Posted on July 31, 2002
Interview took place on Monday, July 8, 2002, a little after 6:30pm in the downstairs light booth at Improv Olympic.
Jon: To all of you now logging online, this is �Interview with Liz Allen.� Liz Allen, thank you for helping me.
Liz: You�re welcome Jon, I�m happy to do it.
Jon: Let�s start at the beginning.
Liz: Okay.
Jon: All right, um�where did you- where were you born and where did you grow up?
Liz: Oh, that�s interesting. I was born in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and I grew up there �till I was fifteen.
Jon: Really?
Liz: And then I moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for high school and I went back to North Carolina for college.
Jon: Okay. Um, I moved to Florida right at the end of my freshman year of high school. Did the move for you, from Chapel Hill to Pittsburgh, affect you at all�that much?
Liz: It is quite possibly the second or third single most influential event of my life. It was- it had a huge impact on me and was probably one of the most difficult things I�ve ever had to do.
Jon: Really?
Liz: �Cause uh, I think the cultural change was difficult. I think my family had problems that became exasperated by the move. And uh, it�s very difficult- I grew up in a small, at that time, relatively rural university town and then I moved to a suburb in a large city and, uh�I talked funny, I had Southern accent, I dressed differently. And, you know, when you�re 14 and 15 that�s everything. And also [laughs a little], right before the move, so everyone feels real sorry for me, I had a thyroid operation; I had half my thyroid out.
Jon: Oh my goodness.
Liz: So I had this huge red scar across my neck that was easily three-quarters of an inch thick; across my entire neck, in fact you can see it [indicates a scar at the base of her neck]�
Jon: Oh yeah, wow.
Liz: Ah, and so I had that two months before we moved so my- and it took it a year for it to heal. So my entire sophomore year people just stared at me like- first of all, I was new, and second of all, I looked like a freak �cause of it. So I�m wearing turtlenecks in September and August. [both laugh] So, yes, it�s interesting- well you zeroed on a big event in my life, yeah.
Jon: Um, do you have to, since the thyroid helps you breakdown, or helps you with iodine [useless fact #1: I was wrong on both points. The thyroid needs iodine to function.] do you have to intake iodine a lot?
Liz: No. In fact I�m really lucky that, um, that I had only half of it out and I was young enough that the other half, knock on wood � every year I have it tested � the other half has stepped up and does fine. So the other half acts like an entire thyroid gland.
Jon: Hmm.
Liz: Little known fact about Liz Allen.
Jon: Where did you go to college again?
Liz: North Carolina State University!
Jon: Oh, [Liz laughs] my listening skills are not good.
Liz: That�s okay. No, I don�t think I said that.
Jon: Um, what did you go to school- what did you study?
Liz: Ah, I studied mechanical engineering actually. I have a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering.
Jon: Um, and after college did you then go into your field of study?
Liz: I did. I did. I was a consulting engineer and I was instrumentation and controls engineer for�um, let�s see. Let�s see I graduated in �87 and then I moved to Chicago 1990 for the Raytheon Corporation and I w- was a consulting engineer for them. And that�s how I got to Chicago, it was via engineering. It had nothing to do with improv or theater.
Jon: Very good. Um, did you do any theater at all growing up before you came to Chicago?
Liz: I did. I did a lot, especially in North Carolina and then in Pittsburgh I danced mostly, so I did, um, theater if you consider dance, theater. You know, I performed it was just dancing. And then, ah, I did nothing in college; I was strictly just stuck to the engineering route. But I, um- you know, I was always a bit of a ham. [I laugh] So I was one of the few engineers that [was] like outspoken and you know. I definitely was- I definitely was a more extroverted engineer than most of my peers.
Jon: Right, okay. Um, did, uh- when did you first, uh, see improv?
Liz: Well I went to a Second City level 5 show.
Jon: Okay.
Liz: And this was, ah- it was very weird. It was through ah, a friend of mine who I�d known a long time ago when I moved to Chicago. She introduced me to another friend of hers, this girl, and said, �hey this woman can show you around the city� and she said, �why don�t we see, ah, my friends who are in the Second City show?� So I saw a level 5 show- at the time I thought it was the main stage revue, �cause I didn�t know the difference. [both laugh] So I saw a level 5 show and ah- I�m going to admit this to the world, but I really thought, �I�m as funny as these people. I should take this class.� Because the show, I hate to say the show was really thin, it was very weak. And I remember thinking, �this is what Second City does? They�re notorious for [laughs a little] improvisation.� And then later on, it kind of made me laugh when I figured out that it was a level 5 show. And they were trying their heart out and I�ve done my own level 5, which I�m sure had it�s very [both laugh a little] weak moments. So I�ve eaten a lot of crow since. But that�s how I saw improv and I asked my friend, I said, �you can take classes in this?� �Cause she had done it and that�s how she knew about it. I was like, �this seems like fun.� So that�s how I- and I think within six month I had signed up for class at Second City Northwest.
Jon: Where- where is Second City Northwest?
Liz: Well, it doesn�t exist anymore. At the time it was at Rolling Meadows and it was a suburban location and I was living and working in the suburbs so it was real convenient.
Jon: Okay.
