Off The Cuff: Jarrod Pimentel

Aug. 23, 2019

Our CCRI faculty and staff are a diverse group with many fascinating hobbies and interests that keep them busy during their free time off campus. Welcome to Off the Cuff. Every other week, we'll profile a member of our CCRI family to find out what makes them tick. Hopefully, their stories inspire others and help us develop new connections and friendships with our CCRI colleagues.

Jarrod Pimentel may seem quiet on the surface as a Budget Specialist and Financial Analyst at CCRI’s Knight Campus, but the mild-mannered numbers whiz is quite the cut-up outside of the office. The Newport, RI, native is also part of an improv group called “The Bit Players” that performs weekly at the Firehouse Theater.

Join us as we take a closer look at Jarrod’s comedic adventures and get the scoop on his recent run-in with an entertainment icon in Newport. If you want to see him in action this weekend or any other time, purchase your tickets online and use the code "CCRI3" for a special CCRI employee discount!

Tell us a little bit about where you’re from, how long you’ve been at CCRI and what your main responsibilities are.

I’m from Newport. I work in the Business Office, where we create the budget and manage the day-to-day business functions for the college including purchasing, accounts payable, tracking expenditures, managing utilities, and adjusting projections for the fiscal year. Before that, I worked at the State House for the House Fiscal Advisory Staff.

Exactly what is improv and how did you get involved?

Improv is an offshoot of theater that bases scenes and “games” off audience suggestions. Typically our show is run much like an episode of “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” We have our own theater on Broadway in Newport, a small black box that seats about 100 in an old firehouse. We have “bits” that we use to structure the scenes or games, but what comes out on-stage is completely off-the-cuff. I joined up in April of 2009 and it was more of a bare bones operation, just four or five improvisers putting on a show for 20 people. While I did not have any improv chops, I’ve played guitar since I was a teenager and have kind of a quirky skill. I’m able to improvise humorous songs while also making up parts on the guitar – think of a bawdy Raffi without written lyrics. I do double duty performing with the pit band and as an on-stage improviser.

Jay Leno recently stopped by the Firehouse Theater out of nowhere and performed a stand-up comedy routine. What was it like when he walked through the door that night?

Long story short, this was a total surprise for us. He was a very endearing, friendly, down-to-earth guy that was just hanging out with the cast before our Friday night show. He took a couple of digs at me, and, I have to say, it was an honor to be made fun of by an absolute legend.

How often do you get to perform throughout the year?

We perform every Friday and Saturday night throughout the year with additional shows on Mondays (industry night, for people working in restaurants and hotels that do not have the weekend off) and Wednesdays (our family-friendly kids shows) during the summer. We’ve put these shows on every Friday and Saturday for 12 years.  I’ve been in the troupe for 10. We began incorporating improvised musical games into our show and now it’s a huge part of what we do. Now, we’re sold out practically every weekend, have graphics and monitors, are often hired by large companies for private shows and trainings, and have brought home a number of awards. Word has also gotten around on TripAdvisor, etc., and we constantly have celebrations, bachelorette parties (I actually met my wife at one of these, leading to a near-constant refrain of “I was the entertainment at her best friend’s bachelorette party!”), etc., coming from out of town for our shows. This year, we took home a Best of Rhode Island award from Rhode Island Monthly for best local event. Seeing as though we’re based in Newport, being recognized as the best local event is a pretty huge honor since there are so many to choose from. We are also constantly running workshops for private companies, schools, non-profit organizations, or just family events. Improv skills are incredibly useful in the workplace.

Have you ever considered a CCRI Follies act, or is that a little too close to home?

I like to keep it Bruce Wayne at work and save Batman for the evenings.

We would love to hear your story, too! Email us at [email protected] if you’d like to be featured in a future edition of “Off the Cuff” or want to nominate a co-worker.

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