The 2023 - 2024

IMPROV SOUP TROUP

Colleen Murphy Clifton, Director

Acting as Director since 2011, Colleen was not unfamiliar with Soup, performing as a troupe member from 2003-2007. Colleen has been an active member in the Un-Common Theatre Company since 2001 with highlights including her work onstage in Assassins (2006) and behind the scenes on the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (2010), Carrie (2015), and Heathers (2016). She received her BA in Communications at Westfield State University and her MBA from Boston College. Colleen spends her time working as a fundraiser for a private high school, volunteering for her alma mater, and tackling projects in her new house. She resides in Easton with her husband Jack.

Nathan Nelson, Assistant Director

He is a performance artist based out of Newport, RI. Originally from Portland, OR, Nathan traveled cross-country to pursue his BA in Theatre Arts at Salve Regina University. As a 2023 graduate, Nathan involved himself in all performance based arts such as improv, music, and radio. While a senior at Salve, Nathan acted out duties as club president to both Seahawk Radio and Completely Scripted Improv student clubs and would receive the Outstanding Campus Leadership Award for this accomplishment. In the Fall of 2022 Nathan played Adolf in the original devised work The Strindberg Experiment and would go on to be nominated to compete in the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF) Irene Ryan Acting Competition where he would place as a semifinalist in Region 1. Nathan has briefly been involved with television as an extra in HBO’s The Gilded Age. In addition, Nathan also works as a musician in a Newport based cover band named Motion Avenue and commits his time to work as a stagehand at the Newport Folk and Jazz Festivals on top of other local venues and events. In his spare time, you can find him at a record store or spinning some of his own from his collection!

Aaron

One random Wednesday in June 2007 Aaron was born while his mother starved and ate ice chips in labor. Once she was finally able to eat a cheeseburger, his life began. Aaron has been devoted to being in the spotlight since day one, after his twin sister came out of the womb first.  He considers playing the Young Kangaroo in his 5th grade production of “Seussical the Musical” his life’s greatest achievement. Onto a darker note, Aaron has forever suffered the effects of a Comedy Central skit made many years ago. To this day, people still mock him with the name “Ay-Ay-Ron”. Because of this, Aaron has decided to start fresh. Although no one has ever called him this in real life, the back of his T-Shirt will say “Scibs”, as a way of metaphorically (not really metaphorically though) starting fresh. In his free time, Aaron likes to stress bake, watch Netflix, hang out with his friends, and ridicule passer-byers. He thrives off of Taylor Swift and Chipotle burrito bowls.

Abby

Nobody really knows the true meaning of life, just as nobody really knows Abby’s true hair color. Is it red? Black? Blue? Purple? Blonde? There is no way to know. For now everyone will just have to make do with truly fantastic jokes. Maybe someday we will know the truth, but for now, the reality of this Easton teen remains a mystery…

Brady

Brady has always been interested in making people laugh and jumped at the opportunity to audition for the improv group Improv Soup, with the added bonus of free Soup (hopefully). In his spare time, Brady enjoys playing various stereotypical nerd games such as D&D and Minecraft. Along with this, Brady enjoys talking with friends and taking care of his pet plant Albert.

Brody

Brody has been acting out characters since he was two years old when his mother made him a homemade Buzz Lightyear jetpack and he never took it off. Since that time, he’s always had a prop, costume and the perfect line at the ready. At a young age he realized he loved the bright lights of the stage and had a talent for acting, singing and making people laugh. He has continued doing shows with multiple groups such as Un-Common Theatre, MMAS and his school’s drama club. A couple of his most favorite and suited roles have been the Cowardly Lion in the Wizard of Oz and Nicely Nicely Johnson in Guys and Dolls. He was waiting and training for the day he turned 13 and could audition for the Improv Soup Troupe.  He realized his dream when he earned a spot on the Troupe and could perform with such a great group! 