Liz: But it- it�s since closed. It closed several years after I took classes.
Jon: I used- yeah, I grew up in Schaumburg so�which is�
Liz: Oh, yeah. Okay.
Jon: �around that area.
Liz: Yeah.
Jon: Um, I heard or read that you started taking classes with the Dassie brothers.
Liz: Well, they were in a- we all started at the same time. They were in a different level one but we met, um- I made up a level one class similar to how people do it at ImprovOlympic. I missed one of my own level one�s and made up with the class and met them and, uh�I believe at the time their teacher was Steven Colbert but I could be wrong. Anyway, I just remember liking their class and, uh, I remember the moment I met Ed and Bob, �cause they looked similar, they look like twins a little bit, uh, you know they�re related. And they were so much fun and- my class was fun but they�re class was fun. And we�got to be good friends �cause we were some of the same people that would show up earlier, go to a lot of the shows. We were all obviously- we recognized similar kindred spirits of, like becoming obsessed with this thing called improv.
Jon: Right. Um�
Liz: In fact, in my first level one class though I don�t know if- was my friend Kelly Ruda who was on Frank Booth with me. So Kelly Ruda is my longest improv friend. I�ve known her since the very minute I started taking improvisation. And she doesn�t perform improv anymore but�
Jon: No?
Liz: �but, um- so that�s kind of neat that I�ve- she�s been- you know, knew her for so long.
Jon: So after awhile you kind of realized, gradually, that you were becoming focused with this thing?
Liz: Very much so. Yeah, I ah- and then I got asked to join this cast that Bob and his brother had put together called Wakamalaka. Which was a group of students that- they wanted to do this more and they got one of the stage managers out there named John Holtson. They got him to direct them and then they asked me to join them and, ah, we got to perform Second City material and Monday nights and we called our revue �The Best of Second City Northwest.� And we performed, I think � I wish I could remember this exact stat � but it was almost a full year of Monday nights and we only cancelled once for the- a snow storm.
Jon: Wow.
Liz: We got- we got houses out there like- And they let us- we were a group of students, and they let us do it. It was really a generous, wonderful opportunity.
Jon: Wow, very cool. Um, let�s see here�
Liz: I�ll try not to overdo my answers.
Jon: Oh, that�s okay. Oh also, um, since- if you come to check this out, it�s not more- necessarily an interview per say, but more of, like a conversation. Like I get to ask you questions that I�ve written down, so anytime you feel you want to ask me questions�
Liz: Oh, okay.
Jon: �[you can] go ahead�
Liz: Okay.
Jon: �[and] try to get more of a-
Liz: Give and take?
Jon: -conversational-
Liz: Okay.
Jon: -a conversational approach to this.
Liz: And then you�ll kind of edit and punch it up a little bit? Here and there?
Jon: I don�t edit it. I- I use it verbatim.
Liz: You do not!
Jon: Yes I do.
Liz: Why didn�t you tell me that beforehand?
Jon: Why?
Liz: Now all of this is gonna be on there.
Jon: Because I-
Liz: [to herself] Complete moron.
Jon: [both laugh] Oh, I- I make myself look like an idiot all the�
Liz: No, not at all. I�ll try to make you look good. [I laugh] Everything�s going on paper so I�m going to b- or going on the Internet- I�m going to be completely�grammatically correct.
Jon: Yeah I find it- it�s interesting to- to read people�s, um�pattern of speech. And it, and it helps myself �cause after, after doing, uh, TJ�s and Craig�s already�
Liz: Uh huh.
Jon: �um, I�ve gotten an idea of how they speak and how differences- so that, it helps myself write dialogue.
Liz: You�re kidding?
Jon: It does.
Liz: That�s a great idea.
Jon: Yeah. So�
Liz: Well, I�ve been sitting here running off at the mouth thinking, �oh, he�ll cut this down.�
Jon: [pause] No.
Liz: Shit. [I laugh]
Jon: Um, currently you teach level two, which when I had it was level three.
Liz: [Over-enunciating] That is correct Jon Forsythe. [laughs]
Jon: [laughs a little] Which is basically the heart of IO teaching philosophy. Um�
Liz: I believe that.
Jon: When�-was Susan Messing already teaching�
Liz: Mm hmm.
Jon: �that when, when you were assigned to it?
Liz: Mm hmm. I got ah- Charna hired me the first year after I, I won my first, uh, Coach of the Year award in 199�9? Yes, 1999. I had been coaching Valhalla for quite some time. Uh, and then she- and teaching other, in other venues, in other places- and then Charna approached me and asked me to teach level three. And Susan had an existing curriculum, which I teach. I�ve tweaked it a little, changed it a little for my style and preferences but for the most part the bulk of it is her curriculum, which did already exist.
Jon: How have you or what have you put into that core curriculum or as- what�s your spin on things?
Liz: Ah, I think- I think I stress probably- I stress the group and the ensemble the most of anything and will- I will let an object work exercise go if I see that the class needs a little more attention to group work or for it a class is really learning more about ensemble. �Cause I feel that the sooner they understand the power of ensemble the better and- so I stress more group- I don�t know how else to say it. That�s it. I stress more group work.
Jon: Okay.
