Improv Interviews

Meet my dear friend Vishok, Verma from Bangalore, India. We've been colleagues for several years and he has even been a substitute coach for my Improv for Parkinson's Classes. He is continually bringing improv to his community and the world! He has recently started his "Yes, Let's Improvise for 15 minutes" which I played with him last year - so much fun! Yes-Let's Improvise for 15 Minutes!! - https://www.facebook.com/share/17kZQtCcud/ Also, Vishok is a Social Entrepreneur, International Improv Coach, and Artist. He is also an Applied Improv Practitioner, along with Effective Communication Skills Training. With around 9 years of experience in Improv performance and teaching, along with Applied Improv (in-person and online), he has trained a variety of audiences from 39 countries, and their age ranges from 5 Years to 85 Years. He recently facilitated a workshop and a panel discussion at the Vietnam Improv Festival, 2025. He has studied with numerous international online groups, including the Vintage Improv Community and Queens City Comedy (USA), Improv College (Canada), and Doc Cooper Community (Germany), among others. In Bangalore, he is building Improv Springs and sometimes jams with the No Pressure Improv Community. Jay Sukow is his mentor. Social Media - Insta - Vishok Verma (@vishok_verma) • Instagram photos and videos LinkedIn - Vishok Verma | LinkedIn Linktree - vishokverma | Instagram, Facebook | LinktreeVishok

We're starting the New Year with our good friend the talented and stunningly transparent Hillary Kane! I met Hillary through Billy Merritt (player with the original Upright Citizens Brigade) who created the BIT Comedy Network, https://bitcomedynetwork.com. Billy praised her leadership role at BIT, "Hillary is amazing, she’s the COO, chief organizing officer. We would not have BIT without her." Hillary produces and edits these wonderful shows and does a fabulous job! She is currently living in San Antonio and we chatted about our favorite Westerns, and our love of the Alamo! She grew up in California and studied theatre and psychology but ended up as an attorney. She began classes at UCB and discovered that she could play improv 7 days a week! She studied with the legendary Ian Roberts who taught the flash memory skill which she still uses today. She is also the host of the podcast, "Shut Up, Gail" and has a really unique way of interviewing her guests. Hillary is a dynamic and generous spirit and I think you'll love her as much as I do!

Meet the dynamic Kim Thanh Le ! Many thanks to my producer, Bright Su ,for introducing us. We had such fun getting to know each other and learning about her improv journey! She was born and raised in Hanoi and loves her city. She is a Hanoi-based improviser/writer. She is the founder and director of The Improv Hub, Vietnam's first community space dedicated to improv, and the Vietnam Improv Festival. Thanh has been building the improv community across Vietnam, bringing this special art form to audiences who are mostly experiencing it for the first time. A lot of the shows and classes she has produced in her country are bilingual, to treasure both local cultures and international bonds. She has also taught and performed in Australia, China, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand. With an academic background in education and business, she also applies improv to design training and facilitation programs on collaboration and development for organizations. This past year she taught at the Oslo Impro Festival and taught "Culturally Proud" and "Generational Bridges" which she describes on our podcast. When not doing improv, she gets nerdy and writes case studies about Asian businesses, or takes her motorbike and wanders around Vietnam. You can learn more about her at: The Improv Hub https://www.improv.vn or any of the social media handles for The Improv Hub (FB/IG) and Vietnam Improv Festival (FB/IG).

In our second hour with Dr. Steph we explore her improv journey, starting as a musical director at Chicago theatre such as IO, Comedy Sports and Second City. We shared our love of the "mother of improv" Viola Spolin and discussed the myriad improv schools and forms that we see today. She studied musical improv with, Mike Descouteaux, legendary founder of the celebrated Music Program at The Second City Training Center in Chicago. That was where she really heightened her playing and working with improvisers. Dr. Steph describes the art of improv and how much it is now a global phenomena. And starting January 4 she is teaching an online class at And, Also Improv and there is still space available at https://andalsoimprov.culmas.io/class/2ynoy17uHUk2FLDfnuqZ?from=component-api

Carlisle is the only city In County Cumbria, UK and one of the oldest cities, spanning 2,000 years. Someone who hasn’t been there quite that long is the marvelous Dr. Steph McCullough, world renowned musical improv director! In this first of a two-part interview, Dr. Steph describes her love of her husband James and her new hometown of Carlisle. In her unique and melodious way, Dr. Steph describes her journey from Chicago to this historic city that is close to Hadrian’s Wall, a place she loves to explore. She shares the story of her long distance love affair with James is better than any Hallmark movie, and it brought tears to my eyes. As she lives near Scotland she performed the 2025 Fringe Festival in Edinburgh. We discussed her research project on “seniors” while pursing a Ph.D., interviewing Del Close. Dr. Steph hadn’t entered the world of improv yet and wasn’t sure she wanted to after meeting with this historic figure. When studying at the IO she met up with Del again. Recently she has created The Improv Lineage Project, a research project that already has 700 participants on their personal improv lineage. You can join the study below. https://improvlineage.com To learn more about Dr. Steph you can visit her YouTube channel for some lessons on musical improv.

