Shiny Things Improv Podcast

Episode 11 - Jen Littlewood (FA, NANA) - Simplify your scenes

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2467974/fan_mail/new] Today’s guest is Jen Littlewood — one of the Free Associations highly experienced teachers, as well as coach to one of their house Harold teams, and member of NANA one of the FA's most successful former Harold teams. Jen trained at second city and iO under the legendary Dave Pasquesi of TJ and Dave, before she moved back to the UK to join the Free Association. After 17 years of improv, she now teaches multiple levels and has some wonderful insights into the art.

Episode 10 - Joe Bill (Founder Annoyance Theatre) - Get out of your head

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2467974/fan_mail/new] Joe Bill is a legendary improviser who has been performing for almost half a century. He trained with Del Close, was a founding member of the Annoyance theatre in Chicago, and was director of corporate training at iO for 15 years. He now travels the world, performing and teaching improv alongside some of the biggest names around. I caught up with him at the GBG Improv Festival in Gothenberg, where I had just seen him and Patti Styles perform an incredible improvised play. We chatted about his experiences working with Del Close, his love of applying neuroscience to improv, and how improv helped him deal with his cancer diagnosis.

Episode 9 - Patti Stiles (Rapid Fire Theatre, Theatre Sports) - Be a Storyteller

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2467974/fan_mail/new] In this episode I chat to Patti Stiles — legendary improviser, actor, director, and author who began her improv journey training with Keith Johnson in the 1980s. She has since gone on to perform, teach, and direct countless improvisational theatre companies all over the world. I caught up with her at the GBG Improv Festival in Gothenberg, where I had just seen her and Joe Bill perform an incredible improvised play. We chatted about the her incredible four decades of experience, the way she approaches story, how she judges a bad show, and how London has a wealth of improv history to build on.

Episode 8 - Sam Roulston (FA, Second City) - Play Weirder

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2467974/fan_mail/new] In this episode I chat to Sam Roulston — improviser, standup, and character comedian. Having trained and then later taught at Second City Toronto, he returned to the UK a few years ago and has since starred in critically acclaimed shows like Winner and Sam and AJ. He recently joined the Artistic Committee at the Free Association in London. I’ve always been inspired by the way Sam performs, effortlessly committing to characters and finding fun in unlikely places, so it was a pleasure to dig into his approach to improv, and comedy in general.

Episode 7 - Graham Dickson (FA Founder, Austentatious) - Make More Mischief

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2467974/fan_mail/new] In this episode I chat to Graham Dickson — founder of The Free Association in London and original cast member of west-end hit improv show, Austentatious. Graham has been improvising for nearly 20 years and has far too many accolades to list here. Most recently he’s been performing with Cool Story Bro, Kiell Smith-Bynoe’s hit improv show that just did a sell-out run at Soho Theatre’s new 1000 seat venue.  In this episode we cover Graham’s long-standing love affair with improv, the ups and downs of running the FA, why mischief is so important to comedy, and why British improv should never rest on its laurels.