Improv Nerd With Jimmy Carrane

Rich Sohn is a master teacher and improviser at The Pack Theater in Los Angeles. He's worked at The Annoyance Theater, iO-Chicago and Second City. We talked to him about how he found his voice as a teacher and improviser at The Annoyance, how the Annoyance style brings such freedom on stage, and what he learned from working with Del and Mick in Chicago in the '90s.

Patrick McCarthy is an actor, improviser and one of New York's most respected improv teachers. He teaches and performs at The PIT in New York. We talked to him about what truth in comedy means to him, why it's important to take an acting class, and his journey from addiction to sobriety.

Aretha Sills is a legendary improv teacher and writer. She is also the daughter of Paul Sills and the granddaughter of Viola Spolin. If you really want to get a sense of the origins of improv and what it was like to grow up in an improv family and the huge contribution that Viola made to improv, then you will want to listen to this episode.

Dan O'Connor is an actor, improviser, teacher and co-author the new book Ensemble: Using Power of Improv and Play to Forge Connections in a Lonely World. In this episode we talk to Dan about what he learned from Keith Johnstone, how to be more vulnerable in improv, and why it's important to challenge your teachers.

Laura Hall is the musical director of the hit TV show "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" She started at Second City in the '80s and she has worked at The Annoyance Theater and i0-Chicago. She has also taught people around the world how to play music for improv shows and has created a wonderful online video course called A Musical Guide To Improv Comedy (laurahall.com). We talk to her about how to improvise a song without rhyming and why Wayne Brady is a musical improv savant. And we also perform some musical improv numbers with her and special guest Rick Hall. If you love musical improv or have always wanted to try it, you are going to love this episode.

Erick Acuña is an improviser, teacher and lawyer. He started improvising in Peru ten years ago before moving to the States and studying at WIT in Washington, D.C. and UCB in New York. We talk to him about how he found his voice in improv, and he shares two exercises you can use to find it. He also talks about what it's like to improvise in English when that isn't your native language and what we can learn from having difficult conversations after a scene that may have reinforced stereotypes. This is a great episode!

Brendan Sullivan started improvising almost 30 years ago in Chicago. He is an actor, corporate improv trainer and was a member of the legendary Harold team Blue Velveeta at iO-Chicago. We talk to him about how he found his role on that team, which was made up of strong personalities, how he learned to play things honestly, and the best way for older improvisers to play with the younger generation. In this moving interview, Brendan also talks candidly about the death of his 24-year-old son, Charlie, last year, and the dangers today of drugs that are laced with fentanyl.

Marcus Sams is the founder of Moment Improv Theater in San Francisco, the artistic director of The San Francisco Improv Festival, and one half of one of my favorite improv duos, Liss n' Sams, with the incredible Joe Liss. We talk to Marcus about doing Duo Improv, the importance of emotions and where he thinks Zoom improv is going in the future.

Shaun Landry is an actor, teacher and improviser. She teaches at The Pack Theater in Los Angeles and is is the Artist Director of Oui be Negros, which is an African American sketch and improv group that she started back in 1994 in Chicago. Jimmy talks to her about why it's important to make social statements in her improv, why she does not back off from race when she is improvising, and how to be ok with promoting yourself and your shows.

Steven Castillo is an Emmy-nominated writer for Saturday Night Live.Jimmy talked to him about how improv helped his stand-up, auditioning for Saturday Night Live, and about some of his favorite sketches from the show like “Shrek“ and “Weezer.”

Jane Morris is an actor, improviser and director. She is the Johnny Appleseed of comedy clubs, having opened the Chicago Comedy Showcase and the Second City e.t.c. in Chicago and the Upfront Comedy and the Comedy Underground in Santa Monica, CA. She currently manages the Fanatic Salon in Culver City, CA. Jane has a reputation for doing incredible character work, both on stage and screen. Jimmy talks to her about how she physically uses "Yes And..." in developing her characters, why she loves running comedy clubs and why she doesn't believe in the level system when it comes to teaching improv.

George McAuliffe is the writer and star of the short film The Improv Guru, which is based on his popular Twitter account. Jimmy sits down and talks to him about his dark comedy, why it is so important for improvisers to make fun of themselves, what he hopes improviser get from the movie and advice about following your own path in improv. In the second half of the episode, Jimmy interviews George as his character, The Improv Guru, and they talk about throwing chairs at hecklers, creating Improvised Donny Brasco, and how the Rule of 86 will replace the Rule of Threes.