Podcast Archives - John Cooper, Comedian and improviser

Jim Ansaldo is a Research Scholar at Indiana University Bloomington, a member of Comedysportz Indianapolis and an instructor at Camp Yes And, which teaches improv Teenager on the Autism Spectrum. "Improv gives us a means for everyone to bring their life experience to the table" I had the chance to catch up with Jim earlier […] The post Podcast: Jim Ansaldo - Teaching improvisation to teenagers with autism appeared first on John Cooper.

In this episode I recap what I've called  'series 2'. The last eight interviews with some great people who use applied improvisation (improv, impro...that particular way of thinking and responding, and using mental agility). Beginning with Paul Z. Jackson and culminating  with Pam Victor. There's a wealth of information to be had, on a load of different […] The post Podcast: Series 2 Summary | Question and create appeared first on John Cooper.

Pam is the founder of Happier Valley Comedy whose mission it is to make the world a happier place through improv. She's co-author of "Improvisation at the Speed of Life", with Chicago's TJ & Dave and uses improv to teach personal and professional growth. She has her own podcast, Conversations with Funny Feminists. We chat […] The post Podcast: Pam Victor | The Zen of Improv appeared first on John Cooper.

Paul is a coach in agile development and certified Scrum trainer. He's the founder of training company agilify and his book 'Improving Teams' brings together his work in agile and improv theatre, highlighting the overlaps and connections between the two. In conversation we talk about the cost of change in the workplace and how similarities […] The post Podcast: Paul Goddard | Improv in Agile development appeared first on John Cooper.

Cathy Salit is CEO of Performance of a Lifetime. She has delivered hundreds of keynote speeches on how using performance in everyday life helps with growth and productivity. She's the author of Performance Breakthrough' A radical approach to success at work. In conversation with Cathy we chat about her work at POAL, and how treating life as a […] The post Podcast: Cathy Salit | Performance of a lifetime appeared first on John Cooper.

Dan Starkey is an actor appearing in television series such as Doctor Who, inside No.9 and Class Dismissed on CBBC. He's performed with many improv groups and done improv marathons. I'm a massive Doctor Who fan, and seeing Dan improvise some online shorts for Doctor Who, a big TV production,  made want to delve into how […] The post Podcast: Dan Starkey | An Actors Foundation appeared first on John Cooper.

Adam is a customer experience consultant with a background in stand up comedy and psychology. "We are going to break your ideas". Adam uses improv theatre techniques to drive design and innovation and is the co-initiator of the world's largest service innovation event, the 48 hour Global Service Jam. In this interview we discuss how Adam […] The post Podcast: Adam St John Lawrence | Improvisation for Innovation appeared first on John Cooper.

Neil Mullarkey is one of the founding members of the Comedy Store players and probably one of the most recognisable faces in the world of improv. He has a string of well known movie and television credits appearing with other improv alumini. Just as impressive is the list of companies he's worked with, where he has brought […] The post Podcast: Neil Mullarkey | The Business of Improvisation appeared first on John Cooper.

Mary is a learning and development professional. She trained with Second city and combines her skills to deliver dynamic experiential learning programs. Mary uses applies improvisation techniques in the area of behavioural health. Working with business in professional development courses and families, she helps people manage issues such as stress, anxiety and addiction to fulfil their peak […] The post Podcast: Mary T. Curtis | Behavioral Health appeared first on John Cooper.

Paul (@Paulzj) is a trainer of trainers and a founding members of the Applied Improvisation Network. He has authored a handful of books including 'The Inspirational Trainer' and '58 and a Half Ways to Improvise in Training'. "We teach what we need to learn most." He has a background in comedy and journalism and his early […] The post Podcast: Paul Z. Jackson | Train the Trainer appeared first on John Cooper.

In Series two of the Bring a Brick Podcast I interview another eight people who use improvisation in their work. Guests include Paul Z Jackson from the AIN, Behavioral health expert Mary T. Curtis, comedy store players founding member Neil Mullarkey and customer experience consultant Adam Lawrence. Series two is available in February. What is […] The post More Yes. More and. Series 2 available soon. appeared first on John Cooper.

A summary of the first eight podcasts.   I've interviewed a pretty board range to people so far and the interest and feedback has been great. The tone has shifted from episode to episode, depending on the guest and subject matter, some have been fun, some more serious, and that I think is a good thing. If […] The post Podcast: Series 1 Summary | To connect and improve. appeared first on John Cooper.

Richard is the founder of Making Presentations, where he trains and consults on advanced presentation skills. His work is underpinned by the principles of Improv, in terms of training and how improv principles help us be better presenters. He worked for Procter & Gamble for 17 years, starting in sales. He moved into consumer and shopper […] The post Podcast: Richard Pascoe | Presentation skills and Facilitation appeared first on John Cooper.

The importance of having fun Marijn began using improvisation during his time as a nurse working with PTSD sufferers. There he learned to use improv techniques to bring much needed fun into the lives of people using the clinic. He is now part of improbattle.nl working with people from all ages and background and uses […] The post Podcast: Marijn Vissers | Social Inclusion appeared first on John Cooper.

Creativity is a state of mind... Dominic is a London based artist and inventor who create thought provoking works with humour. In his own words he works “between the worlds of art, design, craft and technology to create innovative and thought provoking objects”. There's a lot of 'yes and' in Dominic's work and I was […] The post Podcast: Dominic Wilcox | Creativity and Invention appeared first on John Cooper.

Bringing people together Sam is a member of the Renegade Saints improv troupe. He's also part of the Csz Worldwide diversity and inclusion committee and works for the United Nations. Sam took time out to chat about the current state of improv in Geneva, what it's like to perform in a multilingual city and how […] The post Podcast: Sam Al-Hamdani | Diversity and Inclusion appeared first on John Cooper.

Plan as much as you can, then prepare to throw the plan overboard. Patrick has worked in the improv industry for over thirty years. In this interview we chat about early days of his career, taking improv training into Silicon Valley,  the changes he's observed in the industry and how he prepares for a training event. He's […] The post Podcast: Patrick Short | Improv for Training appeared first on John Cooper.

Bold ideas, driven by improv. In this we interview with Jill Hatcher we chat about the similarities between how improvisers and designer think in order to solve problems and building on ideas. We also digress into comic-book jams and the process if making graphic art. 12.19 Micheal Scott, the office. Strathclyde, Scotland https://www.johncooper.org.uk/podcasts/GillianHatcher-BABpodcast.mp3 Gillian Hatcher (@Gillreads)is a Research […] The post Podcast: Gillian Hatcher | Improv in Design (and art) appeared first on John Cooper.

"Story is the way our brain makes meaning of the world." In this interview with Kat Koppett we discuss her career origins in theatre and how she went back into the classroom to explore the qualities of improvisation as a tool for training. We also talk about improv in different cultures, and get a great viewpoint of the […] The post Podcast: Kat Koppett | Storytelling appeared first on John Cooper.

  Leading on your feet. In this interview, I chat to coach and author Andrew Tarvin about teaching improv in business, introverts and extroverts and life on the road. I'm really grateful to Andrew for agreeing to be the first interviewee for the Bring a Brick podcast, we cover a broad range of subjects. Andrew […] The post Podcast: Drew Tarvin | Improv in Business appeared first on John Cooper.