Yes But Why Podcast

This week on Yes But Why, I chatted with Copenhagen-based improviser, Emma Borrow! Emma Borrow is an improv performer and teacher currently residing in Copenhagen, Denmark. Originally from England, Emma began her theatrical journey at the Copenhagen Theatre Circle, an English-speaking amateur theatre group, with a 55-year history of bringing people together through the love of the stage. These days, Emma can be found performing weekly on the mainstage of the Improv Comedy Copenhagen’s ‘ICC Theatre.’ She also hosts Jam nights for ICC students! Emma also helps to organize the Copenhagen International Improv Festival, which is regrouping for a triumphant return in 2024. Emma’s improv style, both when playing and teaching, is driven by curiosity and playfulness. She believes in being an advocate for the international theatre community in Copenhagen. She seeks to create a safe space for both native Danes and expats to unleash their creativity. Emma’s goal is to help building the performing arts communities of C

This week on Yes But Why, I interviewed improv performer and producer, Jada Pulley. Jada Pulley is a teaching and theater artist based in Minneapolis, MN. Jada is a staple of HUGE Theater, where they regularly produce and perform in improv shows, such as “Based on a True Story.” They are a proud director of the Twin Cities Black and Funny Improv Festival and founder of the Queer and Funny Improv Festival. Jada is dedicated to making improv an art form accessible to all people, especially those who are traditionally marginalized in theater spaces. In our conversation, we discussed the different ways we receive and take in storytelling. Jada talked of their love of collaborating with other artists. We discuss how diversity among artists can open minds to different directing paths and different playing styles. Jada is really busy but they say it all “feels like fun.” We talked about how they manage a full plate of activities, from day job to producing festivals to being social with the HUGE Theater communi

This week on Yes But Why, I chatted with actor, improviser, and coach Karla Dingle. Karla Dingle has spent her life on the stage. She is an actor and a voiceover artist. You can see her performing improv with Now are the Foxes Improv Comedy, Close Distance Improv, Charlotte Comedy Theater, and Background Noise Musical Improv. ​​ Karla’s passion beside performing is teaching and coaching. Currently, Karla is the Education Director and an Instructor at Queen City Comedy in Charlotte, NC in the US. She is also the Improv Director and an Acting Instructor at a local studio in Charlotte, NC. Over the last several years, Karla has instructed students from Peru, Israel, India, Canada, Japan, Europe, South Africa, the Philippines and beyond. ​In our conversation, I learned that Karla is very community focused. From the neighborhood kids she grew up with in Atlanta to the theater kids she performed with at the Trumbull Youth Association, she found her crowd and she stuck with them. And now, as an adult, Karla build

This week on Yes But Why, I was delighted to connect with UK improv leader, Chris Mead. Chris Mead is a full time performer and teacher of improv. He has performed and taught in over 25 countries worldwide. Chris lives in the Surrey Hills of England with his wife, Laura and their dog friend, Radio. A passionate lover of improv, Chris Mead is currently teaching for Hoopla Impro, the largest improv school in the UK, as well as offering numerous indie classes on his own. Chris is one third of the legendary sci-fi improv team, “Project2” and co-founder of “Unmade Theatre Co” which produces theatrical longform shows. During our conversation, Chris connected the dots on his community building superpower. It all started with Chris’s first job after school, helping to facilitate workshops and shows at the local Christian center. This was where he first developed his creative skills. But it was the closing of this center that inspired Chris and his sister to produce their own weeklong theater camp to support the

This week on Yes But Why, I chatted with Reid Messerschmidt, a writer and podcaster from Fargo, ND. Reid Messerschmidt features his writings as well as his performance thereof on his show, The Irrationally Exuberant Podcast. He is a hilariously fun person to follow on social media. You can find Reid scouring thrift shops (or the river) for the best and weirdest of treasures. You can also catch him on ebay selling the wacky wares he is not allowed to keep in his house. Reid has always been a writer. He started early, writing his first book on the topic of candy vs fruit, as a school assignment. (You can guess which way baby Reid was arguing.)In my conversation with Reid, we talked a lot about how his early years drinking sapped him of his creativity. He opened up to me about his personal journey and what it took for him to regain control of his life. Reid jokingly mentioned that sobriety opened up a lot of free time so that’s why he got back into writing. And he started Irrationally Exuberant Podcast as a way

