During 2015, Improv Conspiracy member Mike Brown is going to have a chat to every single member of the Conspiracy - about life, about improv, and everything in between. This is: You're Going To Meet Some People.

Today, Mike chats with Courtnee Johnston, who performs with Harold team Shake-A-Stick.

Mike Brown: Hey Courtnee!

Courtnee Johnston: Heyyyyyyyyy!

It's been ages!

I know! It's so sad.

So sad.

I need to see you more!

Yeah because we did the Conspiracy workshops together back in the day! Back in the day, a year ago...

I know. We were like the tightest team there ever was, seriously.

Oh my god. I still talk about that Level 3 grad show to people.

I know me too! It was the funniest time I've ever head. And was it Floyd [Alexander-Hunt, former Conspiracy performer] doing the news report as well?

Yep. Oh no, it was Tess [Dobre, former Conspiracy performer]!

Oh it was Tess too! And we were all grinding up on everything.

That scene with you and Lauren [McKenna, Harold Night team Bass Drum Kitten] where you were mapping stripper terms to a ice cream shop...

Yes. I thought we were in a strip club, and she thought we were in ice cream shop, and we said it at the same time.

And they both melted perfectly together, just like ice cream.

It was one of my favourite shows.

So yeah we know each other.

Very well.

Do people know you. Like how did you come into the Improv Conspiracy? Had you been performing before that?

Yes so I had been acting since I can remember. I had always been in drama, back home in Tassie, and I had always done tons of theatre back home, and musical theatre. And then when I moved to Melbourne, I went to 16th Street [Acting Studio], graduated there, and I really wanted to find something comedy because that's what I love, comedy and improv and everything like that. And Tess, happened to say she found Improv Conspiracy and do I want to do it. So if it wasn't for Tess I wouldn't have known, because I'm hopeless at social media. I feel like she did a stand-up thing and found out about Improv Conspiracy through that, I think that's how it happened. She asked me, and she also said it to Tim [Watson, Harold Night team Bass Drum Kitten], and yeah, the rest is history.

During 2015, Improv Conspiracy member Mike Brown is going to have a chat to every single member of the Conspiracy - about life, about improv, and everything in between. This is: You're Going To Meet Some People.

Today, Mike chats with Tim Quabba, who performs with Harold team Endless Cash, and will be seen doing during the Melbourne International Comedy Festival as part of Now Showing: The Improvised Movie.

[Tim turns on Dream is Collapsing by Hans Zimmer from the Inception soundtrack. For maximum effect, play this song on a loop whilst reading this interview]

Mike Brown: You have background music for this. You think background music is important for a successful interview? This is a first.

Tim Quabba: I'm going to put this on repeat.

Do it! [pause] Yeah, imagine when I'm typing this out in like, a week or so, and I'm just hearing music and no talking what-so-ever. The music is just dominating the conversation! It's like I feel like the answers are going to come in those kind of waves, where the answers get more and more dramatic as the music builds.

It's on the soundtrack to Inception. Look it up. Have you looked it up?

No I have never looked up the Inception soundtrack.

Mike. Hans Zimmer.

He did like, The Simpsons right?

I'm not sure! 

Let me look it up. He's done a lot of films, I'm familiar with the name. I'm probably just mixing up the names with another composer [note: The Simpsons was often composed by Alf Clausen].

He did Inception, he's done a lot of the Christopher Nolan stuff. He did Man of Steel, collaborated with Will Ferrell in that. Anyway.

With Will Ferrell!?

Yeah he was on the drums.They had drumsets in the orchestra...

And Will Ferrell's playing them all?

[laughs] One of them.

Boom-boom-boom-boom-boom! 

He's a man of many talents.

Acting and drumming. What's your favourite thing about improvising?

It's fun. It's so fun. It's free and.. you can just free yourself on stage and everyone's just so supportive and lovely. You know that you can do anything, absolutely anything and have 100% support from everyone. That is the best part for me.

During 2015, Improv Conspiracy member Mike Brown is going to have a chat to every single member of the Conspiracy - about life, about improv, and everything in between. This is: You're Going To Meet Some People.

Today, Mike chats with Patrick Rehill, who can be seen performing with Harold team Airblade.

Patrick Rehill: Were you there when I tackled the guy in the jam?

Mike Brown: No…

[laughs]

What happened? Tell me.

