Laughter lights the way as improv duo navigates way through marriage

The two seasoned improvisers regularly perform together and separately at Dad’s Garage. In May, Gillese — originally from Edmonton, Alberta, where he was part of the improv troupe Rapid Fire Theatre — staged his one-man show “Seven Minutes in Kevin” at Dad’s in May-June. On Oct. 25, Nash will bring her comedy burlesque variety show, “Vavianna Vardot’s Famous Sex Party,” back to the Dad’s Mainstage.

Their connection has led to lots of other great comedy as well, such as their 2023 Christmas movie “How to Ruin the Holidays,” written by Gillese and starring Nash. The movie also featured actors Colin Mochrie, Aisha Tyler, Luke Davis and Caroline Aaron.

Credit: Courtesy Kevin Gillese and Amber Nash

Credit: Courtesy Kevin Gillese and Amber Nash

Nash and Gillese recently sat down for a Zoom interview with ArtsATL to discuss how their relationship began and why they’re such raving fans of each other.

“I first guested with Dad’s Garage in 2000 at the World Domination Theatre Sports Tournament,” Gillese said. “I remember because I was not yet 21 and could not drink in the United States.”

At the time, Nash was a fledgling improviser, still taking classes at Dad’s Garage. She was immediately attracted to Gillese because of his comedy chops.

“I think that being fans of each other’s work was most of our connection, to be honest,” she said about the early days of their friendship.

Credit: Photo courtesy of Kevin Gillese and Amber Nash

Credit: Photo courtesy of Kevin Gillese and Amber Nash

At one point, Nash told Gillese about an important Atlanta job opportunity.

“Amber and I had been friends and in touch over the years, as we would see each other at different festivals,” Gillese said. “And even to the extent that I remember, it was during a festival in Vancouver or Victoria that Amber said, ‘Hey, we’re looking for a new artistic director at Dad’s Garage. You should apply.’ And so that obviously worked out.”

Nash added with a laugh: “Kevin was such a young hotshot, so I always had a crush on him. When I told him about the job, I knew what I was doing.”

Gillese started working as artistic director at Dad’s in January 2010. He and Nash began dating just a month later, while she still worked there. But then she left her job at Dad’s to voice the character Pam Poovey on the FX animated sitcom “Archer” and work with Second City on cruise ships.

“So then Kevin was like, you can’t work here anymore,” Nash said. “But, luckily, I’m still an ensemble member. We probably still shouldn’t have been dating, but we made it work.”

Credit: FX NET

Credit: FX NET

Being at the same theater, they became further drawn to each other, collaborating constantly. Theater people are more attractive, vivacious and funny, they agreed.

What is their favorite collaboration?

“For me it’s easily ‘How to Ruin the Holidays,’ our first film,” Gillese said. “I mean, to be able to share that experience is just … I don’t know, it’s very powerful, very intimate and it’s so cool that we got to do it together.”

Nash added, “We’ve worked on so many cool projects together, but that was a first for both of us, and we both had such huge roles on our first film, we were both kind of scared we wouldn’t be able to do it. And so it was almost like trauma bonding.”

During the movie shoot, the couple almost never saw one another; Gillese was working as a producer, location-scouting and solving problems, while Nash played her leading role, a part he wrote just for her.

“Much like the vodka sodas that we would have at the Yacht Club [in Little Five Points] when we were first dating, this script and the character is definitely equal parts vodka and soda, equal parts Amber and Kevin,” Gillese said. “Because it’s rooted in my personal experience with my family and moving to another country. As far as Amber’s side of things, I knew that one of her comedy superpowers is that she gets mad funnier than anybody I’ve ever met. So I tried to write a script where her character was just constantly being pushed to the brink by the other characters, so that I could see Amber get to really lash out. Then after the script was written, I handed it off to her, and she did her own creation of it.”

Credit: Chelsea Patricia

Credit: Chelsea Patricia

Nash said the role of Michelle was a challenge because it hit close to home.

“I’ve never been really comfortable playing characters that are close to myself,” she said. “I like playing old men that are also ghosts! I don’t like playing characters that are me. So I had to really work hard to be comfortable with it. And one of the things that I realized when I was working with a coach on the role was that the character was me — if I’d never gotten therapy or had any success in my career.”

Gillese and Nash appreciate their unique and humorous relationship.

“To me, laughter is the source of all happiness,” Gillese said. “To be able to share my life with someone that is so funny — and we can make each other laugh every day — it really does come down to that. That is the core of what’s binding things. We can laugh our way through anything, and we do. But, also, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that when Amber and I first started dating, she was like a badass, smoking cigarettes out the back alley. And I was like, ‘I’m into that.’”

Nash agreed. “It’s true. It’s true,” she said. We’re so lucky we laugh so much. It really does make life a lot better.”

::

Benjamin Carr is an ArtsATL editor-at-large who has contributed to the publication since 2019 and is a member of the American Theatre Critics Association, the Dramatists Guild, the Atlanta Press Club and the Horror Writers Association. His writing has been featured in podcasts for iHeartMedia, onstage as part of the Samuel French Off-Off Broadway Short Play Festival and online in The Guardian. His debut novel, “Impacted,” was published by The Story Plant.

Credit: ArtsATL

Credit: ArtsATL

MEET OUR PARTNER