Liz: That�s gonna read so awful. [both silently laugh]
Jon: Don�t be so, so self-conscious.
Liz: Okay. Don�t write that either. [laughs]
Jon: I will. [both laugh] Um�what do you like about teaching?
Liz: Oh my god, what do I like about teaching? What don�t I like about teaching? Ah, this is going to sound so corny and queer but you know how people are born [with] natural things? I really think ah, and I�ve known this for years �cause I�m an Aquarius�
Jon: I�m an Aquarius too.
Liz: You, you are? When�s your birthday?
Jon: January 28th.
Liz: Oh my God, I�m a 31st.
Jon: Sweet.
Liz: That�s crazy. I think Aquarians are natural teachers and I�ve read that over the years when I�ve read anything about the sign and, ah�it fits, for me, like a hand and a glove, it just fits. So what I�I like, I like�I like seeing people�learn what I have experienced. For instance, I experienced the most amazing ensemble on Frank Booth. It was ah, an experience of a lifetime and it�s so fun to watch a class get a glimmer of the joy I got to experience on Frank Booth. I like teaching because�I think it�s neat when p- people take a class and they�re making themselves vulnerable to a new idea and I like helping people try something new.
Jon: Very good. You mentioned Frank Booth and for us who�haven�t even come to Chicago before- in, in the �90s, who came here to- past 2000-
Liz: Hmm.
Jon: -as myself did, we just hear the stories of different things back then. Please, [Liz laughs] do a little history lesson on what made Frank Booth such a historic form in Chicago.
Liz: Huh. Well, ah, Frank Booth, um, was a team that uh, Charna put together originally under the name Mr. Pink. And Craig Cackowski was their coach from the get-go and I was not an original member. I was on a couple of other teams that had fallen apart and then Frank Booth generously asked me to join them. I think it was really nice of them to give me [a] home. And we all fit together well �cause several of the people on Frank Booth and I had been on class- in class together since level one. And at the time I believe it was Paul Grondy, Lillie Frances, Brian Boland, ah, Kelly Ruda, Dave Dunklebarger�um�what�s wrong with me? Kevin Mulvaney, ah, and I can�t remember Mike [Shreeman]�s last name. Oh I�m awful. And Steve Mosqueda. How many people is that? Did you count that?
Jon: No I didn�t.
Liz: Okay. I think [laughs a little] that�s everybody. [upon going over spellings of names with Liz, she remembered John Fisher] And we ah�we ah, started working together in�199..3�and ah, it- the thing I liked about Frank Booth was that we were a little bit older average age than the teams of the time. Like at the time, I think I was 30 or 31, which was a little bit older and same thing with Steve Mosqueda, um, I believe Lillie was the youngest; she�s ah, younger than I am. So, we had little bit more life experience, little more maturity. Um, at the time I was married, about to go through divorce, I don�t want to get into all that. So, we had- we�d been knocked around a little bit and so I think our scene work had a little more�had some depth to it that we enjoyed ah, exploring.
Jon: Okay. Very good. Um�[looking at notepad] here we are�all right, um, IO philosophy versus Annoyance philosophy. How- some people, in their minds, believe it to be polar opposites. I, myself, believe it�s sort of more contemporary colors that ah, sort of go�with each other. Um, how would you express it?
Liz: I�ll have to play a little ignorance here because I�ve never ever taken a class at the Annoyance. So�
Jon: Okay.
Liz: �I only know through hearsay and from my experience with working with other teachers and people from the Annoyance. My impression is that the Annoyance believes if you take care of yourself first then you will, therefore, take care of the group. Um, and I like the way Susan Messing expresses it when she says it�s like giving yourself oxygen before you give it- another person oxygen on an airplane. I love that analogy. I think that�s a, that�s a great way of looking at it. In the end, the group gets taken care of. So, I- I don�t believe they�re polar opposites �cause they both end up in great improvisation. I think it�s a different route of supporting the group. But it�s a perfectly- both, I think, are viable routes.
Jon: Okay. Um�in level three [level 2 now] ah, group mind is a big part of it
Liz: Uh huh.
Jon: I remember in our class we got in a big circle. Circle one, circle two, circle three. [Liz laughs a little] And we looked at our aura and plugged into it.
Liz: Yes.
Jon: And uh, that ours was lime green although I think it had something to do with Ed Illades� green shoes.
Liz: Ah�interesting.
Jon: Ah�.[sigh]�I�m a skeptic, so it�s hard for me to ah, really tune into the mystical aspect of myself although I do believe it exists.
Liz: Okay.
Jon: How would you get someone like myself who is a little skeptical about that stuff to key into something [that] is otherworldly as ah, the group mind [or] whatnot?
Liz: Well, it�s difficult especially when I can sense there�s a naysayer out there; it�s difficult. I can tell people who skeptical but I think if I recall correctly what happened with you and what usually happens with people who are a little wary is that I try to have people experience the power of group [mind] accidentally; when they were unaware that they were about to experience it. And then they�re feeling the same high that everyone else is feeling from being connected to the group. And then I�ll sort of- I�ll try not to make a big deal about it; casually point out that, you know, �you were very connected and in touch with the unwritten laws of, of, you know, the otherworldly side of improvisation. So I try to get people to�ah, go through it without realizing they just- they�re about to do it.
