Improv Interviews

Jay Sukow is one of the most respected and beloved improv teachers today. He shares his childhood with a nurturing family and how he became the man he is. His parents gave him a ticket to his first Improv class and he found his passion. He studied at Second City, IO, and Comedy Sports. Jay shares a wonderful story of spending an afternoon with David Shepherd. We chat about our admiration for the "mother of improv" Viola Spolin. Jay shares his ups and downs in the improv world. He is very funny and a truly humble person. #Iknowjaysukow

Peter Felsman, PhD - Improviser, Social Worker, Researcher by Margot Escott

Meet my brilliant friend, Amy Seham. She wrote the groundbreaking feminist look at Improv in her 2001 book “Whose Improv is it Anyway?” and is currently working on her updated sequel coming out this summer. Amy is a remarkable person, a historian, author, improviser, actor, director, playwright and so much more. In our interview, she talks about the amazing family she grew up in and her early love of all things theatrical. We met at a Patti Stiles improv workshop and she is really fun to play with. I know you will enjoy this special podcast.

Amy Seham is a director, author, professor, and improvisor whose book, Whose Improv Is It, Anyway? Beyond Second City (2001) is a ground-breaking study of race, gender, and power in Chicago improv-comedy. Her writing on improv has been published in The Oxford Handbook of Critical Improvisation Studies and in Radical Acts: Theatre and Pedagogies of Change. In the last 20 years, Seham has created improv workshops for social workers and professional actors in India, college students in China, and children in the Dominican Republic. She has offered classes at Second City in Toronto, Fringe Benefits in LA, and the Playwrights Center in Minneapolis taught for Funny Woman Festivals in Minneapolis and Chicago and given workshops for colleges and universities across the country. Her 2016 keynote address for the Mellon Foundation Series on Comedy and Gender at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, launched a new book project, Improv for the 21st. Century, to be published by Routledge in 2023.

Meet the wonderful Matthew Tolliver PhD and his good friend Emily. He has been using applied improv with many groups, like First Responders and schools. He is a dedicated scholar and has created a model for Cognitive Complexity. I know you'll enjoy listening and learning from him.

Nathan Keeates on Improv and Anxiety by Margot Escott

British researcher and improviser Nathan Keats discusses the ethics of Behaviorism therapy.

This is our second interview with the brilliant Nathan Keats. He is a British improviser and Ph.D. candidate who has worked with adults on the Autism spectrum and people with anxiety. He is well-versed in the current research on how improvisational theatre can benefit many diverse populations.

Kenn Adams by Margot Escott

Meet the delightful Gare Ware, author of "Playful Rebellion" ! Gary Ware, the Founder of Breakthrough Play is a corporate facilitator, keynote speaker, certified coach, and self-proclaimed Creative Catalyst. Gary has over 14 years of experience in the corporate world holding various leadership positions. Being a multifaceted individual Gary also comes with nearly a decade of experience as a performer in improv theatre. After experiencing burnout in his pursuit for success and happiness, he realized that what was missing was play. Committing to a life of play is what led Gary to discover his passion for facilitating.

Blue Cavell-Allette is a veteran improv performer who has been invited to perform and facilitate workshops all over North America. She is the producer and creator of several popular, long running improv shows both online and in person, including Tastemakers and the Newlywed Game. Blue is a founding member of two nationally and internationally award winning all black improv teams including Cakewalk and Casually Dope. She is a comedian, writer, and director of both traditional and improv theatre and a passionate advocate for building intentional and equitable communities. She has coached several nationally award winning teams including It's Improv Baby and Cakewalk. Blue is a corporate trainer working with such companies as Youtube and S.C. Johnson. She is currently a professor at Morgan State University where she teaches applied improv.