Where Stand-up & Improv Meet w/ Kat Simmons

What does Stand-up comedy and improv have in common? Well, let’s break it down. If one is the loneliest number, carry the two for duo improv, multiply by an improv team of 7 and divide and conquer. What do you get? Um….a really weird math problem that makes no sense. Don’t worry, in this episode of For The Love of Improv, stand-up comedian, Kat Simmons, is going to sort it all out for us. Not only has she performed standup professionally for decades, she dabbled in improv for many years. If anyone can help us understand the connection between stand-up and improv, it’s Kat Simmons.

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Kat Simmons is a 35 year veteran of the international comedy club circuit. You may have seen her at The Improvs, Catch A Rising Star, or on the Comedy Channel, Fox’s Comedy Tonight, or Candid Camera. She has appeared with Tim Allen, Rob Schneider and Kevin Nealon to name a few. She toured with The 3 Blonde Moms, and won the eWomen Network’s international talent contest in Dallas in 2009. She also presented a TedTalk titled “Create Your Life by Honoring Your Own Voice” Kat has taught stand up comedy workshops for 26 years in Minden, NV. 

Clowning w/ Chad Damiani

Improv and clowning have gone hand in hand for centuries, even before improv as we know it in America was invented. Tonight we will speak with world renowned clown, Chad Damiani about how improv affects clowning and what improvisers can learn from the ancient art of the clown. 

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Chad Damiani is a clown and improviser based in LA. He is one of the pioneers of LA’s contemporary clown scene – having performed over 600 shows with his groundbreaking improv/clown duo, Jetzo. He’s also an original member of The Murge (the former flagship show of The Idiot Workshop) and Dr. Brown Builds a Show at The Lyric Hyperion. The latter ensemble currently appears on the FX comedy show CAKE. He works as a clown consultant and performer for Spiegelworld, the largest circus company in America. He also recently served as a clown choreographer on the upcoming TV show The Broadcast, produced by The Duplass Brothers, and founded and performs in Clown Zoo – a weekly outdoor event that mixes clown and theatrical mask. Chad has traveled all over North America – teaching and performing his clown-inspired standup routines. One of his characters appeared on the 2020 season of America’s Got Talent. 

Solo Improv w/ Mike Brown

Who better to kick off season two than Mike Brown talking about Solo improv? In this episode we will talk about all things solo improv, Mike’s amazing travels around the world playing and teaching improv, and some deeper issues around our love of this amazing art form. Stay tuned, this episode is in production and on it’s way to your ears! Check back soon for its release.

“Mike Brown’s Biography is the biography of Mike Brown.” – Perd Hapley

Mike is an improviser, teacher, producer, casting director, and YouTuber living in New York City who occasionally moonlights as a flight attendant just, you know, to pay the rent.

His impressive toy collection seems to impress only himself, and he takes much pride in it.

Though not the founder of Solo Improv, Mike considers himself a pioneer in this area, and has made it his signature style of improvisation since 2009.

In 2017, he was brought on to teach full time at the People’s Improv Theater (NYC), and simultaneously produced a running monthly show (Fury: Earth’s Mightiest Improv), and a yearly Halloween themed show (The Improvised Escape Room) on the same stages.

In the months leading up to the global pandemic, Mike took a job touring internationally with BeerProv, a short-form improv show performing nightly aboard the MSC Meraviglia, a cruise ship sailing through Eastern Canada and the Caribbean.

Mike met his wife in improv class. They once did an improvised musical together about ants bravely defending their colony against scorpions. Mike’s character turned out to be a traitor. All the ants died.