Miles Stroth
Encyclopedia
Miles Stroth is an American actor, comedian, and teacher. He is best known for his work with the improvisational theatre, Improv Olympic and Del Close
and for creating the improvisational form "The Deconstruction."
, a suburb of Chicago, where he played high school basketball.
Theater in Chicago. Then, in 1991, Miles began studying long form improvisation with Del Close
and Charna Halpern
at the then called Improv Olympic, now IO in Chicago. Miles has been associated with the IO, teaching, performing, directing, ever since.
Miles was a member of the seminal improv team The Family, whose members included Adam McKay
, Matt Besser
, Ian Roberts
, Neil Flynn
and Ali Faranahkian. The Family, directed by Del Close, created and introduced into the improv world "The Deconstruction" and "The Movie" forms. Miles had the privilege of working with the late Del Close for eight years. Del saw the improv community as a tribe with himself as the "Mojo Man" and referred to Miles as his "Warchief".
Miles has performed in well over 1000 long-form shows and has been created or had a hand in creating many of the long-forms that play around the country today. Among them are "The Armando", "The Deconstruction", "The Movie", "The Lerand" (or "La Ronde"), and Two-Person Long-Form. Among the improv shows he has been a part of include: Three Mad Rituals, Dynamite Fun Nest, The Armando Diaz Theatrical Experience Movement and Hootenanny, Zumpf, ASSSSCAT, Heather and Miles, English Speaking Moose and Mud.
Theatrical credits include: The Eight Reindeer Monologues, Hamlet! The Musical, and Little with The Actors' Gang
in Los Angeles. Miles was the national touring alternate for Robert Dubac’s one man show, The Male Intellect: an Oxymoron. Miles has also appeared on Comedy Central’s Crossballs
and Reno 911!
.
Currently, he performs weekly at I.O. West
and the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre
in Los Angeles and teaches The Miles Stroth Workshop throughout the year.
Del Close
Del Close was an actor, improviser, writer, and teacher. Considered one of the premier influences on modern improvisational theater, Close had a prolific career, appearing in a number of films and television shows...
and for creating the improvisational form "The Deconstruction."
Early life
Miles Stroth was born in Oak Park, IllinoisOak Park, Illinois
Oak Park, Illinois is a suburb bordering the west side of the city of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is the twenty-fifth largest municipality in Illinois. Oak Park has easy access to downtown Chicago due to public transportation such as the Chicago 'L' Blue and Green lines,...
, a suburb of Chicago, where he played high school basketball.
Career
Miles began his study of improvisation in the Fall of 1989, auditioning for, and being accepted by the famed Second CitySecond City
Second City or The Second City may refer to:* The second largest city in a country. See: List of largest cities and second largest cities by country...
Theater in Chicago. Then, in 1991, Miles began studying long form improvisation with Del Close
Del Close
Del Close was an actor, improviser, writer, and teacher. Considered one of the premier influences on modern improvisational theater, Close had a prolific career, appearing in a number of films and television shows...
and Charna Halpern
Charna Halpern
Charna Halpern is a co-founder of the ImprovOlympic, now known as The iO. She was born and raised on the North Side of Chicago. In 1984, with partner Del Close, she began teaching The Harold to many students in the Chicago theatre community. She and Close co-authored the book Truth in Comedy: The...
at the then called Improv Olympic, now IO in Chicago. Miles has been associated with the IO, teaching, performing, directing, ever since.
Miles was a member of the seminal improv team The Family, whose members included Adam McKay
Adam McKay
Adam McKay is an American screenwriter, director, comedian, and actor. He is most famous for his partnership with comedian Will Ferrell, with whom he co-wrote the films Anchorman, Talladega Nights, and The Other Guys....
, Matt Besser
Matt Besser
Matthew Gregory "Matt" Besser is an American actor and comedian best known as one of the founding members of the Upright Citizens Brigade sketch comedy troupe who also had their own show on Comedy Central from 1998-2000....
, Ian Roberts
Ian Roberts (actor)
Ian Michael Roberts is an American actor, comedian and writer best known as a founding member of the Upright Citizens Brigade sketch comedy troupe.-Life and career:...
, Neil Flynn
Neil Flynn
Neil Richard Flynn is an American actor and comedian, known for his role as Janitor in the medical comedy-drama Scrubs. He currently portrays Mike Heck in the ABC sitcom The Middle.-Early life:...
and Ali Faranahkian. The Family, directed by Del Close, created and introduced into the improv world "The Deconstruction" and "The Movie" forms. Miles had the privilege of working with the late Del Close for eight years. Del saw the improv community as a tribe with himself as the "Mojo Man" and referred to Miles as his "Warchief".
Miles has performed in well over 1000 long-form shows and has been created or had a hand in creating many of the long-forms that play around the country today. Among them are "The Armando", "The Deconstruction", "The Movie", "The Lerand" (or "La Ronde"), and Two-Person Long-Form. Among the improv shows he has been a part of include: Three Mad Rituals, Dynamite Fun Nest, The Armando Diaz Theatrical Experience Movement and Hootenanny, Zumpf, ASSSSCAT, Heather and Miles, English Speaking Moose and Mud.
Theatrical credits include: The Eight Reindeer Monologues, Hamlet! The Musical, and Little with The Actors' Gang
The Actors' Gang
The Actors' Gang is an experimental theatre group based in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1981 by a group of actors, including Tim Robbins, now a member of the board and Artistic Director of the troupe. The group states its mission is "to create bold, original works for the stage and...
in Los Angeles. Miles was the national touring alternate for Robert Dubac’s one man show, The Male Intellect: an Oxymoron. Miles has also appeared on Comedy Central’s Crossballs
Crossballs
Crossballs: The Debate Show was a Comedy Central television show which poked fun at cable news networks' political debate shows, especially CNN's Crossfire and MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews. In each episode, comedians posing as experts on a particular subject would debate two real...
and Reno 911!
