Time for a little back story. You may know I sunlight (that would be the opposite of moonlighting, because you have to do it during the day) in advertising. When I began to work as a copywriter, presentation skills became critical to my job. One problem: presenting--any type of public speaking in general, actually--terrified me.
So, I did what any normal person would do.
I decided to take improv classes.
No? Not so normal?
I figured if I could bomb in front of an audience doing comedy, presentations would be cake. (It worked. Now they are.)
I loved improv. It changed my life. My Second City grad teacher, Kim McGaw, was a friend and an inspiration. As I began creating characters, I found myself writing back stories. I got good at playing the straight man. And my fellow improv'ers began to ask if I'd considered acting.
That's it. That's all it took. I started auditioning for community theater. (Also terrifying.) I got a part. I moved to Austin. I began taking Meisner classes. I began working in films. I kept working in films. I stopped working live. Until now.
Brent Foshee, a really talented comedian/improv'er/writer I worked with in Joe Nicolosi's Midnight Bumper knew I used to do improv. He had joined up with some of Austin's best--Bobby DiPasquale, Daniel Sawtelle, Scott Moss and Elizabeth Bigger--to create The Austin Comedy Hour and its first show--Sketch in the City. He invited me to join them. I agreed (and was terrified).
We've had two shows. We have one more to go. It's amazing. It's scary. It's fun. It's invigorating. It's great to be back on stage.
