I have known Bill Arnett for some time. I think I first became aware of him when I was teaching at iO Chicago. Bill has always been a thoughtful improviser, teacher and director with a stellar reputation. As a fan of his improv blog, I was excited to find out that he recently put together a book explaining his philosophy on improv and how to execute it with some terrific exercises that have been classroom tested.

In the book, The Complete Improviser, Bill outlines five basic assumptions that we should all have about improv audiences. From these assumptions, he offers his advice on how to do the most effective improv. Below is an expert from the book that explains the first assumption.

ASSUMPTION 1: A truthful, reasonable, and clearly played scene will hold the audience's attention.

Since the invention of the printing press in 1450, 129 million different books have been printed. Most titles have been forgotten and have fallen out of print. There are, however, some famous books still in print and still being read. Some are really old. Books like The Canterbury Tales, Don Quixote, and the works of Shakespeare come to mind. They deal with complex questions of humanity and have so successfully captured the timeless spirit of humankind that they resonate with readers today.

There's another book to add to this list of really old, still-in-print books, a book I took as inspiration for the title of my book. It was written in 1653 by Izaak Walton. It isn't about kings or love affairs or epic adventures. It's about fishing. After 350 years, The Compleat Angler, is still in print.

Does it contain secret fishing knots and fly-tying techniques indispensable even to today's modern fisherman? Not really. The subtitle of the book is “A Contemplative Man's Recreation,” and much of the book is spent in contemplation of what it means to be a fisherman. It spends just as much time on the psychology of fish as it does on the psychology of people. By his own admission, Mr. Walton was only an average fisherman, but for him the bait, lures, and different ways of casting were secondary to the spirit – the truth – of the fisherman.

It is this foray into the truth of the moment, and not just into fishing technique, that has held our attention and kept The Compleat Angler in print.

What can we say about our improv scenes? Are they just a demonstration of proper technique, or do they feature real humans living real human lives? The first assumption – a truthful, reasonable, and clearly played scene will hold an audience's attention – illustrates a perfect baseline for our improv scenes. We don't need to be funny to capture and hold the audience's attention. We just need to be real.

Being real onstage, something called drama, has worked successfully for countless not-funny books, plays, and movies. So why can't it work for improv? For one thing, players often hear "drama" and "play real" and do scenes about people with cancer, but drama and reality simply mean portraying the people and behaviors of typical daily life, not just the occasional heightened experiences or brief moments of tragedy.

Attempting to play true to life can be tricky for experienced improvisers because it puts us in conflict with some traditional improv rules. Much of the well-meaning improv advice that I was trained with (don't say no, don't ask questions, don't talk about people that aren't there) prevents many of the real moments that happen to us in our lives from ever appearing onstage. In my life, I have said no, asked questions, and talked about people that weren't there. So, based on my first assumption, out go the old rules and in comes this advice:

Playing the simple reality that your scene presents to you is always a strong and correct choice.

To read the complete version of Bill Arnett’s new book, The Complete Improviser, you can purchase it on Amazon for $15.

Interested in trying a new approach to your improv? Check out Jimmy Carrane's next Art of Slow Comedy Level 1 class, starting Feb. 22. Only $259 if you sign up by Feb. 8!

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Colin Mochrie is best known as a regular on both the American and British versions of Whose Line Is It Anyway?, which has inspired an entire generation of improvisers. In this episode, Colin sits down with Jimmy at the Genesee Theatre in Waukegan, IL, and talks about starting out in Theatresports in Canada, how he dealt with the sensors on Whose Line and what he really feels about all the bald jokes.

We have all been in those improv scenes where we suffered from the talking statue syndrome. You know, where two improvisers are frozen in the same positions while trying to exchange witty banter. This is improv purgatory.

Remember, live improv is not the same as a podcast. It’s a three-dimensional art form, and we have a whole stage to create whatever our imagination desires. So please use it. I know some people resist using their physicality, or they’re like me and they get lazy and forget to use it, so I have come up a little cheat sheet for you. Here are three easy ways to become more physical in your improv scenes. I suggest you try out them out in your next show, class or rehearsal and see what happens.

1. Duh! Start with an Activity
   Starting an improv scene with an activity is a great way to get out of your own head. I hear my students say all the time, “I am not good with object work.” Guess what? The audience doesn’t care if you’re great at object work. They didn’t come to see mimes, but they did come to see you improvise. So, let go of your judgement and remember you are doing object work for yourself NOT the audience. So, initiate with an activity: brushing your teeth, flying a rocket ship or paddling in a canoe.Tip: The rookie trap some improvisers fall into when they start an improv scene with an activity is that they want to talk about the activity. If that happens, here's some tips: A) Focus on the relationship, not the activity. B) Think to yourself, “What is special about today? Why I am doing this activity now?” C) Think about what happened just before, i.e. I am washing the car with my brother because we both got grounded.

