zone, Joy has taken a few years of improvisation classes and wound up having more fun than she thought. She lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Joy’s website:glassergroup.netJim’s website: https://jimrobinsonmn.comJim’s Applied Improv blog on teaching improvisation in Pakistan and Bangladesh (“Yes, And…Islamabad and Beyond: Improv on the Road”):https://jimrobinsonmn.com/blogs/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
Cheryl Sloane was literally raised at Second City Chicago since her mother, Joyce Sloane, was the beloved maternal powerhouse in the origins of The Second City. Joyce Sloane was the woman who found and nurtured such comedy giants as John Belushi, Gilda Radner, Chris Farley, and Bill Murray, She was described as a “den mother” to the actors and staff at this famed improv theatre. If someone needed a doctor, a lawyer, a wedding ring or to be bailed out of jail, Joyce was the person who made it happen. We also explore the last 20 years of Cheryl’s life. She opened G-Boutique, an upscale women’s shop where women could feel comfortable buying sexy lingerie and quality sex toys. Why lingerie? Well, Joyce Sloane always wore glamorous peignoirs. Cheryl thought everyone should have one. While owning the B-Boutique Cheryl consulted with physicians to explore sexual health and wellness for women. Since the store closed, Cheryl works in marketing and branding for Uberlube-, a silicone lubricant designed to enhance sex that has many uses including hair care. Joyce showed Cheryl to “always find the good in people” and that’s how Cheryl has lived her life. The people whose lives she touched love her and by the end of this interview, so did I!
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.
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.
Jay Sukow is one of the most respected and beloved improv teachers today. He shares his childhood with a nurturing family and how he became the man he is. His parents gave him a ticket to his first Improv class and he found his passion. He studied at Second City, IO, and Comedy Sports. Jay shares a wonderful story of spending an afternoon with David Shepherd. We chat about our admiration for the “mother of improv” Viola Spolin. Jay shares his ups and downs in the improv world. He is very funny and a truly humble person. #Iknowjaysukow
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.
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.com
Here are some more ways to connect with Erin:
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.