S2E2:

Environment of mutual trust: Teaching improv across generations with Bill Hillsman and Emery Whitiker

Host: Mike Garvin

Guests: Bill Hillsman and Emery Whitiker

This episode is part of a series of episodes interviewing leaders of identity-affirming improv workshops as a part of an Unscripted initiative called Changing the Face of Improv Leadership, funded in part by the Tennessee Arts Commission.

In this episode, Mike Garvin interviews Bill Hillsman and Emery Whitiker about their experience working together to teach improv in the senior community and having a younger improv teacher mentor and teach a generation with more lived experience than himself. The two met and began their improv teaching partnership through an Unscripted improv club at Fifty Forward, a senior community center in the Donelson area of Nashville, Tennessee. Bill was paired with Emery to mentor her on creating a workshop to teach to the senior community at a local library. The two discuss creating an “environment of mutual trust” as part of what it’s like to experience cross-generational improv.

About the Guests:

Bill Hillsman is a Nashville based improviser for the last 14 years. Over the last decade he's immersed himself in the teaching side of improv, directing dozens of groups and writing curriculums for classes and workshops that shape the local scene. What Bill lacks in follow-through, he makes up for.

Emery Whitiker is a Nashville improviser who can be found performing with troupes such as Laugh Lines and Improv Works, and when she's not improving, she's playing some shady character in a murder mystery with the Immersion Theater Group. Emery splits time between performing and teaching others how to use improv as a tool for mental, emotional, and physical health with the help of The Unscripted Leadership Program and Fifty Foward. With much time and growth, Emery is pegged to become a pillar in the improv relm brandishing herself as a "Conductor of Fun who leads from experience and with an open pallet!" While comedy has been a part of her life from childhood, Emery now understands the benefits of laughter stating "I believe life is an adventure and doing things the right way is honorable, but there is much to learn from failing"

Improvised Ad by several Nashville improvisers.

Executive Producers: Christina Ashworth + Emma Supica

Editing: Cammie York

Mixing: Dave Strumfeld

Graphic Design: Cammie York

A project of Unscripted, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Nashville, TN. We heal, empower, and connect our community through equitable and accessible improv programs.

Play as Liberation: Improv in BIPOC spaces with John Gebratatose and Christina Ashworth

Host: Mike Garvin

Guests: John Gebratatose and Christina Ashworth

This episode kicks off a series of episodes interviewing leaders of identity-affirming improv workshops as a part of an Unscripted initiative called Changing the Face of Improv Leadership, funded in part by the Tennessee Arts Commission.

In this episode, Mike Garvin interviews John Gebratatose and Christina Ashworth about what it’s like to improvise and to lead improv workshops and jams in BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, & People of Color) spaces. John was paired as Christina’s mentor to help foster her growth as a BIPOC improv teacher, and the two engaged in deep discussions about identity, community organizing, and the importance of play and community during such a harrowing time for BIPOC. Mike, John, and Christina discuss the radical approach to improv that is often found in BIPOC spaces and how having more viewpoints and demographics in the room transforms the art of improv as a whole.

About the Guests:

John Gebretatose is the Founder and Executive Director of Good Camel Comedy Theater in Minneapolis, an arts company using humor to speak truth to power and foster diverse voices. Its name, “Good Camel,” symbolizes resilience, inspired by his mother’s 30-day desert journey from Eritrea to Sudan.

With over 15 years in comedy, John previously served as the Co-Executive Director and Director of Diversity and Inclusion at HUGE Theater. He also co-founded the Black and Funny Improv Festival and Blackout Improv, spotlighting underrepresented artists. John is an award-winning podcast host for “MinneCulture” on KFAI radio. A sought-after global performer and teacher, he promotes inclusivity through comedy in diverse settings.

Christina Ashworth is a Nashville improviser who can be found on several teams performing throughout the city. She is the co-producer of Improv Saves! World Agrees and is a teacher with Unscripted for Improv in Recovery and BIPOC Joy. As she grows her improv resume, one of her goalsl is to find the intersectionality between the structure of “big improv” and the radical approach in more fringe spaces and learn to live in the in-between just as she has with her racial identity.

Improvised Ad by Christina Ashworth and Luke Watson

Executive Producers: Christina Ashworth + Emma Supica

Editing: Cammie York

Mixing: Dave Strumfeld

Graphic Design: Cammie York

A project of Unscripted, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Nashville, TN. We heal, empower, and connect our community through equitable and accessible improv programs.

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S1E5: Improv for Personal Growth: Managing Anxiety with Jessica Morrison

Host: Mike Garvin

Guest: Jessica Morrison

In this episode, Mike chats with Jessica Morrison, a jack-of-all-trades who took Unscripted’s “Improv for Anxiety” class via Zoom during the pandemic and then in person when classes resumed, and then kept taking more improv classes afterwards. At the time of the interview, Jessica was still taking improv classes, so they spend some time discussing what she’s learned in classes.

While some improv students dream of the stage, Jessica’s motivation was more toward personal growth. After a terrible job interview where she “felt like [she] couldn’t talk unless it was scripted,” Jessica signed up for “Improv for Anxiety” to help her with her anxiety around re-entering the workforce after a burnout-inspired sabbatical. Listen in to hear about being a student of improv from the perspective of someone without a performance background and who’s in it for the growth more than the stage.

About the Guest: Jessica Morrison is a journalist and nonprofit leader with a doctorate in geochemistry and a collection of increasingly cool hobbies. She's a baker, a drummer, an improviser, and in her spare time, she runs the Baking Notification Project with her husband, Brandon (https://www.thebakingnotificationproject.com/)

Improvised Ad by Christina Ashworth and Luke Watson

Executive Producers: Christina Ashworth + Emma Supica Editing: Cammie York Mixing: Dave Strumfeld Graphic Design: Cammie York