2. Start the Scene in a Bold Physical Position
   It seems 80 percent of our scenes are done either standing up or sitting in chairs. But what if you started your scene in a different position? For example, what if you started by hiding behind the chairs? Or laying across the chairs like you were devastated from a break-up? Or what if you stood on the chairs like you were the ruler of the free world? (I think you get where I’m going with this).I have done an exercise in my improv class where I spread three chairs out on stage and say you have to make a bold, physical position. Sometimes I say you have to be touching the chair. So if you are standing holding the back of the chair, that will give you something. If you curl up in it like a ball, that will say something different. Sometimes I don't use chairs and tell my students to make a bold, physical move, like laying sprawled across the floor (don't forget you can use the floor). What happens is students transform. Starting with a physical position usually leads to having a strong emotional point of view for their character, and at the same time, usually defines the environment.

3. Start Your Character with a Physicality
   This is so easy we forget it. It can be something subtle like a slight limp or something bigger like standing super stiff and tall or entering the scene all hunched over. The point is to get you to move in a way you don't do in your regular day-to-day life. This will break our normal thinking patterns, give us a strong point of view, and force us to engage more with our environment. So if I started with a slight limp, I may be communicating that I’m low status, such as a servant to the other character. My voice and attitude may change as well. This may lead me to going and getting the other player a glass of brandy from the bar. All this is good physical action.

Live in the Chicago suburbs? Don't miss Jimmy's new Level 1 class in Glenview, starting March 14, 2023!

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Brad Sherwood is a regular on Whose Line Is It Anyway? He was also on the British version of Whose Line for three seasons and has tons of TV credits including many appearances on The Tonight Show and hosting The Dating Game. Jimmy caught up with Brad before his two-person improv show with Colin Mochrie at The Genesse Theater in Waukegan, IL, and talked to Brad about confidence as improviser, being on Whose Line and a time he bombed doing improv.

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Sam Bennett is the author of the new book Start Right Where You Are, about how little changes can make a big difference in achieving our goals. She's also an actor who has performed and taught at The Second City in Chicago. Jimmy talks to her about ways improvisers can get unblocked, the importance of self care, and how to deal with the fear of success.

Comedy, acting, and improv can be a hard business. There are so many disappointments and so much rejection that we often forget to give ourselves credit for even showing up. I know I do.

I cannot tell you how many times I have been out with a group of friends and someone will have a piece of good new to share like, "I had an audition for a TV show,” and I will start clapping for them in the middle of some crowded breakfast restaurant. They'll glare at me for a couple of seconds and then snap back, "Don't clap. I didn’t get the part!"

Like most things, I used to take that personally, but now it just makes me sad because it’s how I think, too. If we don't get the results that we wanted, then there's no need to celebrate. God forbid we give ourselves credit for just getting the audition in the first place. We all know that’s not good enough. Deep down we hate ourselves, and if we are not perfect then we don't even deserve to live. (Ok, maybe a little dramatic, but it’s honestly how I think sometimes.)

The good news is I am changing. Let's blame it on me becoming a father, but I am starting to see my own progress. I am becoming gentler on myself thanks to my daughter. In fact, since we had Betsy, I am starting to like myself even more. I kiss her chubby little cheeks and say I love her 100 times a day, and that stuff seems to be rubbing off on me. It has disrupted the negative messages in my head.

The other day, I had a big audition for NBC's Chicago Med. It was five scenes, which for a Chicago actor is like getting three-picture deal. I showed up. It was not one of my best auditions, but it wasn’t terrible. As of the writing of this blog, I have not gotten a call back and today, that doesn’t matter. It really doesn't. Usually I am pile of nerves before, during and after an audition. In this case, I wasn't. I was unusually calm. Typically after an audition I am filled with shame and despair and beat myself up on the ride home until I go to bed that night. I am not going to lie; even this time, I had tinges of shame, which I fought off like a winter cold, and the negative messages seemed to evaporate like snowflakes landing on the warm cement. (How is that that last sentence of writing? Pretty impressive, huh?)

But here is the best part: Even though it was just an ok audition by my "high standards," I actually felt proud of myself for showing up and happy that I got to perform. I felt so good, it was equivalent to going to three hours of group therapy. I was on new kind of performance high, the kind that usually only come from a killer show or when I actually land a TV or film part. Not this time. The good feeling came from just showing up and doing the best I could on that day. Some would say that is acceptance. Some would call this serenity. I don't care what you call it, I liked the feeling. And for me, this is progress, huge progress, and I believe it will lead to more opportunities and an overall better life for me, my new family and even for my friends who get annoyed when I clap at their good news.

Want to expand your improv horizons? Sign up for Jimmy's next Art of Slow Comedy Level 1 class, starting Feb. 22. Only $259 if you sign up by Feb. 8!

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Jonathan Pitts is the executive director of the Chicago Improv Festival, which he founded 20 years ago. In this interview, Jimmy gets an Improv Nerd exclusive -- Jonathan tells Jimmy what he's going to do after this year's festival -- and they talk about how Chicago has been able to stay relevant as an improv mecca and Jonathan's experience working with David Shepherd.

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Jimmy sits down with producer Dan Schiffmacher and director Sam Bowers to pick their favorite moments of the year and give you behind the scenes stories. Plus Dan and Sam give you their favorite "Jimmy moment" of 2016.

