Building Bridges Improv Podcast

Ian joins Jennifer and David on a Bridge to discuss LA Improv and Standup, how he got started, and how his imdb page displays his degree status. Ian Zandi is an LA-based comedian jack-of-all-trades. With origins based in improv/sketch training, Ian uses those skills in his current pursuits as a standup comic.  Ian's work has been featured at various comedy theaters such as Second City and Pack Theater, satire sites including The Onion, and numerous festivals. instagram.com/ianzandi

Zach joins Jennifer and David on a bridge to talk about his long journey through improv, his ideal performance style, and how he's creating a streaming platform for improvised specials! Zach Atherton is a 20-year improv comedy veteran who started his performing career with the ComedySportz High School League in Los Angeles. His professional improv comedy journey began with ComedySportz Utah which led to him to create the world's first musical improv theater in 2014 called ImprovBroadway.  He is currently partnered with Colin Mochrie from Whose Line is it Anyway? and Dry Bar Comedy to create the world's first platform for improv comedy called Dry Bar Unscripted.  drybarunscripted.com tiktok.com/@theimprovguy

Jeffrey joins Jennifer and David on a bridge to talk about his journey, hecklers and video games in relation to improv. Jeffrey Thompson, MA, MBA, EA, is a writer, actor, magician, psychology professor, and tax professional from Los Angeles and currently serves as one of the four artistic directors of Impro Theatre.  He has a roster of over 300 tax and accounting clients in the entertainment industry including actors, dancers, writers, and cinematographers. Jeffrey also teaches improv at the Westside Comedy Theater, teaches psychology at Citrus College, and has given tax talks for CalArts and the California Lawyers for the Arts.  He also acts as a board member for The Ruby LA (a non-profit theatre in LA) and The Improv Network (an international non-profit organization), and produces short films with his production company, Great Hair Productions.

Stacey joins Jennifer and David on a bridge to talk about her first improv experience in NYC, the source of her creativity, and how improv has greatly affected her life. Stacey Reed Hanlon is originally from Akron, Ohio.  She began her improvisational career in New York City in 1999, where she studied with The Upright Citizens Brigade, Armando Diaz and Gary Austin. In NYC she co-founded improv troupe Late Night Ritalin, wrote for and appeared in Saturday Night Rewritten, and was a performer in Manhattan Comedy Collective's Character Dog Run. She has performed in improv festivals in New York, Austin, Pittsburgh, San Diego, Albuquerque & Phoenix.  Stacey can currently be seen performing with improv troupes Light Rail Pirates and JaxN Reed. Her local theatre credits include Jenna in Tangelico, ensemble performance in the world premiere of Greg Kotis' The Unhappiness Plays and Mabel in A Bloody Mary Christmas, a role that she created through improvisation along with co-creators Jacqueline Arend, Shawna Franks and Denny Guge. Stacey is a founding member of The Torch Theatre and the co-founder of Conducted Stories Improv, a Phoenix-based organization that uses improvisational theatre to foster communication and social skills with neurodivergent populations, including youth on the Autism spectrum and people with Dementia and their caregivers.   Stacey is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University and studied abroad with the Institute for American Universities in Avignon, France. https://secondbeatimprov.com/ https://www.bridgeimprovtheater.com/

Michelle joins Jennifer and David on a bridge to talk about her improv start, mono scenes, and her move to LA. Michelle Gilliam, is originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin and recently relocated to Los Angeles, CA. Michelle has over 20 years of expertise and experience in improv, and is the Owner and Artistic Director of Improv MKE. Michelle specializes in leading corporate teams, medical teams,  and various university departments to success by helping them to harness the power of improv as a tool and resource for DEI, creativity, empowerment, communication, fun, and much more. Michelle has had the opportunity to facilitate  all over the world in Improv. She has worked with teams from: Scotland, Liverpool, Nottingham, Chester, London, India, Africa, Singapore, The Philippines, Norway, Copenhagen, Canada, Lithuania, New Zealand, and the list goes on. A few companies Michelle has worked with recently: Marywood University Marquette University Concordia University US BANK, Wealth Management ComedySportz Manchester, UK SoftWareOne  

Ally joins Jen and David on a bridge to discuss their improv journey, improv in Tucson, and who exactly Uncle Roger is. Ally Tanzillo ( She/They) is the Creative Director of Etcetera, the Late Night Series of Live Theatre Workshop in Tucson. She is an actor, director, and improvisor, formerly of the improv duo Ex-Boyfriend, who performed in festivals across the country. instagram.com/armazillo  

Shaun joins Jennifer and David on a bridge to talk about her journey through improv, performing with her husband, and what starting a new theatre was like. Shaun Landry is the Founder of Los Angeles' new theatre The Ledge Theatre.  She also co-created the first African American Improv Ensemble in the country OBN, and co-created The San Francisco Improv Festival.  She performs with her husband Hans Summers as Landry & Summers since 1986, teaches at The Pack Theatre and has done a large amount of acting and improv things. She also is finding it hard to write in the third person the older she gets.  www.ledgetheatre.org and www.shaunlandry.com

Lavender joins Jennifer and David on a bridge to discuss her mom tricking her into an improv audition, what she likes about long form improv, and the rich history of the Flaming Hot Cheetos brand. Lavender has been doing improv for about 7 years. She started when she was 13 in middle school. Since then she has done many shows, featuring various different styles of improv. She currently does improv at Improvmania and occasionally teaches kids and teens. improvmania.net bridgeimprovtheater.com

Carla joins Jen and David on a bridge to discuss how she got started doing improv, her duo with her husband Craig, and how much the pandemic has affected improv in general. www.instagram.com/carlacackowski/ twitter.com/carlacackowski  

Paul joins Jen and David on a bridge to talk about his tenure in improv, moving west, and his absolute pure joy and love for the craft. Paul Vaillancourt is the co-founder of the iO West and the Revolution Theater and has been teaching and performing improv for close to 30 years. As a teacher, he has worked with a wide variety of audiences from high school students looking to augment their suicide, depression and substance abuse peer out reach to corporations looking to free up creativity, improve communication and strengthen their teams to actors and actress on a professional performer track. As a performer, he has appeared all over the country including such notable venues as HBO's Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, Chicago's iO (where he studied with the immortal Del Close), New York's UCB Theater, and Austin's Out of Bounds Festival to name a few. Paul has also had success as a writer and producer, co-creating and serving as supervising writer for the MTV hit "The Blame Game" as well as lending his writing, producing and consulting talents to a score of other shows for MTV, VH1, USA, Oxygen, Bravo, AMC and MGM. He published a book about improv called "The Triangle of the Scene" (available on Amazon) and produces a weekly series of videos called "Improv Tips" available on his YouTube channel PVImprov. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatsupwithpv/ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/pvimprov "Triangle of the Scene" on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3xDMrMh