The EDGE Christmas Carol
The EDGE Christmas Carol
An Improvised and raucous Christmas Carol with The EDGE Improv
Tune in for The EDGE and their Island-famous improvisation of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.” The EDGE delivers imagination on demand, and while the story may not take place in Victorian London and it may not include all the characters you remember, it might make you scratch your head: “Just how does this relate to the holiday classic?!” Sure, this podcast episode will likely feature Scrooge, Marley, Bob Cratchit, Tiny Tim, and several ghosts, but probably not the way you remember them.
The troupe’s riotous antics have inspired rave reviews from shrewd onlookers since the dawn of time. As audience member David R. said, “A performance by The EDGE is like sunlit skies, a giant hug, your favorite dessert, a massage, or anything you love – all wrapped up into a laugh-filled bundle of bliss.”
This episode features Chris Soldevilla, Bhama Roget, Ken Ballinger, Susan MacPherson, Matty Whitman, Todd Erler, Andrew Shields, and John Ellis.
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The Bainbridge Pod Accomplice is a free podcast featuring a series of plays starring your favorite local performers and directors.
The Bainbridge Pod Accomplice team
Audio Engineer - Matt Hadlock, Creative Coordinator - Miranda Feldtman, Production Manager - Deirdre Hadlock, Producer - Liz Ellis, Director of Operations - Siobhan Maguire, Talk-Back Producer & Host - Matt Longmire, BPA Executive Director - Dominique Cantwell, BPA Public Relations Director - Sally Jo Martine
Podcast Theme Music
Our theme music “Swing for Mike” is written and performed by Ranger and the “Re-Arrangers.” Find out more about the band at www.RangerSwings.com.
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MEET THE TROUPE MEMBERS
CHRIS SOLDEVILLA
Chris has done Improv in Boston, L.A. as well as here on Bainbridge and teaches improvisors young and old at his acting/improv workshop The Studio Bainbridge. He has appeared on screens big and small and locally in BPA’s productions of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Twelve Angry Men, True West, and The Tempest. He got acclaim for his roles in Swinging Hammer’s American Buffalo and Glengarry Glen Ross. Chris approaches life like he does improv: he makes it up on the spot…and asks complete strangers for suggestions. Online at www.thestudiobainbridge.com.
BHAMA ROGET
Bhama started doing Improv at age 16 when she joined the Improv Troupe at Booker T Washington School of the Arts in Dallas, TX. She moved to Seattle in 1997, and joined BPA’s own troupe, The EDGE in 1999. In addition to Improv, Bhama has been seen in many local and regional theatre productions, on the hit web shows Cookus Interruptus (along with fellow Edgers Cynthia Lair and Frank Buxton) and WRECKED, for which she received an Indie Series Award for Best Actress in a Comedy. In Los Angeles, Bhama has performed at the Hollywood Improv, MBar, and El Cid, as well as appearing in an episode of Grey’s Anatomy. Bhama now splits her time between Seattle and Los Angeles, where she can been seen around town doing Standup Comedy.
KEN BALLENGER
Ken has been performing in the Seattle area for over 30 years. You may have seen him on stage, in commercials, and if you were alert at a few low budget movies, you may have spotted him. He is one of the founding members of The EDGE. In addition to performing he has taught workshops, practices karate, and, now retired, is enjoying life and carving things with a chain saw.
SUSAN MACPHERSON
Susan started taking Improv classes in the early 1980's as a way to bypass the “Seattle Freeze” (the phenomenon where it is very hard to make friends when new to the city). She improvized her way right past that and went on the be one of the first founding women in Seattle TheatreSports as well as performing with None of The Above, Seattle Improv, and Unexpected Productions for many years before joining The EDGE. For money, she has managed retail stores, had her own line of jewelry for 10 years at Pike Market, been a breakfast chef at an all-treehouse resort owned by the Treehouse Master (Pete Nelson), and finally settled on work she absolutely loves for the last 18 years helping new families as a Postpartum Doula and Certified Baby Sleep Consultant. (Yes, she can get babies to sleep.) Susan is the proud mother of Geo- scientist, Carson, who is going for her Ph.D. in Geo-Hazard Mitigation. In Susan’s non-existent spare time, she can be seen camping in “Primrose”, her 1970-vintage, British caravan.
MATTY WHITMAN
A Seattle native, Matty has been performing on stage and doing Improv for over 28 years. He had the pleasure of working with Dina Martina in many of her shows at the ReBar, and other shows there too, including Pirates of Lesbos and Deflowered in the Attic. He was also a member of Seattle’s Annex Theater (The Women) and worked with Alice B Theatre (The Holiday Survival Game Show). He’s been with The EDGE since the year TWO, and offers up the most outlandish characters and situations to our proceedings, because he is ODD! Matty is also a voiceover talent and has done many character voices for video games. Matty works at the Lake Burien campus of Navos in early childhood development, and says, “I get work with kids all day. I get to pick up Legos, print out coloring pages, and basically do improv with them. Really!? It’s kind of a dream job.” Matty would like to dedicate this show to his mom, Ann Whitman, who is turning 92 this year. She is a true poet in her own writings, and taught Matty to always be creative. “Thanks Mom! Ok, let’s make up something weird!”
TODD ERLER
Todd is very lucky. He had the good fortune of being trained in the art of improv in the early nineties by some of the Chicagoans who were pioneers in that field. Since then Todd has led two and a half improv groups, taught improv classes, worked with Unexpected Productions in Seattle and now gets to perform with The EDGE. Todd teaches in the amazing Odyssey program for the Bainbridge Island School District and plays Irish pub tunes locally as one half of the duo Rye and Barley. Sometimes Todd is cast in shows at BPA or with Island Theater's library plays. He even gets to direct a show every now and then. At one time Todd was the artistic director of the Jewel Box Theater in Poulsbo and wrote an improv blog called “Improvmantra,” but now he enjoys spending the bulk of his non-working time being Samantha's dad. He is also blessed with an amazing and supportive wife, Alice, whose support allows him to be able to do all these fun and creative things.
ANDREW SHIELDS
Andrew has been called “a musical genius,” “phenomenal,” “immensely talented,” and “an unending source of irritation.” During his Wonder Bread years Andrew was fortunate to study piano under someone who studied under someone who studied under Liszt who studied under Beethoven who studied under Mozart. Andrew has a BA in Music from Stanford, where he won the Undergraduate Prize in Composition. More recently, he wrote the music, lyrics, and script for the original Reefer Madness: The Musical, as well as music, lyrics, and (with fellow EDGE member John Ellis) script for the musical Harry Tracy: A Bainbridge Bandit. He has music-directed shows at BPA, ACT, Village Theater, Tacoma Actors’ Guild, the Bathhouse Theater, and Second Story Repertory, among others, and played Harold Hill in The Music Man and Tito Merelli in Lend Me a Tenor at BPA. In his spare time Andrew practices medicine and spends time with his phenomenal wife and two immensely talented daughters.
JOHN KENYON ELLIS
John is happy to be back for season 24 of The EDGE. “Thanks Bainbridge for supporting The EDGE for all these years!!” Besides Improv, John has appeared on this stage in Noises Off, Annie, Born Yesterday, Guys and Dolls, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, As You Like It, ‘Art’ and Sylvia. He appeared as Falstaff in Merry Wives at Bloedel, and he most recently played a dream role as Andrey Botvinnick in InD’s production of Walk in the Woods. John was awarded the Island Treasure in 2018 for his years in The EDGE and on stage. “Miss you Frank! ONWARD!”
Episode Premieres
December 4, 2020
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