Bekka Eaton

Last updated

Bekka Eaton, the current Director of Theater at Miami University Hamilton in Hamilton, Ohio, got her start as part of the improvisational comedy troupe The Second City in Chicago. She went on to be cast as the Female disc jockey in Sixteen Candles and a larger role as Delta Burke's sister in the TV movie Day-O. She is also the founder of the Greater Cincinnati teen improvisational group Dot. Comedy.

Early life and education

Eaten attended Fairfield High School. She received her undergraduate degree from Northwestern University and her master's degree from Indiana University Bloomington. Bekka led the Philadelphia area band, The Daves, which released one album on the Pyramid label in 1988. The Daves were composed of Bekka Eaton: vocals and trombone, Mike Mennies: keyboards and vocals, Jim Ericson: guitar and vocals, Jerry Getz bass and vocals (replaced by Garry Lee in 1988), and Ronny Crawford: drums. While they were one of the premier local Philadelphia club bands, they distinguished themselves with their touring schedule which took them from Chicago to South Carolina. Their multi-week-long stints at the Windjammer (Isle of Palms, South Carolina) were legendary for their overflow audiences. Their motto was "Music Is Fun", and some of their stage props were made by noted painter Ron Crawford.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Improvisational theatre</span> Theatrical genre featuring unscripted performance

Improvisational theatre, often called improvisation or improv, is the form of theatre, often comedy, in which most or all of what is performed is unplanned or unscripted, created spontaneously by the performers. In its purest form, the dialogue, action, story, and characters are created collaboratively by the players as the improvisation unfolds in present time, without use of an already prepared, written script.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bonnie Hunt</span> American actress and comedian (born 1961)

Bonnie Lynn Hunt is an American actress, comedian, director, producer, writer and television host. Her film roles include Rain Man, Beethoven, Beethoven's 2nd, Jumanji, Jerry Maguire, The Green Mile, Cheaper by the Dozen, and Cheaper by the Dozen 2.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Delta blues</span> Early style of blues music

Delta blues is one of the earliest-known styles of blues. It originated in the Mississippi Delta and is regarded as a regional variant of country blues. Guitar and harmonica are its dominant instruments; slide guitar is a hallmark of the style. Vocal styles in Delta blues range from introspective and soulful to passionate and fiery.

The Compass Players was an improvisational theatre revue active from 1955 to 1958 in Chicago and St. Louis. Founded by David Shepherd and Paul Sills, it is considered to be the first improvisational theater in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Eaton (politician)</span> American politician and diplomat (1790–1856)

John Henry Eaton was an American politician and ambassador from Tennessee who served as U.S. Senator and as U.S. Secretary of War in the administration of Andrew Jackson. He was 28 years, 4 months, and 29 days old when he entered the Senate, making him the youngest U.S. Senator in history.

<i>Insomniac with Dave Attell</i> American TV series or program

Insomniac with Dave Attell was an American television show on Comedy Central hosted by comedian Dave Attell, which ran from August 5, 2001, until November 11, 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elaine May</span> American screenwriter, film director, actress, and comedian (born 1932)

Elaine Iva May is an American comedian, filmmaker, playwright, and actress. She first gained fame in the 1950s for her improvisational comedy routines with Mike Nichols, before transitioning her career regularly breaking the mold as a writer and director of several critically acclaimed films. She has received numerous awards, including a BAFTA Award, a Grammy Award, and a Tony Award. She was honored with the National Medal of Arts from President Barack Obama in 2013, and an Honorary Academy Award in 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Viola Spolin</span> American academic and acting theorist

Viola Spolin was an American theatre academic, educator and acting coach. She is considered an important innovator in 20th century American theater for creating directorial techniques to help actors to be focused in the present moment and to find choices improvisationally, as if in real life. These acting exercises she later called Theater Games and formed the first body of work that enabled other directors and actors to create improvisational theater. Her book Improvisation for the Theater, which published these techniques, includes her philosophy and her teaching and coaching methods, and is considered the "bible of improvisational theater". Spolin's contributions were seminal to the improvisational theater movement in the U.S. She is considered to be the mother of Improvisational theater. Her work has influenced American theater, television and film by providing new tools and techniques that are now used by actors, directors and writers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marty Brennaman</span> American sportscaster (born 1942)

