Freak Pony

The improvisers of Freak Pony are true to their name: so majestic and strong that it’s almost freaky! With unique senses of humor and infectious energy, these women use longform improv to showcase their talents and the fact that they can all pull off the jumpsuit look. Each Freak Pony show hosts a variety of guest performers, so keep your eyes peeled to see who might be joining the cast for the next show!

MEET THE CAST:

Allison Summers, Coach
Allison was born and raised in Mount Juliet, TN. She graduated from the University of Maryland and studied improv at The Second City, UCB, and iO West. She has performed at numerous improv festivals across the country with her one woman show, “Collections”. You can watch her on Netflix in Hollywood Sex Wars where she plays the adorable, fun loving, and homeless crack head, Ash. She also performs regularly with LOL Nashville. Allison fears Raw Head Bones.

Ally Baker, Ensemble
Ally works in the legal field, backup danced for Taylor Swift, and enjoys quail hunting with her bare hands. Thanks for playing 2 truths and a lie!

Becky Hughes, Ensemble
Becky moved to the Nashville area at the tender age of 3 and hasn't figured out how to leave. She performs regularly in her basement apartment and at Third Coast with the lovely ladies of Freak Pony. She cannot be captured on film, so please, no pictures.

Catherine Schwartz, Ensemble
Catherine is from Austin, Texas but now lives in Nashville, a different bachelorette-party-littered, live-music-infused, hipster populated Mecca. You can see her performing with LOL Nashville, Infinity Etc., Crash!, or Freak Pony. Or standing by the bar eating other people’s popcorn. She isn’t particularly fond of these pictures of herself!

Gina Francesca, Ensemble
Gina is originally from Chicago where she’d been performing professionally since she was a wee young lass! She’s studied all styles of voice for over 20 years and has performed with such artists as Andrea Bocelli, Renée Fleming, Heather Headley, Linder Eder and Brian Stokes Mitchell. She’s most proud of her recent performance as Hetaira in Lysistrata Jones which earned her a nomination for the Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Performer in a Supporting Role in a Musical in 2018. With musical theatre being her first love, naturally, she’s been dabbling in comedy for as long as she can remember. When she’s not training at Third Coast or laughing hysterically at her fellow Ponies, Gina loves cheering on and spewing obscenities at the Chicago Bears and the Cubs!

Kim Herrmann, Ensemble
Originally from Dallas, Texas, Kim got her start in comedy as part of Belmont University's best and only sketch and improv group, Fall Follies. She a proud graduate of the inaugural class of the Third Coast Training Center, and currently a member of Third Coast house teams Freak Pony, LOL Nashville, and Crash! Kim is also the Assistant Producer of the annual Third Coast Improv Fest and serves on the Board of Directors for Unscripted, Third Coast's nonprofit project. Kim enjoys drinking prosecco and getting things in the mail. She lives in west Nashville with her husband, Danny, and their beloved dog, Hallie.

Leigh Truemper, Ensemble
Leigh is from Little Rock, Arkansas and graduated from the University of Missouri. She got her start in improv at Third Coast Comedy Club after to moving to Nashville in September of 2017. It has since become a passion of hers, and she quite frankly can’t get enough of it. Third Coast Comedy Club is her favorite spot in town, and she can easily be wooed by a breakfast sandwich.

Mary Claire Reynolds, Ensemble
Mary Claire grew up in Nashville, so it’s unsurprising that her first professional acting gig at age 14 was playing a mermaid in a country music video. Many moons later, she got her start in live improv while she was in Chicago for a commercial casting & decided to sign up for a Second City intensive on a whim. Hooked, Mary Claire went on to train at UCB Theatre in Los Angeles. While in LA, she performed with her long form team Bacon Marmalade all over town including the iO West and the Clubhouse stages. Upon her return to Nashville, she jumped into all the improv she could find and now she’s super excited to be playing the Third Coast stage with Freak Pony and Gnu Tales. When Mary Claire is not on stage, she can be found chasing her two preschool age daughters around and/or staring into an empty mug, wondering why the coffee’s already all gone. And she always double knots her sneakers.