Improv Interviews

What a wonderful time I had getting to know Adrian Monte. He is an Actor, improviser, and educator with experience in voice over, commercial production, and on-stage. Founder of DareDevil Improv- a Wilmington, NC based improvisation and performance training center focusing on comedy, community, and corporate training. His mission is to build a better world through collaboration, creativity, and humor. He is a compassionate educator and a very funny man. Check out his theater at DareDevil Improv

This week we’re delighted to interview Aree Witoelar the Norway based improviser. He is the founder and artistic director of Impro Neuf International, Oslo, Norway’s first English speaking improv comedy theater, with over 1,000 members from over 50 countries. A few days after our interview Aree appeared on the cover of STATUS magazine and you can get a copy here https://payhip.com/status Aree has been improvising since 2005, studying from many teachers throughout his improv career. Aree and Friends is his popular duos improv scenes, and as of this date (April 2025) there are 178 episodes with 62 countries. These scenes can be accessed at his Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/areewitoelarimprov/ I had the pleasure of doing a duo scene with him and it was so lovely. He describes himself as aloud advocate for race diversity in theatre, and has created minority representation teams Rice Eaters and Monosodium Glutamates, mixed language shows, and produced Impro Neuf's world-bending Cloud Atlas. Aree spoke about his childhood in Indonesia and his decision to pursue advanced studies in Norway. He has a Ph.D. degree in physics. He is a prolific writer on improv and began his blog in 2017. Check out his writing here. Blog https://areewitoelar.medium.com/ He is the Artistic Director of the 2025 Oslo Impro Festival featuring artists from around the world. You’ll want to attend this amazing festival! https://www.osloimprofestival.com Here are some ways you can get in touch with Aree. Official Website https://areewitoelar.com/ Oslo Impro Festival https://www.osloimprofestival.com/ Instagram page https://www.instagram.com/aree2d2/

Cale Evans Cale Evans is an actor, improviser, host, coach, trainer and producer. What a delight getting to know Cale! He shares his improv journey and how he became an “accidental actor”. Growing up in North Carolina he’s a genuine “tar heel” but no tar grows under his feet! He began his improv training at Charlotte Comedy Theater where he is now a coach. He is the Founder of Queen City Comedy and Now are the Foxes Improv Comedy. Cale also performs with Improv Charlotte and Background Noise Musical Improv. He is the Ensemble Coach for Close Distance and Smells Like Ghosts. When not on stage, Cale can be heard on the wildly popular podcast - The Podcast from Hell and Bat Boys Comedy Podcast. Cale co-produces the Queen City Comedy Experience Cale is also a coach for Charlotte Comedy Theater. Cale is a dynamic, positive force in our improv world! To learn more about Cale check out his podcast “The Podcast from Hell” and Queen City Comedy. https://linktr.ee/thepodcastfromhell https://linktr.ee/queencitycomedy https://www.queencitycomedy.com/

Katie Caussin is the new director of the 40 year old iO theater in Chicago. She is an actress, improviser, director and actor who has a 30 year career in improv. We talked about what she loves about improv and why she is passionate about it. One of her favorite experiences was being in Comedy Sportz and touring with them. She believes that Comedy Sportz gave her the best training to be an improviser. One of her experiences was on tour when members of her team shaved their heads! She thought about going bald herself but eventually kept her lovely locks. She shared the history of iO and the incredible improvisers who came out of their school. Katie is a warm and generous person and I felt like I'd known her for years. I know you'll love her as much as I do!

