‘Jewish Mamas’ Take on Atlanta Improv

Conjuring images of “Saturday Night Live” and wild and crazy “girlie/guys,” Laura Doman, Pamela Gold, Sloane Warren, and Pam King hit the stage running with their passion for being on the edge of creativity in their new class undertaking.

Emmy Award-winning director David Webster, founder of the Whole World Theater, created a new form of fun – “GrooveCats Improv Comedy Show,” based on believable and emotional characters who are experientially involved in their present circumstances. Everything is created on the spot, fueled by audience suggestions and the performers’ quick thinking.

And, of course, there’s some Jewish “schmaltz and pizzazz.”

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Laura Doman is an actress, voiceover artist, author, and speaker with credits in film, TV, commercials, corporate industrials, training videos, and print.

Doman is an actress, voiceover artist, author, and speaker with credits in film, TV, commercials, corporate industrials, training videos, and print. She also loves bridging the worlds of business and entertainment by coaching non-actors to become more comfortable and charismatic on-camera themselves. She believes that corporate videos and Zoom calls aren’t going away.

She stated, “Acting is living truthfully from moment to moment, and nothing teaches living in the moment like improv. I’ve always enjoyed the unexpected, from calling on clients as a former IT sales exec to the thrill of last-minute cold reads and finding auditions and bookings that have popped into my inbox. The spontaneity, high energy, and bonding between the GrooveCats is especially infectious! The audience can’t help but become part of the experience.”

Doman studied with Second City in Chicago and Atlanta Highwire before discovering the GrooveCats.

Pamela Gold is an actor, singer, and dancer who works in theatre, TV, film, commercials, and voiceovers. She has appeared on Broadway and in major television shows.

Gold is an actor, singer, and dancer who works in theatre, TV, film, commercials, and voiceovers. She appeared on Broadway in “How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” with Matthew Broderick; and “Once Upon a Mattress” with Sarah Jessica Parker; she also toured nationally with “A Chorus Line,” and has performed on regional stages all over the U.S. and in Atlanta. Television credits include “Dynasty,” “Ordinary Joe,” “The Walking Dead,” “The Girl from Plainville,” “Your Worst Nightmare,” as well as several films.

Gold mused, “I was excited to delve into improv to free my creativity and get out of my head onstage. You have to honor and trust your impulses and instincts, and even more importantly, act on them. Laughter is a balm. Coming out of the COVID pandemic — a time defined by fear and isolation — the laughter and connection through improv is something I can’t wait to share with our audiences.”

Pam King taught dance and designed choreography for many years as a theatrical actress, and now teaches public speaking and professional writing. She met her husband at an Improv class.

King taught dance and designed choreography for many years as a theatrical actress, and now teaches public speaking and professional writing. She laughed and said, “At my first improv class, I met the man that would become my husband. Shortly after we started dating, I stepped away from improv, got married, and had a family. Fast forward 16 years and here I am back at it!” She adds, “It was time to do something a little scary, to break out of normalcy, and, most of all, to see what it felt like to be vulnerable in a space where the goal is laughter.”

The GrooveCats are multi-generational. “This experience with people of all ages and backgrounds truly fosters community and acceptance. Improv pushes me out of my comfort zone. The only way we really live is to do things that scare us a little bit,” King said.

Sloane Warren is an actor, writer, improvisor, and voiceover coach whose love of travel has enabled her to master many dialects and has appeared on screen with Al Pacino and Laura Linney, among others.

Warren is an actor, writer, improvisor, and voiceover coach whose love of travel has enabled her to master many dialects and accents. She’s worked on screen with Al Pacino, Laura Linney, and Karl Urban, among others. She explained, “But nothing is as exciting as jumping into the deep end of comedy improv without a float. Your focus is pinpointed on your partner as your raft, and it’s truly the most exhilarating feeling one could have.”

For more than 15 years, Sloane yearned for a place in Marietta where she could fully indulge in her passion for improv comedy. Miraculously, fate intervened when she connected GrooveCats Comedy with David Webster to local arts supporter Colt Chambers who had announced the revitalization of the Alley Stage Theater. The GrooveCats’ theatrical debut was a huge success – a sold-out house and a performance by Sloane in Hebrew! (Well, a prayer anyways!)

The GrooveCats perform at 8 p.m., most Thursdays. Details, classes, and tickets are available at Groovecattv.com.