[both laugh]

Welcome to the interview Patrick. So you were saying you tackled someone in the jam?

We were just doing a scene and it wasn't working very well and someone tagged out and, I had nothing so I just went out with this idea of a rollercoaster created that kinda ruined people’s childhoods.

That’s a cool idea!

It was weird though because I got tagged out and someone came in as a Teletubby or as Barney the Dinosaur or something and I just got this impulse to run on and tackle him and sorta ruin things for the children.

Did you know this person?

No, and I was reminded of the jamafesto right after getting off stage. Namely that the insurance doesn't cover anyone being kicked in the head.

Have you spoke to that person since? They haven't quit improv, have they?

[nervous laughs] I'm not sure. He was in level one at the time. I spoke to him afterwards, “I’m so sorry, was that ok?” Getting permission afterwards, it’s better to seek forgiveness than ask for permission.

Hopefully they are ok now.

I do hope so.

During 2015, Improv Conspiracy member Mike Brown is going to have a chat to every single member of the Conspiracy - about life, about improv, and everything in between. This is: You're Going To Meet Some People.

Today, Mike chats with Laura Buskes, who can be seen performing in The Remix and with Harold team Friends at the End (plus a few other projects). She is also an exciting new Level 3 instructor in our workshops program!

Hi Laura.

Hey Mike.

Ready to be interrogated.

[laughs] Yeah. Yeah-yeah-yeah.

Ok first thing’s first. What was your first job?

My first job, ok. I worked at Brumbies when I was fifteen.

Brumbies. Was that just because it was close by to where you lived?

Yeah. It was at the North Ringwood shops, which was like a ten minute walk away. I got the great job of getting $8 an hour whilst…

Slingin’ bread!

Yeah, and my manager actually hated me. I think once my mum went in, I don’ t remember why.

She needed bread!

[laughs]

I think that’s the reason Laura.

Yeah, exactly. But yeah the manager told mum all these things I was doing that I didn’t do.

What were you doing?

I actually had a boyfriend there as well, I met a guy and we started dating. And the manager started saying these things to my mum, "oh she’s really inappropriate at work, they are always cuddling at work", which wasn't true at all.

During 2015, Improv Conspiracy member Mike Brown is going to have a chat to every single member of the Conspiracy - about life, about improv, and everything in between. This is: You're Going To Meet Some People.

Today, Mike chats with Marcus Willis and Andy Balloch of two-man team The Sparrow Men, who will be seen together at the Butterfly Club this Tuesday through Sunday.

Mike Brown: Get comfortable, I'm here with Andy and Marcus, The Sparrow Men. Guys.

Marcus Willis: Hey

Andy Balloch: Hi!

Thanks for doing this.

A: Thanks for letting us.

Marcus you just made me a smoothie, it's pretty good.

M: Yeah, my pleasure.

The things you can do in your own house.

M: Yeah it's really nice.

You don't make many smoothies you said.

M: Well normally people say no, like you.

A: [laughs]

M: Then after three or four times people don't give in, but I could sense weakness in you.

A: [laughs] So Marcus went in for the kill.

I'm always interested in origin stories. How did The Sparrow Men come together?

A: Do you want to field this? I've told this story many a time.

M: You go ahead.

A: So Cage Match opened, and there were registrations. And Marcus wanted to do a two person team, and so he sent a couple of people messages and I replied with yes yes yes yes, and I think I was still in level two?

M: Yeah I wanted to choose some students and do like a different two-man thing, or a different two-person improv team with a whole bunch of different students.

During 2015, Improv Conspiracy member Mike Brown is going to have a chat to every single member of the Conspiracy - about life, about improv, and everything in between. This is: You're Going To Meet Some People.

Today, Mike chats with Hayley Tantau. Hayley currently performs with Harold Night team Endless Cash.

Mike Brown: Hey Hayley!

Hayley Tantau: Hey Mike!

First question: What did you do today?

Today I woke up, ate some breakfast, wrote some sketches, then I went to training for the Improvised Movie. I've been doing that every Sunday, Dan's directing us and we're going to Perth in you know, three weeks. Also we'll be doing it for [the Melbourne International] Comedy Festival. So yeah we're training for that. After that I went home, went for a run, tried to write some sketches but didn't, and then I came here [The Dan O'Connell Hotel] to warm up my level two students, then I watched them perform, now we're here.

Now we're here.

We're here.

