Teacher Name: Jamie Campbell 

 

Hometown: Pryor, Oklahoma (but I also lived in Chicago, Los Angeles, Albuquerque, and Roanoke before moving to Kansas City) 

 

Training/Experience: I’ve been teaching improvisation for the past decade. I began my journey as an improviser in Chicago’s world famous comedy scene, studying under the people who taught and worked with my comedy heroes at The Second City, The Annoyance, ComedySportz and iO.   I also co-founded the Improv Space Program at The Gorilla Tango Theater. 

I have performed and taught workshops in nearly 30 comedy and fringe festivals throughout the United States and have been a guest instructor at dozens of comedy venues while touring as a stand-up, improviser, and storyteller. 

 

What you Teach: . I believe that improv - regardless of the format - is all about the human experience, which is something we all have in common. 

 

Favorite Local Business: I really like Succotash. It’s a breakfast and lunch place with an incredible menu. 

 

Why you teach: I teach to learn. As someone who makes a full time living in the arts - it is important to me that I don’t lose sight of the human element in my work. When I see students have a creative breakthrough or approach a game or scene in a way that I have never thought about, it reminds me that the work we do is ever-evolving. We are always capable of learning from each other. 

Teaching inspires me. In the world of comedy, it is easy for veteran performers to succumb to cynicism. For me, the cure

for that cynicism is to be around people who are just discovering what they’re capable of. It takes me back to when I first fell in love with this art form. 

 

Favorite Sonic Food: I’m all about those tots. 

 

What has improv taught you? Improv has taught me to take care of my fellow humans. I think it’s made me a better friend and a more effective communicator. It has taught me how to get in touch with my imagination and return to a childlike sense of wonder. The world is full of possibilities. 

 

Favorite Monument: Cadillac Ranch - near Amarillo, Texas. It’s just a bunch of cadillacs buried face down, covered in graffiti. It’s beautiful. 

 

Who’d win In a Fight Tom Hanks or Anderson Cooper? No one would win. Because Tom Hanks would refuse to fight. Anderson Cooper would refuse to punch a man who won’t fight back. They would sit down and talk it out. We’d all learn something that day. 

 

Otter or a chipmunk? Chipmunk. Otters never started a band. 

 

If you could sing one song and only one song well, which one? Miss You by The Rolling Stones.