Julia Pistell gets Brenna Harvey to talk about growing up wanting to be funny just outside of New Haven, going to UConn and co-founding the legendary longform group Horse Lincoln, being at the opposite end of a long table from Charlie Todd, what makes a hobo a hobo, the damage of toxic masculinity done by the patriarchy that is often misattributed to feminism, breakin’ things down with a wizard voice, having fun with SHED, not planning, and dying a writer.
Meet Daniel!
Julia Pistell eats Chinese food & drinks sparkling wine with Daniel Davidson while he talks about public access TV fame, improv all over the country from UCB to UCBerkley, getting out to mixers despite all inertia, improvised live movie dubbing, trying new forms of improv, and not eating pizza in college.
Meet Briana!
Julia Pistell gets Briana Haynie to talk about having allergies (all of them), old sitcoms (but mostly just 30 Rock), “burning the puppet” (Sea Tea slang for the first time you’re in a show that doesn’t go quite right), breaking badly (in a good way), and old wrestling (but mostly Chris Jericho).
Meet Casey!
Julia Pistell climbs the beanstalk to chat with Casey “The Gentle Giant” Grambo about improv as subculture, finding improv in Hartford, Tina Fey’s theater tech dog whistle, and what it is to be weird, funny, and uncomfortable all at once.
Locally Made Improv
Every week, improvisors at Sea Tea Improv are producing the finest quality improv in New England.
Our improv is made from pure Connecticut suggestions, some of the most satisfying suggestions this side of Long Island Sound.
We take those suggestions and, though a tradition passed down to us by improv artisans at Hartford Stage, ImprovBoston, and the Upright Citizens Brigade, we produce fresh comedy scenes, songs, and games.
Our community-based approach creates a sustainable improv ecosystem. We teach, perform, and consume more improv here than anywhere else in the Connecticut River Valley.
Our improvisers are fed a diet of custom-made rehearsals, major city training, and rich and varied outside interests.
Try our all-natural improv, and you’ll see why Sea Tea Improv has been the choice of thousands of Connecticut event planners, business trainers, party throwers, and comedy show-goers since 2009.
Sea Tea Improv:
Made Fresh on the Spot
Meet Greg!
Julia Pistell re-re-interviews Greg Ludovici about his broken lefthandedness, his background in musical theatre, very real sports like rowing & archery, white hat hacking, the career move from Saratoga to Hartford, the reason improv is better than scripted theatre for working folk, cats, games and more!
Meet Julia!
Stephanie “Sproffee” Rice enables Julia Pistell to speak about world travel, high school society, going from NYC to Hartford, shedding shyness, improv vs. scripted theater vs. writing, mentally recording the details of the moment for later storytelling, yet losing yourself in the music/the moment, Sea Tea Improv’s dedication, and her almost magical cooking skill.
Meet Dan!
Julia Pistell talks Dan Russell into talking about the beginnings of Sea Tea Improv, doing Wu-Tang karaoke, local & national stand-up comedy, acting for non-actors, memorable gigs (good & bad), the Connecticut improv scene, researching improv homework, being a carnie, finishing college, Muppet Babies Live, colored pencils, amateur baseball and getting engaged.
Meet Vlad!
Julia Pistell dares Vladimir Perez to talk about getting started in improv, stalking comedy influences from the SNL extended universe, hockey, and truth in comedy.
Meet Graham!
Julia Pistell talks with Graham Snow about being secretly British, joining Sea Tea Improv via the CT improv community, Animaniacs (“Chicken Boo” theme song Copyright © 1993 Warner Bros.), and the silliness of laughter and Mystery Men.
Meet Laura!
Julia Pistell chats with Laura Manasewich about American Girl dolls, Moebius, the Baby-Sitters Club and women in comedy.
Meet Summar!
Julia Pistell sits down with Summar Elguindy to talk about unsustainable Canadian farming, Disney movies & musicals, Hartford & Boston living, and the difference between family-friendly entertainment and kid-targeted entertainment.
Meet Kate!
Julia Pistell meets with Kate Sidley for an interview about bad names for comedy clubs, Romanian “Fame” students, Sea Tea Improv’s interesting mix, Harpo Marx’s completely awesome life, and getting comfortable being upside-down.
Meet Sproffee!
Julia Pistell interviews Stephanie “Sproffee” Rice about nicknames, improv group dynamics, historically inaccurate faires, and getting crafty.
Meet Joe!
Julia Pistell interviews Joe Leonardo about Siamese twins, punchline-free standup, and the comedy that comes from stripping down the facade and getting real.
Welcome to the Sea Tea Improv Podcast!
Julia Pistell begins the Sea Tea Improv podcast with a short intro episode about Sea Tea Improv and what we’ll be doing with this podcast!