What is a Jackpie?

The Word Jackpie comes from the letters in the names of its founders Chris Pierce and Jim Karwisch (Ja)mes (C)hris (K)arwisch (Pie)rce.

The Origins of Jackpie: In the fall of 2001, Chris Pierce and Jim Karwisch sat down to dinner at Taqueria Del Sol on the Westside of Atlanta. Over cheese dip and a couple of excellent tacos, a creative partnership was born. We didn’t have a name yet, but we did have a mission: Improvisation as Quality Theatre. Our goal was to move away from the game style of improv and head into longer, scene based work while starting something new for audiences in Atlanta. We began developing a two-man, two hour, long-form show, something no one else in Atlanta had done. Rehearsals began immediately, both actors pulling from our training and experiences in San Francisco and Long-form’s home in Chicago, IL. By the second rehearsal, the ideas and inspirations were flowing and we knew we had a groove going. To us, it seemed we had been performing together for years. So, barely two months from its inception, JaCKPie took the stage playing to packed houses at the Red Chair Theatre.