I first met the dynamic Marian Rich at a Global Play Brigade event and later at an East Side Institute meeting. Marian, a New York City native, shared her journey from growing up in Manhattan in the 1960s to becoming a political activist and theater artist. Her father, a blacklisted character actor during the McCarthy era, influenced her early interest in theater. Marian's involvement with the East Side Institute and the Global Play Brigade highlights her work in using improv and theater for social change. She discussed her transition from acting to art due to chronic pain and her role in creating mental health workshops in Harlem. Marian emphasized the importance of play and creativity in overcoming life's challenges.
Marian co-leads a monthly Creative Playground -https://www.wemanitycoaching.com/creative-playground
- with her colleague Aurelie Harp. Marian and Aurelie also lead a weekly in-person coaching group in NYC at https://www.wemanitycoaching.com/inperson-group
You can learn more about Marian and her work at:
https://www.marianrich.com
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I first met the dynamic Marian Rich at a Global Play Brigade event and later at an East Side Institute meeting. Marian, a New York City native, shared her journey from growing up in Manhattan in the 1960s to becoming a political activist and theater artist. Her father, a blacklisted character actor during the McCarthy era, influenced her early interest in theater. Marian's involvement with the East Side Institute and the Global Play Brigade highlights her work in using improv and theater for social change. She discussed her transition from acting to art due to chronic pain and her role in creating mental health workshops in Harlem. Marian emphasized the importance of play and creativity in overcoming life's challenges.
Marian co-leads a monthly Creative Playground -https://www.wemanitycoaching.com/creative-playground
- with her colleague Aurelie Harp. Marian and Aurelie also lead a weekly in-person coaching group in NYC at https://www.wemanitycoaching.com/inperson-group
You can learn more about Marian and her work at:
https://www.marianrich.com
Diana Brown - Improviser, Actor, Writer and so much more!
Improv Interviews
40 minutes 16 seconds
5 months ago
Diana Brown - Improviser, Actor, Writer and so much more!
Meet my amazing friend, Diana Brown. I've taken several Improvised Shakespeareworkshops with Diana and she is a real gem!
We had so much to talk about that this is Part !
Diana is an improv artist, teaching artist, actor, producer, director and voiceover talent. She was voted Most Valuable Mentor and Teacher at the San Francisco Improv Festival. Diana was named as one of The Improv Boosts 2025 Sudden Impact Teachers. She leads the improv program at Berkeley Repertory Theatre’s School of Theatre. Diana is an instructor, producer and a member of the leadership team with Leela Improv Theatre in San Francisco. She presents the improvised Shakespeare program at All Out Comedy Theatre, is a guest teacher with BATS (Bay Area Theatre Sports) and teaches with Greater Than The Sum.
Diana enjoys helping improv artists find and amplify their unique gifts! She genuinely believes everyone is infinitely fascinating and endeavors to instill that belief in her students. She believes the truth is the most compelling thing we can offer up on the stage and encourages her students to bring their truth to their characters whether they’re naturalistic or fantastical.
She’s presented Improv workshops, intensives and “workshop to show” experiences at SAVI Fest, Northwest Improv Fest, Improv Fest Ireland, Belfast Improv Fest, Queen City and Comedy Experience, Uptown Improv Festival, Vancouver Improv Festival, Tucson Comedy Arts Festival, Ocean State Improv Festival, Gather Spring Improv Retreat, Cornerstone Improv, O-Town Improv festival, Countdown Improv Festival, Camp Improv Utopia West, Experience, IMPRIDE, Unscrewed Theatre, 2nd Best Comedy Fest, Denver Improv Festival, Unscrewed Theater in Tucson, AZ, All Out Comedy Theater in Oakland, CA, Sealevel, San Francisco, CA, Phoenix Theater, San Francisco, CA.
Diana plays in the Shakespeare inspired, Gamesome Frolic. She’s half of the duo Bingewatch, plays in the Tennessee Williams inspired duo Fleeting Reminiscence, the trios POPTOP, Slumber Party, the duos Horrible People, DJ, Secret Lives of Villains, Salt and Pepper, Davenport & Brown, and the Twilight Zone inspired ensemble But of Mind.
Diana appeared as a guest artist with BATS Improv in San Francisco and is a member of the acting pool with the San Francisco sketch comedy company Killing My Lobster. She has appeared at Impro Amsterdam, the Liverpool Improv Festival in Mark Smith’s Taxi Tales, the Vancouver Improv Festival, Uptown Improv Festival, Improv Fest Ireland, Gather Spring Improv Retreat, Rise Comedy Fest, SF Sketchfest, The Queen City Comedy Experience, San Francisco Improv Fest, Improvaganza Hawaii Festival of Improv, San Diego Improv Fest, O-Town Improv Fest, New York Improv Festival. Vintage Improv Fest, 2nd Best Comedy Fest, New Orleans Improv Fest, Twin Cities Improv Fest, Alaska State Improv Fest, Tucson Comedy Arts Fest and others. Diana also performs in scripted theater productions including Playground Solo Fest 2025 and at theaters and theatre festivals around the country.
You can reach Diana at:
Check out Bingewatch Improv my duo with Dan Wilson:
https://www.contemporarytheatercompany.com/ocean-state-improv-festival
Or her website at:
https://www.dianalynnbrown.com
Improv Interviews
I first met the dynamic Marian Rich at a Global Play Brigade event and later at an East Side Institute meeting. Marian, a New York City native, shared her journey from growing up in Manhattan in the 1960s to becoming a political activist and theater artist. Her father, a blacklisted character actor during the McCarthy era, influenced her early interest in theater. Marian's involvement with the East Side Institute and the Global Play Brigade highlights her work in using improv and theater for social change. She discussed her transition from acting to art due to chronic pain and her role in creating mental health workshops in Harlem. Marian emphasized the importance of play and creativity in overcoming life's challenges.
Marian co-leads a monthly Creative Playground -https://www.wemanitycoaching.com/creative-playground
- with her colleague Aurelie Harp. Marian and Aurelie also lead a weekly in-person coaching group in NYC at https://www.wemanitycoaching.com/inperson-group
You can learn more about Marian and her work at:
https://www.marianrich.com