Eden

Growing up, Eden always loved the arts. She tried to be a dancer but got mad when she learned she had to wear a dress rather than dress like Darth Vader. She found theater, playing her first part as a mouse in Cinderella at age 4. Eden loved movies like Muppets Christmas Carol, Willy Wonka and StarWars, and decided she wanted to be an actor (that was after she found out that she could not be Santa for a job.) She participated in numerous plays and then found out about improv. She took an improv class and has loved it and all things comedy ever since. In her free time, she plays saxophone & DnD, reads Shakespeare and loves anything Marvel. She is so excited to be a part of Improv Soup.



Grace

COMEDY POLICE NOTICE

GRACE KIM

Wanted dead or alive for the crime of bad puns

HEIGHT: Fun sized

LAST SEEN: Improv Soup

DESCRIPTION: Last seen driving their getaway car, a blue, yellow, and red Little Tikes Cozy Coupe.

NOTES: This criminal is heavily armed with bad knock knock jokes and thirteen different variations of “why did the chicken cross the road”. Avoid mentioning soup while communicating with them, as their stock of souper pho-nomenal puns ranges in the boullions!

Hattie

Often found in or around Sharon, MA, Hettie Van Dyke is estimated to be around 5’7”. As of the 2010 census, she had an age of five, but it is estimated that through careful and strategic marketing, she has increased this number by at least ten as of 2020. Hettie resides in a cave at the foot of a small hill, where she plays solitaire and memorizes bread recipes. She currently knows at least seven. However, she guards these recipes closely, and when asked about them, she simply said “Flour. Yeast. Emotion. Interpretive Dance.” These inspirational words have made appearances from the Times Square Billboards to Saturday Night Live to a small performance art piece shut down on its first night after the entire audience fell asleep halfway through. Hettie has recently made the decision that she will share her bread recipes with the world while performing with Improv Soup. Ideally, the audience will not fall asleep as she does so.  (Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Ikey

Ikey, otherwise known as Sir Isaac Anthony Findsen Scire, was born one dandy spring morning, in the wee hours of May. His head circumstance was of epic proportions, and many legends were written about it. Being the middle child, he is well versed in boisterous voice projection and negotiating terms for everyday matters. When he isn’t making wise cracks, and eating buffalo mac and cheese, he is making other loud but enjoyable noises with his saxophone. He can often be seen doing marching formations at his high school band practice and completing a number of fabulous “pretty walks”. He looks forward to being a part of Improv Soup!

Johnny

Johnny was born on your average day in April.  He was born in a small country commonly known as the “U.S.A”.  He has been seen moving around the U.S. a lot, like how he moved from Walpole to Pennsylvania when he was 8, then from Pennsylvania to Foxboro when he was 12.  He never really showed much interest in musicals/theatre but loves any type of comedy.  So, when he saw the Improv Soup Jr. workshop, he thought “Why not?” and made one of the best choices of his life.  He then later moved on to audition for Improv Soup (after a year break with COVID) and, to his surprise, got in.  Among improv, Johnny loves to run (some say he has been running ever since his “incident” with the FBI and multiple international governments), loves to mountain/trail bike (he isn’t sure of the difference), he enjoys programming, and he also enjoys being with friends and just going with the flow.

Julia

Julia once pursued a wide range of activities. While she has always felt comfortable on a stage (having attained the highly coveted role of little bunny in the local Nutcracker pageant) she found temporary homes in gymnastics and on the soccer field. Unfortunately for Julia, she was born with the bones of a much older woman and after her third or fourth or fifth broken bone, decided to turn to the even more dangerous and cutthroat world of theater. All the while, in the distance, she heard something calling to her. The first time, it was just her dad reminding her to clean her room and the second time, it was actually her empty stomach begging for Oh Snap pickles and a Peace Tea. However, the third time she heard something calling to her, she knew that the unpredictable and rauckus sounds emanating from Foxborough must be Improv Soup. She realized at once that this could be her new home, a place filled with adventure and danger and unexpected entertainment, albeit with less broken bones and more time to eat pickles. 

