Improv and Magic

Today’s guest is beyond talented and a true inspiration to so many.  My guest today is Lisa Lynn. Lisa Lynn is a multi-talented performer.  She is an actor, singer, improviser, director, writer, and voiceover artist.  After receiving her Honours Degree in Musical Theatre in 2009, Lisa moved to London and has been working as a performer there, and around the world, ever since.  Lisa has been teaching and performing improv since 2015.  According to her she is a story teller; all of her emotions are readily available to her, always bubbling below the surface; and she loves the work. In 2018, Lisa brought her love of improv and musical theater together with the creation of Acaprov, an improvised a cappella musical show.  Every performance is unique. Acaprov takes a location and title from the audience before spontaneously creating a non-stop musical that will make you laugh, cry, dance in your seat, and sing all the way home! Visit Lisa’s website at lisalynn.co.uk, and learn all about the incredible show Acaprov by visiting acaprov.com. Like and review, and share with everyone!

My guest is someone who’s loads of fun to talk to and learn from.  Today, I’m talking to Chris Alvarado. He’s an amazing improv teacher and performer, and trained at The Second City Conservatory in Chicago, iO West, and UCB LA.  Chris created his workshops to provide a space for work that is fun, but also meaningful.  He believes in exploring beyond the rules so performers can find their own source of inspiration and make meaningful connections with others, which I’m also all about.  Chris currently performs at the Westside Comedy Theater in Santa Monica, California, and has also appeared two shows on HBO Max called “Minx” and “Hacks”.  He also co-created the web series "7p10e," about a couple who begin dating long distance. You’ll be able to tell how much he cares about what he does, and how fulfilled he gets in sharing this artform with his students.  There’s a lot of fun, and lots of great words of wisdom shared in this episode.  I really hope you all enjoy this as much as I did. Learn more about Chris and his workshops by visiting his website, chris-alvarado.com.  Find out how you can book him for workshops and sign up for his amazing classes.  And feel free to learn more about West Side Comedy Theater at their website, westsidecomedy.com. Don't forget to rate and review, and share the podcast with everyone!

I’m very excited to share that today’s guest is none other than Brad Sherwood! Of course you all know Brad from the Emmy nominated show Whose Line Is It Anyway where he performed for over 18 seasons as a regular.  He is truly one of the greatest living American improvisers, and also has many other television credits like the Drew Carey Show, Talk Soup, The Newz, Improv-a-ganza, VH-1’s: I Love The 80s & 90s, and The Tonight Show.  Brad also tours comedy clubs around the US with his fast and furious comedy show, and has also been touring with fellow Whose Line member Colin Mochrie in a live two-man improv show. I still can’t believe I had the chance to talk to this man!  If you’re a fan of Whose Line, you’ve definitely seen this guy before.  Brad was so cool to talk to.  He was very open and had a lot of great things to share. If you want to find out more about him and see what he’s up to, visit his website bradsherwood.com.  You can also follow Brad on Twitter and Instagram.  And, you can watch all episodes of Whose Line Is It Anyway on Pluto TV, Sling TV, Max, Amazon Prime, YouTube TV and Google Play, as well as new episode on The CW Network. Be sure to rate and review and spread the word about this podcast!

Today's guest is one of the busiest working magicians in the world, and his name is Nick Locapo. Nick Locapo is an internationally celebrated magician, instructor, and lecturer, and is also a regular performer at the world famous Magic Castle in Hollywood, California.  Nick also performs at other well-known magic venues, like Chicago Magic Lounge, House of Cards, Mystique Dining, and Kellars.  Nick currently stars in his own show called Masterpiece Magic, which NBC Universal calls “Absolutely Mind Blowing”.  In Masterpiece Magic, Nick performs impossible levitations, flawless sleight of hand, and super-powered mind tricks that blur the line between what's possible, and impossible.  Nick is also the official magician for Penguin Magic, one of the largest and most well-known magic shops in the world. I really enjoyed my talk with Nick today, and I was very fortunate to get him on a day where he wasn’t so busy.  We had fun talking about magic, as well as his process for creating his performances and how he continues to push himself to be at his best. Check out Nick Locapo's show Masterpiece Magic, now performing at the P3 Magic Theater in Columbus, Ohio. Learn more about Nick as his website, nicklocapo.com, and find tickets and info for his show at masterpiecemagic.com. And, if you’re magician looking for some great magic tricks, visit the world’s largest magic shop Penguin Magic at penguinmagic.com where you’ll find some of the greatest tricks, books, and lectures. Remember to Like and Review, and share the podcast around!