Jon: I remember an instance of that. We did- we were working on games and we were all�[class enters downstairs cabaret noisily]
Liz: Uh oh, that class is loud.
Jon: Yes. [I knock over something of Liz�s] Oops. [She picks it up] Sorry.
Liz: That�s okay. Okay.
Jon: Ah�
Liz: Plan on being- what time is it?
Jon: It�s um, seven minutes to�
Liz: Seven?
Jon: Seven. Do you need to go?
Liz: No, nuh uh, no. I just spilled out- this class is loud.
Jon: Is the upstairs green room empty? Is there class up there?
Liz: Well, they�re gonna start- get ready for Armando.
Jon: Oh, that�s true. Okay. All right.
Liz: Keep going.
Jon: We will be. Um�
Liz: Maybe they are a little too loud.
Jon: Yeah. Well, let�s keep going.
Liz: We could just go, like, to the hallway in the back?
Jon: Okay.
[We then went from the light booth to the hallway where a decent spot couldn�t be found and so we decided to try the rest of the interview in the stock room by the freezer with the pizza in it]
Liz: You were saying about- you okay?
Jon: Yes.
Liz: You were saying about a game.
Jon: Yes. As I was saying, um, the game we were doing was we were all- got up on stage and, uh, we all started talking a light bulb, unscrewing a light bulb, shaking it, hearing it, replacing it, unscrewing- screwing it back in, clicking it on, and all walking away from, from the stage. That was, that was it of the game. It was one of the greatest games�
Liz: Oh, an abstract group game you�re talking about.
Jon: Abstract- yeah, an abstract group game.
Liz: I know what you�re talking about now.
Jon: And it was this, like, amazing like, everyone knew when to get off the stage, so-
Liz: Yeah.
Jon: -that was really cool.
Liz: Isn�t that amazing?
Jon: It was really amazing. [ping of ice scooper hitting metal]
Liz: Oh, they�re gonna get ice, that�s gonna be nice and quiet.
Jon: Yes. [scoops of ice in background]
Liz: Oh the comedy. The comedy continues Jon Forsythe.
Jon: Ahhhh!
Liz: Damn! We�re doomed.
Jon: Maybe we- this should be the interview of �which location are they in now?�
Liz: Yeah, really. Really, everyone can guess.
Jon: All right. Um�
Liz: Yeah, I know exactly what you are talking about. That�s what�s so amazing about group mind, is when you�re connected and you just know it�s time to do something or it�s not time to do something. Or, uh, to trust that when it�s time you�ll just know. The door got left open. [Liz goes to close the door]
Jon: As we are here in the background noises of the inner workings of IO�
Liz: Mm-hmm
Jon: �you were employed in the inner workings of IO being the training center person.
Liz: Yes, training center director for two years.
Jon: Two years.
Liz: I just ah, recently resigned a week and a half ago.
Jon: Uh�okay, let�s go off of those questions. Um, how was being the director of the training center for you?
Liz: It was wonderful. It�s a great job. I loved it because I got to meet so many students, I felt like I got ah- I got to help Improv Olympic expand. I helped Charna figure out ways to get uh, more afternoon classes so we could have more students because the waiting list for level 1 classes is always long and it�s amazing how many people area always looking to learn to improvise. I really enjoyed it on uh, many different levels.
Jon: There is a huge amount of classes now and huge amount of people in those classes so the pool of talent there is to into, eventually, teams is quite high-
Liz: Mm-hmm.
Jon: -which makes some people on the teams side very wary, nervous, whatnot. What would you say is, is the state of IO with the huge amount of- wave of training center students?
Liz: Well, I think IO is facing a space issue and needs to expand spatially and then I think they�ll be room for the students to all have ah, [scooping noise] proportionally the same amount of stage time that students say two years ago or three years ago would have. If we had more stages, [ice falling into bucket in background] it can accommodate more students. [laughs] Ice bucket being filled. [both laugh]
Jon: Yes. Ah, you are leaving the training center director�
Liz: Mm-hmm.
Jon: �ah�is it due to�?
Liz: Yes.
Jon: Okay.
Liz: You can�t say it can you? I�m ten weeks pregnant today.
Jon: Ah, okay. I just- wanted to know if, like, was an off-limits [thing]�
Liz: And I�ve had, ah- I�ve had ah, little bit of a rough first ah, couple of months so it seemed best for all, you know, for Charna and for me to just�take away that responsibility from myself so I don�t leave her in a lurch, so I don�t give myself too many expectations or stretch myself.
Jon: Is this your first?
Liz: Yes.
Jon: That�s exciting.
Liz: It is, we�re very thrilled�
Jon: Ah�
Liz: �we are thrilled. [I laugh]
Jon: Though this is a questions of [the] future and no- no one can predict the future, ah, how do you think ah, yourself as an improviser will help you in motherhood-
Liz: Oh my�!
Jon: -in the future and all that.
Liz: I think it�s going to be- well, you know, improvisation has affected every single aspect of my life dramatically. Improvisation has affected�ah, my relationships, my listening skills, my ability or choice to connect to people or not to connect to people. Um, I love improv because it�s so much fun and you play and, you know, children are natural improvisers. And I�m really look forward to teaching my child about improvisation. I can�t wait. That�s gonna be fun.