This week on Yes But Why, I chatted with my friend Jess Lonett, an enthusiastic human who loves collaborating with other enthusiastic humans.Jess Lonett is a cat mom, a glitter enthusiast, a #swiftie, an inspiration hoarder, a playlist curator, a donut lover, and an improviser based in Austin, Texas! She is what some may call a human woman who likes attention and has been capturing the attention of friends, family and strangers alike in a variety of ways since birth. She's won silver medals as a competitive dancer, played Goldilocks as the lead in her 3rd grade class play, done kicklines in high school football halftime shows on the pom pom squad, and been knocked down as a jammer on a small town roller derby team. She performs comedy regularly at Fallout Theater and she writes a blog called “!!!” (for real though, the website is http://www.exclamationpointexclamationpointexclamationpoint.com/ )Turns out, Jess is from Pittsburgh; and, even though I didn’t know that until this chat, I should have assumed. She

This week on Yes But Why, listen in to my conversation with Kristin Henn, the owner and director of Excused Absence Comedy and Move Your Tale. Kristin Henn began hanging out backstage while her mom stage-managed when she was 5 years old. By 6, she found her way onto the stage. Kristin’s theatrical education started with storytelling, theater history, directing and creative drama. When she discovered Improv, a switch flipped. She had found her path. She began her study of Improv at ColdTowne Theater and remains a loyal member of that community, teaching, directing, and performing regularly. Currently, Kristin's professional life revolves around teaching and producing Improv for youth as Excused Absence Comedy and Move Your Tale. In our conversation, Kristin and I chatted about confidence, listening, and making up stories. Kristin told me how her experience with a tornado early in life shaped her whole world view. We discussed improv and how much it saved us both! We talked about deal with with trauma and the h

This week on Yes But Why, I present to you my interview with improviser, Katy Schutte. Katy Schutte has performed and taught improvisation in 20+ countries across five continents. She is a Head Teacher and Curriculum Writer for Hoopla, the UK’s biggest improv school. Katy authored The Improviser's Way: A Longform Workbook, published by Nick Hern Books. She is also a commercial and voiceover actor. Katy is a contributing writer for Cards Against Humanity as well as an actor/writer on the web series, Sideliners. She was resident songwriter on Sean and Robot’s Comedy Circuit podcast; she was co-writer on the AR immersive game Beth's Legacy in association with StoryFutures and CreativeXR; and she was a writer/improv director/performer on The Galaxicle Implosions, a multi-platform live virtual reality show with Fandco and Flipside.Katy is currently working on a play based on her experience as an artist in residence with The Arctic Circle Project 2022 and is a recipient of the Peggy Ramsay Foundation Grant.In my co

This week on Yes But Why, I had a lovely time chatting with Maddie Cordovano, the newest Conservatory Director at Fallout Theater in Austin. Maddie Cordovano has been an improviser for a little over 14 years. She trained at iO and The Second City in Chicago before moving to Austin where she signed with her first agent and wrote her first solo show. She is now the new Conservatory Director at Fallout Theater and is working to pursue a career in voice over acting. You can catch her going wild on stage (and off) all over the city but mostly at her show “Pioneers” on Saturday nights at Fallout.In our conversation, Maddie talked about having lots of diverse interests and dipping her toes into lots. She definitely has a creative thread throughout them all but deciding on one course of study was hard. Maddie was always doing theater growing up and at college but she, like so many of us, didn’t think of it as a career option. After an amazing experience writing and acting in a play in Spain, Maddie decided that she s

This week on Yes But Why, I chatted with Joe Thompson, an improv performer and teacher based out of Sheffield, UK. Joe Thompson started his improv career 9 years ago at the University of Sheffield, where he joined and later became Artistic Director of the university improv society ‘The Shrimps’. Since then, he has been featured in the Leicester Comedy Award nominated long form group ‘Scriptless in Seattle’ and performed at the Y-Not Festival with Sturike Comedy. Joe’s interest in improv is academic as well – he got his Masters in Arts and Cultural Management and his thesis examined hierarchies within improv communities! (I’ve got to read that paper!) These days, you can find Joe running monthly nights with his production company Little Chicago as well as teaching and performing at various venues throughout the UK. Joe Thompson currently co-runs and teaches improv with the Spontaneity and Sheffield Steel (SASS Improv) theater group alongside improv colleague, Owen Scrivens.In our conversation, we first explore

