For over a decade, Harold Phifer served in a war-zone as a contract air-controller in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantanamo Bay. He even survived a suicide bombing by the Taliban. But none of that was as dangerous or stressful as his upbringing.

Phifer was a black kid growing up in the south during the tumultuous 1960s, dealing with racism and bullying in the streets, and abuse at home from his schizophrenic mother and dysfunctional, violent aunt. He felt like an outsider in and out of the house.

He tells a moving story in his newest book, My Bully, My Aunt, and Her Final Gift. It comes on the heels of publishing his earlier book, Surviving Chaos: How I Found Peace At A Beach Bar, which exposed a lot of people that affected the life of the author. Besides his problematic mother, his aunt left a lasting imprint.

This is a one of a kind story. Don't miss it!

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Joe Bill is widely regarded as one of the best teachers of Improvisation in America today.

He is one of the founding members of Annoyance Theater Chicago, was the Director of Corporate Training at iO Chicago for 15 years, and a Teacher & Guest Artist in Residence at The Second City Conservatory & Training Center for another 15 years. Joe first practiced improvisation in 1977 and studied and worked with Del Close from 1985 through the mid 90’s.

Joe is also a Senior Facilitator for The Ariel Group, specializing in Leadership & Personal Presence and Storytelling for Business People. He was the Master Facilitator of the Western U.S. for Ferrazzi Greenlight in their Trusted Advisor Initiative with General Motors from 2015-2016.

His clients range from C Level to new hires, in a number of vastly different industries. He is just as comfortable coaching Creative Teams, Corporate Leaders, and Television Stars as he is coaching Engineers, Analysts, and Actuaries.

Joe has also been touring internationally as an improvisational performer, teacher, and director for more than 20 years. You can reach him at integratedimprovisation.com. He also has a book coming out soon, called, "Maybe It's Your Fault." Our conversation ranged from basketball theory to CageMatch victories! Don't miss this one!

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Jacob Heiss recently graduated with his PhD in biomedical engineering from The University of Akron. He started doing comedy three years ago when he first took an improv class at Imposters Theater in Cleveland and continues to do improv with his group Stage Against the Machine.

We talked about discoveries in both improv and cancer research and his joy in producing comedy shows. He is also looking for a job in cancer research if anyone is hiring.

He also produces multiple comedy shows including the Panel Show Show and Good Point! A Power Point Party at Imposters Theater in Cleveland.

For more information on those shows, go to www.imposterstheater.com, or imposterstheater.com/submit to submit a request for Good Point! A Power Point Party.

For more content from Stage Against the Machine, go to https://www.youtube.com/@stageagainstthemachine.

Jacob can also be found @ghaekub on IG.

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As everyone knows, last fall the Western North Carolina region suffered the most devastating flooding in a century. The beautiful place we call home was forever scarred and changed. But true to form, this region had each other’s backs and staged quite an incredible comeback. While some areas are still damaged, we by all means welcome the world back to the Appalachian mountains you know and we love!

Everything you were excited about in October 2024 will be back this time around including:

4 NIGHTS, 4 VENUES, 11 SHOWS, 6 HEADLINERS, 11 WORKSHOPS, 40+ IMPROV COMEDY TEAMS FROM AROUND THE USA

George Awad is the producer of the Asheville Improv Festival and creative director of Double Dip Productions in Asheville, NC.

Double Dip is the production company for four monthly improv shows in the Asheville area. Asheville has become a hotbed of improvisation recently.

For more information on the festival, go to doubledipproductions.com on the World Wide Web, or @ashevilleimprovfest on Instagram!

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Kay Smith-Blum, a former fashionista and Seattle School Board President, spends her days debunking the tropes of the mid-20th-century history. An odd dream and the recent upheaval over leaking radioactive waste tanks at the Hanford Nuclear site compelled her to write, TANGLES, named 2024 Book of the Year by the Literary Global Book Awards and Best Debut Fiction by the American Writing Awards 2024. Smith-Blum, a sunrise writer, has lived in Seattle for four decades. She works out her writer’s block in her sons’ gardens (which she designed) and the nearest lap pool.

We discussed public schools, finding character voices in fiction and the Hanford site, featured in her book, Tangles. Don't miss this episode!

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Marcia Peck was inspired by the rhythms and sounds of music echoed in language; her debut novel, Water Music: A Cape Cod Story, combines all of her passions – music, writing, and Cape Cod.The book has received critical acclaim and has received many book awards, including Literary Titan Gold, National Indie Excellence Award, New England Book Festival Regional Lit Winner, and Feathered Quill Reviewers Choice Award Winner. Additionally, she was a finalist for American Writing Awards, Eric Hoffer Award Grand Prize, Firebird Book Awards, and Wishing Shelf Book Awards. Pacifica Book Awards designated it as a “Notable Book” and her book was long-listed by both Historical Fiction Company Book-of-the-Year Award and Somerset Book Awards.

Peck grew up in New Jersey and summered in Cape Cod. Her love for Cape Cod has been a strong and deep current throughout her life. She and her sisters still return to the house their father built in Orleans. She lives in Minnetonka, Minnesota with her husband and two very

naughty dogs For more information, please see: www.marciapeck.com.

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Kat Koppett is the Eponymous Founder of Koppett, a consultancy specializing in the use of improv and storytelling techniques to enhance individual and group performance. She has worked with diverse clients including Meta, Apple, Prezi, PwC, NASA, Havas Health, Mass General Hospital, the United Nations and the Clinton Global Initiative.

Her book Training to Imagine: Practical Improvisational Theatre Techniques to Enhance Creativity, Teamwork, Leadership, and Learning , is considered a seminal work in the field of Applied Improv and is used by professionals around the world. She has given two TEDx talks on the use of improv to enhance non-theatrical performance.

In 2019, Kat was the winner of the North American Simulation and Gaming Association (NASAGA)’s Ifill-Reynold’s Lifetime Achievement Award. She is the co-director and a performing member of the Mopco Improv Theatre, a founding member and the current vice-president of the Applied Improvisation Network, and the co-host of the podcast, Performance Shift: The Art of Successfully Navigating Change.

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