Jon: A leg up on the competition.
Liz: Yeah, it�s- [both laugh] I don�t want to put any pressure on my, my child, you know, to expect to be female improviser or male improviser of the year or anything like that. [I laugh] But get the name ready Jonathan. [laughs]
Jon: Oh, okay. [laughs] Um, being- After the birth of your child, um, do expect to come back to improv and theater and all that stuff?
Liz: Yeah, I would like to. I would like to, actually when I get a little more comfortable in my middle, in the middle of my pregnancy, in the middle trimester ah, I would love to play a couple of times as long as nobody does any Kung Fu moves to the stomach. I think it would be really- really fun to improvise pregnant. I�m looking forward to that. [I laugh] And yeah, I expect to stave off. I especially expect to continue teaching and coaching and maybe direct more and, you know, I have ah, I have a lot more goals about spreading the work of improvisation so I can�t stop with the baby; my baby�s just gonna learn about improvisation.
Jon: Ah, again, future question, but ah, do you think- or ah, do you have any ah, inklings that motherhood will change yourself as a teacher of improv?
Liz: Hmm. Haven�t thought of that. That�s a very good question and a tough one for me to ah, give you an, my- I would hope that motherhood�s gonna make me better at everything. I hope that motherhood makes me even more thoughtful and more considerate and more aware of others. Um, it might make me be a more um�it might make me be a more patient teacher. Although ah, I�m thinking it might even make me more assertive as a teacher because my time alone in a professional capacity will be more limited and I�ll be so glad to be among [both laugh] adults for a little while [laughs] I�ll wanna seize every minute of it. But, I also hope that is I have a good sleeping baby, look out students, would I love to bring my child to class sometime and just let it, ah, him or her, sleep through [I laugh] class. But we�ll see, we�ll see how that goes. Charna don�t read that part. [both laugh]
Jon: Um, think, think, think. Pregnancy, being something that only a woman can have�
Liz: Yes?
Jon: �brings us to women in improv.
Liz: Ah! Yes. Women in improv.
Jon: All right. Um, how�how uh, I�ll guess just do a more advanced question. Um, how has, over the time you have done improv over your improv career, has the general state for women in improv improved or not improved?
Liz: Well, I�ll tell ya. I didn�t ever think it was at a disadvantage. I think that, proportionately, there just might be more male students�but I don�t think that female students have had any less opportunity or advantages in an improv world. I have found that anyone willing to play, like committedly and play with gusto is welcome. I have a pet peeve when women whine and say guys don�t let �em into the game. I feel women need to take a bunch more responsibility and just dive in. It�s easy for me to say �cause I was a tomboy growing up and I had brothers and I knew how to jump in with a bunch of guys and have fun and play. And, you know, my brothers were always including me in Frisbee and they�d tease the hell out of me. But, um�I think there are more students, more women students than there are- than there were but I think that�s because there�s more students in general. [pause] I look at improvisers as individualists. And, don�t put anyone- don�t preconceive anyone, man or woman, before they improvise in my class. Like, I don't assume a girl is gonna be ah, you know, timid and play housewives and I don�t assume a boy is gonna be an asshole and cuss and make sex jokes. And I really find that people who don�t have preconceived notions have an unlimited experience waiting for them improvising.
Jon: Um, but there are people out there with preconceived notions-
Liz: Yes.
Jon: who do continually either make the- their woman partner the wife, their girlfriend so maybe they can kiss them or something like that. Or, um, the prostitute or bring up drug, drugs and stuff like that. Um, how�I guess it�s on two fronts. How do you get the guys to stop doing that as a teacher, um, I probably know the answer, and how do you get female improvisers to overcome that?
Liz: Okay, well one thing I found is that if a guy is that�s naturally going to be his choice he�s probably not going to improvise for a very long time �cause he�s gonna have a hard time finding an ensemble that will want him to join. Um, I think it�s easy to say yes to all the ideas you put forth like wife/mother/prostitute because you can also be ah, a prostitute that works at NASA. [both laugh a little] You can be a housewife who reads books about astrophysics on the side and you can be a mother who�s ah, you know, scientist in third shift�discovering the cure for- you can give yourself ah, a tradi- a non-traditional female role and then the guys just- they�ll deal with it and then they�ll- and the good improvisers will deal with it beautifully and be grateful that you want- that you heightened their choice and gave them more to deal with. Guys that make that choice I always ask them- I ask them to give their partners a higher challenge, make- give their partners a chance to stretch. I give up a lot on- I�ll give up a lot on, I�m not gonna say students at the beginning of a class, but they are some people that, that just don�t want to make more intelligent choices and sometimes you just can�t teach people that.
Jon: Um�what do you do for a living?
Liz: Well, right now I teach improvisation but I also do ah, freelance technical writing. You know, related to the last question�
Jon: Okay.
Liz: �it�s like, the same thing in engineering. Engineering is predominately male.
Jon: Right.
Liz: I�ve had three or four isolated instances of people who were prejudiced against women. And so, I chose not to work with them. I found ah, it�s very corny but the statement that Maria makes in The Sound of Music when she says when God closes a window He opens a door?
