The Centralia Improvisational Podcast

Valerie, Kaci, Roy and Kareem have been improvising together as P-Graph for 18 years. They share their history and process with host Kevin Scott.

BrianneHalveson and John Brennan, Artist directors of Front Porch Improv discuss their strategy and systems for running a commercially and artistically successful improv/comedy theater.

Katie Caussin chats with host Kevin Scott about her years being funny with The Second City, The Annoyance Theater and future as Co-Artistic Director of I.O. Theater in Chicago.

Jonathan Pitts talks with kevin Scott about his 20 years as a festival producer and what he's learned traveling the world as an improv teacher. Jonathan Pitts is a improv theatre artist from Chicago with over 30 years’ experience. He’s a creator, director, improviser, producer, and teacher, and he’s also the Founder and Executive Director of Chicago Improv Productions. He co-founded the ...

Pat from Centralia chats with Brian Stack about his years writing for Conan O'Brien on Late Night and the Tonight Show and his current job writing for Stephen Colbert on The Late Show. They also discuss Briens years doing improv and sketch and how that led to his writing comedy for TV.

Patrick McCartney chats what it was like writing for SNL, staying sober and her time with Second City. Cindy Caponera is Second City veteran, TV and movie writer, and producer her credits include Saturday Night Live , Shameless, I'm Dying Up Here, Nurse Jackie and At Home with Amy Sedaris .

Patrick McCartney and Jodi Lennon discuss starting scenes in the middle, coming up with characters and her time studying with Del Close and Mick Napier. Jodi Lennon is an Emmy-nominated writer, producer and a director. She is an alumnae of Chicago's Second City, IO and The Annoyance Theater.  Shes worked on many TV shows including It's Personal with Amy Hoggart , At Home with Amy Sedaris , Di...

Patrick McCartney goes one on one with comedy writer Brian McCann.  They discuss Brian's career path from advertising copywriter through classes with Del Close to his 17 years writing for Conan O'Brien. From 1995 to 2012 McCann wrote and made appearances on Late Night, The Tonight Show and Conan.  McCann is a stand up comedian and actor having appeared on 30 Rock and Parks and Recreation...

Centralia's Kevin Scott chats with fellow Bang Bang alum Bob Fisher to discuss Bob's days with The Second City, Annoyance Theater, Cardiff Giant and of course, Bang Bang. They also discuss how Improv has changed for them and the improv community at large since discovering improv in Chicago in the '90's. Bob Fisher is a teacher and performer at The Annoyance Theater, Chicago.  

Centralia's Patrick McCartney chats with Actor, Michael Shannon about his days a a young actor in Chicago, and his journey since then. Michael Shannon has been nominated twice for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his roles in the Sam Mendes period drama Revolutionary Road and the Tom Ford psychological thriller Nocturnal Animals. He has worked on the stage the stage with such compan...

Pat McCartney goes One On One with Saturday Night Live and Late Night with Seth Meyers writer Alex Baze to discuss his days in Chicago in the '90's and his life at SNL and Late night and his journey to get there.

Centralia Pat McCartney has a one on one chat with his old pal Adam McKay to discuss his journey from improv student to Oscar winning filmmaker.  Adam was head writer at Saturday Night Live before writing and directing hit films and series such as Anchorman, Talladega Nights, Vice, The Big Short, Succession and Don't Look Up.

Ashley Ward from Conyers, GA performed improv and sketch comedy in New York City for more than a decade before moving to Los Angeles. Ashley appeared in several off broadway shows including the New York Times Critic's Pick "50 Shades! The Original Musical Parody" which she also co-wrote. TV Credits include Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Your Pretty Face is Going to Hell and Middle of the Night Show. Ashl...

Pat and Kevin chat will Bill Chott about touring the country Second City, His Saturday Night Live audition and how it got him the attention of The Dana Carvey show and his life as an actor, comedian and improvisor. Bill Chott played Mr. Laritate on the Disney Channel 's Wizards of Waverly Place. Billt toured the country with The Second City until he landed The Dana Carvey Show , with a cast that i...

Noah Gregoropoulos is an influential Chicago improvisor, teacher and director having taught for decades at IO and DePaul University. Noah most notably directed the Lois Kaz show at Second City which features a who's who of long time comedy writers and performers.

Hosted by Kevin Scott Will Luera has built communities at theaters in Boston with Improv Boston and in Sarasota Florida as the Director of Improvisation at the Florida Studio Theater. He's Artistic Director of Improv Asylum, Director of Big Bang Improv and serves as the Artistic Director Emeritus of ImprovBoston.

Patrick McCartney goes one on one with David Koechner best known as Champ Kind in the Anchorman films and Todd Packer on NBC's The Office as well as appearances in dozens of movies and TV shows including a year as a cast member on Saturday Night Live. Pat and David discuss David's improv and acting journey, their thoughts on how to be a great improvisor as well as Chicago and improv in the 90's.

Dion Flynn & Nate Starkey created and perform in the two-man prisoners-on-the-run improvisational comedy Shackled. In this episode they join host Kevin Scott to discuss their trailer park childhoods and how they found Improv, comedy and each other. They also discuss the process of developing an improv show with recurring characters, themes and stories.

Heather is a UK based improviser with 20 years experience. She performs regularly with The Maydays, Showstopper! the Improvised Musical, and more as well as coaching people in improvisation and improv skills for life and work. She specializes in musical improvisation.  She is the the winner of the award for best female performer at Brighton Fringe & the Argus Angel Award for artistic exce...

ROBERT Z GRANT is a New York-based actor and improviser and author of Improv and the Actor's Imagination: An Essential Guide to Get Yourself Into Trouble. He trained as an actor with Bill Esper at the William Esper Studio in New York, studied clowning and Commedia with Christopher Bayes at The Public Theater and at Juilliard, and honed his improv chops in the tradition of Second City. Robert has b...

Guy Richards Smit is an American performance artist, painter, and singer-songwriter in the band Maxi Geil! & PlayColt . His work has been seen around the world including MoMA in New York City. he has been performing his character Jonathan Grossmalerman, a satirical take on the artistic personality, since the mid-90's and infuses much of his other work with humor including a series of single pa...

Jules Munns joins the podcast from the U.K. to discuss the future of Improvisation.  Jules co-founded the Nursery Theater and Slapdash International Improv Festival. He performs with the Maydays, Ten Thousand Million Love Stories, Concept: the Improvised Concept Album and many other shows.

Dave Razowsky performed in 10 revues at Chicago's Second City with cast members including Steve Carell, Stephen Colbert, Amy Sedaris, and Rachel Dratch. He was Artistic Director of The Second City Hollywood for 10 years and has taught his unique style of workshops around the world. He discusses his improv life and wether improv can change the world with Host Kevin Scott

Centralia discusses finding your unique improv voice and how to get and take notes from a director or other ensemble members. some adult language in the episode

no one has guested with Centralia more than Chris Griggs. Griggs is a stand-up Comic who tours the US and has been performing Improv comedy and teaching for most of the past 20 years. Before he went into comedy he wrote Advertisements. He discusses all this things with host Patrick McCartney.