I love Chinese food, and even though I don't eat sugar, I love opening the fortune cookies at the end. The little pieces of wisdom are the perfect way to end a great meal. So now that the year is coming to a close, I decided we should wrap things up with some improv wisdom to inspire you for 2017. Here are a few of my favorites that I put on Twitter throughout 2016. Enjoy!

1. Waiting for inspiration is called procrastination.

2. Denying your weirdness is denying your brilliance.

3. If you don't take time to recharge your batteries they may die in the middle of a show.

4. Having a beer in your hand before a show is not warm up exercise.

5. Some people will love what we do. Some people will hate what we do. Most people don't even know we exist.

6. We think we are hiding in character when sometimes it is actually more revealing.

7. People don't take risks because they are afraid they will look silly. In improv if we don't look silly, people look at us like there is something wrong with us.

8. Blame the audience and you have learned nothing.

9. When giving up is not an option, take a nap.

10. Why does the critic in our head always sound like our parents?

11. Even in our best shows we still make mistakes, they just aren't as obvious.

12. Being happy for other people's success is some of our best acting.

13. You need the bad shows to get better and the good shows to keep going.

14. Nothing will kill creativity faster than wanting to do it right.

15. Be nice to everyone.
Start your year on the right foot. Sign up for Jimmy's Art of Slow Comedy Level 3 Class, which includes a performance. Classes start Jan. 4. Only 1 spot left!

Well, 2016 is almost over, and I want to thank you for all your support and encouragement over the last year. As you know, it’s hard for me to find joy in most things that I do, but when I take a look back at this year, even I am impressed with all of the incredible things that happened.

Here are my top 10 highlights of 2016:

1. On July 2 in the afternoon, the most beautiful little girl, Betsy Jane Carrane, was born, making me officially a father. Now she’s almost six months old, and we have already given her six different nicknames. I love that little "Chunko" so much.
2. In March, my father died. I was fortunate enough to have made amends with him before he died, and I got to say goodbye to him on his last day on this earth. I said I loved him. Lying in the hospital bed, he could not speak. He just raised his shaking hand to communicate that he loved me too, in one of the most intimate conversations I have ever had with him.
3. With the support of Lauren, I went to Los Angeles in April to attempt the impossible and to try see if I could sell the podcast Improv Nerd as an actual TV show or as a web series on a digital platform. I had tons of meetings with executives and recorded five episodes of Improv Nerd in Feralaudio’s state-of-the art studios. Instead of being completely scared, I was actually excited and proud of myself for showing up, and so grateful for all of the support I got from friends who are “in the business.”

4. While in LA, I was a guest on Dan Harmon’s popular podcast, HarmonTown. What was only scheduled to be a short appearance lasted almost an hour, and working with Dan Harmon and the rest of the guests was a complete blast. I really felt like a star.

5. In January, I got to travel to Austin, TX, one of my all-time favorite cities for food, people and improv. While I was there, I got to teach improv workshops and do shows at The Institution, a theater run by Tom Booker, one of my old friends from my Annoyance Theater days.

6. In March, I had the opportunity to travel to Pittsburgh’s growing Arcade Comedy Theater, where I taught improv workshops and interviewed and performed with Kristy and Jethro Nolen, whom I knew and loved back when they were here in Chicago. Pittsburgh is a surprisingly cool city, and it was so much fun reconnecting with Kristy and Jethro and seeing how much the improv scene is growing there.

7. In August, I had the chance to travel to Miami, a city I had never been to before, and teach and do shows at The Villain Theater and interview Jeff Quintana for an episode of Improv Nerd. It was the first time I traveled after having the baby, so it was hard to be away, but it was also fun to feel single again.

8. In September, Improv Nerd turned 5 years old, and we celebrated with an amazing show at the Chicago Podcast Festival in November with special guest Scott Adsit. The show was in front of a big crowd at the Athenaeum Theater, and it was awesome to work off the energy in the room and play with Scott, who had some great stories to share, including one about me from college when Martin DeMaat called me a “log.”

9. This year really marked an increase in the number of big guests that I was able to get on Improv Nerd (partially thanks to Lauren pushing me to do more phone interviews). I got to interview some of the biggest names in comedy including Cecily Strong, Jane Lynch, TJ Miller, Mike Birbiglia, Jon Favreau, Jon Glaser, Jason Winer, Simon Helberg, Nia Vardalos, Kevin Nealon, Nora Dunn and Hello From The Magic Tavern.

10. I also had a great year teaching some of the most talented improv students in Chicago. I am humbled and grateful for the level of students I had in my classes and improv workshops this year, all of whom learned how to challenge themselves, each other and me. Oh, and it was pretty cool that my Art of Slow Comedy summer intensives completely sold out, mostly filled with students from around the world. I’m international, baby!

What were some of your best moments of 2016? Tell us in the comments below.
Want to start off 2017 right? Sign up for Jimmy's Art of Slow Comedy Level 3 class, starting Jan. 4. This class features a performance on the last day of class. Only 2 spots left!