When I tell a story on stage, I want to get laughs. I know not all storytellers work like this, but if you do and you are looking to punch up your story to squeeze in some more laughs, I have some quick tips that may help you make your story funnier. Storytelling is not […]
“Perfect is the enemy of good.” — Voltaire For most artists, creating is the fun part. The problem comes when they want to get their work out in the world. They have been bitching and moaning that they’re nobody recognize their art for years, but when they have the chance to put themselves out there, […]
In our house we have a ritual. Almost every night after dinner, me, my wife, and my 4-year-old daughter, Betsy, all sit on the floor and play a board game. We play Candy Land, Hi-Ho! Cherry-O or other board games that are appropriate for a 4 year old. It usually starts off pretty good, and […]
I can’t think of a better sound than the word “Thank You.” “Please” would be a close second. They’re two words that I am realizing I don’t use enough, as we are trying to teach my 4-year-old daughter manners. As much as I had a complicated relationship with my parents, I think they did a good job of […]
What I love teaching the most in improv is connection — players connecting on a deeper emotional level. So many improvisers focus on trying to be witty and fast and funny, but they don’t realize that you can’t really do any of those other things well if you don’t first form a real emotional connection […]
Adam Cawley is a three-time Canadian Award-winning actor, who is also a writer, improviser and teacher. He has written four revues at The Second City Main Stage in Toronto and is the co-host of the podcast The Backline with Rob and Adam. We talk to him about variety in improv, how he approaches improv shows […]
As more and more people are doing improv over Zoom, we are all starting to adapt to this new medium and find ways to make it work for improvisers. In the past few months, I’ve published a few blogs about how to make your improv pop on Zoom and how to host an improv show […]
Shaun Landry, is an actor, teacher and improviser. She teaches at The Pack Theater and is is the Artist Director of Oui be Negros which is an African-American sketch and improv group that she started back in 1994 in Chicago. Jimmy talks to her about why she thinks it’s important to make social statements in […]
Recently, the performing arts have been hit hard. Live theater has gone dark, until further notice. We are feeling all sorts of emotions about it. Mostly we are all still grieving. Some day we will be in front of live audiences again, I am sure of it, but in the meantime we must fight these feelings of isolation or die. […]
Most improvisers do improv as a hobby while they work a day job to pay their bills. Many wish that someday they could quit their day job and just do improv, but they can’t really figure out how to get there. If you want to quit your day job or just make a little extra […]