Teams
First Saturday
Zombie Gourmet
Cast: Eric Storie, Jackie Rich, and Liz Hutchman
Zombie Gourmet dishes up an organic buffet of brainy bits, relying on flexibility, support, high energy and feeding off of each other to shape their shows.
Composed of stylistically diverse and dynamic troupe members, well seasoned like hand-me-down cast iron, ZG marches ceaselessly toward the lights in their ravenous pursuit of comedy.
Long form full of bizarre worlds, pulsating organs, and lightly braised transitions, the Zombie Gourmet format explores the soft, fleshy, delicious parts of improv.
Plunk!
Cast: Jackie Rich, Mike Groth, Shane Shannon, and Tara Jensen
Plunk! is a Second Beat born and bred improv team featuring 100% Second Beat Theater training graduates. Jumping onto the scene, Plunk!’s fun and high energy show combines memorable characters in unusual circumstances with a splash of refreshing insanity.
Second Saturday
Hearts on Fire
Cast: Billy Brandes, Brady Ireland, Clayton Caufman, Jeremy Schwartz, Kevin Slocum, Madilyn Kuhn, and Stewart Gross
Google: What improv team takes audiences down a fast-paced, no holds barred, internet rabbit hole of scenes, characters and relationships all inspired by search questions? One result found: Hearts on Fire.
Salmon Shane
Cast: Sam Haldiman and Shane Shannon
These two have been performing together for more than seven years. Their improv style is based heavily on the straight/absurd dynamic in the most unconventional way. They are always pushing the envelope on grounding their characters' worlds with the most ridiculous points of view.
Third Saturday
Birds and Broads
Cast: Jacque Arend and Liz Hutchman
Starting as a one-night-only performance, Birds & Broads have now been performing together for four years. They focus on a single location scene, creating a strong relationship at the top after which they may or may not explore the other rich characters who inhabit that space. Their shows bounce from being utterly hilarious to edge-of-your-seat engaging.
RPM
Cast: James Hoffmaster, Michael Ziman, and Sam Haldiman
RPM started with the three of them talking each week in the parking lot after classes at Second Beat. The connection they were developing quickly led them to decide a team must be formed. Their speed and energy keeps this well-oiled machine running in the red. One thing is for sure: This engine will never overheat and the audience will want to come back for a test drive every month.
Fourth Saturday
NewHeart
Cast: Bryan Gerdes, Clifton Gray, Laurie Shellenbarger, and Rachel Tullio
From audience suggestions, NewHeart builds scenes with strong characters and points of view, allowing relationships to drive the discovery of concepts and connections throughout each show.
From the absurd and playful, to the real and ridiculous, shows often tackle complex themes such as renewal, loss, hope, stagnation, death and other hilarious tragedies that define the human spirit. NewHeart strives to bring love, honesty, and passion to the world, one set at a time.
Emeny
Cast: Eric Storie and Michael Ziman
Emeny is M (Michael Ziman) and E (Eric Storie). They weave their geeky love of pop culture, sports, and life’s oddities into delightful characters and scenes that are often musings on the minutiae of their relationships. Emeny brings over a decade’s worth of improv and entertainment experience to the Second Beat stage, and we hope you can tell with every show.
