The Theft Forum

Scott Hearne interviews Roy Janik. They talk about narrative improv, Roy's journey as an improviser, and they play Two Truths and a Lie and a guessing game! Roy Janik is the Artistic Director (and a co-owner) of The Hideout Theatre. As such, he plans and schedules all of the Hideout’s shows, troupes, showcases, and special events. He has performed in many of The Hideout’s mainstage productions, and is the creator and director of the critically-acclaimed show Austin Secrets. As one of the Hideout’s core teachers, Roy teaches improv levels one through six. His favorite class to teach is level four, a personal feedback class he helped create the curriculum for. As a member of the improv troupe Parallelogramophonograph, he has traveled to perform and teach in over 30 cities, including Toronto, Montreal, Chicago, New York, and London. He spearheaded the creation of the Improvised Play Festival, the world’s first festival devoted exclusively to theatrical, narrative improv.

Scott Hearne interviews Vanessa Gonzalez. Vanessa Gonzalez is a teacher and regular performer at The New Movement. She toured the country with her first solo show I Don't Know Words. She has been featured at comedy festivals such as Austin Sketch Fest, Fun Fun Fun Fest, Hell Yes Fest, Chicago Sketch Fest, Moontower Comedy Fest, and was in the headlining sketch slot at the Women in Comedy Festival '14. In January 2015, I Don't Know Words was showcased at San Francisco Sketch Fest and was named a "festival favorite" by co-founder David Owen. Vanessa is currently touring with her second solo show I Don't Know Dating. When she's not touring, she helps write and produce the weekly sketch show Bad Example. More info on Vanessa: http://vanessacomedy.com/

Scott interviews Alex Ayala and Chris Karr from the independent, original series: "Server Life". We talk about NYC, improv, and a *special* Inside the Actor's Studio segment at the end of the show. 

Adrienne Dawes is an award winning writer/director from Austin, TX. Her plays include Denim Doves, Am I White, You Are Pretty, Jesus Loves Good Christians, and Heritage, Her-i-tage, and Hair-i-tage. She is also known as director of the B. Iden Payne Award winning shows: Doper Than Dope and Love Me Tinder.  Scott and Adrienne talk about how to be a good director, Adrienne's desire to write rather than perform, white blindness, and diversity in comedy. They play two games: "Two Truths and a Lie" and a guessing game about the 90s! Fun!  

Scott Hearne interviews Jorak and Jorak Do Movie From their press blurb: "Jorak and Jorak are two Eastern European brothers who have a movie theater. The only problem seems to be that never actually have an actual movie to show the audience. Their solution? They simply attempt to do the movie themselves and, of course, hilarity ensues. Aside from taking your money and not showing you a film, they may also attempt to sell you food and whatever they happen to have in the truck they "found" behind the theater." Jorak and Jorak Do Movie Website  

Scott Hearne interviews Jeff Whitaker. Jeff is a writer/producer/improviser based out of The New Movement Theater (TNM) in Austin, TX. He is creator of "Bad Example" (Link), a weekly sketch show that writes a whole, new show every week! See Bad Example every Saturday night, 9 PM at TNM. He is a member of the improv team Good Fight (Link). See Jeff perform in Good Fight every Wednesday at 9:30 PM at TNM. 

Scott Hearne interviews Ruby Willman, Aaron Saenz, and Manuel Duran from The Hideout mainstage show, "Wanderlust: Improvised Tales of Travel, Love, and Longing". Every week, Wanderlust features two different improvisers in the role of leads, mixing gender, age, and relationships - ensuring a new experience in every performance. Catch "Wanderlust" at The Hideout Theatre Saturdays at 8 PM in January and February 2015.

Scott Hearne interviews Adrienne Dawes, Minerva Villa, and David Nguyen from “Love Me Tinder: A Musical Sketch Revue”. See the show, Thursday, February 5th, 8:00 PM at Hyde Park Theater in Austin, TX. Heckle Her presents “Love Me Tinder,” a musical sketch revue that pops the ultimate Valentine’s Day question - swipe left or right? “Love Me Tinder” Featuring Minerva Villa, Cené Hale, Jillian Summar, Jared Robertson, Chris Hatcher, and David Nguyen, accompanied by Brian Kremer, musical direction by Ammon Taylor, and directed by Adrienne Dawes.    