Franchester Martin Brennaman is an American former sportscaster, best known for his long tenure as the play-by-play voice of Major League Baseball's Cincinnati Reds on the Cincinnati Reds Radio Network. Known for his opinionated, zealous, and sometimes contentious style, Brennaman called Reds games from 1974 to 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dark Star Orchestra</span> American cover band

Dark Star Orchestra is a Grateful Dead cover band formed in Chicago, Illinois. They serve as a tribute band to the rock group the Grateful Dead. Since 1997, the band has been "celebrating the Grateful Dead concert experience."

Dorsey William Burnette III is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter who was part of the band Fleetwood Mac from 1987 to 1996. Burnette also had a brief career in acting.

<i>Time</i> (Fleetwood Mac album) 1995 studio album by Fleetwood Mac

Time is the 16th studio album by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released on 10 October 1995. This album features a unique line-up for the band, featuring the addition of country vocalist Bekka Bramlett and former Traffic guitarist Dave Mason. It was the second album released after the departure of Lindsey Buckingham in 1987, and the only Fleetwood Mac album since 1974's Heroes Are Hard to Find to not feature any contribution from Stevie Nicks. Additionally, it is the final Fleetwood Mac studio album to feature Christine McVie as an official member.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kate Flannery</span> American actress (born 1964)

Kate Flannery is an American actress. Following her early theatre work, Flannery had her screen breakthrough playing Meredith Palmer on the NBC series The Office, which won her two Screen Actors Guild Awards. She went on to guest star on CBS shows Magnum PI and Young Sheldon. She competed on the 28th season of Dancing with the Stars and voiced Barb on the animated series Steven Universe.

Susan Messing is an American improvisational theatre performer, teacher and author associated with the Annoyance Theater and iO Theater in Chicago.

David Gwynne Shepherd was an American producer, director, and actor noted for his innovative work in improvisational theatre. He founded and/or co-founded the Playwrights Theatre Club, The Compass Players, the Canadian Improv Games, and the ImprovOlympic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virginia Liston</span> American singer

Virginia Liston was an American classic female blues and jazz singer. She spent most of her career in vaudeville. She performed with her husband, Samuel H. Gray, as Liston and Liston. In the 1920s she made a series of recordings that included performances with Clarence Williams and his Blue Five on "You've Got the Right Key, but the Wrong Keyhole" and "Early in the Morning", and with the Clarence Williams Washboard Band on "Cushion Foot Stomp", and "P.D.Q. Blues".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Practical Theatre Company</span>

The Practical Theatre Company is a Chicago-based theatre company founded by Northwestern University students and active throughout the 1980s before returning to the stage in 2010. Its productions have included new plays, satiric agitprop, rock and roll events, and a series of successful improvisational comedy revues. The PTC, whose motto is "Art is Good", is notable for the fact that the entire cast of its 1982 improvisational comedy revue, The Golden 50th Anniversary Jubilee was hired by Saturday Night Live.

Joe Russo's Almost Dead is an American rock band formed in 2013 that mainly covers the music of the Grateful Dead. Formed by Furthur and Benevento/Russo Duo drummer Joe Russo, the band played their first show on January 26, 2013 at the Brooklyn Bowl in Brooklyn, New York. In addition to drummer Joe Russo, the band also includes Ween's bassist Dave Dreiwitz, keyboardist Marco Benevento, Scott Metzger on guitar and vocals, and Tom Hamilton of Brothers Past, Ghost Light, and American Babies on guitar and vocals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kristen Hamilton</span> American professional soccer player

Kristen Marie Hamilton is an American professional soccer player who plays as a forward for Kansas City Current of the National Women's Soccer League.

Alison Gates is an American comedy writer and actress who is currently a head writer for Saturday Night Live. She previously lived in Chicago and worked with the Second City's touring company and an all-female iO Theater troupe.

References