Jon: Right.
Liz: I believe that about obstacles. If people have a problem with me ah, surveying over some nuclear site, then I go to somebody else, work with some one else, find a different group. I�ve worked with the most amazing, open-minded people, men and women, and I continue to find them I think because I believe that they exist. If you believe that the prejudice against you exists that�s what you�re gonna find. And I think I�m a little unusual because I, [class screams in background] I worked- class screaming- I�ve worked in predominately male environments and what I do for a living now again is predominately male. But, that never seems to make a difference. There�s just nice people out there and you can find them where- where ever you chose to look for them.
Jon: Ah�interesting question just popped up. What�what do you- what kind of people do you think improv attracts?
Liz: People who are searching. Searchers who want answers who don�t understand the�sad [laughs a little] state of affairs. People who are in pain and you have been hurt. I think people who- it�s terrible to say and maybe this isn�t true of you I- but I believe most improvisers have some sort of alcoholic background in their family. [cue Jon�s surprised facial expression] Yeah, I really- [I shake my head] you don�t.
Jon: Yeah, I don�t [have some sort of alcoholic background in my family].
Liz: Well, you�re on of the few exceptions. I used to, in my classes when I was a student, I, I�d ask sort of an informal poll during the class like to find out and like 90% of the people came from alcoholism; it�s crazy. Now, I don�t know if that�s because most people who come from alcoholism anyway. [I laugh] But I find that improvisers are people who want to find a different way to exist in our society. And improvisers are people who appreciate ah, like Del�s philosophies, you know, that Americans don�t have to be so standoffish and self-centered. And I, I loved it when he started talking about the ensemble aspect of Native American communities and how they would work together as a whole and how Americans are all individualists, [out] for their own good. And so I think improvisers are looking for something deeper and more meaningful in their lives.
Jon: The state of the world right now is like, completely crazy with India and Pakistan fighting over Kashmir, ah, with Palestine and Israel keep killing each other, war on terrorism in Afghanistan, people afraid of anthrax or, or bombing here. There�s definitely a sense of �what the hell is going on with the world?� Um, getting back to the, the baby question, how- how do you- are you afr- worried about the world that your child is gonna grow up in?
Liz: Yes. I think every mother is. But I also think that every mother throughout time has wondered that; and father. I think that the state of the world is�it, it�s just different conflict but the same idea of people not living in harmony around the world. That kind of um, violence has been going on in different forms forever. It�s just we, we did kind, kind of had a little bit of a slow period in probably our lifetime- well, that�s not really true either. But to answer your question, yes I�m worried but I comfort myself [laughs a little] in this sort of weird way to know the world�s sorta been screwed up for�ever and that hopefully my child will find their way safely and maybe even make a difference in the world? I don�t know, every- you know, you always hope that, but- I do worry but I also ah, it�s no�it�s not different from anywhere else and I believe having a baby in America? Good grief, how lucky am I? I�m not-
Jon: Yeah.
Liz: -you know, in Afghanistan ten weeks pregnant wondering what the heck I�m bringing into this world where I can�t even find food and shelter.
Jon: Yeah, um�besides improv what, what other hobbies to you have?
Liz: Well, I�m glad you asked. I love to quilt.
Jon: Do you?
Liz: Yeah, quilting is amazing.
Jon: Well, that�s cool.
Liz: Uh, I la- I- quilting reminds me a lot about improv. It�s about- I like to quilt- I like to improvise as I quilt. I like to not plan a quilt and just sit down and sew and see what-
Jon: Hmm.
Liz: -materials speak to me and what patterns speak to me and come up with the pattern on the spot for quilting. I have a Labrador retriever so I have to say she�s a new hobby; a one year old Labrador retriever. [I laugh] Um, Oh! I love to play Scrabble with my husband. [both laughs] I�m turning into a Scrabble junkie. What are my other hobbies? Well my- a lot of- I used to have exercises like crazy�ah, hobby and I did it a lot, but I, I don�t right now. [both laugh] I love to read. I like to kayak. I look forward to kayaking more. In fact, I got to figure out the baby thing with kayaking. �Cause I believe you can take a small child on a kayak and it�s not even a problem; and Eskimos did it. But I, I need to, um, find the right equipment where I�m going to feel safe taking a baby out [laughs during rest of sentence] on Lake Michigan on a kayak. [I laugh too]
Jon: That would be interesting.
Liz: Yeah. [laughs]
Jon: How much more tape does this have?
Liz: Are we about over?
Jon: Well, just that the-
Liz: Battery?
Jon: -ah, no. I mean, just wondering. [looking at light thingy on recorder] Uh, there�s a light.
Liz: We could get coffee?
Jon: No, no, that�s okay. Ah, �cause just during the last interview it, it- it flicked off�
Liz: Oh�oh.
Jon: �and we missed like, fifteen minutes of the interview, so�
Liz: Oh, okay. Oh, you know something else on the woman front thing?
Jon: Okay?
Liz: You know I coach Mission Improvable; they�re all guys�
Jon: Right.
