Improv Legend Susan Messing Spends a few days with Unscripted

Susan Messing was in Nashville May 20–24. Three sold-out workshops, a podcast recording, and a sold-out headline show at EastSide Bowl.

Messing is in her 40th year as an improviser and comedian. She's an alumna of iO Theatre and Chicago's Second City Mainstage, and a founding member of Chicago's Annoyance Theatre. She's taught her curriculum at iO, iO West, The Annoyance, The Second City, and around the world, and has been an adjunct instructor at Loyola University, DePaul University's Theatre School, and The School at Steppenwolf; she currently teaches at the University of Chicago. Her television and film credits include Comedy Central's Premium Blend and NBC's Late Friday, and Blessing, her duo show with Blaine Swen, has run for years at iO. When someone with that résumé agrees to spend a few days in Nashville, it's an opportunity to bring a caliber of training and performance our community doesn't often get access to.

The Blessing Show

The week opened with a sold-out show at EastSide Bowl: Blessing, the long-running two-person show Messing and Blaine Swen have performed together at iO for years. Local TikTok star Andi Marie Tillman and improviser Kelsie Craig opened the night.

The Workshops

Messing taught three public workshops, and all three sold out: Characters, Ensemble, and one called Kaleidoscope, focused on movement and whimsy. Three different entry points into improv, three full rooms of Nashville's improv community, hungry for this level of instruction.

The Podcast

While she was here, Messing sat down with Mike Garvin to record an episode of Improv Saves! World Agrees., Unscripted's podcast. It's a chance to get her perspective on the stage and on tape so she can keep teaching people well after her visit ended.

Why It Matters

Bringing in an artist like Susan Messing costs money and coordination, and it's a deliberate investment. It raises the level of instruction available here, gives local performers and teaching artists a chance to train and open for someone at the top of the field, and it draws attention that helps make the case that Nashville can support this art form at a high level. That's the same idea behind everything Unscripted does: improv shouldn't be limited to a few cities or a few people who can already afford access to it.

This project was funded in part by the Tennessee Arts Commission.