Do you have a Sunday routine of sorts? It sounds like you do.

It is, yeah yeah. It's usually just Movie training and then Sunday nights with Improv Conspiracy, somewhere a run will fit in, and then the mornings are pretty slow tho, if I'm pretty hung over or something.

Sometimes a sleep-in.

Yeah, I like to do a lot everyday.

Do you like to plan out your day?

Not really. I like to do something comedy related and I like to go for a run every day, I think that keeps me focused.

Jayden Masciulli took The Improv Conspiracy's Level 1 Intensive course in January 2015. He was gracious enough to write an article about his experiences!

"YES, AND... WHAT THE HELL AM I DOING?!" - MY FIRST WEEK OF IMPROV
By Jayden Masciulli

I signed up to The Improv Conspiracy’s Level 1 intensive workshop on a whim. I had only been to one Harold Night, and while I loved every manic second of the show, it never really occurred to me that I would - or could - actually do it. 

Maybe it was the liberating feeling of graduating from uni a few weeks earlier. Maybe the haze of New Year’s resolutions got the better of me. Maybe I was drunk and looking for new and creative ways of embarrassing myself in public (actually, that was the exact reason. It was New Year’s after all). Regardless, when I first spotted on my Facebook feed the ad for TIC’s upcoming workshops, a little part of my brain fired up – the part responsible for my irrational need to make others laugh, and my ability to absolutely nail 21st birthday speeches on cue. Maybe I could do this. 

I had no idea what to expect on the first day. All that self belief I had when I triumphantly typed my credit card details online had vanished. I’m not an actor. I’m not a fan of being the centre of attention. I’m not even that funny. What the hell was I doing?

During 2015, Improv Conspiracy member Mike Brown is going to have a chat to every single member of the Conspiracy - about life, about improv, and everything in between. This is: You're Going To Meet Some People.

Today, Mike chats with Simon McCulloch. Simon currently performs with Harold Night team Dirt Squad.

Mike Brown: I’m with Simon!

Simon McCulloch: Heyyyyyyyyy.

And I’ve got questions.

Shit.

So you got added to a Conspiracy [Harold Night] team at the start of 2014?

End of 2013. 

End of 2013. So December.

Just after that reshuffle.

So you’ve been performing on a team for a year now?

Yeah exactly! The Foggy Windows thing was the start of December, didn’t do a show until January.

Since then you’ve done iO [Chicago training workshops] and now you’re on a new team who are called…

It’s Dirt Squad. I think it was just a joke name but it stuck.

What do you think of the name?

I love it, actually. It’s like any kind of name, it takes on its own thing after you get clumped into a group of people enough times and it’s just like – oh that, that team.

I know it’s very early on, but how are things in Dirt Squad compared to how things were in Foggy’s. Are they the same, are they different?

The things that remain the same…

You’re doing improv, that’s number one.

True.

During 2015, Improv Conspiracy member Mike Brown is going to have a chat to every single member of the Conspiracy - about life, about improv, and everything in between. This is: You're Going To Meet Some People.

Today, Mike chats with Ryan Zorzut. Ryan currently performs with Harold Night team Endless Cash (this Wednesday, 7:30pm), and will be seen as part of the Improv Conspiracy Touring Company's production of Now Showing: The Improvised Movie during Perth's Fringe World festival in February.

What's your favourite thing about improvising?

I guess it's probably the community. It's like hanging out with people, making friends. 

How long have you been in the Conspiracy for now?

It's been one year. One year in January.

How is your progress from the classes to now? You've been on a couple of different teams now, how have you got to know everyone here?

I've been with a few different groups of people. I think the amazing thing is how close you get to people you get straight away. As soon as you do a scene, you instantly have a relationship with them that's outside of improv. That's the amazing thing.

I should probably start this by saying that the following will not apply to every scene, it may not be how you want to play as an improviser, it might be something you vehemently disagree with, and it certainly will not help you choose the perfect Christmas present for your mother (it’s probably something that smells of lavender. Mums love anything that smells like lavender. Get your mum some lavender). 

All of this has been knocking around in my head recently, and I thought I might share it with you, because it might help your scene work, it might make things easier for you, or it might just lock a little bit more down for you. 

Along with a sense of play and fun, we’ve been looking a lot at mirroring in Level 1, and there’s a pretty simple reason for that – it’s a really quick and easy way of connecting with you scene partner.