Liz: �and everyone�s always like, �yeah, but they don�t have any women.� Well, Jane didn�t have any men. Like, there�s just groups that happen to [be] one gender; no [other] gender. And I always think, you know, how can you get mad at a group for not having women when they chose a woman coach? And it never even comes up between us. It never even seems to be a factor. And that�s�that�s the situation I like to put myself in.
Jon: Okay. Um�[looking at notepad again] �[we] hit everything.
Liz: Yeah?
Jon: I guess, but I like to talk more.
Liz: Okay.
Jon: [laughs] Just because other�
Liz: See what else I have to say?
Jon: Yeah. Um�
Liz: People now would be the time to get a Coke. [both laugh]
Jon: Although on, on online it would be imperceptible. Ah�[sigh] Do you plan, of course this would also entail your husband�s plans too, uh, but living in Chicago all your life?
Liz: Maybe not the rest of my life�full-time. It�s certainly part-time. I would love to keep Chicago in my life. Um, I�ll tell you what I- my long range plans. I would love to ah, live in western North Carolina, in the mountains. And, ah�
Jon: Asheville?
Liz: Yeah, near Asheville. Maybe west of Asheville, even a little more remote. And ah, open and improv camp?
Jon: There you go.
Liz: For the summers? And have, I think it would draw a huge crowd. And I think it would be so much fun and what a great opportunity and people could- it would be like summer camp for adults and you�d do improvisation and we�d have a maybe outdoor amphitheater where people could perform after taking classes all day. I would love to make that happen. I also know that ah, in North Carolina improvisation is, is um, as hot as it is anywhere else in the country.
Jon: Yeah.
Liz: And that there�s a big um, draw for that. So, that�s one of my long-term plans. I don�t know if I want to stay in the city completely when I have ah, a, a child that�s little older. [the zip sound of cup ridges rubbing against each other] That�s not me.
Ryan: Excuse me.
Liz: Cardboard�
Ryan: Sorry.
Liz: Um�[laughs a little]
Ryan: [zip noise again which sounds a little like a fart] Oh, I feel better.
Jon: Now that, now that you�re said some words I�m gonna have to put your name on the thing.
Liz: Yeah, this is Ryan Gowland. He�s here getting plastic cups for the Armando show. Hey I know what I was- I can link this ah, to the first question about Pittsburgh�or about where I lived.
Jon: Right. [zip/far sound again]
Liz: One of the- [laughs a little at sound] One of the great things about moving-
Ryan: And I�m done.
Liz: [laughs a little] -one of the great things about moving to Pittsburgh was that I got a totally different experience in a world I had never lived in, which was the city. I grew up in a small town in North Carolina then I learned about the advantages of a city. And I did like a lot of it. I found it exciting, my dad was from New York City so he loved having us in an urban environment. So I f- I really appreciated the experience of living in both types of place. And I would love to continue that for my life and have a rural North Carolina place to go to as well as somehow work it out that we could come to the city and I�d like to expose my child to that.
Jon: Um, people say that actors cravin� atten, ah, attention�uh�
Liz: Crave attention?
Jon: Yes, or they need part of it. They need at least part of it to express on stage. Um, ow this is a bold question that reveals so much about myself. Uh�
Liz: Uh oh.
Jon: Do, do you think ah, that if you got into a very loving relationship that your improv on stage would be affected due- by, in my head, the assumption that, that you need attention and you need love from the audience and to give it out to that outlet. If there�s another outlet, like a relationship or something like that, then, therefore, the volume that you give out to maybe improv or stage or something else that you do might be diminished or something- I don�t- I�m not exactly [sure] how to- to be in words�
Liz: I think I understand you. Um, I believe that if someone is on stage because they need the approval and attention and they need to be seen, and I believe a lot of people are on stage because they need someone to see their emotions. It�s nice to have the focus- that whatever you chose to feel gets seen. But if someone like that gets into a relationship, I don�t think- I don�t think it replaces. I think that if you need to be seen by a lot of people it doesn�t matter if you�re in a relationship or not. I found that when you learn to see yourself it�s easier to rely less on external accolades. But I think your improv will always be affected by whatever�s going on in your life be it love or, you know, a new job or a book you�re reading. So your improvisation is bound to be affected, but I think the need for attention, I don�t think that changes, in my opinion, of course. [laughs a little]
Jon: What�s your favorite book?
Liz: House of Mirth.
Jon: House of Mirth.
Liz: By ah, ah, Edith Wharton.
Jon: Haven�t read it.
Liz: It�s�hilarious. It�s a skewering satire of wealthy society. And it- she was, I believe, ahead of her time and ah�
Jon: Damn wealthy people.
Liz: [laughs a little] Yeah, I really ah, I really enjoy that book.
Jon: I recently read ah, Welcome to the Monkey House.
Liz: Huh?
Jon: By Kurt Vonnegut.
Liz: Ah, have not read it.
Jon: I�m now a fan of Kurt Vonnegut. He�s very, very�one he�s- a lot of writing is like almost science fiction or futuristic�
Liz: Mm.
Jon: �in some terms- or definitely has�a plant in, in sciences. But it�s so funny and it�s so fresh and, and I just love it.
Liz: Wow that�s neat.
Jon: Yeah, so found a new, a new favorite author.