I am so happy to call Yuehan Liu a friend and improv playmate! We met during the pandemic and I instantly was impressed with her brilliance in improv and our mutual admiration for Viola Spolin. Yuehan is a designer by day and improv nerd by evening. She has been living in Stockholm for several years. She is the founder of English improv community - Fika Improv Group in Stockholm, where she's committed to connecting improvisers and sharing our passion for improv in a welcoming space. Graduated from Second City, she has also been training with teachers from different schools around the world like Jay Sukow, Liz Allen, Susan Messing and Billy Merritt. Yuehan is half of the Scandinavian Asian duo "Herring & Chopsticks", teaches and performs at several international improv festivals as well as locally. By creating a fun and connecting atmosphere, she's committed to spreading the joy and freedom of improvisation in her performances and teaching. You can get in touch with Yuehan at: Facebook: www.facebook.com/yuehan.liu.5 www.facebook.com/FikaImprovGroup/ Instagram: www.instagram.com/_ru_ok/ www.instagram.com/fika_improv

Meet my very funny friend Andrew Cornelius. We met taking classes with. Marc Warzecha at the Sketch School. His sketch writing is dynamic and he has helped me as a writer. Andrew is a Los Angeles based comic whose comedic roots came from a decade of improv comedy experience in Chicago and New York before he focused exclusively on stand-up comedy eight years ago. He was the host of Intrigue.TV’s “Just Eat It!,” a restaurant review show that is available on YouTube. Andrew also played “Preston” in the indie comedy feature, “Captain Hagen’s Bed & Breakfast” streaming on Amazon. He made two appearances on Comedy Central’s “Inside Amy Schumer.” Sometimes children recognize him as “Coach Scalp” from Nick Jr.’s “Platy & Jackie’s Mixed Up Challenges.” Through Cool Beans Comedy, Andrew is coach / instructor at the Ice House Comedy Club for beginner and intermediate stand-up comedy classes. Andrew is a whiskey aficionado and has logged over 200 different tastings in his journal. However, he probably forgot to log another hundred or so over his lifetime. You can see some of Andrew’s work on the following links. infamouscornelius.com youtube.com/@corneliushaha youtube.com/@corneliusdrinksandthinks x.com/@infamousacorn

What a wonderful opportunity to chat with the incredible musical improv genius, Mike Descoteaux. I've been lucky enough to call him a friend over a decade! He is a beloved teacher throughout the world. We even got to do a musical improv number! Mike Descoteaux is a music director, teacher, composer, improviser and airline pilot, apparently. He was creator and head of the Music Program at The Second City Training Center, music director of the Second City ETC stage in Chicago, and full-time artistic director/executive director of several New England nonprofit arts and comedy organizations. His work has been seen on NBC, A&E, WGN, WGBH and stages around the globe. He has “composed” and “conducted” over 1,000 completely improvised musicals with BLANK! the musical (Off-Broadway), Baby Wants Candy, Musical! the musical, and many others. In addition to teaching/performing at institutions like the Second City, iO, Comedy Sportz, the Annoyance, the Magnet, UCB, Northwestern University, and Columbia College, Mike has led workshops in improvisation, sketch, music direction, and music improv at festivals and theaters all over the world.

Welcome back to the Billy Merritt podcast, Part 2! Billy shares his journey in LA and his return to FL. So grateful to have the opportunity to interview this improv great!

Billy Merritt is an improviser, director, actor and all round great guy! Co-author of one of the best books on improv "Pirate Ninja Robot: An Improv Fable" with Will Hines. I've had the great fortune to be studying with him lately on his BIT comedy podcasts and it is a real trip! He is a founding member of The Swarm, and UCB. As a teacher Billy has developed many improvised longform shows. Such as, The Documentary, Improvised One Acts, The Ninja, Murder Murder, Robot Theatre, and the Holiday Spectacular. Launched in 2024 he curates the BIT Comedy Network with monthly podcast shows "Podcast Town" and "rabbitHOLE" found on Apple Music. Billy is a compassionate and beautiful improv teacher and I know you'll have funny hearing his story!

What a wonderful experience getting to know Vinny Francois! He is a delightful person and we had such fun on this podcast. Vinny has over 25 years experience as a professional improviser in both English and French. He's a founding director of Improv College, Camp Zipzap (an improv camp for adults), was the Executive Producer of Mprov: The Montreal Improv Festival and co-founder of the Montreal Improv Theatre. Vinny has performed in Just For Laughs and improv festivals around the world and he currently writes for The Beaverton. Be sure to check out his beautiful work at the links below. Links: https://improvcollege.ca/ http://www.campzipzap.com/ https://www.can-i-get-a.com/