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Matt Higbee is well-respected teacher and improviser at iO-Chicago with a huge following. He talks to Jimmy about the hard part of being on the Harold Commission, which decides which teams get to play and which teams are broken up; being bounced around and cut from teams when he started out; and why it’s important to study one method of improvisation at a time.
If you have been improvising for a while, you may start to get on autopilot when it comes time to doing shows. (I know I do). You get into the habit of rushing to the theater or bar, barely making your call time and then throwing your body on stage. When it's all over, you wonder, “Am I getting any better at this?”
And if you want to keep getting better, you have to keep learning. That doesn’t mean you have to keep taking classes. It just means you have to find a way to keep pushing yourself to try new things.
So, I'd like to share this with you something that has worked for me and some of the groups I’ve played with over the years to help us continue to get better. It’s so simple, I’m almost embarrassed to tell you. Here you go:
Before each and every show, gather your team up and decide as a group on ONE thing you are going to focus on during that show. That is it: ONE. You can focus on something like doing bigger characters, or more agreement, or heightening, editing etc. But just pick one. Anything more than ONE will put you in your head and cause you not to have fun, which, as you know, is the poison that kills improv.
Keep the discussion short. It’s not a let's-rehash-our-last-show-session. Avoid blame and criticizing. Keep it simple. Say something like, “Tonight let's focus on letting our scene develop before we do walk-ons or edits." Done. Since it’s a group, other people will have other ideas, so let them flow, and then quickly come to an agreement as a group about what you will focus on. That is it. Do not over complicate it.
With the more experienced or mature groups that I have performed with, this conversation takes a matter of minutes. Now before I continue, for those who think this is planning or cheating, let me reassure you it’s not. It’s simply a way to make sure we keep growing and developing as a group and as performers. It’s called learning.
Before every Jimmy and Johnnie show, John Hildreth and I will run down the show with our guest and briefly discuss the ONE thing we’d like to focus on for that show. Lately, it has been quicker editing. Before that it was doing more of a variety of characters, or being more physical, or using the environment. Here is the thing: If the group has been improvising for a long time, you know what you need to work on instinctually.
Doing this has helped my improv immeasurably because it continues to challenge me and get me out of my comfort zone. Focusing on ONE thing keeps me out of my head, since I have something else to focus on besides my own performance. It makes me feel more connected to my group because we are all working toward a common goal. And in a weird way, it makes me more open, honest and less defensive in the notes session afterwards and encourages me to tell on myself, which always leads to more learning and makes me a better improviser.
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Join Jimmy and his trusted staff — producer Dan Schiffmacher, director Sam Bowers and head of the interns Lauren Carrane — as they sit down to discuss their favorite episodes of Improv Nerd from 2015.
As improv has gotten bigger over the years, more and more people have become improv teachers. What once was just a hobby for a handful of people has become an actual profession for hundreds of people around the country.
So this week, I started thinking… what made me become an improv teacher in the first place? And why do I keep doing it after all of these years?
To help me, I asked Jay Sukow, a former improv teacher at Second City who has recently started teaching his own improv classes in Los Angeles, to give me his thoughts on why he loves teaching improv, as well.
If you’re considering becoming an improv teacher, we hope our answers inspire you to take the leap!
Jay Sukow, improv teacher, Los Angeles
The reason I decided to become an improv teacher was two-fold. One reason was Dead Poet’s Society. It tells the story of John Keating, an English teacher who inspires his students through his teaching of poetry. From the first day of class, he tries to get his students to look at life differently. He inspires them. He tells them to rip out pages of their poetry books. He encourages his students to "make your lives extraordinary.” He introduces them to the Latin phrase carpe diem (seize the day). The ending of the film made me cry as the students salute Keating by standing on their desk and calling out “O Captain! My Captain.” I get chills just writing this. He inspired his students. Much like my teachers inspired me.
And it’s not just my teachers who inspired me, it’s also my students who continue to inspire me. When someone’s eyes light up with “I get it!” When someone says to me, “You changed my life.” When the career corporate person quits their job and becomes brave enough to pursue their artistic passion. When the grandmother says, “I play better with my grandchildren because I now say ‘Yes, and…!’” When the performer who’s fallen out of love with improv experiences that thing that reignites their passion and comes back reenergized. When people make lifelong friends, find a soul mate, are just happier in life. When a student becomes a teacher and evangelist and our relationship has evolved into becoming good friends. When students change their lives by starting improv companies, especially ones that give back to charities and communities. When a student who is too scared to open up and be vulnerable, who hides behind cracking jokes, being sarcastic and defensive, changes their actions and opens up to the possibility of what can happen. When the executive vice president of a Fortune 100 global fast food company tells you he uses the improv exercise “Red Ball” to start his weekly meetings. When I’ve affected someone’s life.
Another reason I got into teaching was that I wanted everyone to experience the joy, the magic, the love of improv. To see what we could do instead of feeling the pressure of what I was going to do. To show off your intelligence without fear of being made fun of. In improv, I found my tribe. I felt a part of something bigger than myself. Improv kept my ego in check since I had to leave it at the door. Improv allowed me to play and have fun. Improv has had such a big impact of my life and I wanted to share that with everyone I met. I learned that to hold onto something, to really benefit from it, you have to give it away. Improv is one of the few places where we focus on similarities, not differences. I’ve taught classes made up of such disparate people: 19 year old college students, Vietnam veterans, retired grandparents, career advertising professionals, suburban mothers and husbands, recently divorced. All in one class. And that’s the norm, not the exception. It’s always the case that people who would never had met any other way, who don’t run in similar social circles, get to know each other in a supportive, low-stress environment. Because “Yes, and…!” really means “No judgement” of others, but more importantly, of each other. Make each other look like rock stars. Inspire each other to be great.