This week on Yes But Why, I talk to improviser and producer, Wendy Salome. Wendy Salome serves Austin’s creative community through the Coldtowne Theater. She was the Chief of Staff for ColdTowne Theater from 2018-2020. She improvised with the ColdTowne House Troupe, “Porch Cat” as well as the all-mom troupe, “My Secret Friend.” Wendy produced the B. Iden Payne-nominated show Junior Year Abroad and co-produced My Own Worst Enemy. After a long stretch of pandemic-induced hibernation from creative projects, she emerged in May 2022 to co-produce and play in The Emma Dilemma.When she's not dabbling in the improv world, Wendy works as an Election Clerk for Travis County Elections and serves as the president of the board for Griffin School.In our conversation, Wendy and I talked about how hard it can be to ALLOW yourself to be creative. There is such a strong pull to “have a solid foundation” and “take care of your family” that many of us with creative aspirations have held ourselves back. Still, the pull to be crea

This week on Yes But Why, I chat with Fiona Howat. Fiona Howat is a podcaster who loves improv, storytelling and roleplaying games. As well as doing as much improv as possible (both online and in person), she runs two RPG-related podcasts, 'What I am Rolling?': a twice-monthly RPG one-shot podcast, and 'The DM's Bookclub': where each week the hosts take a topic from Dungeons and Dragons and discuss how they might include it in their roleplaying campaigns!Fiona and I met in a workshop led by the amazing Katy Schutte and had had a little creative interaction before we met via zoom to create this podcast episode together. We hit it off and had a great old time getting to know each other for about an hour before we started the official episode. Safe to say, we are both excitedly chatting throughout so enjoy the enthusiasm!In our conversation, Fiona told me of her love for world building. When she was a child, she derived creative inspiration from Tomb Raider and Japanese RPGs. She loved to explore the worlds she

This week on Yes But Why, I explore the world of artist Ti Malik Coleman. Ti Malik Coleman is a Baltimore based comedian, teacher, storyteller, improviser, and writer. A Black trans performer, he is dedicated to building spaces for black queer and trans folks to come together and share stories as a mechanism of healing and celebration. Ti Malik tells stories to heal, gather and entertain. Ti Malik is an experienced and sought-after Improv teacher and coach. He has taught core and advanced classes with Baltimore Improv Group and Maryland Improv Group. He is a frequent guest instructor for Bad Dog Theater, winning Favorite Guest Instructor in 2020. He started teaching improv in 2015 with the Baltimore Improv teacher training program, and since then has taught over 50 classes and workshops. He was a founding member of an all-Black improv group, Casually Dope, and has been featured as a performer and teacher at improv festivals in Toronto, Chicago, New York, DC, and Philadelphia. As a community artist, Ti Malik

This week on Yes But Why, I present my interview with Patti Stiles. Patti Stiles is an actor, director, author, playwright and teacher who specializes in improvisational theatre. She has been working professionally in theatre since 1983. Patti has taught and performed in North and South America, Europe, Scandinavia, Asia, UAE and the Oceania region for numerous improv companies, festivals, and theatre schools as well as the corporate arena.Patti is a member of the ITI Artistic Committee (CA), a founding member of the award-winning Die Nasty – improvised soap opera (CA) and former Artistic Director of Rapid Fire Theatre (CA), Dream Kitchen Theatre (CA) and Impro Melbourne (AU). In 2021, she released her first book, Improvise Freely.In our interview, Patti and I chatted about connecting with an audience, the trappings of success, and the creative processes involved with writing a book. Patti mused about her time spent at the Loose Moose Theater company. She told me that it was inside this theater space that she

This week on Yes But Why, I present my interview with Kasia Chmara. Kasia Chmara is an improviser, an actress and a theater teacher in Bydgoszcz, Poland. She completed her studies at the International Film, Theatre and TV School in Lodz. She has been performing improv for almost a decade, but she’s been teaching theatre since 1998. Kasia is an artistic coordinator of “Improdrom,” the International Improv Festival in Bydgoszcz, Poland. She regularly leads theatre and improvisation workshops in Bydgoszcz, Gdańsk, Dublin, Bengaluru, Strasburg, Lubljana, Riga, and Athens. Kasia performs with numerous improv groups, such as “wymyWammy,” “Which is Which,” and “The Allnighters.” She is also a member of the European improv collective, Ohana. Currently, she is also an actress with the Kameralny Theatre in Bydgoszcz, Poland.In our interview, Kasia tells me about her lifelong pursuit to be an actress.Kasia dedicated her life to acting when she was only 6 years old. We discuss all the hard work that has gone into her sc

