"Real American Space Folk" band Electric Blue Yonder was praised by longtime Boston Gobe senior rock critic, the late Steve Morse, for its “meditative mashup of trippy folk-rock psychedelia, cut with a raw Alabama flavor befitting their roots .” Slant Magazine called EBY “a diamond-bright exploration of rock’s past, present, and hopeful future.” Electric Blue Yonder has released three critically-praised albums, drawing inspiration from the psychedelic folk, surf, and cosmic country rock of the ‘...
Aug 15, 2025•39 min•Season 5Ep. 16
Paul Vaillancourt is a writer, actor, director, producer but most of all an improvisor who has been teaching and performing improv across the country for more than 30 years. He is a graduate of the Comedy Sportz Training Program in Virginia, the Second City Training Center in Chicago as well as the legendary Improv Olympic in Chicago where he had the rare opportunity to study under the legendary Del Close. After his group, Bitter Noah, was selected to perform their signature piece, the Improvise...
Aug 01, 2025•36 min•Season 5Ep. 15
Gillian Bellinger is an SAG character actor. To watch her character bits, follow her on Instagram @gillianbellinger. She has played roles on Hulu's "How I Met Your Father", "Disney's "Just Roll with It" as well as being a principal in commercials for Harris Bank, Time Warner, NorthShore Healthcare, and Unitrin Auto Insurance. She's also rocked out a bunch of short films, industrials, and starred in Red Letter Media's Feeding Frenzy , a comedic horror flick. So if you're watching TV late at night...
Jul 15, 2025•31 min•Season 5Ep. 14
The Artistic Director and Founder of Improv Training Hub, Amey was the Artistic Director of E-MPROV.com, produced and hosted Indie Cage Match at UCB Theatre East Village from 2011-2016. She started at UCB NY in 2001. You can see her work on ucbcomedy.com, Funny or Die, The Food Network, IFC Channel and YouTube. Amey moved to LA in 2016 and taught improv at MI Westside Comedy in Los Angeles. Currently, she is the Training Center Director and Co-Creative Director at Chaos Bloom Theater in Denver. ...
Jul 01, 2025•50 min•Season 5Ep. 13
For over a decade, Harold Phifer served in a war-zone as a contract air-controller in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantanamo Bay. He even survived a suicide bombing by the Taliban. But none of that was as dangerous or stressful as his upbringing. Phifer was a black kid growing up in the south during the tumultuous 1960s, dealing with racism and bullying in the streets, and abuse at home from his schizophrenic mother and dysfunctional, violent aunt. He felt like an outsider in and out of the house. He...
Jun 15, 2025•36 min•Season 5Ep. 12
Join Liz Allen, John Bolger, Susan Messing, Steve Plock and me as we discuss why Chicago is such a touchstone for the art of improvisation! We discuss what's happening in the city, particularly coming out of the pandemic, and what's new and exciting. We also discussed the importance of the history of the art form and Chicago's place in it. If you love improv the way I do, this is a must listen episode! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Jun 01, 2025•1 hr 10 min•Season 5Ep. 11
Joe Bill is widely regarded as one of the best teachers of Improvisation in America today. He is one of the founding members of Annoyance Theater Chicago, was the Director of Corporate Training at iO Chicago for 15 years, and a Teacher & Guest Artist in Residence at The Second City Conservatory & Training Center for another 15 years. Joe first practiced improvisation in 1977 and studied and worked with Del Close from 1985 through the mid 90’s. Joe is also a Senior Facilitator for The Ari...
May 15, 2025•1 hr 1 min•Season 5Ep. 10
Jacob Heiss recently graduated with his PhD in biomedical engineering from The University of Akron. He started doing comedy three years ago when he first took an improv class at Imposters Theater in Cleveland and continues to do improv with his group Stage Against the Machine. We talked about discoveries in both improv and cancer research and his joy in producing comedy shows. He is also looking for a job in cancer research if anyone is hiring. He also produces multiple comedy shows including th...
May 01, 2025•28 min•Season 5Ep. 9
As everyone knows, last fall the Western North Carolina region suffered the most devastating flooding in a century. The beautiful place we call home was forever scarred and changed. But true to form, this region had each other’s backs and staged quite an incredible comeback. While some areas are still damaged, we by all means welcome the world back to the Appalachian mountains you know and we love! Everything you were excited about in October 2024 will be back this time around including: 4 NIGHT...
Apr 23, 2025•27 min
Kay Smith-Blum, a former fashionista and Seattle School Board President, spends her days debunking the tropes of the mid-20th-century history. An odd dream and the recent upheaval over leaking radioactive waste tanks at the Hanford Nuclear site compelled her to write, TANGLES, named 2024 Book of the Year by the Literary Global Book Awards and Best Debut Fiction by the American Writing Awards 2024. Smith-Blum, a sunrise writer, has lived in Seattle for four decades. She works out her writer’s blo...
