Team History

I’ve been on a ton of improv and sketch teams and been wanting to document them for a while… mostly so when one of these dummies gets famous, I can say, “Hey, we used to do fart jokes together.”  Dates are based on first show – last show and don’t include rehearsal, drunken conversations in a bar, etc. I’m also not including guest spots on shows, one-off class shows, etc.

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After Midnight – Improv
April 2, 2014 – October 22, 2016
Austin, TX

A group of students just starting Level 2 at ColdTowne Theater signed up for a cage match and ended up winning the whole tournament… because we brought an audience.

• Bobby Stover
• Brian May
• Frances Nguyen
• Kady Ferris (moved to Portland after the tournament)
• Kim Lowery
• Lance Nealy
• Vickie Dinges Grier
• Chelsea Bunn (replaced Kady)

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GameTowne – Improv/Variety
June 25, 2014 – April 24, 2016
Austin, TX

GameTowne was a game show that mixed Nickelodeon’s Double Dare with Whose Line Is It Anyway? Every month we pitted two improv teams against each other in a game of trivia, short form and long form improv games/scenes. It was insane and a blast. There were seventeen episodes produced over three seasons.

• Matthew Stoner (host)
• KC Harvey-Taylor (theme song/cast)
• Alejandro Garcia (cast)
• Eli Eidson (cast)
• Lance Nealy (announcer/director/producer/cast)
• Stephanie Thoreson (cast – joined later)

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Take Your Slaughter To Work Day – Improv
August 9, 2014
Austin, TX

Take Your Slaughter was a team assembled for the Improv Fantasy League of 2014. We played one show and got immediately eliminated. To the best of my knowledge, the team consisted of:

• Lance Gilstrap (coach)
• Addison Billingsley
• Adam Oestreich
• KC Harvey-Taylor
• Carlos LaRotta
• Lance Nealy
• Chrissy Shackelford
• Cortnie Jones
• Katie Moore
• Nick Wuthrich
• Conor Sullivan

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Sorry For Your Loss – Improv
August 25, 2014 – February 2, 2015
Austin, TX

My second team was assembled by Stewart Chow and myself one night while we were interning. The idea is that we’d do a theme show, set around a funeral which is as hard as it sounds. We even had a tiny casket for people to slip suggestions into. We’d start off doing monologues about the deceased and then essentially do the show at a wake.

• Kim Lowery
• Brian O’Neill
• Stewart Chow
• Benjamen Babock
• Lance Nealy

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Grounded In Harmony – Improv
September 17, 2014 – September 1, 2015
Austin, TX

Grounded in Harmony was an improv team that featured an improvised score and a rotating cast of improvisers and musician/improvisers. The cast included (but not limited to):

• Bobby Stover (violin)
• Ian Townsend (guitar/cajone)
• Jared Robertson (cajone/drums)
• Javier Ungo
• Frances Nguyen
• Sanjay Rao
• Joseph Robert (guitar)

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Organ Trail – Improv
October 4, 2014 – October 25, 2014
Austin, TX

The Organ Trail Live is an interactive horror-comedy game show based on a zombie version of the classic computer game, The Oregon Trail.

• Alejandro Garcia
• Allison Huston
• Ben Bazan
• Bobby Stover
• Chaz Formichella
• Chris McKeever
• Drew Wesely
• Eli Eidson
• Jessica Marpe
• KC Harvey-Taylor
• Lance Nealy
• Logan Williams
• Matt Needles
• Naomi Perryman
• Patrick Kail
• Quinn Buckner
• Rachel Austin
• Sanjay Rao
• Sarah Hutchins
• Will Casto

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Saved by the Bell – Improv
January 14, 2015 – April 27, 2015

Featuring a rotating cast of Donkey Tattoo? and TV Dinner. One player was designated the bell master and would ring a bell anytime they wanted to see a new choice in the scene. The last person to speak had to craft a new line, taking the show in even more unexpected directions.

• Adam Oestreich
• Becca Wilson
• Bobby Stover
• Brian May
• Brian O’Neill
• Chelsea Bunn
• Conor Sullivan
• Frances Nguyen
• Kim Lowery
• Lance Nealy
• Maria Pond
• Matt Shirley
• Nick Wuthrich
• Stephanie Thoreson
• Will Witwer

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Replacement Mark – Improv
January 25, 2015
Austin, TX

Replacement Mark was my first improv duo. I, along with KC Harvey-Taylor played exactly one show. But practiced for several months. Duos never get easier to book.

• KC Harvey-Taylor
• Lance Nealy

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Fifty Nifty / Goat Baby – Improv
February 5, 2015 – April 12, 2015
Austin, TX

Fifty Nifty was student team assembled from open auditions of ColdTowne graduates and students. We performed an Armando-style show on the main stage for a month-long run. Once the run was done, we continued as Goat Baby. Fifty Nifty/Goat Baby was:

• Chelsea Bunn
• Stephanie Thoreson
• Taylor Stewart
• Elijah Eidson
• Robert Montcrieff
• Stacy Bryan
• KC Harvey-Taylor
• Derick Fields
• Cene Hale
• Lance Nealy.