This week on Yes But Why, I interviewed improviser and creative, Lisa Michelle Jackson. Lisa Michelle Jackson is an improv comedian, visual artist, dancer, and writer based in Austin, Texas. Lisa has been improvising since 2007 and has worked as a performer, teacher, coach and director. With B. Iden Payne awards and nominations, she has performed in an array of shows and troupes and has traveled to perform across the U.S. As a visual artist, Lisa is a naturalist and uses organic processes and materials to create her artwork. As a dancer, her primary dance modalities are hip hop, contemporary, and Afro-Caribbean styles. She also writes long form fiction, short stories, poetry, and essay.In our conversation, we started off discussing prisons and our culture of competition (like, immediately, we got deep…I started the track at like 5 minutes in). Then we get into improv and how better the world would be if we obeyed improv rules in the real world. Lisa shared some valuable advice she received about how “life is

This week on Yes But Why, I interviewed writer and actor, Pete Parsons. Pete Parsons is an entertainer who currently lives in Austin Texas. A graduate of The Theater School at DePaul University, Pete learned the most about what it takes to be an artist from the Chicago improv theaters and their classes and communities. These days, you can catch him at the Fallout Theater in downtown Austin. Every Saturday night there, you can see Pete hosting Pioneers, an improv show that features a new cast of improvisers each week. In our conversation, we talk about how living a theatrical life was a forgone conclusion in Pete’s mind. Even from a very young age, he knew that he would be a performer. And luckily, he grew up in a town with a pretty amazing children’s theater. So Pete has been onstage for his whole life. We talk about the pandemic and how all the chaos really sapped Pete’s creativity. There was just so much going on. Some people really dug into online content creation but that’s not Pete’s thing. (That is not

This week on Yes But Why, I interviewed emcee/beatboxer, David “BS” Bradshaw about his love for performing freestyle rap and teaching workshops. David "BS" Bradshaw has been emceeing and beatboxing in NYC for the past decade. His primary focus the last five years has been refining his craft as an artist- educator and programming specialist.He has toured regionally, performed at the Apollo, been featured on BET's 106&Park, and The Today Show. He’s collaborated on hip-hop based team-building and professional development seminars with entities like Facebook, Nikon, Toyota, the Museum of Street Art, BMW Foundation, Carnegie Hall, and Lavelle School for the Blind.BS is a BEAT Global T3 certified instructor with background as a Spanish Dual Language teacher. He currently facilitates workshops for learners of all ages and abilities in freestyle rhyming, songwriting, and beatboxing, including incarcerated youth and special needs populations. You can find BS teaching at Freestyle Love Supreme’s Rap Academy, his ow

This week on Yes But Why, I chatted with improviser and theater techperson, Charlotte Brown. Charlotte Brown (they/them) is a Chicago-based multipotentialite that enjoys many creative endeavors such as improv, filmmaking, photography, and teching virtual improvised shows! Charlotte got their start during the pandemic doing tech for online improv shows through the Hideout Theater in Austin, Texas (you know the one). Charlotte has enjoyed virtual theater because they have gotten to learn and collaborate with people from all over the world. (Shoutout to Kenzie and Braden). One of Charlotte's favorite credits includes doing tech for The Assembly Mexico’s, The Walking Sketch show, which was performed entirely in Spanish. Charlotte is not remotely fluent in Spanish but they did an excellent job with the show. Other credits include technical direction for The World’s Greatest Improv School (WGIS) and sound design for the B. Iden Payne award-winning online original musical, “Human Resources the Musical.”Charlotte re

This week on Yes But Why, I had the pleasure of speaking with Arizona-based stand-up comedian, Zack Lyman. Zack Lyman has been performing stand-up comedy for over 13 years. In that time, he has been written about by such publications as Vulture Magazine, Phoenix New Times, and Comedy Hype Magazine. His live shows are unique and full of energy. Zack recently filmed his own soon-to-be-streaming comedy special, The Big Laugh. Recently Zack became a TikTok Partner, tasked with creating funny videos to teach people how to use TikTok. He also makes his own videos, tinkering with electronics and fixing arcade games via @thriftingwithzack. His podcast, an interview show which is aptly named “Zack Lyman Podcast” has been featured in the Top 80 on Apple Podcast charts. Zack was such a fun guest to talk to! He had great stories and he was so amiable. In our conversation, Zack told me how he went from barista to open mic host to stand-up comedian. He imparted his joke writing process and the ways his own style has chang