Apr 15, 2025•31 min•Season 5Ep. 8
Marcia Peck was inspired by the rhythms and sounds of music echoed in language; her debut novel, Water Music: A Cape Cod Story, combines all of her passions – music, writing, and Cape Cod.The book has received critical acclaim and has received many book awards, including Literary Titan Gold, National Indie Excellence Award, New England Book Festival Regional Lit Winner, and Feathered Quill Reviewers Choice Award Winner. Additionally, she was a finalist for American Writing Awards, Eric Hoffer Aw...
Apr 01, 2025•33 min•Season 5Ep. 7
Kat Koppett is the Eponymous Founder of Koppett, a consultancy specializing in the use of improv and storytelling techniques to enhance individual and group performance. She has worked with diverse clients including Meta, Apple, Prezi, PwC, NASA, Havas Health, Mass General Hospital, the United Nations and the Clinton Global Initiative. Her book Training to Imagine: Practical Improvisational Theatre Techniques to Enhance Creativity, Teamwork, Leadership, and Learning , is considered a seminal wor...
Mar 15, 2025•32 min•Season 5Ep. 6
Sydney Lea was named Vermont’s Poet Laureate and received the Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts, his state’s highest artistic distinction. He has had 25 books published in a celebrated literary arts career. His latest book, Now Look (Down East Books/Roman Littlefield), explores the ravages of addiction and a dying north country culture in his first novel in 35 years. It is a moving story about second chances, missed opportunities, and redemption. Don't miss this one! Give it a listen! ...
Mar 01, 2025•31 min•Season 5Ep. 5
Harker Jones grew up on a dirt road in Michigan in a town so small it doesn’t to this day have a traffic light. Now a Los Angeles denizen, he has written the best-selling, award-winning novel “Until September” and nine screenplays, revealing truths through humor and horror. His short thrillers “Cole & Colette” and “One-Hit Wonder” have been accepted into more than 60 film festivals combined, garnering several awards. His first children’s book, “Violet’s Pretty Purple Playground,” and his sec...
Feb 15, 2025•34 min•Season 5Ep. 4
Author Robert Monroe knows well of the world he has written about. Though he was not in a rock band, he knows the entertainment world well. Monroe worked as a casting director and talent executive for a dozen years, including projects with the Walt Disney Company and the United Paramount Network. He’s also a museum-exhibited photographer. Bungalow Terrace begins in the days of 1950s youth and innocence, but through a series of events, an innocence is destroyed, leaving the characters no other re...
Feb 01, 2025•33 min•Season 5Ep. 3
RJ Stewart is an author and television writer who has worked in Hollywood for 22 years, working on Xena: Warrior Princess. He has been lauded by stars like Lucy Lawless for his writing Xena as a flawed person who struggled, but always made the right choices. RJ has also collaborated with Kevin Costner, James Garner, Charlie Sheen and Pierce Brosnan. He is promoting his new book, Crazy Hawk, set 100 years into the future. “After two decades writing in Hollywood, I took two decades off,” says Stew...
Jan 15, 2025•30 min•Season 5Ep. 2
Born to American parents in Beirut, Lebanon, Patrick Adams’ love of travel may have begun on his first flight when he was just four days old. Patrick spent his early years in such exotic locations as Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and Las Palmas, Canary Islands. Not surprisingly, he graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a degree in Travel and Tourism. Patrick’s debut children’s book, a travel adventure titled Lisa Goes to England, was released in May 2015. England was just the first locale...
Jan 01, 2025•31 min•Season 5Ep. 1
As one of the founding members, lead singer, lead guitarist, and wrote more than 90% of the Grand Funk music catalog, Farner has always been known as the energetic driving force on stage, the engine that pulled the original Grand Funk Railroad to the top of the charts. From his soulful voice and power rock riffs, to fueling the Funk with his atomic stage presence. His story and his imprint on music starts with Flint and since 1969 from his humble beginnings and a blue-collar outlook, Farner has ...
Dec 22, 2024•32 min
David Paul Brooks, or DPB, as he is known, is a positive rap artist, songwriter, actor, clothing designer, mentor, motivational speaker and Co-Founder and Co-Owner of BreBro International Group LLC and DPB Muzik Inc. His goal is to give people, particularly youth, an alternative and cutting-edge message in music that can set them free from painful issues they may be dealing with, in a relatable art form. DPB has shared the stage with many great artists including the legendary Bootsy Collins, Sal...
Dec 15, 2024•23 min•Season 4Ep. 24
Ryan Millar is a Canadian-born Amsterdam-based coach, story trainer and communications consultant. In his work, he leans heavily on the tools he gained as an improviser and actor, supplemented by his years in corporate communications and content creation, to help people be more authentic and more effective in their professional and personal lives. His skills as a Public Speaking Coach have earned him a spot on the Coach Foundation , one of the biggest names in the coaching industry. He recently ...