Reno 911!
Reno 911! is an American comedy television series on Comedy Central that ran from 2003 to 2009. It is a mockumentary-style parody of law enforcement documentary shows, specifically COPS, with comic actors playing the police officers. Most of the material is improvised, using a broad outline, and...
.
Currently, he performs weekly at I.O. West
I.O. West
The iO WEST, is the Los Angeles branch of the iO in Chicago. The theater is located at 6366 Hollywood Blvd., in Hollywood, California. In addition to presenting improv and sketch comedy shows every night, the iO West has improv training classes and is the home for the Los Angeles Improv Comedy...
and the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre
Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre
The Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre or UCB Theatre is an improvisational theatre and associated UCB Training Center with locations in Chelsea, New York, the EEast Village, New York and Hollywood, California.....
in Los Angeles and teaches The Miles Stroth Workshop throughout the year.
Filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 1996 in film Major releases this year included Scream, Independence Day, Fargo, Trainspotting, The English Patient, Twister, Mars Attacks!, Jerry Maguire and a version of Evita starring Madonna.-Events:... |
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, Part 2 | Car Salesman | Feature Film |
| 2004 2004 in film The year 2004 in film involved some significant events. Major releases of sequels took place. It included blockbuster films like Shrek 2, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, The Passion of the Christ, Meet the Fockers, Blade: Trinity, Spider-Man 2, Alien vs. Predator, Kill Bill Vol... |
Crossballs: The Debate Show | Miles McKay, Weedox Boyfriend | Episodes "Voting Electible Dysfunction" and "Drugs" |
| 2006 2006 in film - Highest-grossing films :Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top-grossing films that were first released in the United States in 2006... |
Hitman: Blood Money Hitman: Blood Money Hitman: Blood Money is a stealth game developed by IO Interactive and published by Eidos Interactive. It is the fourth entry in the Hitman game series.... |
(Voice) | Video Game |
| 2006 2006 in film - Highest-grossing films :Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top-grossing films that were first released in the United States in 2006... |
Global, Inc. | Sam - The United States Government | Independent Film |
| 2009 2009 in film The year 2009 saw the release of many films. Seven made the top 50 list of highest-grossing films, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that as of this year, their Best Picture category would consist of ten nominees, rather than five .- Highest-grossing films :Please note... |
Reno 911! Reno 911! Reno 911! is an American comedy television series on Comedy Central that ran from 2003 to 2009. It is a mockumentary-style parody of law enforcement documentary shows, specifically COPS, with comic actors playing the police officers. Most of the material is improvised, using a broad outline, and... |
Old Man Jeffers | Episode "Deputy Dance" |
| 2009 2009 in film The year 2009 saw the release of many films. Seven made the top 50 list of highest-grossing films, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that as of this year, their Best Picture category would consist of ten nominees, rather than five .- Highest-grossing films :Please note... |
Breast Picture | Stone | Feature Film |
| 2010 2010 in film The year 2010 saw many new films released worldwide. 2010 saw a dramatic increase and prominence in the use of 3D-technology in filmmaking and film releases after the success of Avatar in the format, with releases such as Alice in Wonderland, Clash of the Titans, Jackass 3D, all animated films and... |
Welcome Back Satan | Joseph | Independent Film |
See also
- Del CloseDel CloseDel Close was an actor, improviser, writer, and teacher. Considered one of the premier influences on modern improvisational theater, Close had a prolific career, appearing in a number of films and television shows...
- iO ChicagoI.O.iO, or iO Chicago, is a theater located at 3541 N. Clark St., in Chicago, Illinois, one-half block south of Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs baseball team. The theater both has performances of, and teaches improvisational comedy. It was founded in the 1980s by Del Close and Charna Halpern...
- iO WestI.O. WestThe iO WEST, is the Los Angeles branch of the iO in Chicago. The theater is located at 6366 Hollywood Blvd., in Hollywood, California. In addition to presenting improv and sketch comedy shows every night, the iO West has improv training classes and is the home for the Los Angeles Improv Comedy...
- Charna HalpernCharna HalpernCharna Halpern is a co-founder of the ImprovOlympic, now known as The iO. She was born and raised on the North Side of Chicago. In 1984, with partner Del Close, she began teaching The Harold to many students in the Chicago theatre community. She and Close co-authored the book Truth in Comedy: The...
- The Second CityThe Second CityThe Second City is a improvisational comedy enterprise which originated in Chicago's Old Town neighborhood.The Second City Theatre opened on December 16, 1959 and has since expanded its presence to several other cities, including Toronto and Los Angeles...
- Improvisational theatreImprovisational theatreImprovisational theatre takes many forms. It is best known as improv or impro, which is often comedic, and sometimes poignant or dramatic. In this popular, often topical art form improvisational actors/improvisers use improvisational acting techniques to perform spontaneously...
- ImprovisationImprovisationImprovisation is the practice of acting, singing, talking and reacting, of making and creating, in the moment and in response to the stimulus of one's immediate environment and inner feelings. This can result in the invention of new thought patterns, new practices, new structures or symbols, and/or...
External links
- The Miles Stroth Workshop
- Fulton, Josh. "Miles Stroth 11/16/06 Part 1", Improv Interviews, November 16, 2006. Retrieved January 6, 2010.
- iO Chicago
- iO West
- iO West performer page