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Donkey Tattoo? – Improv
February 8, 2015 – July 13, 2015
Austin, TX

Donkey Tattoo? was made up of members of the same graduating class from ColdTowne Theater. They created a format utilizing an opening soundscape created in the dark which generated three distinct emotional beats, with organic edits and group games.  Members included:

• Adam Oestreich
• Becca Wilson
• Bobby Stover
• Conor Sullivan
• Frances Nguyen
• Nick Wuthrich
• Stephanie Thoreson
• Will Witwer
• Lance Nealy.

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Wookie Cookie – Improv
March 11, 2015 – July 24, 2015
Austin, TX

Wookie Cookie was an indie team originally formed for a CageMatch in 2015. We created a format called the Wookie Wiki which featured a group game jointly editing multiple Wikipedia articles. Those games were used as fodder for later scenes.  Wookie Cookie was:

• Brian May
• Matt Shirley
• Taylor Stewart
• Stephanie Thoreson
• Pierce Purselley
• Lance Nealy

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Kasey&Lance&Lance&KC – Improv
May 6, 2015 – May 27, 2015
Austin, TX

This team was a joke submission to a CageMatch. Surprise. We made it to round two. We were:

• Kasey Borger
• Lance Gilstrap
• Lance Nealy
• KC Harvey-Taylor.

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The Beach Boys Solve a Mystery – Improv
June 6, 2015 – June 27, 2015
Austin, TX

A main stage show, The Beach Boys Solve A Mystery was a improvised comedy featuring a live surf rock band, improvised performances by the Beach Boys and giveaways from Half-Price Books! Featuring:

• Ian Townsend
• Molly Moore
• Cortnie Jones
• Nathan Sowell
• Lance Nealy
• Katie Moore
• Dylan Garsee
• Rachel Posey Austin.

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Pup – Improv
July 10, 2015 – February 29, 2016
Austin, TX

Pup is made up of ColdTowne alums who attended the Annoyance 5-Day Intensive in Chicago during the summer of 2015. Pup is:

• Katie Moore
• Alejandro Garcia
• Matthew Stoner
• Cortnie Jones
• Matt Needles
• Naomi Perryman
• Kim Lowery
• Frank Netscher
• Brian May
• Nathan Sowell
• KC Harvey-Taylor
• Lance Nealy

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Joint Custody – Improv & Sketch
July 21, 2015 – Present
Austin, TX / Los Angeles, CA

Joint Custody is the improv and sketch duo of Stephanie Thoreson and Lance Nealy. On July 21, 2015, we presented Joint Custody presents The Curious Case of the Comic-con Conundrum: A Create Your Own Journey Mystery. That evening the cast additionally featured: Taylor Stewart, Kasey Borger and Alejandro Garcia. On the for the encore on October 27, 2015, Kasey’s part was played by Cene Hale.

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Trust Fall – Improv
August 2, 2015
Austin, TX

Trust Fall was a practice group that had one show before becoming a victim to “too many teams-itis.” Featuring:

• Will Witwer
• Stephanie Thoreson
• Brian May
• Kim Lowery
• Lance Nealy.

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The Miscaviges – Sketch
September 8, 2015 – October 20, 2016
Austin, TX

Sketch team formed from a Level 1 sketch course. Featuring (at various times): Mary Chauvin, Lance Hunter, Tim Thavirat, Conor Sullivan, Lance Nealy, Hupp Smith, Michael Ta, Darren Scharf, Brian May and Doug Still.

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A Fine Affair – Sketch/Play
November 5, 2015 – January 30, 2016
Austin, TX

A main stage sketch revue/play that run a long, long time. Starring:

• Stephanie Thoreson,
• Hupp Smith
• Lena Long
• Lance Nealy
• James Fernandez
• Sara June
• Linzy Beltran
• Arian Brumby
• Ronnie Miller.

Written/Directed by: Ryan Darbonne, Carina Hinojosa, Ronnie Miller & Steven Warren.

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One Moment Please – Improv
January 4, 2016 – April 11, 2016
Austin, TX

Featuring:

• Maria Pond
• Brian May
• Lance Nealy.

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Level 7: Free Beer – Improv
February 1, 2016 – October 22, 2016
Austin, TX

Level 7: Free Beer is the combination of two ColdTowne Theater Conservatory graduating classes, TV Dinner and Donkey Tattoo? It’s too big to fail. Members include:

• Adam Oestreich
• Becca Wilson
• Bobby Stover
• Brian May
• Brian O’Neill
• Chelsea Bunn,
• Conor Sullivan
• Frances Nguyen
• Km Lowery
• Lance Nealy
• Maria Pond
• Matt Shirley
• Nick Wuthrich
• Stephanie Thoreson
• Will Witwer.

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Local Teens – Improv
August 11, 2016
Los Angeles, CA

My first show in Los Angeles, with people from my iO West intensive.