Kevin Mullaney is a Co-Artistic Director for the 2012 Chicago Improv Festival.
Kevin Mullaney is the former head of the training program at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre where he taught from 1999 to 2006. He directed many shows at the UCBT including the Swarm in Slow Waltz Around Rage Mountain and Tami Boy (which also went to the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen), Betsy & Katty: Ho's Before Bro's, Lauren Weedman in I Thought You Were Dead, Individually Wrapped, and Tracers. He performed with the Harold teams Ice-Nine and Arsenal and hosted the CageMatch NYC. He served as the UCB Theatre Artistic Director from 2001 to 2003.
Before moving to New York, Kevin was a teacher at ImprovOlympic in Chicago (now the iO Theatre), where he performed for six years with house teams Frank Booth & Inside Vladimir. He also performed in numerous other improvised shows including The Armando Diaz Theatrical Experience and Hootenanny, Therapy & The Blue Velvet Lounge. He founded their professional touring group, The iO Road Show, which he directed for two years. He also directed The Way We Never Were, Sophormore Jinx and Circle De Bob.
Kevin recently taught a workshop for Second City on the Game of the Scene. Kevin was a guest instructor at the laugh/RIOT Columbia Improv Festival. He has taught workshops at the National College Comedy Festival at Skidmore, the New England College Improv Jam at UMass Amherst and at Trinity College and has coached groups from Bradley University and Illinois State University.
He founded the Chicago Improv Syndicate which produced several shows including Naked and Harold on the Holyrood which played to critical acclaim at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1995.
If you would like Kevin to conduct workshops on long-form improvisation for your college, theater or improv troupe, contact him at ircmullaney [at] gmail.com.
"I really liked the concept of building an improv tool-bag and filling it with small techniques that can be used in scenes... I think the observation, story, and object techniques were very, very helpful (and now that I know them, I see them done in shows all the time)"
- Kurt Guenther
"I liked how you went back to basics (agreement, observation) and really dug into those topics... Thanks so much for teaching this intensive! You gave me a lot to think about and I learned a lot."
- Lauren Hunter
"What I liked most about the class was the emphasis on working a set of specific improv muscles each day and then revisiting them/building upon them the following days. I really liked the idea of treating class time as a sort of mental workout for various muscles. It was an idea that I had never thought of before when in an improv class, but made a lot of sense"
- Matt Visconage
"Your workshop really reconnected me to my roots as an improviser and re-energized me about the craft."
- Amanda Hirsch
"I'm an English teacher by day, and I've never seen an improv teacher give the kind of specificity in notes and have such a thirst for creating best practices as you have. I've seen it and been inspired by it by other high school teachers but not in the realm of improvisation. Thank you for giving this work that kind of dedication."
- Kevin McKernan, The Improv Shop, St. Louis
"Thank you again for the workshop - it was a lot of fun! The first thing I can think to say was that it was great to attend a workshop and walk away with specific tools that one can immediately start using in their scene work."
- Ren Bautista
"What I got, was an amazingly intense experience that demanded everyone involved to put their guard down and truly emote and share. It was uncomfortable to be as truthful in a group of strangers, short of a 12 step meeting. The amazing thing was you could tell because you had us pay such close attention, as to whether or not someone was being truthful, as a result, we all gave up the guard and all benefited from it. What took place in the scene work was extraordinary. I credit it to the caliber of improvisers I was with, but we couldn't have gotten to those places individually had we not shared and given to each other as a group in the first half of the workshop. At first it was interesting how well we were all doing, by the end it was almost surreal as to how well we had worked together and what it would have been if it were a complete show. 5 different guys from 5 different states who developed a high level group mind in nearly no time flat. Impressive... I would absolutely 100% recommend this workshop to a friend. It felt like weeks of understanding at the highest level in a very short time, the course was simply invaluable."
- Patrick McInnis
"I liked everything about the class... the warm ups were perfect... the exercises lead up to the scene work well... and there was a causal but learning atmosphere tended by Kevin... and his notes were specific and personal to each individual yet as an observer to scenes I learned as well. Kevin has an ability to and break down complex organic thoughts and simplify them... therefore making it easier to 'grab hold' of and 'work with' these ideas. I came out of the workshop with a better understanding of MY improv and I think this would be a great class for 6-8 weeks."
- Ben Jones
"Your workshop was one of the my top highlights from the Del Close Marathon. I found it immediately useful in my work the next night. I was more patient, more observant, and less anguish about inventing things to say than I've been in months. You opened my mind and emotions in a way I've not experienced in my improvisation training. I am telling all my friends to take this class! It will not only make you a better improviser. I dare say it will make you a better person."
- Justin Zell, Co-owner/Instructor, Steel City Improv Theater
I would definitely recommend this workshop. It's one of the few that seems to directly improve acting muscles. It strips away everything except the actors affecting each other, and gives you practice using your natural energies to inform a scene. The exercises in this class transformed the way I perform on stage for the better.
- Will Hines, The Stepfathers, UCB Theatre, Co-Host of the UCB Theatre New York Podcast
"Yes, I'd totally recommend this workshop. You don't have to think about what you should be doing or what's right for the scene, you can just do whatever impulse you have. It's quite freeing!"
- Kirk Damato,Decoster, UCB Theatre
"It lets both new and experienced improvisers hone a very particular skill -- observing and responding to your scene partner -- that is fundamental to all improv, but for whatever reason can get lost in the shuffle of daily improv classes and performance. It feels like a back-to-basics approach without being simplistic or boring for experienced improvisers."
- Silvija Ozols, The Stepfathers, UCB Theatre
"I'd absolutely recommend this workshop to a friend, and already have."
- David Siegel
"I took eight workshops during [the Del Close Marathon], and (not to disparage the other wonderful classes I took) yours was by far the most helpful to me. I get recurring notes about staying connected to scenes emotionally, and your exercises were perfect for that. The going from repetition into scenework exercise was particularly useful for me, and it completely got me out of my left brain. I would highly recommend the workshop to friends. It's unlike anything else I've taken. I felt like it broke my brain in a great way."
- Brynna Campbell
"I whole-heartedly believe that every improviser should take this workshop. I can only speak for New York, but this workshop helped maintain performers' authenticity in a scene, no matter what the scenario. That's something everyone can use."
- Cory Palmer
" Improvisers, in general, need more of this kind of training. You kept us up on our feet most of the time and your insights on acting, as well as improv, were always helpful."
- Mark Grenier, Magnet Theater
"The awareness/reminder of gut emotional reaction as a tool created opportunities in scenes the very next time I walked on stage."
- William Cybriwsky
"I enjoyed how the workshop built patiently on itself. The Meisner-ish techniques are really great for people like me who is UCB trained and always looking for game. This made me jolt out of that and be organic from start to end."
- Peter Kim, Executive Director, End Games Improv