Improv Interviews

Meet the wonderful Laura Doorneweerd-Perry! She is an improviser from Amsterdam and we had a laugh-filled chat in this episode. Laura is co-founder and co-director of Flock Theatre, but she has also been a member of the cast of multiple productions, as well as directing and producing fabulous shows! She met her husband, Gael Doorneweerd-Perry, at an improv festival and they felling love! They planned a Global World Honeymoon Tour but the pandemic got in the way of completing. They have performed all over the world and delight audiences everywhere.

What a delight speaking with Fena Ortalli, known around the world as a brilliant improviser/teacher. He is the founder and editor of STATUS (Revisita de Improvisation) the foremost journal about all things impro around the world. This impro magazine has been published sine 2001Originally from Argentina, where he discovered Impro, and had a sideline as a birthday party entertainer! He has been improvising since 2001. In 2006 he created Global Impro, an improv troupe dedicated to national and international collaboration and exchange. He resides in Madrid and is a frequent guest at Impro Festivals around the world. For more information contact him: https://www.globalimpro.com/ https://payhip.com/status

Meet legendary improviser Tim Orr based in San Francisco. We had a fabulous chat about his life in improv, international travels and favorite movie. We spoke about his philosophy on improv and the importance of connections. He even gave me a tour of his home! He has been improvising since 1988 with many San Francisco and international groups, including BATS Improv, True Fiction Magazine, Awkward Dinner Party, and with the acclaimed troupe 3 For All. In 2009, he founded Improv Playhouse of San Francisco. Since 2015, he has toured Europe with Inbal Lori from Berlin performing their duo show Click. Tim has also appeared in numerous plays in the San Francisco Bay Area, and received critical acclaim for his leading roles in the improvised feature films, Suckerfish and Security. Nationally, Tim has performed and taught improvisation at the American Conservatory Theatre, BATS Improv, Stanford University, and many other venues (Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Austin, Louisville, Atlanta, etc.). Internationally, he has performed and taught at numerous festivals and/or as an invited guest artist in Amsterdam, Barcelona, Beijing, Beirut, Belgium, Berlin, Bucharest, Dubai, Hamburg, Helsinki, Lisbon, London, Lyon, Mallorca, Oslo, Paris, Saudi Arabia, Shanghai, Sofia, Stockholm, Tel Aviv and more. Tim has consulted with numerous groups both nationally and internationally in their formation of improvisation groups and also the development of new improvisation formats.

Meet the fabulous Tim Yeo! He is from Singapore and has a fantastic improv theater at Ask Auntie Productions. He studied law in Bristol, UK and there he discovered improv at the Bristol Improv Society. He quickly joined the cast and has been improvising since 2011. He returned to Singapore in 2014 to practice law and began improv groups there. His teams ASAP improv and Les Musicables perform Musical Improv as well as other forms. He has traveled to Improv Festivals around the globe. In our chat he describes his teaching style. He is a fabulous spirit and we had so much joy getting to know each other! You can learn more about him at www.askauntie.sg and connect via Instagram @savingtimmy

Ashton Keys is a delightful therapist in Orlando, Florida. She is currently working on her Ph.D. and exploring ways that improv can be used in training therapists. I know you'll love getting to know Ashton!

Meet the incredible Rebecca Sohn! She is originally a New Jersey girl but has had so many adventures since leaving home at age 18. She describes her father and how he fostered her creativity by building a stage in their basement for her to give dancing performances. Her dad involved the whole family in co-writing a play, which was basically improvised and was produced at two local schools. Her passion and love was ballet until age 16 when she tragically "grew out of a dancer’s body" and gave up her dream of being the Prima Ballerina of the World. She remembers her high school English teacher, Ms Bartow, who nurtured her students’ artistic sides. At 18 she moved to Boston and recalled seeing an Improv Touring Company Show, but didn’t walk away thinking “This is what I want to do.” A few years later she moved to the Bay Area of California and was able to attend school and knew she wanted to be an actor. But the acting classes were full so she enrolled in an improv class, with the thought it would help her acting. While in SF she met Charna Halpern of the IO and was invited to Chicago and the rest was history! It was Charna who persuaded her to date Rebecca’s (now) husband, Rich Sohn! To learn more you’ll have to listen to the podcast. You can find out even more about Rebecca at her website www.rebeccasohn.com

Meet the talented Rich Sohn! After being introduced to improv in college, he moved to Chicago in 1987, so he's definitely a seasoned pro in the Improv world. He studied, taught and directed at the Annoyance Theatre, IO and, Second City. As a teacher, he was at The Annoyance Theatre where Rich primarily found his voice and approach. His teaching style is highly influenced by Mick Napier. He moved to LA in 2017 and now teaches at The Pack Theater. He has directed, written and performed hours and hours of comedy content. Designed curriculum to help professionals and students find and perfect their voice. And improvisation has remained at the root of everything he does. We talked about what he looks for in his students and his teaching style. I think you'll admire Rich as much as I do!

