Improv Interviews

Meet my dear friend Karen Derrah! We met through our mutual friend Max Schaeffer and more recently in a Musical Improv Show directed by Steph McCullough. She lives in Guelph, Ontario and has been playing and teaching piano for many years. Her love of improvisation and music was a natural fit to become a Musical Director.

We had a lovely chat about her improv journey and even did a short musical scene! She offers a free musical jam on Tuesdays, twice a month, attended by folks around the world. I'm sure you'll love Karen as much as I do!

Here are some ways to get in touch with Karen.

To get on her mailing list for Tuesday Musical Improv email her at:

Summer Piano Workshop July 13th to 17th, 2026: https://www.karenderrah.com/home/pianoworkshop2026

Website https://www.karenderrah.com/

Facebook page for my piano studio: https://www.facebook.com/karenderrahpianostudio

Instagram for my piano studio: @kdpianostudio

I am accepting new students to my online piano studio this September. Prospective students (or their parents) can book a meet and greet with me using my online calendar at https://tidycal.com/karenderrah/info or they can email me at [email protected].

Meet the incredible Amy Angelilli, owner and ringleader of Third Space Improv. They are in St. Augustine, Florida, one of the coolest places in Florida! Since arriving in Florida in 2015, she has facilitated cooperative play experiences for people from 9 to 92 and every age in between. She’s also a certified laughter yoga leader. If you don't know what Laughter Yoga is, check out this video.

https://www.3rdspaceimprov.com/team-building/

She worked out of other studios and theatres in St. Augustine for years until finally creating her own studio space in 2023.We laughed so much and she is multi-talented improviser. After starting a career in corporate America, she discovered improv during a divorce and hasn't stopped yet!

She has fabulous energy and was one of the forces behind the 2025 AIN Conference in Florida last year.

If you've never been to St. Augustine, home of The Fountain of Youth, check it out and take some classes at Third Space Improv.

Owner + Ringleader, Third Space Improv

200 Malaga Street, St. Augustine, Florida 32084

https://www.3rdspaceimprov.com

Author, 100 Things to Do in St. Augustine Before You Die

Have you found your third space?

Peter Barg has spent his life building creativity in high-pressure environments. Beginning as a messenger in New York City during the final era of physical film editing, he learned every aspect of post-production before advancing into advertising production with McCann Erickson, where he worked on major campaigns for brands including Coca-Cola, AT&T, L’Oréal, and Miller Brewing. By his mid-twenties, he was producing national campaigns and later moved to St. Louis and Hollywood, where he led animation productions and eventually founded a pioneering virtual animation studio years before remote collaboration became commonplace. Throughout his career, Peter became known for solving complex creative problems, building systems, and bringing people together to produce exceptional work. Ironically, those same instincts initially made improvisation difficult. Introduced to improv through a client, Peter struggled with the uncertainty of the form but gradually discovered its deeper lessons in listening, trust, and collaboration—skills he later recognized would have made him an even stronger producer.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Peter immersed himself in online improv training with leading teachers from around the world and found a global creative community. In response, he founded Improv Dim Sum, an online workshop series that connected improvisers across cities and countries while making high-quality training accessible and affordable. The project grew into a thriving nonprofit organization dedicated to education and community building. Peter also served as President of Compass Improv in St. Louis, helping preserve the city’s vital place in improv history through its connection to Compass Players, Viola Spolin, Paul Sills, and the roots of both Second City and iO Theater. Today, Peter continues to produce workshops, coach performers, and connect improvisers with outstanding teachers. Whether in advertising, animation, or improvisation, his work has always centered on the same mission: creating environments where trust, creativity, and meaningful human connection can flourish.

Meet the brilliant and charming improviser, teacher, filmmaker and so much more, Ian McLaughlin. He started his Improv career on a rainy night in London (see our interview with his partner Beverly Fox) and began an incredible improv journey. Ian was so easy to chat with and he describes his method of teaching improv, starting with the first class. I felt like I was in an improv class, learning from this master! You definitely want to learn about his Blondie cover band and the surprise audience members who joined him on stage.