Today, I got the opportunity to talk to another great magician!  And, he is also a talented improviser as well! My guest today is Michael Dardant. Michael is an magician, actor, and comedian with over 30 years of experience.  He’s a New Orleans favorite, and is one of the highest ranked magicians in the United States. He’s been a featured performer at the Hollywood Magic Castle, The Chicago Magic Lounge, and tours theaters around the world.  Recently, he was named International Ambassador to the Quebec Magic Festival and was also inducted into the Magic Circle in London.  Michael Dardant has also competed in various magic competitions all over the world, including FISM, and has won 32 championship awards and 8 international titles.  As a magician, his original and stunning sleight of hand is enthralling and recognized with International accolades! And as a comedian, he catches any crowd off guard with a genuine Cajun flair. Michael Dardant has also been an accomplished improviser for many years, and currently teaches improv to various corporations and to high school students.  Through his improv workshops, he elevates a team's communication skills, foster creativity, and strengthen collaboration through engaging and interactive improv sessions. There’s so much joy in this interview, I loved it so much!  Michael was such a pleasure to talk to.  He was very kind, very friendly, and we just hit it off great.  This is a guy you’re going to fall in love with!  He has so much to share in today’s conversation; I enjoyed it all, and I’m sure you will too. If you all enjoyed him as much as I did, then please visit his website michaeldardant.com to learn more about his shows, booking information, and upcoming tour dates. Don’t forget to like and review, and don’t forget to stop taking yourselves too seriously!

My guest today is such a talented performer and a real fun guy to be around.  He loves what he does and he loves life, and he is Gregory Hollimon. Gregory is a veteran of the world famous Second City in Chicago, and performed with the National Touring company all over the United States.  Throughout his career, he has performed in so many great improv shows, as well as various plays and films. You may also remember him as Principal Onyx Blackman from the hit show Strangers With Candy on Comedy Central, which he co-stared along with Amy Sedaris and Stephen Colbert.  Gregory is also a cast member of the hit show Pimprov, an improv show in Chicago about 4 pimps who took improv classes by accident. Gregory was such much fun to talk to!  In our conversation today, we talk about his early beginnings as a performer, his time on Strangers With Candy, and his opinions about the art of improv and comedy in general.  I had a great time, and I believe you will too my friends! Be sure to look this guy up, he’s truly an amazing person.  Check him out on the show Strangers With Candy, which currently can be viewed on Paramount +, YouTube, Amazon Prime, Roku Channel and Google Play.  You can also watch it for free on Pluto TV.  And if you’re in Chicago, don’t forget to check out Pimprov.  It truly is an amazing show that you will love. You can find out all about the show at their website, pimprov.com.

