Also available on SPOTIFY
In this episode of Having Fun with Walt Frasier, Walt interviews Obi Nwako, an actor and improviser who has been working with the troupe since late 2024. They discuss Obi’s background at Williams College, his experiences teaching improv to young children, and the broader mission of using comedy to build confidence and overcome stage fright.
Obi’s Background & Early Memories
- Education: Obi attended Regis High School in New York and Williams College in Massachusetts, where he studied theater in a liberal arts setting. [01:36]
- Early Acting: His first stage memory is from third grade. When a curtain opened early and left the cast frozen, Obi ad-libbed “I’m hungry,” which broke the tension and sparked his love for audience reaction. [10:47]
- Musical Background: Before focusing on acting, Obi played the saxophone, which he felt allowed him to “hide” behind the instrument compared to the vulnerability of acting. [14:14]
Teaching & Residencies
- The Bronx Dream: Obi has been doing residencies at “Dream” in the Bronx, teaching improv almost daily to K-12 students. [02:01]
- The Power of Patience: The two discuss the challenges of teaching 5- and 6-year-olds. Obi emphasizes that having fun is the most important rule; if the kids are enjoying themselves, the skills like listening and focus follow naturally. [16:32]
- Leading by Example: A major theme of the conversation is how adults (teachers and coaches) must participate. If adults are afraid to be silly, kids won’t buy in. Obi shares a story of a “difficult” student who eventually thanked him for the class after being encouraged to try for just five minutes. [24:02]
Improv “War Stories”
- The “Earworm” Song: Obi recalls a scene where the troupe played Italian cooks. He came up with a “Mama Mia Pizzeria” song that stayed stuck in his head for a week. [02:42]
- Difficult Gigs: They recount a summer gig at a historical museum/pirate site where they had to act as “strolling minstrels” to pull people into a show that wasn’t properly scheduled. [06:00]
- The Blizzard: Walt mentions a narrow escape from a Philadelphia gig during a massive blizzard where subways were shut down, highlighting the logistical chaos of a traveling performer. [08:40]
Acting Career & Future Plans
- Upcoming Play: Obi is appearing in a play titled Late Blooming in late April and early May 2026. [37:43]
- Professional Advice: Walt encourages Obi (and all young actors) to create their own work. He references his “Quit Your Day Job” philosophy, suggesting that in the age of algorithms, producing your own videos or shorts is the best way to get noticed by managers. [38:44]
- Character Over Talent: Walt praises Obi for being a “solid human being,” noting that being someone people want to work with off-stage is often more important for a career than raw talent alone. [41:21]
Obi Nwako is one of our more recent hires, in the grand scheme of things, but he is knocking it out of the park as a performer and teacher with us and other companies around town.
Obi Nwako recently graduated from Williams College with a bachelor of arts in theater where he learned to be an actor and improviser. Born and raised in the Bronx, Obi is excited to make his NYC improv scene debut as a part of the group and even more excited to see where this part of his life will take him. https://www.instagram.com/monsterofrohan/
See Obi in Late Blooming
https://voyagetheatercompany.org/current-season/https-voyagetheatercompany.org-current-season-production-late-blooming
Apr 27, Apr 28, May 2, 2026
6:30pm, 8pm, 4pm
For 30+ years Walt Frasier has been entertaining audiences live from Times Square NYC, Touring Nationwide, and occasionally popping onto their TVs and other devices. For casting Walter in SAG AFTRA Film, TV & Commercial projects, contact (Jaime) Baker Management. International credits include TV, Commercials, Theater, Music & Comedy. Currently the Artistic Director of the NEW YORK IMPROV THEATER and North East Managing Director for THEY IMPROV.
Come see Obi & I live from Times Square. 3pm Saturdays TIMES SQUARE IMPROV COMEDY (Discount ticket links) https://ci.ovationtix.com/29075/production/1237881?promo=walter101 4/29 Wednesday 9pm BROOKLYN IMPROV COMEDY ($20) https://ci.ovationtix.com/29075/production/1231949?performanceId=11786516 5/23 Saturday 2pm LONG ISLAND IMPROV COMEDY https://ci.ovationtix.com/29075/production/1267225?performanceId=11797315 ADULT CLASSES https://ci.ovationtix.com/29075/production/914195 YOUTH CLASSES & COMEDY CAMP https://ci.ovationtix.com/29075/production/1049645
Having Fun with Walt Frasier #4
Host: Walt Frasier
Guest: Obi Nwako
Date: April 16, 2026
WALT: Hello and welcome back to another episode of Having Fun with Walt Frasier. I’m Walt Frasier, and we’re here talking improv comedy, corporate team building, K-12 educational outreach, and what we do as actors and improv comedians and all that kind of fun stuff. I’m here with Obi… you know, I’m still not confident I’m going to say your last name right. Just introduce yourself!
OBI: Hi everyone! My name is Obi Nwako, and I’m very happy to be here on the podcast for this episode.
WALT: I would have been better off than I thought I was going to be! I would have said “No-wa-ko.” Okay, so I’m the worst with names, and as soon as I think I have it—because I butchered it in the past three minutes—I can’t remember which was the right way.