He is so excited about the opening of the BOHO community hub, with a building opening in December 2026. I think it would be a great time to visit Newcastle and meet the beautiful team at BOHO Improv!

For more info about the building:

https://www.bohoarts.co.uk/hub

Check out their website and classes:

https://www.bohoarts.co.uk

I first met Rita a few years ago, during the pandemic when I learned about the Global Play Brigade – an organization right up my alley! She is a powerful woman who exemplifies how one person can bring positive change to so many people!

Rita Ezenwa-Okoro is a dynamic creative culturist, and visionary leader who harnesses the transformative power of play and performing arts to raise and nurture leaders. Her book, Doing. Being. Becoming., earned her numerous speaking features, including at the United Nations 9th Global Forum and The Association of the Study of Play (TASP).

As a renowned thought leader, speaker, author, and creative strategist. she has directly empowered over 5,000 youth leaders and entrepreneurs, sparking ripple effects that have positively impacted countless families and communities worldwide.

Her visionary leadership shines as the Executive Director of the Global Play Brigade. This movement uses play to soften borders and barriers between people across the globe. She is also the founder of the Street Project Foundation— a United Nations Award-Winning organization.

She is a Mandela Washington Fellow and also a three-time global fellow of the International Society of the Performing Arts (ISPA), and now the first Nigerian to serve on the board of ISPA, a prestigious organization for performing arts leaders across the world.

When she’s not on a mission to change the world, she makes music, explores the world, and indulges in the guilty pleasures of a good RomCo!

You can follow her on these links.

https://www.ritaezenwaokoro.com

https://www.ritaezenwaokoro.com/music

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8ZYEPqFxzk

Meet my good friend Bob Mann. We met during the pandemic and I had the good fortune to teach with him online at his alma mater, University of Oklahoma School of Social Work on "Improv and Therapy". Bob is an amazing human being who has dedicated his life to helping others.

Bob has an Associate’s Degree in Nursing from Tulsa Community College and a Bachelor’s and a Master’s in Social Work from The University of Oklahoma School of Social Work.

Bob started in mental health as a psych tech in 1987 and now carries nearly forty years in the field. He’s spent the last twenty-five in state and federal government in administrative and clinical roles. Bob’s direct clinical practice was providing intensive case management and substance abuse services to veterans experiencing homelessness.

In 2011, Bob was inducted into the OU Social Work Hall of Fame. This was slightly less surreal than when he was Mr. August in the 2005 Oklahoma Men in Nursing Calendar.

Bob performs with multiple troupes at OKC Improv and has performed in festivals across the country. Improv turned out to be the perfect companion to clinical work — a way to reconnect people through play, presence, and well-timed chaos.

Bob’s current mission: blend improv, mental health, aging, and community in ways that help people heal, laugh, and maybe even surprise themselves.

To see Bob in action check out his OKC Improv links

https://youtu.be/79bH1JyDlHY?si=K4HSfFWbDZeenhO0

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLu6Cs0xSIbOtY-Yng0ywl3DA8vOTrdaco&si=lEqHkcBDNe5-YacJ

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLu6Cs0xSIbOvmTdZ3C1d9r9dBg0kZQlc0&si=wwv_vGybpiLGw39e

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLu6Cs0xSIbOsBwk2okrrMOwYFyNU0BKnq&si=JY2QS2D6TQUPLSdv

Link to DOC reentry work

https://psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/ps.62.1.pss6201_0073

VA HUD VASH Program

Meet the wonderful Bev Fox! Bev has run Boho Arts’ School of Improv in Newcastle-upon-Tyne UK since 2003, serving a vibrant creative community of people from all walks of life.

Bev’s improv journey began in 1988 on a rainy night in London when, as aspiring actors, she and her young sweetheart - now long-term partner - Ian McLaughlin ventured out through the storm to an improv class. That “sliding doors” moment changed their lives.

Over nearly four decades, Bev has performed, taught and developed improvisation across stage, film, TV and radio. She is also a co-founding member of The Suggestibles, Newcastle’s professional improv ensemble.