Liz: Mm-hmm.
Jon: So- �cause I�m not that much of a, of a book reader. Although I�ve started becoming�
Liz: Oh really?
Jon: �so- yeah.
Liz: Do you like watching movies?
Jon: Yes.
Liz: What�s your favorite movie?
Jon: Ahh. Right now, like- ah, it�s so hard to say. Right now, it�s, it�s Zero Effect.
Liz: Haven�t seen it.
Jon: Which is an independent movie with ah, Ben Stiller and um�Bill Pullman-
Liz: Hmm.
Jon: -who�s fantastic.
Liz: Really?
Jon: Yes. He�s really awesome in that movie. I- prior to this movie I thought, �well, Bill Pullman�s all right.� But when I saw the movie it was just like, �wow, he�s an amazing actor.�
Liz: Yeah, you know, it�s funny you said Bill Pullman because a friend of mine just said that she saw him on Broadway and said he was amazing. And he has yet to impress me on film. Or in film.
Jon: See Zero Effect.
Liz: Oh.
Jon: It�s ah, very much ah, a film noir type movie; a Sherlock Holmes type of-
Liz: Ahh.
Jon: -�who done it?� kind of thing. He�s a detective and needs to find out [about] this crime. There�s also a, a love story in, inside of it. �Cause he fancies himself the world�s greatest observer the world has ever known. And so he�s- since he�s observing the world so much-
Liz: Hmm.
Jon: -he�s- he also detaches himself from the world�to be a better observer. So he can�t feel emotion, he lives without passion. He even says in, in the movie, ah, �when you live without passions, other people�s passions come into greater light.�
Liz: Oh, wow.
Jon: Yeah.
Liz: Oh, I need to see that movie.
Jon: So- but he still has- of course, his character has some passions but he decides not to see �em. And it�s�really well done. And ah�
Liz: Huh.
Jon: �so, I, I like that one. And ah, for romantic comedies I like ah�oh! Brain�s gone�
Liz: It�s okay.
Jon: �oh, Next Stop Wonderland.
Liz: I didn�t see that.
Jon: It�s a really good movie.
Liz: I know. You know, my favorite ah, comedy of all time is Annie Hall.
Jon: That�s good.
Liz: Man- Good? It�s unbelievable! [both laugh] Woody Allen ah, makes me laugh.
Jon: Yeah, all my ideas, like, come to me, for writing, are in the�movie media.
Liz: Oh really?
Jon: Yeah.
Liz: Huh.
Jon: So, that�s why�[I�m] coming to realize that, [I] should just stop pretending and [Liz laughs] decide, decide to become a, ah, a writer/director of movies.
Liz: Oh neat.
Jon: Yeah.
Liz: Well, certainly if that�s where you feel ah, a calling towards.
Jon: Definitely. And-
Liz: That�s very cool.
Jon: -in improv, it definitely helps.
Liz: I think it helps with writing �cause you don�t edit yourself.
Jon: Yeah.
Liz: You just learn to say yes to your instincts.
Jon: And also, [you] learn how to cut crap out-
Liz: Mm.
Jon: -from the beginning, start in the middle, structure of things and helps things, scenes, calling things back, themes, subtext. It�s- there�s so many things that improv teaches you in, in acting-wise�that you just understand, I mean�I really think I, I learned more in my college improv troupe about acting than I ever did in any class.
Liz: Well, you�re about the two-thousandth person that I think has said that or agreed to that.
Jon: Yeah.
Liz: I think improv is great for distilling down to what really is important in�
Jon: Yeah.
Liz: �in the essence of things are.
Jon: So�
Liz: That�s neat.
Jon: Yeah.
Liz: Ah, I�ll volunteer something about improv, which is ah, Del�s class. I took his class three times. [It] affected me so strongly. His creative ideas were amazing and I feel this responsibility, this obligation to pass along what he taught me and my peers. I think it�s really important to continue to share the, you know, the basic�
Jon: How was Del, for you, as a teacher?
Liz: Ah. Ah, I thought he was wonderful. I had a hard time connecting with him on any kinda social, even conversation level, it just didn�t seem to click. But, as a teacher, he- I respected him. I thought- and he, he exposed me to ah, ideas I had never even considered and I just felt like a sponge in his class. Just couldn�t soak up enough of, of what he was teaching and�and what he believed in and why he created improv and�ahh. It, it was- I really, really enjoyed his class. I feel very lucky for that experience.
Jon: Very cool.
Liz: Yeah.
Jon: Um�that�s about it. Do you have any other questions for me?
Liz: No, I think that�s it. I ah�ahhh, I don�t know; you�ve picked my brain. What else is left to say? My favorite movie is Gone With the Wind.
Jon: Really?
Liz: Yeeeah. Traditional Southern girl. [laughs] Jon is shaking his head in disbelief. [I laugh]
Jon: I don�t know.
Liz: Well, thanks for taking the time to chat with me.
Jon: No problem. Thank you Liz Allen-
Liz: You�re very welcome.
Jon: -for doing this interview with me and hopefully the people who have�read this, verbatim, [Liz laughs] can understand it. Thank you.
Liz: Great. Goodnight.
The End.
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