Scott Hearne interviews Ed Hill during The Out of Bounds Comedy Festival 2014. Originally from Taiwan, Ed is an emerging young comic who moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada 18 years ago, thinking he was on vacation at his father's discretion. Since then, Ed has performed all over the world. He has appeared on Bite TV’s “Stand up & Bite Me”, XM Radio’s “Laugh Attack”, West Coast Comedy TV on Hulu, and 2 appearances on Comedy Time TV. He was also invited to perform at Comedy Masala in Singapore, Live Comedy Club in Taiwan, the Hong Kong Comedy Festival, NXNE, San Francisco Comedy Festival, Austin Out of Bounds Comedy Festival, North Carolina Comedy Arts Festival, the Vancouver Comedy Festival and many more. Ed is still currently on vacation with his potato-like dogs.

Scott Hearne interviews Jamie Campbell. Jamie Campbell was named Chicago's "Best Stand-Up" in 2013 by The Chicago Reader. He has performed at the TBS Just For Laughs Festival, The New Orleans Comedy Festival, The Chicago Improv Festival, and more.  He is a cast member of 100 Proof Comedy in Chicago and host of the critically acclaimed, late-night talk show Talk Hard. Jamie has shared the stage with Time Meadows, Hannibal Buress, Neil Hamburger, and Laurie Kilmartin. As an improviser, he is a member of The Annoyance Theatre's House Ensemble, ComedySportz Chicago, and The Stevens Family.  Jamie is one of the stars of the upcoming feature film "Dirtbags" and you might recognize him from KFC and Cousins Subs commercials or from his appearance on the Improv Nerd Podcast. 

Scott Hearne interviews Frank Netscher (Director) and Cene Hale (Performer/Writer) from "It's Saturday Night!". "It's Saturday Night!" is performed at 8:30 PM every Saturday night in September at Coldtowne Theater. "It's Saturday Night" pays homage to the classic TV show Saturday Night Live. Inspired by shows like "30 Rock", "The Larry Sanders Show", and "The Muppet Show", the Not Ready for Any Time Players will combine sketch and improv into live comedy performance unlike anything else in Austin. Drawing from over 30 years of comedy history, cultural icons, and social commentary, the cast of "It's Saturday Night!" will perform new sketches each week, as as give the audience a peek at the improvised behind-the-scenes antics of the cast and crew as they struggle to put together live TV. Who knows what could happen?!?!?! The Not Ready for Any Time Players are Emma Holder, Bryan "Lubu" Roberts, Jared Robertson, Lacy Cox, Adrienne Dawes, Rachel Austin, Chris Sebilia, Katie Ellin, Cene Hale, Justin Dehn, Ian Towns

Eva Gilliam is an improviser, freelance television and radio journalist/producer based in Cape Town, South Africa. She studied improv at The Upright Citizen's Brigade Theater (UCB) in New York City and is currently a member of The Long Shots - a talented international troupe of improvisers, blending the comedy styles of South Africa, the UK, and the United States. 

Scott Hearne interviews Chrissy Swinko at the 2013 Out of Bounds Comedy Festival. Chrissy Swinko is a writer, producer, and performer in Los Angeles, CA. She recently performed at the Comedy Central Stage in LA with her sketch comedy partner, Gina Nicewonger, in “Chrissy & Gina Take Over a Strip Club”. This show was also performed as a UCB Spank Show in 2014. Her solo show, “UGH#: All of my Disappointments Located Conveniently in One Show” was performed as a UCB Spank in 2013, at the 2013 Out of Bounds Comedy Festival, and at the 2013 LA Scripted Comedy Festival. Her voice has been heard on the radio in numerous commercials. She has appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live and in videos for BBQ Committee, her video sketch comedy group. She also created a website: Sad Hot Guys.  

Scott Hearne interviews Anna Drezen at the 2013 The Out of Bounds Comedy Festival. Anna Drezen is an actor, comedian, and writer living in Brooklyn, NY. Her work has been featured on MTVu, the front page of CollegeHumor, TheOnion.com, Funny or Die, WitStream, Thought Catalog, Huffington Post, BuzzFeed, and Splitsider. Anna has performed at Joe's Pub, the PIT, the UCB, the Del Close Comedy Festival, and the Women in Comedy Festival. Her solo show SPOOKY JERKS was featured at the PIT. 