OBI: No, I have that all the time, honestly. I always second-guess myself, so I get it.
WALT: Yeah, and I feel so bad when I substitute for these classes. These people know me now—I’ve been there five or six times—but I work with like 200 different groups a year. I’m somewhat jealous of my own students that I work with every Saturday. And then there are times when they mess with me and tell me the wrong name to be funny, and I’m like, “I will never know your name now because of that.” But it’s on you, not me, so I’m okay with it! So, yeah, tell me—you’ve been with us now two years?
OBI: Yeah, I started in 2024, about August or September time. So I’ve been going strong for the past two years.
WALT: Awesome. And where did you go to school?
OBI: For high school, I did Regis High School—born and raised in New York. So yeah, Regis on the Upper East Side. Then I went to Williams College in Massachusetts, Williamstown. I studied theater there. It wasn’t a conservatory or anything like that; it’s a very liberal arts college where you can study anything, but I feel like I learned a lot of useful things about theater and life in general there.
WALT: Very, very cool. And then you’ve been doing these residencies for us up at Dream in the Bronx, pretty much almost every day, Monday through Thursday?
OBI: Yeah, I started in the summer of 2025 and then continued into the 2025-2026 school year.
WALT: Awesome. So let me get this out of the way: What’s your best memory doing improv comedy with Eight Is Never Enough?
OBI: I mean, it happened this past fall. It was you, me, Max, I think Ashley was there too, and maybe Dave. It was a good group. We were having this “Sing It” game, and I don’t know how we got onto this, but we were in this pizza shop and we were all kind of Italian cooks trying to figure out what we’re going to do. And then I just had this song stuck in my head: “Mama mia pizzeria, pizza pizza pizza pizza pizza!” Very stupid, very silly, but honestly, for the next week, I kept murmuring it to myself. People were going, “Obi, what are you saying? What is that?” It stuck in my head constantly. I think the musical games are really one of the most fun things we do because it puts all of our talents on display—it shows our improv, our thinking on the spot, and our singing.
WALT: You know what’s funny about improv? I work with kids a lot and they’ll say, “Remember that time we did this in that one class?” and I’m like, “No.” Because I think I’ve done at least 10,000 shows and workshops. I’ve done at least 7,000 or 8,000 shows in 23 years. Back between 2008 and 2012, we were doing four days a week of three to four shows a day at schools, and then six to seven shows a week at night at the club. But those weird songs do get stuck—those earworms from an improv scene. It’s amazing what sticks.
OBI: Yeah, when I was doing improv in college, post-shows I would be like, “Oh yeah, I don’t remember a single thing we talked about.” It’s impossible.
WALT: It’s a moment in time, and that’s the upside. But then it’s gone. And a lot of times the videos don’t look good online because a three-minute musical doesn’t translate well to a phone clip unless you have a high production value like Hamilton. So, more reason to come in person!
Now, I sent out a questionnaire asking for the “worst” time you ever had. You don’t even know the official worst gig we ever did—I can count those on one hand. But you were doing a gig last summer that was… a struggle?
OBI: Yeah, honestly, the only reason I thought that was the “worst” was just trying to think on the spot how to pull people in. We were at a summer place outside, and it was a huge space. It was almost up to us to go around and say “We want to do a show now, come see us” as opposed to everyone being scheduled to see us at 2:00. We actually did good performances by the end, but that start—where people are just coming and going—is hard when you’re used to a set performance.
WALT: Did you see the videos I created where we went into Times Square and I was randomly getting people on the streets to improvise?
OBI: Yes, I saw those!
WALT: I was thinking if we go back to that place, that’s what we need to do. Just be strolling minstrels. We once did seven years of going into Times Square every day to pull people into shows. It’s weird at a private event, like a fancy banquet hall, but at a historical museum or pirate-themed place, it could work.
Anyway, I want to talk about my big mission. I’ve been saying my mission is spreading joy and laughter, but I realized my real mission is knocking stage fright off the top of the list of phobias. We’re not going to cure social anxiety, but I’ve seen people through improv realize they have self-worth and agency. As an actor, what is your first memory of being on stage?
OBI: It’s actually really interesting because my first memory deals exactly with releasing that stage fright. I was in third grade. I couldn’t tell you the name of the show, but the scene was a family dinner. The curtains opened early before we were fully set up. We were just staring at the crowd for what felt like hours, though it was probably five seconds. Nobody said anything. I don’t know what called to me, but I just said, “I’m hungry.” That wasn’t my line, but I just felt like I needed to say something. The crowd laughed, and everyone on stage relaxed. People told me after, “Good job, Obi, good ad-lib.” I didn’t even know what an ad-lib was! But I loved that feeling of confidence. Even from a young age, I was looking for improv before I knew it existed.
WALT: When was the first “legitimate” theater moment where you felt you owned the space?
OBI: Probably a lead role in a fifth or sixth-grade show. I just felt fully confident. I had a moment where I had to come onto stage from the audience, and I was really milking it. I just knew what I was doing and felt good about it.
