YBY ep 305: Dylan Oakes Rohde and the surprising road to building an improv community!
This week on Yes But Why, I laughed a lot with Omaha improv leader, Dylan Oakes Rohde.
Dylan Oakes Rohde is the Founder of The Backline Comedy Theatre in Omaha, Nebraska, as well as the Founder of the Omaha Comedy Festival. Dylan has taught and performed at improv schools and festivals in over 20 major US cities and he has taught and performed in Australia, Canada, Netherlands, and Taiwan.
In our conversation, Dylan tells me about growing up a wild and mischievous kid. After a teacher helped him find direction, he got deeply involved in writing and acting.
While Dylan originally moved to Hollywood seeking writing and acting opportunities, it was work as a video editor that truly opened doors for him. After editing Matt Besser’s demo reel, Dylan was introduced to the improv scene of Los Angeles. Like so many of us, he jumped in headfirst and ended up taking classes at both UCB(LA) and iO West.
But when Dylan’s heart told him he wanted to teach, LA was already saturated with teachers. So he went back to his college town of Omaha to try and start something new there. And since then, Dylan has spent the past decade building up the Backline Comedy Theatre and the Omaha improv community.
Dylan and I make a lot of jokes and play around with lots of bits throughout. We had fun. But this episode is also chock full of good advice. We talk about dealing with rejection, finding an agent and a manager, and building an improv community.
Support Dylan Oakes Rohde by attending classes or shows at Backline Comedy Theater. Or, you can hire him to come to your town to teach a workshop!
You can also follow Dylan on on TikTok as either @wuwshow or @dr.oakes !
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(production notes: recorded zoom meeting via Rodecaster on 2/2/2022; posted on 3/7/2022)
Dylan Oakes Rohde is the Founder of The Backline Comedy Theatre in Omaha, Nebraska, as well as the Founder of the Omaha Comedy Festival. Dylan has taught and performed at improv schools and festivals in over 20 major US cities and he has taught and performed in Australia, Canada, Netherlands, and Taiwan.
Dylan and I make a lot of jokes and play around with lots of bits throughout. We had fun. But this episode is also chock full of good advice. We talk about dealing with rejection, finding an agent and a manager, and building an improv community.