Marc Watzecha is my friend and teacher and today we talk about all the great classes available at The Sketch School. Marc is the founder of this online training ground dedicated exclusively to sketch and short form comedy. Improv Interviews hosted Marc in August 2023 when I first started taking classes there. We spoke about his improv journey back then. Today's episode is all about The Sketch School and his philosophy on teaching sketch comedy. Please visit his website at Thesketchschool.com to check out all the terrific, and affordable, classes and workshops he teaches. He also brings industry experts, like Jamie Moyer, to teach classes. Marc is a beloved artist in the improv community and I think you'll love him too!

I had the great pleasure of meeting Jennifer Estin when I signed at the terrific online classes for the Annoyance, Improv Fiend! https://improvfiend.com We chatted about her childhood and how her mother created games that inspired her to pursue acting. Jennifer Estlin has been involved in the entertainment business as an actress and producer since 1986. Following her graduation from Northwestern University’s School of Speech in 1987, she traveled to Edinburgh Scotland with the production of André Gregory's Alice! directed by David Schwimmer. Afterward, she spent three months traveling all over Europe until deciding to settle for awhile in Paris, where she earned her living singing on the Parisian Metro for close to a year. ​ Upon returning to Chicago, Jennifer spent several years working in many of Chicago’s theatres including The Annoyance, Northlight, and The Body Politic. She toured for two years with Second City’s National Touring company and was a company member on a Second City resident stage prior to moving to New York in 1994. There, she continued her career by working in regional theatres around the country, Off-Broadway theatre, film, and television. She returned to Chicago in 2002 to become President, Executive Producer and owner of the Annoyance Theatre, and continues to work on film, television and stage. Jennifer has appeared as recurring characters Judge Cohen on Proven Innocent and Cathy Briscoe on NBC’s Law and Order, and also in shows such as Chicago PD, Empire, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, Exit 57, and in several national and regional commercials. Her feature film credits include the soon to be released (Fall 2024) Everything Fun You Could Possibly Do in Aledo, Illinois (for which she received Best Actress award at the Star City Film Festlval), The Eyes, iMurders, Chicago Boricua, and Volcano, and the award winning short films A Million Miles Away,(Sundance) and The Cure (Slamdance). ​You can learn more about Jennifer at https://www.jenniferestlin.com ​

I first met the dynamic Marian Rich at a Global Play Brigade event and later at an East Side Institute meeting. Marian, a New York City native, shared her journey from growing up in Manhattan in the 1960s to becoming a political activist and theater artist. Her father, a blacklisted character actor during the McCarthy era, influenced her early interest in theater. Marian's involvement with the East Side Institute and the Global Play Brigade highlights her work in using improv and theater for social change. She discussed her transition from acting to art due to chronic pain and her role in creating mental health workshops in Harlem. Marian emphasized the importance of play and creativity in overcoming life's challenges. Marian co-leads a monthly Creative Playground -https://www.wemanitycoaching.com/creative-playground - with her colleague Aurelie Harp. Marian and Aurelie also lead a weekly in-person coaching group in NYC at https://www.wemanitycoaching.com/inperson-group You can learn more about Marian and her work at: https://www.marianrich.com

Gael Doorneweerd-Perry, co-founder of Flock Theatre Amsterdam, shares his fascinating journey from an introverted childhood near Strasbourg to becoming an extraordinary improviser. He discusses the profound influence of music and books like 'The Little Prince' on his life. Gael explains his unique teaching style focused on physicality and nonverbal cues in improv. He also delves into the innovative concept of their show, 'Object of Affection,' and the thrilling experience of touring globally to teach and perform, all while balancing his passion for geology.

Meet my friend Kitty Parker. We met at the online Queen City Comedy School and I knew I wanted to get to know her better. I was fascinated by her writing about improv which you can find at https://medium.com/@kittyparker_8532 She moved from Europe to New Zealand where she discovered improv! Kitty Parker shares her journey in improv, starting with weekly classes and progressing to jam sessions with higher-level improvisers. She discussed her experiences at the New Zealand Improv Festival and the impact of different teachers. Kitty also talked about her children, including her non-binary daughter, and her work as an early childhood educator. She emphasized the importance of life experience in improv and the joy of teaching newcomers. Kitty has an ebook on Amazon , Improv Impressions, be sure to check it out! She concluded by advising older improvisers to embrace their life experience and be open to new roles.