Dec 01, 2024•42 min•Season 4Ep. 23
Patrick Zmina is a mainstay on the Imposters Theater stage in Cleveland. He is a musician, former cancer biologist, and a current software developer. He is constantly chasing flashes of brilliance wherever he can find them, from rock climbing to gaming to cooking. You can catch him on Improv Game Night and Comedy Court every month at Imposters Theater. Learn more about his philosophy on life and more on this episode!! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Nov 22, 2024•27 min
Lilia Bogoeva "The Inner Demon Crusher" is a professional performing artist and personal development coach. As a musician, comics creator, and inspirational speaker, she is on a mission to motivate people to overcome adversity through authenticity and find true strength. Her mission comes from a genuine place, after overcoming her own struggles. She recently launched her comic book, “Lilia The Inner Demon Crusher,” which combines action and humor to illustrate the emotional struggles that most c...
Nov 15, 2024•29 min•Season 4Ep. 22
Let's talk with Tommy Hough about the 2024 Elections! Where did we, as Democrats and liberals go wrong here? There's a hell of a lot to unpack. Give this one a listen for some history and ideas of where to go from here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Nov 11, 2024•46 min
Let me introduce you to Abby Sher! She has written and performed at The Second City, Upright Citizen’s Brigade, HBO, Nick Jr. and NPR. Abby has written six books including: Miss You Love You Hate You Bye All the Ways the World Can End Breaking Free: True Stories of Girls Who Escaped Modern Slavery Amen, Amen, Amen: Memoir of a Girl Who Couldn't Stop Praying Kissing Snowflakes, Sanctuary Solis , which is upcoming Her essays have appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, Los Angeles Tim...
Nov 01, 2024•32 min•Season 4Ep. 21
Let me introduce you to Frank! Frank King was a writer for the Tonight Show with Jay Leno for 20 years. He’s had two aortic valve replacements, a double bypass, a massive heart attack, three stents, and lived to joke about it all. So he is truly funny at heart. He’s fought a lifetime battle with depression, and thoughts of suicide, turning that long dark journey of the soul into a TED Talk, www.FrankTEDTalk.com “A Matter of Laugh or Death,” and sharing his insights with corporation, associations...
Oct 15, 2024•42 min•Season 4Ep. 20
Let me introduce you to Kevin! He is an improviser, turned coach, and applied improv facilitator based in Oslo, Norway. He hails from Johannesburg, South Africa. He has lived, worked and studied in Ireland, the UK, and now Norway. Kevin’s values are a love of learning, communication, mindfulness, leadership development, and his family. Doing meaningful work is the goal. A “work hard, play hard” mindset has resulted in a colourful background of professional acting and theatre, juxtaposed with a d...
Oct 01, 2024•38 min•Season 4Ep. 19
After med school at Creighton and residency at Tulane, Mike began his medical career, finding that he, and other colleagues, had issues communicating with patients and each other. In 2014, Mike began taking Level 1 improv classes, as they were a present from his wife.. Realizing early on that the skills learned through improv could help him as a hospitalist, Mike began implementing them at work. The result was more enjoyable work, better interactions with patients, and more effective teaching. M...
Sep 22, 2024•28 min
Brynna is a multidisciplinary artist (writing, photography, fine art, singer, composer, musician) who has spent the last 30 years working in advertising. She has worked for massive brands and conglomerates, like Coca-Cola, American Airlines, PepsiCo, Hilton and Hyatt companies (etc.), while spending her remaining free time raising a daughter and creating pieces that matter. This was a really touching episode as she put me on the hot seat and became the interviewer. Great back and forth! Give it ...
Sep 15, 2024•42 min•Season 4Ep. 18
Let me introduce you to Mark Riccadonna. Mark is known for his roles in the TV Series, Checked Out. The movies, Days of Power and Gail’s New Boyfriend. He has toured globally, playing theatres, clubs, with the USO and Armed Forces Entertainment (which landed him his Travel Column "Dad Trippin" in Today's Man Magazine. Mark has served as a contributing writer for Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update). He has performed on such diverse shows as Monsters of Rock Cruise, Disney Cruise Lines, Fox's La...
Sep 01, 2024•39 min•Season 4Ep. 17
Let me introduce you to Brandon. He grew up in a small SE Ohio town called Caldwell and graduated from Kent State University in Dec. 2012 with Applied Engineering and Tech Management. Brandon started at Imposters Theater April 2023 where he took sketch writing, and then started improv in July 2023. He just finished Level 4 Brandon likes to write sketches, screenplays, journals and other projects. He “won” NaNoWriMo in 2013 by completing it. Brandon has a podcast called Wigglin’ and Gander which ...
Aug 15, 2024•31 min•Season 4Ep. 16