WALT: It’s funny you mention third grade. I have a PDF I’ve been sending to schools about getting improv into every third-grade class. I wish I was a musician at that age because you can lose yourself in the music without making eye contact.
OBI: It’s interesting you bring up the instrument, because I played saxophone when I was younger, and I was definitely hiding. I focused on the sound and the people I was playing with. I was okay with performing, but I could hide behind the instrument instead of showing myself off.
WALT: I wonder if the rise in social anxiety has to do with bringing arts out of schools over the last 30 or 40 years. We’re doing more residencies than ever now because principals realize we need something for the kids. Sometimes the classes are chaos in our minds, but then a teacher tells us, “I’ve never seen him focus like that before.”
So, talk about being a teacher now. What are the challenges of doing improv for five, six, and seven-year-olds?
OBI: I’ve had to rewire my brain. My main thing is your number one rule: Having Fun. If they enjoy it, the skills naturally fall into place. The challenge is explaining games simply. I have to put myself in a first-grader’s brain: “If someone told me how to do this, what would I ask?”
WALT: The patience required is huge. It’s so easy to become like every other adult and want to yell. But patience works better. What do you do when you can’t even start a game because the energy is too high?
OBI: I’ve definitely had days where 30 minutes go by and I haven’t even finished the explanation. I try to pull the kids who are ready to go first, but it’s a hard balance.
WALT: I’ve done corporate workshops where they only give me 45 minutes. It takes that long just to get the energy right—to ease the nervous people and calm the “know-it-alls.” Once you get them, you’ve got them. I had a class of boys at a basketball camp the other day—total “bro energy.” They just came from strength training and were crazy. I finally just had them sit in a circle. I told them, “I’m here to play games, but I’m really here to teach you to listen. We can play, or you can hear me lecture.” They chose the games, and as soon as it fell apart, I made them sit and listen.
OBI: With a residency, they know me. I have one student in my third-grade class who says every time, “I don’t want to do improv today.” I tell him, “Give me five minutes. Try for five, then we’ll talk.” Every single time, he ends up loving it and says, “Thanks for improv today!”
WALT: I’ve started bringing my ukulele to some classes. I’ll have them sing the alphabet in a blues style. I don’t care what I teach them as long as I reach them. I’ve been in schools where they had to choose between a math teacher and a security guard—and they chose security. That’s the reality. In 2009, I had a residency in Queens where one day a kid would be amazing, and the next day they’d come in with so much anger from home. Back then, I didn’t know how to handle it. Now, 17 years later, I look for it because I can be part of the solution.
What’s the biggest challenge you face as a young teacher?
OBI: Managing the one student who is having a bad day without making it a burden for the other 19 students. It’s a hard balance of caring for the individual while caring for the room. Sometimes the regular teacher just disappears, and I’m on my own with kids I only see once a week.
WALT: I’ve been bolder lately about calling out adults. I was at a summer camp right after the pandemic—the first day they didn’t require masks. The counselors wouldn’t shut up. I finally said, “Hey counselors, maybe you should lead by example.” I’ve even done it in professional development with teachers. If the adults are talking in the back, the kids will too.
OBI: When the adults buy in, the kids buy in so much more. If they see their coach being silly, they know they can be silly too.
WALT: Have you done a school show where you ask for adult volunteers and none of them want to come up? To me, that’s hypocrisy. The kids see it. And adults are worse than kids now—post-pandemic, our focus is ruined by 20 years of phones.
Anyway, wrapping up—what else are you working on?
OBI: I’m an actor in the city. My next show, Late Blooming, is April 27th, 28th, and May 2nd. I want to be able to provide for myself as an actor, so I’m focusing on theater and trying to tap into commercials.
WALT: Do you have a manager?
OBI: Not yet. I want to develop a reel first. I don’t have good recordings of my plays, so I might just write something and record it in a studio.
WALT: That’s a great idea. My “Quit Your Day Job” books are all about using the internet as an entrepreneur. Create your own work! If it’s artistic, put it in a festival; if it’s entertaining, put it online. Our friend Dave has documentaries on Amazon Prime. YouTube is the number one watched platform now. I’d rather watch a travelogue on YouTube than a mediocre scripted show.
Obi, thank you for doing this. If there’s a manager or agent out there, give Obi a shot—he’s a phenomenal talent and a solid human being. What you do off-stage is just as important as what you do on-stage. You lead with a smile, and that’s a quality you can’t teach. Take that lesson, actors: Be someone people want to work with. I’m the boss, and when I have a 10-hour car ride to a gig, I choose who’s in the car with me! I don’t want to hear people complain about “nepo babies” for five hours.
Check Obi out! We’ll put the links in… do you have a website?
OBI: No, not yet.
WALT: We’re going to talk when we close this! You haven’t heard my pitch! Thank you guys for coming out. Check us out in Times Square, Long Island, DC, Boston… everywhere. We’ll see you guys soon!
OBI: See you guys!
WALT: (Searching) There’s another button to hit… stop recording…
Walt Frasier 