Yvette loves to make people laugh! She's been with the Bovine Metropolis Theater since 2005 (Class #29) and has written and performed in 8 ACME sketch comedy shows. She just finished performing in "Biography" at the Bovine and is also a player there in "On the Spot" and the "Improv Royale" long form house team MooCrew. She also performs in various other improv groups around Denver and was in the Final 4 in "Denver's Next Improv Star". Yvette is also a teacher at the Bovine. Outside of the theater, you can catch her as Tizzy on The Dom and Jane Morning Show on MIX 100!How were you first introduced to improvisation?
I’m from the Chicagoland area. I always watched “Saturday Night Live” with my family, and it became a tradition I especially always looked forward to. Once my mom saw how much I loved the show, she told me that a lot of the cast members came from The Second City in Chicago. She talked about how she’d seen shows there, and when I was old enough, I went with my parents to see as many shows there as possible before leaving for college at CU-Boulder. I was immediately hooked after seeing live shows.
After 3 years of college, I simply did a Google search! I had always wanted to try it, so when I was visiting back home in IL in the summer of 2005, I just looked up Denver improv classes. The Bovine Metropolis Theater’s site was first, so I clicked on that. I read about the theater and the program and was sold! I signed up for the next Level 1, and the rest is history. I’m a proud graduate of Bovine Class #29!
Last year, you performed in the Bovine's production of Denver's Next Improv Star. What did you take away from that experience?
That show was a crazy fun experience! The biggest thing I took away from that show was to be a confident player. Own what you can bring to the stage. Know your strengths and work on your weaknesses. The constructive criticism from the judges helped me with all of these, making me a better player at the end. I’m so happy I made it to the final 4!
You appear on the Dom and Jane show each morning on MIX 100. How has your improvisation training prepared you for being on the air every day?
My improv training is what got me my job, so it plays a huge role every day. We don’t script our show. We’ll brainstorm topics based off things going on in our lives, quirky stories we find in the news, listener e-mails, and other various sources. If someone comes up with a good topic, we’ll barely talk about it to keep it fresh for the next day’s show. Listening and thinking quick on my feet helps me so much with my job, and also being funny! It’s an entertainment show after all, so Tizzy has to be on her game every morning.
You perform on the Bovine long form team Moo Crew and have also done short form for the show "On the Spot". Does your style of play differ depending on the form?
Most definitely. When people ask me which form I like better, I can never pick. I love them both so much! When I perform long form with MooCrew, I really concentrate on not rushing scenes but also maintaining energy on stage. I love that I can develop strong characters with a lot of background and have nice relationships with others. With short form, high energy is a must, which is something I’m known for. I have to think super quickly on my feet, especially with pun games, but I love that challenge. An “On the Spot” show can have 20+ games, so throughout the performance I’m a lot of different characters, whereas with long form I may only be a few in one set. When writing for sketch shows, I like getting inspiration from long form scenes rather than short form. However short form moments can inspire sketch blackouts. Pretty much I feel more “BAM!” moments in short form and “yesssssss” moments in long form.
You happen to be one of many "improv couples" in Denver. What benefits are there to having a partner that also improvises?
I turn to my boyfriend (Dave Karasik) for guidance and tips, and I absolutely love performing with him. Since we’ve been together 2 ½ years and have been performing together for even longer, I have fantastic group mind moments with him. I completely trust him on stage, plus it’s fun to mess with each other too. We’re very supportive of each other both on and off stage. Being supportive is one of the best qualities to have in an improviser and in a significant other. Our schedules can get a bit crazy, but since we’re both actively involved in the improv community, we understand the late night commitments and don’t give each other a hard time when we don’t get a lot of time to ourselves. I love that we have the same passion – improv!
