What I do:
I began improvising with ComedySportz Kansas City when I was 18. Since then my life, work, and training has taken me to New York, Sydney, Toronto, San Francisco, Oslo and Helsinki. The Muse Machine in Dayton, Ohio gave me the opportunity to establish my own repertory theater company dedicated solely to improvised content, SmartyPants Theater Co., which toured regionally to entertain and educate up to 30,000 people annually over an eight-year span. Whether entertaining clients, making people laugh, or teaching young people, my work has allowed me to distract thousands of people for over two decades.
Background & Influences:
I have been lucky enough to have performed for more than 20 years with seven different improvisational theater groups and countless jams, workshops, and festivals. Including The Atlantic Coast Comedy Fest (NC), The Bestival Midwestival Festival (IN), The Second, Second Annual New Orleans Improv Fest (LA), and The Kansas City Improv Festival. I have studied at The Annoyance and ComedyCity and taken intensives at The Second City.
I reference The Theatre Games File (Viola Spolin), Impro (Keith Johnstone), and Improvise: Scene from the Inside Out (Mick Napier). I actually hung photo copies of “Advice and Guidelines for Improvisers” (chapter nine of Napier’s book) in the player room of my theater.
The Applied Improv Network has been a huge influence in how I approach teaching and learning. It has also given me the chance to learn and perform with improvisers from four different continents.
The actor, the audience, and the moment.
Teaching philosophy:
I have spent many years looking for the connections between experience based learning and improvisational scene work. I think that providing the student a challenge in a safe environment allows the student to learn and create new tools as they find a way to overcome the challenge they face.
Weirdest improv thang:
I once had a middle school principal rip off her skirt at the end of a performance in front of the entire school. That was pretty weird. I’ll have to tell you the story one day.
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