Jim Karwisch has been improvising for over 16 years. He was trained by Charna Halpern, T.J. Jagodowski, Bob Dassi, and Miles Stroth at IO in Chicago (Formerly the Improv Olympic). Before getting into Improvisation, Jim toured the US as an actor and director at Valdosta State University he earned his bachelors degree in Theatre with an emphasis in Playwrighting and Directing. He performs most Saturday Nights at the Relapse Theatre in Midtown and coaches the touring team Einstein meets Elvis and house team Babies mit Bearden. Jim is one half of the original JaCKPie Duo and the Artistic Director for the JaCKPie Theatre Workshop. Jim recently completed an e-mail interview with me.



Matthew: How did you first discover improv?



Jim: If you want to know when I discovered long-form improv, which is what I currently perform, it was when I was traveling through Chicago on tour with Repertory Theatre of America back in 1999. A friend of a fellow performer asked if I wanted to join them for a comedy show. It turned out to be at Improv Olympic on a Monday night when their very best alumni were performing. I saw T.J. Jagodowski, Miles Stroth, Bob Dassie, Stephanie Weir, Susan Messing and about 6 others that I don't remember now. It blew my mind completely open and I decided that night that I would move to Chicago and study there as soon as possible. As for when I first discovered improv existed, that goes back to my freshman year of high school. My friends and I started doing improv shows in the form of radio - we would sit around an old tape deck in one of their parent’s attic. That led me to doing some short-form improv in high school and improv for actors in college. I even tried to get an improv troupe together at the collegiate level, but unfortunately I never got that to happen around my theatre performance schedule. When I toured with Missoula Children’s Theatre we did a lot of 2 person improv in our workshops for the kids and I think all of this led to my overwhelming passion for long-form improv.



Matthew: What inspired you to start JaCKPie here in Atlanta?



Jim: My original dream was to become a college professor of theatre. Then when I moved back to Atlanta from Chicago and started working with Chris Pierce on our two man show it became clear that if I really worked hard at it, I could create my own "college" of improv right here. At first, the idea was just to create another improv house similar to those in other major cities, but after getting it started, I realized that JaCKPie would be similar to those other houses in form, but not really in function. JaCKPie focuses intently on community and support of our members and uses improv as the connective tissue between us all. Once I found that people really did want to work in a pocket utopia of trust and support, I knew that my dream of being a college professor was going to have to become a dream of running JaCKPie and making myself available to the hungry minds of Atlanta improvisers.



Matthew: Are there any improv related achievements you are particularly proud of?



Jim: I am proud every time a student succeeds the first time in a scene. I am also proud when a student fails for the first time and realizes that he is going to be supported and accepted and made to look brilliant no matter what he does. I enjoy the whole thing. Every part of teaching. Even the tough parts are fun… getting past a block, dealing with an issue, rounding tough learning curves… I love it all. Maybe my favorite thing about teaching is watching people get more confident and believe in themselves… that is a pretty awesome moment ever time it happens.



Matthew: Since you’ve been teaching improv for quite some time now, what do you feel like you still have to learn from it?



Jim: I am constantly learning more and more about improv because I am learning more and more about life and how to work with people. Because improv/theatre is a mirror to life I will be learning new things about it until my heart stops beating. The most important new things I learn about improv I learn from my students. Think of them as the teacher's teachers and you will always have a source of new perspective.



Matthew: What would you consider the most essential skill necessary for good improv?



Jim: In my opinion the most necessary skill to develop in improv is Trust. Also Listening is huge. I think that a lack of Trust is what leads to a lack of Listening and so I’d put Trust down as the most essential.



Matthew: What is the most challenging part of running JaCKPie?



The number of hours in a given day. I have so much that I want to do to support the Atlanta Improv Community, Relapse Theatre and growing the shows and classes at JaCKPie that I could really use another 40 hours a week easy. Heck, if you are taking orders go ahead and make it an even 80.



Matthew: What single task do you find most challenging?



Jim: Probably the most challenging thing is working with those who have trust issues. Getting them to trust is not always easy. It is rewarding when it is accomplished, but heartbreaking when it is not.



Matthew: Please describe the most vivid dream you've ever had.



Jim: My most vivid dream ever is a recurring one where I have the ability to move things with my mind and to fly short distances. I am often in a college classroom or in my childhood home. The detail work my brain does in these dreams is amazing. I wish I could identify what I'm eating on those nights before I have this recurring dreams… I’d eat it once a week!