KEEP SAYING YES, AND... When I started taking improv classes in Chicago in the late ’80s and early ’90s the goal was simple: study with Del Close at the Improv Olympic, get hired by Second City and then get on Saturday Night Live. The path was narrow. Anyone who even thought about teaching, directing or […]
I got into improv for the wrong reason: to be liked. I was looking for everyone to validate me, especially the audience. "Oh, what a noble thing I am doing,” I thought, “making people laugh.” I was lying to myself. I desperately needed their love, and I would bend and twist myself into any shape they […]
Recently, a student in one of my Art of Slow Comedy improv classes admitted she had all these judgments about what you should and shouldn't do in improv and was trying so hard not to make a mistake that she wasn’t having any fun. The sad thing was, she hadn’t even been doing improv very […]
Anger is one of the most intimate emotions and the one many improvisers are most terrified to play on stage. Instead of thinking of anger as a gift to their partner, they think they are doing something wrong. And when even a hint of it starts to bubble up in scene, they stop it immediately, backing away […]
Lately, I have been noticing that students in my improv classes feel they have to create some sort of problem at the top of the scene. They’ll say something like: "You didn't pay the rent," or "Oh, great you broke the TV, now what?" or "I broke Mom's favorite vase." This is not a good […]
All of us in the performing arts want to get noticed. We improvisers want to get recognition for our work, and most of us would love to be famous -- in my case, maybe too much. I have always looked at fame as something that would take away my years of low self esteem, would make me whole […]
Have you ever been stuck in traffic? Or had people cancel dinner plans with you at the last minute? Or been fired from your job? When things aren't going your way, you can use it as an opportunity to create something even better. Recently I had booked Dina Facklis and Brad Morris as guests on Improv Nerd, a comedy podcast and live […]
One of the best acting tips I ever got was from Del Close, one of my early improv teachers, who used to say "follow the fear." How I interpret that when I am on stage improvising is if you’re standing in the back line doing a Harold, Montage or an Armando and you feel afraid […]
To get good at something you have to be willing to get messy, which in terms of improv means you need to be able to do bad shows or bad classes over and over again in order to get good. That's the secret formula -- in improv, in art and in life. If you are […]
My friend, Christie, suggested I write a blog about using improv in your relationships. Though I am an expert in improv and not in relationships, I thought, hey, why not? Here’s what I have learned in more than 25 years of teaching and performing improvisation. 1. Bring a sense of play in all your relationships. […]