Daily Inspiration: Meet Joseph Limbaugh

Today we’d like to introduce you to Joseph Limbaugh.

Hi Joseph, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
My love of improv is a direct result of my exposure to the teachings and work of Keith Johnstone. As a new improviser in my 20’s I got the opportunity to travel to Loose Moose theatre in Calgary, Alberta and work with Johnstone at the week long improv intensive he would run yearly.

A lot of improvisers have been influenced by Keith and speak about aspects of his work, but not everyone embraces the heart of Keith’s teaching, storytelling. Johnstone had a lifelong goal of telling stories with improvisational theatre that were not just funny, but also thrilling, terrifying, and moving. I was deeply influenced by his desire to tell these sorts of stories.

Later when I graduated from university, I got the opportunity to found a brand new theatre in Atlanta, Georgia with several other young people. We started Dad’s Garage Theatre, now an improv landmark and longstanding Atlanta institution. I was the improv director at Dad’s for the first 5 years and we focused on being deeply aligned with Johnstone’s techniques. We brought Keith down to teach a workshop and also Dennis Cahill, the AD of Loose Moose. We performed Theatresports, Micetro, and other formats created by Johnstone. Dad’s Garage still follows these guiding lights 30 years later.

Eventually I felt I needed to move to LA if I truly wanted a career in film and television and in 1999 I moved across the country. I performed and directed at several different improv venues and companies including LA Theatresports, The Empty Stage, Improv Olympic, and ACME. I was hired to be the improv director at ACME and this is where I met Brian Breiter. I taught him the theories of improvI had learned from Johnstone and combined with his own lifelong improv experience we began teaching these techniques to lawyers, eventually forming Improv for Trial. We are working on a book for lawyers using these skills.

I still teach, direct, and perform improvisational theatre regularly, usually at Outside In Theatre in Highland Park. You can see me there in such shows as Fantastic Tales, Return of Improvised Monster Movie, Austensibly Jane and None Act Play. My love of Johnstone’s work has only deepened with time and I look forward to sharing this passion with as many people as possible.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
There are always challenges, and I think anyone seeking a living through artistic expression will have a bumpy road. Moving to LA was a difficult decision since when I did move, things at Dad’s were beginning to really take off, but I very much wanted to work in film and television and there were limited opportunities to do that in Atlanta at the time. Moving across the country is always hard and not long after I first moved to LA, my father passed, this was unexpected and he was quite young – it was devastating.

I did have some arguably amazing success by booking speaking roles on That 70’s Show, Scrubs, and Curb Your Enthusiasm, as well as several other shows and commercials, however the work was too intermittent to sustain an acting career. Fortunately I still had the opportunity to teach, which kept me from starving.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
As I mentioned earlier, I am one of the few improv teachers who has a wealth of direct experience learning from Keith Johnstone and passing on his ideas by using many of his teaching methods. From working with Brian Breiter I have had the opportunity to teach these techniques to high end professionals, not just lawyers, and I have adapted his work to these students. Keith’s work is not just about making people laugh, in fact that is an after thought in much of his work, it’s about understanding other people and having a deep connection with them. He also wanted to revitalize his students’ creativity, something he believed most people lost as they got older, and his insight into understanding what creativity is and how to access it even as an adult is life changing.

What were you like growing up?
I was always a very curious child, and that hasn’t changed. I began reading at a young age and my love of words has not abated so far. I also had a diversity of interests and had a hard time focusing on one particular area of learning or discovery. Some formative things I did in my younger years: I wrote plays for my schoolmates to perform, I built a haunted house in the gymnasium at my middle school, I wrote video games as a hobby, as well as stories and poetry.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://improvfortrial.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/improvfortrial
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ImprovForTrial
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/improv-for-trial/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/joseph-limbaugh-82165946/
• Twitter: https://bsky.app/profile/overdroid.bsky.social
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qgyeGthhBE
• Other: https://www.josephlimbaugh.com