Improv and Magic

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.

This week is the 2024 Miami Improv Festival! To start the celebration, my guest today is the guy who makes it happen every year, my dear friend David Christopher. David is the first return guest here on the podcast.  You may remember he was on the very first episode of Improv and Magic.  We had such a great time, but unfortunately there wasn’t enough time to get into everything.  So today, we pick up right where we left off and continue our conversation, where we talk a lot about the Miami Improv Festival as well as his role as a Manager of Just The Funny and his business Interactive Training Solutions. Be sure to visit interactivetrainingsolutions.com to learn more about David’s business and find out how you can take your communication and leadership skills beyond.  And as always, visit justthefunny.com to learn more about Miami’s home for improv and sketch comedy. If you are in the Miami area this week, I invite you to attend the 2024 Miami Improv Festival at Just The Funny.  The festival runs this week in January from Thursday the 11th through Sunday the 14th, and will feature amazing improv acts from across the country. I’ll be performing 2 shows at the festival this year: on Friday at 7pm I’ll be doing my solo show Together/By Myself in the Spotlight Bar, and on Sunday at 9pm in the Mainstage I’ll be performing my brand new show David Magnifico-The World’s Stupidest Magic Show.  If you’re around, come on by, I’d be happy to say hi to you!  You can find a full show schedule, tickets, and workshop information at the festival’s website, justthefunny.com/miami-improv-festival.

I’ve had the opportunity to talk to a lot of inspiration people on this podcast, but I have to say today’s guest has one of the most inspirational stories I’ve ever heard.  He lives by the motto “being different is your superpower”, and his name is John Kippen. John is a magician, a motivational speaker, and a master storyteller.  He’s a performer at the world famous Magic Castle in Hollywood, and has been featured in various publications such as International Magic Magazine, Genii, CEO Weekly, and Redx, and in July 2019 John appeared as a speaker for TEDx. In 2021, John Kippen’s documentary titled “John’s Ultimate Illusion” was voted Best Inspirational Documentary at the Doc LA Film Festival.  His documentary is a glimpse into his life and features appearances from other amazing people including Jamie Lee Curtis. In our conversation today, you’ll hear how in 2002 John’s life was changed forever.  But thanks to magic, he regained his self confidence and learned to love life again.  In his performances, he uses his life experience to show how anyone can turn their differences into super powers.  John was such a pleasure to talk to, and he shares a couple of amazing moments in his career. And he also shares his love for improv, and how the techniques and tools of improvisation can be very beneficial to magicians. Be sure to visit his website johnkippen.com, where you can learn more about his performances and talks, find information for his documentary “John’s Ultimate Illusion”, and his show Inside the Magician’s Studio featuring many amazing and well-known magical performers.

Today I get to talk to another improv legend, Mick Napier. Mick is known both nationally and internationally as an innovator and creative force in comedy, improvisation, and theater. His belief in the element of risk-taking is what influences his work and his direction.  He is one of the founders of the world-famous Annoyance Theater in Chicago, where Mick has spent more than 20 years developing and cultivating a style of work and production that has been both acclaimed and imitated.  Mick Napier is also a Director and Artistic Consultant for the internationally renowned Second City, and has made his mark having directed more than 10 revues there.  He’s written 2 acclaimed books called “Improvise: Scene from the Inside Out” and “Behind the Scenes: Improvising Long Form”, both of which are considered some of the best books on the craft of improvisation. In addition, Mick Napier is also a magician!  He and his wife Jennifer have been performing mentalism for over 20 years, and he’s also a regular performer at The Chicago Magic Lounge. If you love improv and if you love magic, then this gentleman is definitely someone you’ll want to hear from. You can learn more about him by visiting his website, micknapier.com.  You can also learn all about The Annoyance Theater by visiting their website, theannoyance.com, and The Chicago Magic Lounge at their website chicagomagiclounge.com. Don't forget to rate and review!

Today, I’m talking to an old friend who I’ve had the pleasure of learning with, shared the stage with and have watched develop into an amazing performer.  My guest today is Diane Jorge. Diane has been a comedic performer for over 13 years in South Florida, and has performed with various theaters including Just The Funny, Front Yard Theater Collective and ImprovU.  Diane performs improv and stand-up comedy all across the United States, and she’s become one of the top female performers in South Florida. Diane has developed 2 amazing one-person improvised shows.  Her first show is Mercado de la Fortuna, inspired by the famous astrologer Walter Mercado, where she gives improvised fortunes to audience members. Her second show is called Solovela, a solo improvised telenovela that she creates based on audience suggestions, and plays all of the characters. Diane was actually a student of mine at Just The Funny, and since the first time I met her I could tell that she had an energy level unlike anyone else I’ve ever met.  Her energy, her passion, her drive is so infectious, she knows how to get herself out there and go big. Here’s a fun little drinking game you can all play.  Take a drink every time Diane hits the microphone!  You’ll understand what I mean later! Find out more about this amazing woman by visiting her website at diangejorge.com, and follow her on Instagram at dianeisloud, mercadodelafortuna, and solovelaimprov.

Failure can be a tough thing to deal with, but it's only a failure if we don't learn from it. In today's tip, I talk about having to deal with failure as a performer, and how it's only part of the performer's experience. It's also part of the human experience.

My friends, today’s guest is Bruce Gold. He is by far one of the greatest comedy magicians today.  He has performed all over the country as both a magician and a stand-up comedian, and has performed in various venues in Las Vegas, aboard the world’s largest cruise ships, and he’s a regular at the world famous Magic Castle in Hollywood.  Bruce has also had many television appearances, including Oprah, Full House, Masters of Illusion, and Penn & Teller Fool Us.  You might remember Bruce from his award winning “Got Milk” commercial, where he plays the magician at a retirement home birthday party and makes the elderly people’s milk disappear.  (Spoiler alert: it doesn’t end well for him!) Bruce is also the host of his own TV talkshow called The Bruce Gold Show, a weekly comedy, variety talkshow with fun and fascinating interviews presented with family friendly humor. Bruce Gold was an absolute blast to talk to.  He was very warm and friendly, and he shared so much knowledge about the art of magic and comedy.  I felt like I was listening to a very wise teacher.  This was such a fun time, and I’m happy to share this fun time with you, my friends! You can watch his demo video here, which includes clips of some of his performances as well as his famous "Got Milk?" commercial.