Recently we got a chance to catch up with improv phenom and recent Chicago transplant Amanda Rountree. We first were introduced to Amanda during the second cycle of Impress These Apes this past August, and fell in love immediately with her quirky, smart, and adorable demeanor. We hope she's having a great time in Chicago and taking everything she can from this fair city. We know it's better because she's here now!

You came to Chicago from Seattle in June and jumped directly into cycle two of Impress These Apes. Did you know anything about the show before you auditioned? Can you reflect some on that experience, as both an improvisor and a new Chicagoan?

I had never heard of the show until a friend of mine here told me about the auditions. She thought it might be something I'd like, and she was right! I'm not even sure I had fully grasped what it was I had gotten myself into until the first performance. Everything seemed to be happening so fast. Looking back, I think I was just so overwhelmed and over-stimulated from having just moved across the country. It was wonderfully surreal to be so quickly surrounded by lots of creative people, doing such a weird, fun show. There were even a few times where I'd be out on the stage, watching the intro and honestly thinking, "Wow. I live in Chicago now. I'm watching three dudes in ape-masks dance. How did this all happen?"

How has your time in Chicago been enhanced by your past work with Unexpected Productions and Playback Theater Northwest in Seattle? Can you speak briefly about your work in those places?

My work and study with both UP and PTN were so rich. Those companies (and the people) affected not just who I am as a performer, a teacher, and a director, but also as a person. I'm very grateful to have learned from and worked with UP's Director, Randy Dixon. He was very good about having us work with many schools of improv -- not just Spolin, Close, and Johnstone -- but even integrating philosophies and elements of dance, performance art, music, and so on into our work. My time with Playback really instilled in me the passion I have for utilizing personal story in performance. So much of what I learned, developed, and practiced with my Playback company (and others as far away as Japan) has become infused in my philosophy of improv and theatre as a whole.

Speaking of, why DID you move to Chicago? what have you been doing (both comically and personally) in the last 6-7 months?

I was really very happy in Seattle. But there was a part of me that knew I needed to be in a bigger city to grow. Chicago just seemed right.

Ever since I arrived, I feel like I've been drunk on all of the opportunities here. I hadn't yet returned my moving truck when I auditioned for an improv team at the Playground (Damascus Steel). It was so great to get with those fun people right away. While Impress These Apes was going on, I was also doing solo-pieces in Beast Women, an all-female performance cabaret. I've been interning and taking classes at both iO and Second City. I'm also teaching and directing around town. It's funny. Answering this question makes me realize how busy I've been since I moved here. Usually I'm thinking, "Ack! There's so much more I want to do!"
Chicago is great. I love the people here; everyone is so friendly! I have met so many amazing people. I'm very grateful for the friends I'm making here. Knowing that it took coming out here to meet them reminds me that moving to Chicago was the right decision. I'm not above validation.
I feel like I've only seen a fraction of the city. I still haven't seen most of the museums. Getting lost is a skill I've been honing. I've gotten really good at it. Having the water on the east still kind of messes with my head sometimes.

You've traveled pretty extensively with UP, including overseas. Where have you been and what were the shows like? Can you tell us a story about your favorite and least favorite experiences during your travels?

I was really fortunate to have been on three different European tours with UP. We performed many different long-form improv shows (with the occasional short-form show) in cities in Germany, Austria, Slovenia, and Switzerland. We did a show outside of Bern (southwest of Zurich) that was in the most amazing space. It was this tiny theatre inside a fat, round tower. The building was easily over 500 years old and was absolutely beautiful. A room upstairs served as our greenroom. To get down to the stage, we had to climb down a stone, spiral, candlelit staircase. I remember we performed the long-form "Thread" there. It was a lovely show and the audience received us with such warmth. Overall, European audiences are extremely generous with their applause. It becomes commonplace to do one or two encores for every show! In Gottingen, our audience members were provided with roses and sponges. If they liked something they saw, they'd throw a rose on stage. If they didn't like something, they'd throw a sponge. After one of our shows in Vienna, an audience member approached us and said she was so touched during the last scene that she cried. It's a lovely thing to have people laugh and cry in the same show.

If I had to name something, I suppose my least favorite things were maybe sometimes sharing a room with a snorer or the occasional lack of amazing vegan options. But even then, I was touring around Europe, so life was still pretty frickin' awesome.

You're also teaching improv courses. What's this all about? How's it going so far?

I love teaching improv -- absolutely love it! I also teach straight-up acting classes sometimes. (One of my favorites is teaching Shakespeare to teens). I started teaching back in 1998. I was simultaneously drawn to it and a bit scared of it. I think I was worried that I wasn't doing it right because I always felt like I was learning more from my students than they were from me. It seemed so unfair -- like I was cheating or something. Definitely, one of my favorite bits about teaching is when I'm witnessing a person "getting it." It's also cool to create the space for them to do something awesome and then point it out to them: "Did you see that cool thing that happened in that scene?! You just did that!" I was teaching quite a bit in Seattle, so it's really nice to be doing more and more of it here. I've been teaching through a couple of theaters in the area, but have recently started offering classes/workshops on my own. One of my favorite workshops to teach to experienced improvisors is, "Keepin' It Real," a class on using one's own truths to create more sincere and dynamic scenes. Our own lives and stories are so rich. Why not use 'em? Anyhoodle, I'm teaching that workshop on February 2nd. Can I plug that here? If I can, I'll just say that interested folks can email me at playback_amanda@yahoo.com. Thanks!

So, a ZOMBIE eh??? Tell us about it!!!

Oh, wow! You are very good at research! That was a music video for a local band in Seattle. It was a really fun shoot. I actually played another zombie in a short film for the same production company.

I can play the living -- but not in the morning.

What can audiences expect from the Cornservatory shows on January 19 and February 2?

My piece is part of a new variety show called, "The Final Countdown" hosted by the Accountants of Homeland Security. On 1/19 and 2/2, I'll be performing my original scene, "Amanda & Chicago," with the audience. I ask for volunteers. (Don't worry. I don't force anyone to do a scene with me. Although if you don't want to, I might take it personally). On February 9, I'll be there to perform a fully improvised soliloquy in the style of Shakespeare. All of the shows start at 11 p.m.

Photos, from top to bottom: Amanda Rountree, ganked from her MySpace page.
Amanda doing a scene with Ryan Stiles.
The Playground team, Damascus Steel.
Production still from "Terry", a "zombie love story set to music".

--Kristy Mangel