Improv in Practice with Synergy Theater

Find out all about Synergy Theater's Improvised Hitchcock from Griffen Bier and Valerie Jord! We find out: What is a Mid-Atlantic accent? Which Hitchcock film spooked Valerie for life? How do you use silence in an improvised scene to build suspense? Which Hitchcock film would you pick to enter as a cameo appearance? Plus Hitchcock trivia! ...

Part 2 of our interview with Kat and Maggie is here! We pick up where we left off last time - with the significance of inclusion in Improvised productions. Kat and Maggie's Audio Only scene is the best! Also, Synergy Theater is back at the Lesher Center. We introduce Synergy's new initiative, Theater Smarts, and tell you how you can help bring young students to live theater. And if that weren't enough, the second half of this episode honors the previous 10 (or 11, if you count the bonus) episodes. We count back through our amazing first season of Improv in Practice. Thank you, thank you - to our incredible guests and audience. Koppet.com MopCo.org Introverted Improvisers Liminal Passengers ...

In this long-overdue episode, Kat, Maggie, and I discuss how Kat became a highly-successful Improv practioner and owner of an Improv theater house with a colorful past. Maggie describes what its like to be loved and snubbed by her favorite Improv partner - her cat. This episode, with all its unexpected and unintended moments, was so good that I had to make it a two-parter! Please enjoy! For your reference: Deifinition of a "preist hole" Maggie from Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Improv College of Montreal The Mopco Improv Theatre koppett.com More links and contact info to follow in Part 2! ...

Yvonne Conybeare is a director and actor and lives in New York. Robin Wiggs is a writer and improv performer and lives in London. I met them in our Improv IV class online, and I knew I had to interview them together. Yvonne and Kenn Adams, director of synergy theater, are old friends, and so we talk about Theater Sports New York, and the origin of Kenn's Play by Play. Yvonne has insights on how our defensiveness affects our improvisation and how to overcome it. Robin joins the interview a bit later and we talk about improv in London and how Robin prepares for performances. Make sure that you listen all the way through the show for something a little different at the end. Robin's Links: "Moidercats", Cariad Lloyd Yvonne's Links: conybeare.net, Thinking, Fast and Slow ...

Louise Ritchie and her son Akin Ritchie are both in theater, but on two sides. Louise is a performer. Akin is a technical director. Together they are a dream team. We talk about Louise's and Akin's interwoven journeys to the stage, and their hopes as we transition back to in-person performances. Synergy Theater is back to in-person shows at the Lesher Center for the Arts, in Walnut Creek, CA! If you would like to join us, visit synergytheater.com and click on performances. Mentioned in the show: Zeider's American Dream Theater ...

No matter who your family is, you have a matriarch in your life. A matriarch, to me, is someone who supports you with their warmth, their wit, and their enthusiasm for your dreams. Within the Synergy Theater family, I consider Deb Kern Synergy Theater's matriarch. I've heard Kenn refer to her as his longest-running student. Lynn Shields is another powerful force for good within Synergy Theater. Lynn is a Synergy Theater player, and we talk about her foray into directing the spontaneous soap opera series Days of our Wives. Deb and Lynn are wise, funny, and dedicated to the art of improvisation. They inspire everyone around them to be their best selves on and off the stage. ...