Bev and Ian’s teaching, grounded in training with Keith Johnstone and other pioneers of the form, continues to evolve. They love to invent, explore and inspire. You can see Bev’s interviews with Keith Johnstone that have become valuable teaching resources for improvisers worldwide on YouTube.

Bev established Boho Arts as a charity in 2021 during the pandemic, inspired by the global improv community they reached and how improv connected people from around the world to their local Newcastle groups. The experience proved especially meaningful, highlighting the positive impact of laughter, human connection and cultural diversity on both their own and their students’ wellbeing, while sparking fresh ideas for improv on camera and for when the world would open up again.

In 2026, they will open a new community arts hub in Newcastle, a "Third Place" dedicated to improv, creativity and wellbeing.

Find out more: bohoarts.co.uk

Contact Bev: [email protected]

Follow: facebook.com/schoolofimprov | facebook.com/bohoartsNCL | instagram.com/bohoartsNCL

I first met Emma with a T during the pandemic online and was immediately taken by her energetic and playful improv. We chat about her improv journey starting in Bristol , including studying with The Bristol Improv Theatre, https://improvtheatre.co.uk

She was able to continue to study the Art of Improv with wonderful teachers like Patti Stiles and Jay Sukow during the pandemic.

She plays in person and online with many troupes and different styles. She is a freuquent performer on Highwire Improv https://highwireimprov.com

One troupe has performed at the Edinburgh Fringe where she also guested in other shows. Two of her online troupes have gone on to perform in person as well as online.

Currently she is studying Improv Instruction Deconstructed with Rich Baker at Queen City Comedy. We love Emma and are excited about where her improv journey takes her next.

Be sure and check out this video of Emma playing at Highwire Improv

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OH7UWNud8lo&list=PLzEjFjctkjeQrZKBQLNieXRMlnos0rRPH&t=577s

Here are ways to get in touch with Emma!

https://linktr.ee/emmatimprov

https://www.instagram.com/emmatimprov

www.facebook.com/emmaTimprov

https://youtube.com/emmatimprov

Features episodes of The Emma T and Bela Show, Scene Time ! with Emma T series and other videos.

https://highwireimprov.com/improviser/emma-t/

David Escobedo is definitely an Improv treasure! Since we last spoke he received a Ph.D. in Improv Training in the UK. We chat about what that process was like and he gives great tips on anyone pursuing any kind of Ph.D. David is well known around the world as a fabulous improviser , author , father, podcaster and the creator of The Improv Boost, https://www.facebook.com/BoostImprov

The Improv Boost is a community with 29K followers! David supports so many improvisers and artists around the world and as he pointed out, not just the "famous" actors but many who are unknown. The Improv Boost is a must for anyone who loves Improv !

David now lives in Chester, UK and is the father of 4 year old Qinton, who is featured on his podcast, "David is Curious" on Apple Podcasts.

You can get in touch with David at:

https://linktr.ee/MrDavidEscobedo

Sign up for his email list here!

https://theimprovboost.us1.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=6779da8b62e4ba10af741f734&id=c1f4effc0c

Meet Alex Mann, Improviser, Actor, Author and a Corrections Officer with a Sheriff’s Office for 28 years in Boston, Massachusetts. I was particularly interested in his use of improv with first responders as I had spent several years as a Critical Incident Stress Responder in Florida. He has authored "The Law of Improv": Yes, and for First responders" which you can see on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@theLawofImprov or better yet, buy his book on Amazon.

He is an amazing person who is also a member of SAG-AFTRA.

He is doing really important work bringing improv to corrections facilities and to other law enforcement folks! In our talk we covered a lot about his improv philosophy and techniques including; how improv tools help regulate stress responses and improve emotional resilience, what “leading from presence, not position” looks like in real-world policing and public safety, practical communication strategies anyone can use to lower conflict and build trust, and how creativity and mental health intersect in both leadership and everyday interactions.

You can learn more about Alex at:

Website: alexmanncomedy.com

Instagram: @alexmanncomedy

Facebook: Alex Mann Comedy

Podcast: The Law of Improv – coming soon

Email: [email protected]