Maeve

Maeve Gallagher’s first dream was to become a boxer like her favorites, Rocky Balboa, Apollo Creed, and this random statue (pictured above.) When that didn’t pan out, she instead settled on performing! She loved being on stage in her first performance at age 7, where she held a gravestone in A Christmas Carol. She once even had the opportunity to play a tree! These parts have been highlights of her performing career so far. She is excited to see if Improv Soup can compete and become a new highlight!

Phinn

Never one to pass up the opportunity to perform, Phinn has been belting tunes of triumph since a very young age, when his mother would play Hamilton in the car and say “lalala” when curse words came on. He was always Gonna be destined for the stage, and by the ripe age of 8, Phinn was ready to give theater his all. He joined Un-Common Theatre as soon as he could. He made his debut as “spoon 3” in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, JR, and followed it with Saharan wildlife, water fowl, and foul pirates, though you may remember him as zombie house staff, a reindeer wrangler, or the great chief chimney slider of the north. Being able to entertain without a script isn’t a chance he’s going to give up.

Rose

Once upon a time, in a far away forest, a baby moose named Rose was born. As she grew up, she knew that she wanted to stop the world from those dreadful automobiles. She went around the world standing in the middle of the road. She would stop these horrible creatures left and right. Until one day, she decided to follow a car. She followed it all the way to a little town. There, she found out that they were auditions for something called Improv Soup. Rose thought this must be a club full of other moose, after all, they all enjoy soup! So Rose decided to try out for this club. She was so excited when she got in, until shortly after she found out that there were no other moose in this group. These were just people who did crazy things on stage, without a plan! However, she thought that this sounded pretty cool and so Rose decided to pursue it. Now Rose the moose loves theater and intends to do it throughout the rest of her life.

Sadie

In a galaxy far far away a young jedi by the name of Sadie fought hard to defeat the evil empire. Her mission there was unsuccessful so she came back to planet earth and joined the local improv troupe, Improv Soup. She needed some comedy in her life after what she had been through. She now enjoys bringing laughter to her family and friends. In her free time she loves to take pictures and play with her dog who may or may not be an alien. 

Sammi

From a young age, Sammi realized she had special talent for withholding the truth. In other terms, she liked to lie. Her exquisite abilities led her many places, but it soon became a problem. If you asked her friends and family who Sammi was, I’m afraid you’d get many conflicting answers. Was she actually on kids’ bop? Did she seriously have 3 dogs named snap, crackle, and pop. Was she really blind in her right eye? Sammi realized it needed to end. Eventually she found coping in theatre, where she could act as other characters. It worked, but she never got the full satisfaction. Sammi had tried to correct the error of her ways, but she would always feel the urge to spice things up. So, when Sammi found out about improv, the activity solely based on making things up, she found her true calling. Now Sammi balances Improv Soup with her weekly trips to the Philippines and her family functions with Oprah, the Pope, and Batman.

Zoe

Zoe is a fairly whimsical nerd who has, many times, attempted to describe herself in one sentence and failed miserably. This disappoints her a great deal given that she is a writer. When not disappointing herself, Zoe often partakes in activities such as: 

– screaming at the night sky 

– cackling to herself for reasons indiscernible to observers

– drawing on her iPad

and, most commonly, playing games that are best described as “utopian,” “beautiful,” and “unrealistic.” If you see a Zoe that is not wearing headphones, congratulate yourself. You have spotted something very rare indeed. She was raised in the small town of Night Vale, where it was impressed upon her that not wearing headphones may cause her imminent death. Other things she learned to do in Night Vale include playing Dungeons & Dragons, yearning deeply for pet rats which are forbidden to her, and reading the palms of humanoids (though not bugbears. She apologizes in advance.) 

Zoe joined Improv Soup as part of an undercover operation which she hopes will reveal to her the secrets of subliminal messaging in the human mind. Stargazing has failed her due to the Holistic approach she takes in her life. She would like to thank her parents, her Very Furry Dogs and the faceless old woman who secretly lives in her home, for believing in her, and also for helping her hang origami butterflies from the ceiling of her bedroom.