Harrison Brookie
In 2004, Harrison began performing short-form, long-form, and sketch comedy with Clemson University’s Mock Turtle Soup. There he helped create and later ran Clemson’s first satirical newspaper, The Almond. In 2008, he moved to North Carolina and joined the DSI Comedy Theater becoming a resident instructor and ComedySportz, Harold team, and Mister Diplomat cast member. He has been a festival instructor for the Boston Comedy Arts Festival and the North Carolina Comedy Arts Festival. He completed the iO training center in Chicago and is a lover of improv books.
In 2011, Harrison moved back to his hometown of Greenville, SC with his wife and children to found the Alchemy Comedy Theater and continue teaching high school social studies. Since then he’s helped grow the Greenville comedy scene with live shows, a training center, corporate events, workshops, emceeing events like TEDx Greenville, teaching improv at Furman University’s OLLI program, and creating an improvisation training breakout at NEXT High School. He created Greenville’s first comedy marathon featuring acts from all over the Upstate. He also created the New South Comedy Festival which runs every fall and features improv, sketch, and stand up acts and workshops from all over the country.
Harrison has attended comedy festivals like the Black Box (Atl), North Carolina Comedy Arts, Charleston, Richmond, Del Close (NYC), Spontaneous Combustion (Atl), and the Twin Cities Improv Festival. He has trained under a variety of instructors such as Atlanta’s Robert Lowe, JaCKPie’s Jim Karwisch, Directing Improv author and Editor-in-Chief of YESand.com Asaf Ronen, Artistic Director of the Upright Citizens Brigade Anthony King, Kevin Cragg, June Raphael, Steppenwolf’s Eric Hunicut, Impatient Theatre’s Kevin Patrick Robbins, ImprovBoston’s Will Luera, Improv Inferno’s Dan Izzo, Death by Roo Roo’s Mike Still, Saturday Night Live’s Casey Wilson, Annoyance co-founder Joe Bill, Second City’s Holly Laurent, Anthony Leblanc, Comedy Sportz’s Matt Elwell, Orlando’s SAK Comedy Lab, The Playground’s Justin Jackson, Drunk History’s Seth Weitberg, Improvised Shakespeare’s Joey Bland, Baby Wants Candy’s Christy Bonstell, Huge Theater co-founder Jill Bernard, DSI Comedy founder Zach Ward, Paula Pazderka, Time Out NY’s Jane Borden, People’s Improv Theater’s Micah Sherman, Chemically Imbalanced Comedy’s Farrell Walsh, Magnet Theater’s Branson Reese, musical sketch comedy group Pop Roulette, The Don’t We Boys’ AJ Schraeder, William Kean of NYC’s Face Off Unlimited, Mark Kendall, Matt Horgon, and Amber Nash of Dad’s Garage, Magnet founder Armando Diaz, Improv Nerd’s Jimmy Carrane, 30 Rock’s Scott Adsit, iO West’s Brian Jack, Jeff Griggs author of Guru: My Days with Del Close, iO Chicago’s TJ Jagodowski, Bill Arnett, Charlie McCrackin, Tara DeFrancisco, Craig Uhlir, iO West/Pack Theater’s Brian O’Connell, and the co-creator of long-form improv, Charna Halpern.
Harrison has also had the privilege of sharing the stage with amazing improvisers such as his duo partner Paula Pazderka, DSI Comedy/NC Comedy Arts Festival founder Zach Ward, North Coast’s James Robilotta, iO West/Steppenwolf’s Eric Hunicut, Annoyance co-founder Joe Bill, Huge Theater co-founder Jill Bernard, Upright Citizen Brigade’s Benjamin Rameaka, The Magnet’s Megan Gray, Time Out NY’s Jane Borden, Beatbox’s Rene Duquesnoy, Have Nots/Theatre 99 co-founders Greg Tavares and Brandy Sullivan, Jet Eveleth (that makes half of The Reckoning), Middle Management of the Coalition Theater, Meisner instructor Mandy Butler, Hideout Theatre’s Kareem Badr, Washington Improv Theater’s John Windmueller, Boom Chicago’s Ryan Archibald, Cash Cab’s Beth Melewski, iO Chicago’s Craig Uhlir, ComedySportz’s Rance Rizzutto, Artistic Director Emeritus of ImprovBoston Will Luera, Splitsider.com founder Adam Frucci, Magnet Theater’s Rick Andrews and Chet Siegel, UCB NY’s Corey Brown, Impatient Theatre’s Kevin Patrick Robbins, iO Chicago’s Jaime Landolfi, the People’s Improv Theater’s Geoff Grimwood, UCB’s Boris Khaykin, North Coast’s Doug Widick, William Kean of NYC’s Face Off Unlimited,Mark Kendall, Matt Horgon, and Amber Nash of Dad’s Garage, UCBTLA’s Johnny Meeks, MADtv’s Frank Caeti, head writer for the Oscars Bruce Vilanch, 30 Rock’s Scott Adsit, comic Maria Bamford, and iO West/Pack Theater’s Brian O’Connell.