Screaming Frog Productions is…

Formerly a Chicago theater and improvisation company, Screaming Frog has its roots creating original comedic works for the stage and teaching improvisation classes.

Based in Los Angeles, SFP has transformed itself into a successful film & video production company.

Created by artists who believe that the best films are developed through passion and commitment, Screaming Frog surrounds itself with like-minded artists who love the art of filmmaking and understand the business side as well.

Screaming Frog values individual creativity and strives to foster innovative ideas.

Jonathan Browning

Jonathan Browning was born and raised in a very small town in Southern Illinois. Growing up here forced him to stretch and nurture his imagination. (It was a place that “throwing dirt clods at passing cars and then hiding in the corn fields” was considered a fun Saturday night.)

After graduating from Illinois State University with a degree in Theatre, he moved to Chicago where he was an active member of the Annoyance Theatre, the Midnight Circus, Comedy Sportz and a variety of other companies. He spent most of that time learning and performing Improvisation but he continued to do sketch comedy and traditional theatre as well. This inability to chose one form and “stick with it” became a permanent characteristic of his creative life. He believes that the best art comes from the weaving of different forms and types of talented people together.

In LA he was a member of the very first Harold Team (Robot Doctors) at UCB, performed with various teams at IO West and Second City Hollywood. He also performed stand up at The Improv, The Comedy Store, The Ice House and just about any bar/coffee shop/thrift store/laundry mat that had a microphone. He appears in dozens of national commercials (Dairy Council, Progressive, Jeep, Toyota, Home Depot, etc.) and on shows, “The Office” and “How I Met Your Mother”.

In 2006 he directed his first short film. He got the idea while driving past a group of day laborers outside a Home Depot and wondering what that would be like to have to fight every morning for the opportunity to work. The result of that was The Job.

His passion is writing and directing and his comedic short films have taken him around the world, screening in over 300 international film festivals and honored with 28 international awards.

Recently, Jonathan returned to his theatre roots and has written dozens of one-act plays for the stage. The Lucky And The Strong was a challenge to himself to create, write, cast, rehearse and mount five new one-acts every month. He did this for six months, creating and presenting thirty new one-acts. Often more dramatic in tone than his shorts, this allowed him to explore some darker subject matter. He continues to write original one-acts and presents them around Los Angeles.

In 2014 he presented The Red Book, a one-serpent show directed by Stoney Westmoreland. The premise was that Satan visits a small Southern Baptists Church to break the news that their minister was killed on his way to church that morning. But since his body won’t be found for another hour, Satan decides he will be doing their Sunday Sermon. Sharing his own insights and inviting other souls whom he shares Hell with, we are given a much different account of what “really” happened in the Bible.

Leslie McManus

Leslie McManus, originally from Chicago, started her stage acting career performing in numerous original pieces at The Second City Training Center, Improv Olympic, Annoyance Theatre and ComedySportz.

She then began working her way into commercials, print ads and voiceovers. Some of these spots include Meijer, Special K, FTD, Mobil, Schultz Plant Care, Head & Shoulders, AT&T, Yoplait, Ford Motors, Pacificare, & Bud Light.

With Screaming Frog she has starred in 5 award winning short films that have been shown in hundreds of festivals around the world.

Leslie has also been featured in 3 independent feature films, the latest of which, Joe Casey’s “Hit Parade”, is available on DVD.

In addition, her popular YouTube channel has a full season of videos that is completely improvised based on news headlines, called “Yes And-ing the News“. To watch these and see more about Leslie, visit www.lesliemcmanus.com .