Tell Us about:
Your show at Leicester comedy show :
It’s a comedy cabaret all about becoming a new mother, with a big improvised song as one of the main numbers!
Your favourite suggestion you have been given?
When I was working at Boom Chicago improv theatre, we were doing our late-night Saturday show and one audience member was clearly hammered. Every time we asked for a suggestion, he screamed ‘Craig David!’
It was actually super annoying… but when I read this question it was the first suggestion that came to my mind. So I clearly enjoy it in hindsight.
Your favourite venue to perform at:
That big stage at Boom Chicago has a special place in my heart. You often perform improv in rooms above pubs to a small and intimate group of people, but that stage was a 300-seater and we had head mics (imagine how fancy?!) I was a main stage cast member at the theatre from 2018-2020 but we all went back for the 30th anniversary recently and I remembered how much I had loved performing on that stage every night… there’s nothing quite like the buzz of being in an air balloon singing a song about how you became a banjo player hand in hand with an awesome cast mate and hearing the response echo off a big tall roof. And then riding a bike home afterwards and bumping into a rowdy English hen do coming to watch the all-male strip show in the room next door. Ah, that was Amsterdam!
Improv hero:
Cené Hale! In improv, having teammates you love is everything.
Dream venue to play at:
I’d love to perform with the Comedy Store Players, but I don’t think I know any of them… someone introduce me?! I’ll bring biscuits.
Describe the feeling you get when you walk on stage to do a show:
It’s exhilarating but, in a way, not that scary, because you have no idea what’s going to happen. When you know what’s going to happen, you know how something is supposed to go. But with improv, it can end up being anything! That’s part of the magic.
When I sing my improvised song in Plus One… I have no idea what the words are going to be. That keeps it exciting night after night.
The hardest improv suggestion to perform and why:
Don’t be the person in the audience who suggests ‘dildo.’ Trust me. You think you’re the only one, but for some reason… Every single person wants to shout ‘dildo.’ We’re a dildo nation.
Essential items you always take with you to a show?
Water! And comfortable shoes. (Hello, rock star!)
Describe your fans in three words:
Musical improv fans are smart, fun-loving and ready-for-anything! (Sorry I cheated and used hyphens).
What we can look forward to from you this year:
My show Plus One is on at the Leicester Comedy Festival, 1pm on 22nd Feb. Read more about the show here. You can also find my songs and more on my website!
Then in the summer I am heading to the Toronto Fringe with the show! Tell all your Canadian relatives. And hope to see YOU at a show soon
Thank you again for all your support in reading and engaging with the website.
If you want to help support the website then you can! You can buy Holly a cup of tea (and a biscuit!)
Categories: Comedy, Improv, Interview, Music, Today's Featured Improv Act