Our producer/engineer Bright Su introduced me to an incredible human being, Matt Folliott. We had such a fun and lively conversation and when you listen you'll know why his last name foretold his career in acting! He grew up in Canada and had is own agent at ten years old! Matt is a Comedian/Actor/Writer from Toronto, Canada, and a former cast member of The Second City National Touring Company and Canadian Comedy Award Winning Sketch Group The Sketchersons. Matt was nominated for Best Male Improviser two years in a row in Toronto’s beloved NOW magazine. He was also nominated for a Canadian Comedy Award for Best Improv Troupe with his group K$M (pronounced K and M) and has had the pleasure of performing and teaching improv across the globe in festivals like NOW Improv Festival (Beijing), Manila Improv Festival, Vietnam Improv Festival, Singapore Improv Festival, Hong Kong Improv Festival, Improvaganza (Edmonton, CND), Vancouver Improv Festival, Mprov (Montreal, CND), Ottawa Improv Festival, The Winnipeg Improv Festival and The Seattle International Festival of Improv. You can hear him or see him on your TV or laptop screens in shows like Bakugan (Netflix), PJ Masks (Disney +), Clifford the Big Red Dog (Prime Video), Agent Binky: Pets of the Universe (Treehouse), Charlie’s Colorforms City (Netflix), Workin’ Moms (Netflix), Baroness Von Sketch Show (Netflix) and Odd Squad (PBS Kids). Check out his website at https://www.mattfolliott.com

I met Rebekah through Marc Warzecha at the Sketch School and knew I wanted to know more about this intriguing person! Rebekah is getting her MFA in Performance Pedagogy at Loyola Marymount University, Rebekah has been an adjunct faculty member at The Second City since 2008. She has developed comedy writing courses for SCTC, Lesly Kahn & Co, and The Sketch School. Co-creator and executive producer of Chicago's long-running LGBTQIA+ soap opera, The Ville, Rebekah is a former associate member of The Actors' Gang with a B.A. in Theatre Arts from San Jose State University. She is a proud member of SAG-AFTRA and a founding member of the Association of International Comedy Educators (AICE-CWA Local 9505). In Part 1 we talk about her early life, interest in theater and her path that led her to Second City Chicago. Be sure to check out her website at: https://rebekahwalendzakslepski.com This summer she Rebeka perform for Shakespeare on the Bluff: https://cfa.lmu.edu/programs/theatrearts/shakespeareonthebluff/ If you'd like to study sketch writing with her she teaches at the Rodney Dangerfield Institute @LACC. https://lacitycollege.augusoft.net/index.cfm?method=ClassInfo.ClassInformation&int_class_id=13113&int_category_id=0&int_sub_category_id=0&int_catalog_id=0

We continue our fascinating talk with Rebeka Walendzak Slepski and her journey in sketch writing and life. She spoke about her recovery from Hodgkin lymphoma and subsequent bone marrow transplant. Despite going through treatment and surgeries she persevered and went to Second City LA. She was on the faculty teaching writing and sketch. Rebekah has been an adjunct faculty member at The Second City since 2008. She has developed comedy writing courses for SCTC, Lesly Kahn & Co, and The Sketch School. Co-creator and executive producer of Chicago's long-running LGBTQIA+ soap opera, The Ville, Rebekah is a former associate member of The Actors' Gang with a B.A. in Theatre Arts from San Jose State University. She is a proud member of SAG-AFTRA and a founding member of the Association of International Comedy Educators (AICE-CWA Local 9505). Be sure to check out her website at: https://rebekahwalendzakslepski.com This summer she Rebeka perform for Shakespeare on the Bluff: https://cfa.lmu.edu/programs/theatrearts/shakespeareonthebluff/ If you'd like to study sketch writing with her she teaches at the Rodney Dangerfield Institute @LACC. https://lacitycollege.augusoft.net/index.cfm?method=ClassInfo.ClassInformation&int_class_id=13113&int_category_id=0&int_sub_category_id=0&int_catalog_id=0