Scott Hearne interviews Kat Timpf at the 2013 Out of Bounds Comedy Festival. Katherine Timpf is a reporter, columnist, personality, commentator and comedian from Detroit living in New York, NY. She currently works as a reporter at CampusReform.org covering waste, fraud, bias, and abuse on college campuses. She is also a stand-up comic, and has performed at clubs throughout the country, including Gotham Comedy Club in New York and The Improv in Los Angeles.  

Episode 57 - Mark Beltzman Scott Hearne interviews Mark Beltzman. Mark Beltzman has been acting, writing, and directing since 1981. He was a founding member of Improv Olympic in Chicago and of the legendary group, Barons Barracudas. Mark has worked and directed at the famed Second City in Chicago. He directed many improvisational and theatrical productions at Second City in Chicago and Los Angeles, including the Second City Alumni Jam. He was also instructor/director at The Second City Training Center, Improv Olympic West and the Upfront Comedy Showcase.  Mark has also acquired a great deal of knowledge about the creative process of producing, writing and directing while performing in such notable productions as: Mo Money, Billy Madison, The Wedding Singer, Speed 2, Star Maps, Lovely and Amazing, and Employee of the Month, Factory, Seinfeld, Rosanne, Norm, Curb Your Enthusiasm, According to Jim, Cold Case, House, True Jackson VP, The Young and the Restless, and Pretty Little Liars. 

Episode 56 - David Drake David Drake is a comedian. Since moving to Chicago he has been invited to perform in over 17 national festivals. He has also been featured in Comcast's televised stand up specials 'Who's Laughing Now?' and 'Trial by Laughter' in addition to the College Humor Live show at the UCB Theater in New York. He is the co-founder of the very popular Chicago showcase The Sidebar Show in addition to being a cast member at ComedySportz Chicago and the founder of long running Chicago open mic, Three Dead Moose. David currently performs nationwide while working out a niche in Chicago's alternative comedy scene and sometimes he'll eat fries off your plate. 

Episode 55 - Deano Jones. Deano Jones is a musician, actor, author, and graphic designer. He is a member of improv groups: The Knuckleball Now, The Intentions, and Simply D-Vine. Originally from NYC, he was the singer/songwriter of the band Clowns for Progress, a greaser punk pop band who wore full clown makeup and vintage tuxedos. The Clowns recorded several CDs and toured extensively from 1995-2000. After moving to Austin, TX in 2005, he began working as a solo artist and has released two CDs, "Go It Alone" (2010) and "Road to San Antone" (2011), both available on iTunes. In Austin, he also became immersed in the improv scene and has performed in several main stage productions, including "Holy 1960s Batman, Batman!" (as Batman). Wanting to write a musical involving motorcycles and greasers, he decided at the last minute to make the story of the world's first Vampire-Motorcycle-Rock Musical Book - “Rise of the Cafe Racer”. The novel includes a hand drawn map, 84 illustrations and a complete 12-song original

Scott Hearne interviews The US National Improv Team at The 2014 Out of Bounds Comedy Festival. The US National Improv Team (USNIT) is a group of seven UCB-trained improvisers who play with "aggressive faith." After practicing and performing together consistently for over a year, they feel supported enough by one other to leap before they look and always love where they land. A UCB East Indie Cagematch three-time champion, USNIT recently made their first ever UCB Cagematch appearance. They have also competed in long-form Improv shows at the UCB, Beast, PIT, Under Saint Mark's, Creek, and perform weekly at the Queen's Secret Improv Theatre. They would probably still do improv even if it weren't a competition. More info about their upcoming improv or dating events, respectively, at USNIT.com or OkCupid.com/profile/USNIT

Scott Hearne interviews Ryan Schutt at The 2013 Out of Bounds Comedy Festival. Ryan Schutt has performed stand up comedy at SF Sketchfest and Gilda's Laugh Fest, as well as the Laughing Skull Comedy, Out of Bounds Comedy Festival, Boston Comedy Arts, Cape Fear Comedy, Memphis Comedy, and Midpoint Music Festivals. He has also made appearances on the Nerdists's "Competitive Erotic Fan Fiction" podcast, "The Alyona Show" on Russia Today,  "The Stream" on Al Jazeera, and "The Arch Campbell Show" on WJLA/ABC 7. In 2013, he won the inaugural District Comedy/Capital City Showcase March Madness of Comedy, a single-elimination tournament featuring over 50 of the best comics in the DC and Baltimore areas. Ryan was born and raised in Washington, DC, where he regularly performs standup, sketch, and improv comedy.