Next At Bat

Alexis Camille, Maggie Sotos, and Sean Dillon of Off Book (unfortunately Molly Chase couldn’t join us) talk about prod-recting(?) a show that pairs an actor performing their half of a scripted piece with an improvisor who has no idea what play they are supposed to be a part of. They also discuss fun in failure, meta communication between performers, the inherent structure of scenes, the audience’s innate desire to see the performers succeed, and the importance of bold declarations.

Also, we are invaded by babies.

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Juliet & Juliet (Meghan Wolff and Sami Haeli) join us to discuss presenting Shakespearean-themed improvisation in an accessible way. They talk about focusing on relationships instead of just imitating tropes, submitting the their subconscious brains, and being #iambicfrauds.

Also, we hear the story of Kennith from Venice.

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Will Frazier joined us to discuss his podcast, History Made Up. On the podcast he travels the nation listening to local history stories, then uses them as inspiration for improvised scenes along with improvisers local to that area. He talks about the inherent cooperative nature of improvisors, the differences he’s seen in style between different cities, and dealing with storytellers who may or may not be performers themselves.

Also, we visit a bar with a plaque for everything.

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Chris Fair of The Laser Comedy Show joins us to talk about his unique, visual form. He also discusses building tension, the difference between an audience of adults versus and audience of kids, how studying sketch will improve your improv, promoting shows, and being heckled by children, as well as bands that are actually one person.

Also, we see the origin of a snakewolf.

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Valerie Vasilas, Christina Lopez, Marianne Smith, and Allison Reese of Melissa?! joined us while they were in town for the Twin Cities Improv Festival. They talked about the importance of letting your form evolve, pushing yourself to gather new life experiences to draw from, doing improv for the joy of it, impressions, and being inclusive.

We also sing some Katy Perry and Marianne spends a lot of time with her very best friend.

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Grant Ertl and Justin Bettencourt (unfortunately Kenneth Pierce couldn’t join us) of 2017 Troika winners, We Have Faces, join us to talk about how three strangers who have never met can quickly develop chemistry and evolve a form to become champions. They also discuss types of improvisers, the importance of support, grounded absurd-ism, how small groups require members to jump more, and the effectiveness of gimmicks.

Also, we observe the rise of acronyms.

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Kevin Albertson, Phillip Schramm, Sami Haeli, Nathan Kelly Rouse, Erin Kennedy and John Hilsen of Rated G (unfortunately Becky Hauser, Sinez Lennes, Amanda Underwood, Jo Nachtigal, Aaron Cook, Gregory Parks, Denzel Belin, Justin Betancourt, Jeremy Barta, and Jeff Gyllen couldn’t join us) join Philip (Matt also couldn’t make it) to discuss producing an improvised family friendly musical that is definitely not associated with Disney. (If anything, it’s more Pixar than Dreamworks.)

They also talk about musical tropes, experimenting with ideal show times, developing group mind, being conscious of the message sent by the types of stories you tell, and the interplay between improvisers and their musical accompaniment.

As always, the interview ends with Keyboard Corner.

Then we present the musical The Lighthouse on the Prairie.

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Shea Roberts, Jeff Gyllen, and Breanna Cecile (unfortunately Adam Braun, Ashawnti Sakina Ford, Denzel Belin, Grag Parks, Jen Scott, JoJo Ju, Liv Augusta, Matt Alex, Michael Renner, and Phillip Schramm couldn’t join us) of Love Letters join us to discus the ways in which we fall in love. They also talk about forming group chemistry, balancing new and experienced improvisers within the show, the importance of supporting each other, and how to pull more out of an Armando so your scenes don’t just replicate the story.

Also, we learn a lot about linguistics.

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The producers of the Fargo Improv Festival, Davis Steen, Sarah Arnold, and John Streifel, join Philip (unfortunately Matt couldn’t make it) to talk about the first annual Fargo Improv Festival. The goals are to celebrate the Fargo improv community, fight the “brain drain” of talented people leaving the city, inspire Fargo improvisers to continue doing improv after they leave their educational institutions, show residents that there’s more to do than eat, shop and drink, and show visitors that there’s more to Fargo than the movie.

We also learn how important it is to always know where your poop is.

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James Rone joined us to discuss his solo show, Troubadour, in which he performs an entire concert by a different singer/songwriter character based on song titled suggested by the audience. He also talks about playing what you know, keeping a soft focus and allowing mistakes to shape what the show becomes instead of trying to force your agenda on it, venturing outside of improv theaters, asking the audience to be on board, and whether or not a show like his needs a preface.

Also, musical legend Orwell Frank joins us on Rick and Rick’s easy listening show on WKJ1.

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