Today’s guest is Brian Palermo. Brian is an actor, improv instructor, comedian and science communicator.  He’s performed and taught at The Groundlings in Hollywood, California, and has performed alongside many well-known comedians such as Will Ferrell, Eddie Izzard and Harland Williams.  He is also one of the original cast members of The Crazy Uncle Joe Show, one of The Groundlings’ weekly, long-form improv sets.  From his experience as an improv instructor, he created Palermo Improv Training which is a communications consultancy that uses the experiential learning of improvisational theatre to upgrade human performance across businesses, the science enterprise and sketch and improv comedy. Brian has also appeared on multiple television shows and movies, which include Big Momma’s House, The Social Network, Grown-ish, The Happytime Murders, and Modern Family, and that’s only a partial list.  Brian is also an accomplished writer, and his writing projects include Warner Brothers' Histeria! and Disney's The Weekenders and Dave The Barbarian, both created by Doug Langdale. He is also a co-author with Randy Olson and Dorie Barton of the 2003 book, Connection: Hollywood Storytelling Meets Critical Thinking. I love getting to talk to someone who is enthusiastic about what they do, and Brian certainly is that.  You’ll hear how excited he is about improv and acting, and you’ll enjoy the amount of love he has for performing and sharing this art form with everyone else.  Find out about how you can learn from Brian how to use improv for comedy, corporate programs, and science communication at his website, palermoimprovtraining.com.  And you can find all of his television and film credits at IMDB.com.

My guest today is my friend, Michelle Castro. Michelle is a fellow cast member, director and instructor at my home theater Just The Funny in Miami.  She’s an amazing improvisor, a talented comedian, and a passionate dancer.  She performs regularly at Just The Funny, and has also performed with some amazing improv teams such as the incredible woman trio, Clutch.  Michelle is someone who is warm, friendly, and very loving, and when she takes the stage she turns into a tour-de-force of talent! In today’s episode, Michelle and I sit down and talk about her journey.  She shares how entertaining has always been within her, and how she keeps growing and developing her skills.  You will be happy to hear from this happy person! If you’ve never seen Michelle before, be sure to look her up.  She performs all over Miami and elsewhere, and you can also find her on Instagram at @itsmichelleacastro. You will be delighted by her performance and what she brings to the stage. Remember to like and review.  It will help the podcast, it will help me, and maybe it will even help you? Who knows?

Today's guest on Improv and Magic is the bubble magician herself, she is Meadow Perry! Meadow Perry is a Magician, Bubble Artist and Actress who creates breathtakingly beautiful magic out of thin air.  Her internationally acclaimed show, “Bubble Magic” combines skillful bubble artistry, magic, music and theatre to create a unique experience for her audience.  She has appeared on the tv show Masters of Illusion, and at The World Famous Magic Castle in the prestigious Palace of Mystery. She has performed for top companies like Amazon and Paramount and has been a featured performer for The International Brotherhood of Magicians, The Society of American Magicians International Assembly, Washington Magic, The Boston Magic Lab, Philadelphia’s Smoke and Mirrors Magic Theater, and the Philadelphia Zoo, among others. Meadow also has over 18 million views on TikTok with over 325 thousand followers. I truly loved talking to this person, she had a lot of great things to share like her love for bubbles, her love for magic, and her love for her family.  And I hope you all love this interview as well. You can find more information on Meadow Perry by visiting her website, meadowperry.com.  You’ll find details about her show, as well as how you can learn how to create great bubbles yourself through a course Meadow teaches called Bubble U.

Welcome to Season 3 of Improv and Magic! To kick off Season 3, my guest today is the amazing Will Naameh, known all of the world as MC Hammersmith. He is a multi-award winning hip hop comedian. He writes and performs original hip hop comedy tracks, and performs improvised freestyle rap comedy based on audience suggestions.  He is the world's leading rapper to ever emerge from the ghetto of middle class west London.  MC Hammersmith has won several awards, including 2017 UK Improv Smackdown Championship, 2018 Scottish Comedy Award (Best Newcomer), and 2020 Scottish Comedy Award (Best Improv/Variety).  His show has been described as “Stomach achingly funny”, "A masterclass in lyrical improvisation", and "An improvised hip hop masterpiece”. Will was an absolute blast to talk to!  He was very friendly, very insightful, and shares a lot about his beginnings and how he became the MC Hammersmith we know and love.  In this conversation, his passion and his excitement really comes through, and I hope it brings as much joy to you as it did to me! Visit his website mchammersmith.com to learn more about him and his show.  And also visit MC Hammersmith’s YouTube channel where you’ll find clips of his improvised freestyle performances and hip hop comedy tracks.