From improv acting to voice-acting, the remarkable Amanda Troop has proven herself to be one incredible and awe-inspiring actress. At a very young age, Amanda Troop was bitten by the acting bug and her passion for acting began when she first got started in theater as she joined her local theater’s production of The Crucible. Ever since then, Amanda Troop has been mesmerizing us all with her brilliant talent. She has such a natural and genuine gift for improv and has performed at the Impro Studio, The Odyssey, The Theater at Boston Court, The Walt Disney Concert Hall and many other renowned venues. Amanda Troop is so skillful at bringing any kind of character to life. Give her any character or scenario and you can bet on it that Amanda Troop can portray it so magnificently. There is never a dull moment in Amanda Troop’s life as she is constantly working on so many terrific projects. She has worked on the series, “Fiasconauts” that is a fan-favorite on the Easy Allies YouTube channel. She even appeared in the exceptional series, BAMF Girls Club. Amanda Troop definitely has a spectacular resume of projects under her belt. In addition, Amanda Troop also directs an all-female improv team and she shares her expertise with fellow talented ladies. Amanda Troop’s talent is truly unrivaled and we always enjoy staying tuned with all of the excellent projects that she is working on.

I, Alexisjoyvipaccess had a fantastic time interviewing the marvelous Amanda Troop all about what inspired her to focus her life around acting, what it has been like for her directing the female improv team named Ripley Improv, what her dream role would be to portray, and so much more. Check out our VIPAccessEXCLUSIVE interview below!

Follow Amanda Troop on Twitter and Instagram: @Amanda_Troop

Alexisjoyvipaccess: You are a spectacular actress. Can you tell us what inspired you to focus your life around acting? 

Amanda Troop: I saw Bernadette Peters in a recorded performance of “Into the Woods.” She played The Witch, and I immediately decided that I wanted to be The Witch when I grew up. Later, I realized that she was an actor, and not actually a witch. Acting didn’t really appeal to me until my mom put me in a musical theater class when I was 11. I remember getting on stage and turning to face the audience for the first time and suddenly feeling my stage fright melt away. After that, I was hooked!

 

Alexisjoyvipaccess: You also star in the show “Spouse Quest.” Tell us what it’s like working on that show.

Amanda Troop: My husband, Brandon Jones, is a co-founder of the company Easy Allies. The group is comprised of the former staff of Gametrailers (also co-founded by Brandon), and they do live streaming, reviews, previews, and content creation, all around video games. Brandon is a pro at console games, but I grew up playing on a computer, with an emphasis on the games created by Sierra. When I learned Brandon had never played any of the “Space Quest” games, I couldn’t believe it! It was his idea to live stream his first experience playing “Space Quest,” and “Spouse Quest” was a fun play on words with that title. Since then we’ve live streamed a number of games together, including the VR “Star Trek” game.

 

Alexisjoyvipaccess: You have also worked on the series, “Fiasconauts” on the Easy Allies YouTube channel. Is there a moment that sticks out to you the most from working on the series? 

Amanda Troop: Live streaming “Fiasco” is great because it combines gaming with improv. Ian Hink always manages to bring in fun people for “Fiasconauts,” and I love seeing the choices people make when they get to be storytellers.

 

Alexisjoyvipaccess: You also direct an all-female improv team called Ripley Improv. What is it like for you sharing your expertise as a director yet also being an improviser yourself? 

Amanda Troop: We created Ripley Improv because we wanted to tell stories about women who save the day—whether that’s saving the world, saving their best friend, or simply saving themselves. Our first genre was “Dystopia,” based on YA Dystopia novels and films, and I directed that show. Dystopian fiction is a reflection of the world we live in, with the societal issues we currently face, heightened. It was a challenging and exciting experience helping the members of our team find ways of tapping into the mundane offers from the audience (we would usually get the suggestion “what’s an everyday object,” and start our shows based on things like “book,” “pen,” or “mirror”) and then using that object to find imagery and metaphors for the show, and to also illuminate the deeper problems of the Dystopian world we improvised together. YA Dystopia almost always has a heroine who overthrows the Dystopia (think Katniss from “Hunger Games”), and it was so satisfying to improvise a female led revolution once a week! Ripley has just launched its latest genre, “GLAM,” which is based on the Netflix show “GLOW,” and it’s directed by two other members of the group. Glitter and arm wrestling! A pretty big departure from “Dystopia,” and a lot of fun.

 

Alexisjoyvipaccess: Let’s also talk about the BAMF Girls Club. Do you have a favorite episode that you’ve worked on from the series? 

Amanda Troop: I loved playing Hermione Granger on “BAMF Girls.” As a huge “Harry Potter” fan, it was a delight to get to be Hermione for a while. My favorite episode is episode 7, when Willow from “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” comes to the house, and she and Hermione get to do magic together.

 

Alexisjoyvipaccess: What would be your dream role to portray? 

Amanda Troop: Something that combines magic and comedy—tell a joke, cast a spell, then fly away on a unicorn. That kind of thing. I’d love to be on a show like “The Magicians,” or any “Star Trek” show.

 

What are some other upcoming projects that you’re working on that fans can stay tuned for? 

Amanda Troop: We’ve been in the booth recording “Box Peek,” a new animated show that’s going to be on Easy Allies. I play the lead and a bunch of other characters. This week I finished recording 3 out of 6 or 7 characters I play. I can’t wait until the show starts to air, so I can talk more freely about it! I also have another animated project coming out next year, and a part in a new TV series.

 

Alexisjoyvipaccess: Lastly, if you could bring out one message to all of your fans, what message would that be?

Amanda Troop: It can be hard to live in a time where every time we go to our computers or phones, we see updates from friends who seem to be doing so much better than us. It’s tough not to feel down, or excluded. But who you are is already great, and we have to remember that our online lives are only a small window into our complete selves. You are already whole, and exactly who you are supposed to be.