Phoenix, Arizona · 30 Years of Improv
Shane Shannon
Performer. Teacher. Community builder. Author of Got Your Back: A History of Phoenix Improv and the People Who Built It.
30
Years in the Scene
Phoenix, Arizona · 30 Years of Improv
Performer. Teacher. Community builder. Author of Got Your Back: A History of Phoenix Improv and the People Who Built It.
Now Available
Phoenix improv didn't happen by accident. It was built — in borrowed rooms, late-night rehearsals, and coffee shops that let you run an extension cord to the stage.
"A scene that didn't wait for permission. People who showed up anyway. And thirty years of something that mattered, finally written down."
Got Your Back traces the full arc of Phoenix improv from its earliest roots in the early 1990s through the Coffee Talk days, the founding of the Torch Theatre, the collapse, the rebuilding, and the thriving community that exists today. It's a history of a city's creative underground — and the people who refused to let it disappear.
About Shane
Shane Shannon has been a fixture of the Phoenix improv community since 1996, when he walked into a coffee shop in Mesa and saw something he didn't have words for yet. He's been chasing that feeling ever since.
Over three decades, he has performed with Impromptu, FLD, Galapagos, and the Torch Theatre. He has taught hundreds of students across nearly two decades of workshops and classes, developed his own methodology for performer development, and helped build the community infrastructure that defines Phoenix improv today.
He is the father of Archie, for whom this book was ultimately written.
Work With Shane
An intensive performer development series focused on individual growth. Tailored coaching, specific exercises, honest feedback. No shortcuts.
One-day or multi-day workshops for improv troupes, theaters, and festivals. Shane brings thirty years of performance and teaching experience to your community.
Shane performs regularly across the Phoenix improv scene including the Collaboratory, Second Beat, and festival appearances. Check the schedule for upcoming dates.