Podcast gets to know the Baltimore Improv Group beyond improv

Hear a podcast about the Baltimore Improv Group. Gettin Biggie With It is a podcast with an ambitious goal: to interview and create improv with every member of the Baltimore Improv Group.

Baltimore Improv Group (BIG) serves as the region's leading non-profit improv comedy venue. Now you can hear a podcast about the performers.

Baltimore's community of audiences, new and returning students, and performers tell stories about their lives outside of improv as government workers, teaching in classrooms, writing, and more. Each episode also features a segment of improv comedy based on the interview.

Kerri Shannon and Danny Hughes created the show which they also host. Kerri joined improv team Plan B in 2015. She spends her non-stage time as an editor at a Baltimore-based publishing company, which involves just as much fun but fewer made-up facts.

"I think both Danny and I separately were interested in getting into the podcast world but didn't know it," Kerri said. She began performing in Baltimore in 2014 with various special projects and independent improv comedy troupes including Akimbo with Danny.

"Then one day our troupe Akimbo was kind of just hanging out in the podcast studio and the idea of starting one came up. And here we are, six months and 30 episodes later... I credit Danny with the idea of getting to know BIG players."

In each show, you'll hear one improvisor share their story in 30 seconds or less about how they entering improv. Afterward, listen to their conversational interview about their life outside of improv.

Meanwhile, a team of improvisors quietly listen. Every episode, hear a session of improv comedy performed by the two hosts, interviewed guest, and a cast of improvisors.

"We set off with no real expectations other than 'let's see how this goes and have fun!' " Kerri said. "And I think we've had more fun, and it's been more popular than we expected right away. I truly love getting to know people better - beyond the improv, as intended.

"While we all strive to improve as performers, at the heart of BIG there's a community of interesting, wonderful people who truly want to have fun and be creative, and that's exactly what these recording hours have given us. We laugh so hard and are so delighted talking to our guests. I'm thankful it all worked out as it has! "

The BIG Theater offers a free private podcast studio for use by anyone in and around Baltimore City. The theater opened in October 2017 in Station North Arts & Entertainment District in the core of Baltimore City. The theater offers 3,000 square feet of space for live comedy shows every night of the week as well as providing classes and workshops for adults, kids and teens.

Danny became a regular improv performer in early 2017. Before joining our theater's cast, he co-founded and operated an educational community theatre company in Carroll County. He taught theatre for six years in Baltimore County Public Schools. Now, Danny is an English teacher and a professional voice over artist.

"I’d echo everything Kerri has said. Theater is a business of moments and people and that’s what makes us a community, not just a training center," Danny said. They record the show at The BIG Theater's free podcast studio.

"We are so fortunate to have a high level of education, but what matters most is the community. Selfishly, I just wanted to get to know all the people who make BIG BIG, and play with as many people as possible!"

Catch new episodes of Gettin' Biggie With It weekly on Thursdays. You can listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or stream online with Podbean. For more information about Baltimore Improv Group, visit bigimprov.org