This week I'm joined by Jenny Holden, a true veteran of the improv world who's put blood, sweat, and tears into the craft and performed all over the country and around the globe.

We trace her winding path from a high school art kid at Dad's Garage, to wardrobe work in Las Vegas, to cutting her teeth in Chicago and touring professionally with the legendary musical improv team Baby Wants Candy.

Along the way we get into some of my favorite topics: Musical improv and teaching. We discuss how short form quietly makes you a better long form player, and what it really takes to succeed at musical improv. Jenny also gets honest about achieving your dreams and the strange void that follows, the importance of taking breaks and actually living life, and her hard-won perspective on being a woman in improv — the old boys' club, generational divides, and what real change could look like. It's a warm, funny, and genuinely wise conversation. Enjoy.

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Host: Joel Camargo - Insta - @joelc1225
Audio Editor: Matt Issacs - Insta - @mattisaacs20

This week I sit down with the amazing Aaren Lasky — actress, singer, experienced improviser, and one of my dearest friends in the Atlanta scene. Aaren has a love of imagination and storytelling that goes all the way back to childhood, and we trace how that spark carried her through theater, voice training, and eventually improv.

We get into the limits that show business tries to put on women and how improv became a tool to circumvent the gatekeepers and decide for herself who she gets to be on stage.

Aaren also breaks down the differences between doing improv in New York versus Atlanta, why she thrives on structure, and what "grounded" really means to her, including the underrated generosity of saying no in a scene.

From there we talk about her winding road home to Atlanta by way of a concussion and law school, her return to performing, and the projects lighting her up now — Heightened Improv (improvised Shakespeare and beyond), Poultry In Motion, musical improv, and more.

We close on some of the deeper stuff: perfectionism, mental health, safety and accountability in comedy spaces, and why kindness is the true foundation of good art.

Oh, and we burst into random songs a few times along the way. You've been warned. Enjoy this delightful conversation with the lovely Aaren Laskey.

Send us a message, question, or topic!

Support the show

Follow us on Instagram - @thejoyofimprovpod

Support the podcast with a small tip - https://ko-fi.com/thejoyofimprov

Email any questions or ideas to joel@thejoyofimprov.com

Host: Joel Camargo - Insta - @joelc1225
Audio Editor: Matt Issacs - Insta - @mattisaacs20

This week I'm joined by Malik Whitfield, a staple of the Atlanta improv and comedy community, and one of my favorite people to watch grow on stage. Malik moved to Atlanta chasing stand-up and ended up falling headfirst into improv along the way — and I loved getting to trace that whole journey with him.

We talk about what pulled him toward the collaboration of improv over the loneliness of writing stand-up, and how the community welcomed him in a way that made him want to stay. He gets honest about the drives home in silence, the moment he realized he was actually good at this, and how much a few kind words from mentors like Madeline meant early on. We dig into setting goals, that magic Black Star set at IO Fest in Chicago, the real value of conservatory reps, and the grind of producing shows when everyone's already stretched thin.

We also get into something I think about a lot: how you give and receive feedback in a subjective art form, why every team should just get a coach, and what a healthier coaching culture could look like here in Atlanta. And Malik closes out the Hot Seat with some genuinely great advice for new improvisers about thinking past the joke.

It's a warm, funny, wide-ranging conversation with someone I deeply admire. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Send us a message, question, or topic!

Support the show

Follow us on Instagram - @thejoyofimprovpod

Support the podcast with a small tip - https://ko-fi.com/thejoyofimprov

Email any questions or ideas to joel@thejoyofimprov.com

Host: Joel Camargo - Insta - @joelc1225
Audio Editor: Matt Issacs - Insta - @mattisaacs20