Along the way, I’ve learned so much. Benefitted so much. Made lifelong friends. Gotten married and had two wonderful children and a dog. All because of the power of “Yes, and!”
I teach now also because I see a lot of negativity in scenes, a lot of conflict, yelling and anger. A lot of individuality. A lot of desperation to be funny instantly, with every spoken line. A lot of making others the butt of the joke, picking on scene partners, saying “No” to most offerings, even as simple as, “Would you like something to drink?” I want to see that change. To see people play not for laughs. I want people to see every opportunity as a wonderful possibility, to see every mistake as a gift, to help everyone feel the magic I feel. I want people to embrace the unknown, to follow the fear, to create, not destroy.
My classes come with lifetime tech support. (Thank you Dean Evans for that line.) Never forget I got your back. And your front. And all of the wonderful you. Those are the main reasons why I decided to become an improv teacher and coach.
Jimmy Carrane, improv teacher, Chicago
I originally started teaching improv and coaching around 1992, and to be totally honest, I did if for the money. Back then, the only people getting paid in improv were the piano players and the teachers/coaches, so naturally, I wanted in on that.
I first looked at teaching like a temp job. I was just doing it to pay the bills until I got my big break (which, as you know, hasn't happened yet -- I am still waiting). At the time, you could make up to $35 for three hours of work coaching a Harold team in someone's tiny apartment in Wrigleyville, and that was some good extra side money for me while I worked a day job selling office supplies.
I continued to teach on the side for a long time, always hoping that someday I could ditch my day job and focus on improv and acting full time. Then one day, around 2002, I was working at a commercial real estate office and teaching a couple of classes at Second City, and I came up with the idea of teaching my own classes. So, I put up some flyers for my first class, took out an ad for it, and the class filled up quickly. I could not believe it. Of course, I took that as a sign that teaching improv was something I was meant to do, at least for now, and I took the leap to make it my full-time job.
My relationship with teaching improvisation has completely changed over the years, as has my approach to it. Today, I teach improv because I love the process more than anything. I love taking a group of strangers and having them give themselves over to something that is bigger than all of us. By doing this, they start finding their comedic voice and taping into their honest life experience, and improv becomes effortless for them. They begin to trust -- the class, the teacher and themselves.
They start feeling like they belong and with that comes a new freedom and new confidence. And regardless of how funny they maybe at this point, they are becoming stage worthy. We start to believe every word that comes out of their mouths and they become better actors without even knowing it. They are entertaining me, and I am a tough audience.
Yes, it seems kind of magical when I put it that way, and it’s hard to believe it really works. Students often can’t believe it either. They’ll come up to me after a class or a workshop and say, “Is it supposed to be that fun and easy?” They seem puzzled by the whole experience. “Yes, yes!” I say. “It is supposed to be this fun and easy.” This is what I am after. This is why I am still teaching for God’s sake!
I also love collaborating with other people, and my students are no exception. When I teach, I don’t come in thinking I know all the answers. Instead, I like to improvise along with the class. For the most part, I don't plan what I am going to teach. I wait for the class to present what they need to learn that day. It's exciting to work this way because it forces me to be in the moment with them, much like when you are improvising in front of an audience. I am in the zone, I am listening and responding. Don't tell anyone, but my students are actually inspiring me.
But the thing I love the most about teaching is creating intimacy with a group of strangers, and out of that comes a sense of community and connection among my students. I will say this: Nothing makes me more proud than when students or improvisers I have taught and directed remain friends after the class or show is over. You wouldn’t believe how happy I feel when I talk to a former student who says something like, "Oh, you know Jerry, Julia and I are still good friends from your class ten years ago." That is almost as good as when someone says, "You are my favorite improv teacher," or "I learned the most in your class” or “You are best improviser teacher I have ever had."
Improvisers and actors usually classify themselves either as one or the other. But you know what? I wish improvisers would realize they are really actors and actors to realize that learning how to improvise is a necessary part of acting.
Over the years, I’ve found that actors are afraid to improvise, convincing themselves they can’t work without a script. They will they get an audition where they will be asked to improvise and they will freeze up and leave dejected and won’t come close to getting cast.
On the flip side, often when improvisers have a script in their hands, they don’t have a clue what they are doing. They think that they’re such great improvisers, they don’t need to learn how to act. Both the actor and the improviser are missing opportunities.
Both the actor and improviser can learn from each other, and the easiest way to do that is for the improviser to take an acting class and the actor to take an improv class.
To help me explain why this is important, I asked Andrew Gallant, who teaches Meisner acting classes at Green Shirt Studio in Chicago, to give me his thoughts on the subject.
Why Improvisers Should Take Acting Classes
-- Jimmy Carrane
1. It helps you get good with a script
Guess what improvisers? If you want to do commercials, TV and films -- the things that actually pay you money and may bring some exposure to your career -- then you are going to have to audition to get them. Which means you are going to have be good with a script. This translates to knowing how to ACT!
Improvisers have had the reputation for years that when they get in casting session and are asked to read off the script they usually suck. The reason they do is they usually have no formal ACTING experience or training. Remember, the last time I checked, there was no one getting rich off of just doing improv.
Why Actors Should Take Improv Classes
-- Andrew Gallant, co-founder of Green Shirt Studio
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Adam McKay is a writer and director of such comedies as Anchorman, Taladega Nights, Step Brothers and more. He has just released his latest film, The Big Short. Jimmy sat down and talked to him about improvising in Chicago back in the ’90s, what he learned from being head writer on SNL, and how improvises when he directs his films.
With the holidays almost here and the year almost over, it’s the perfect time to think about what gifts we’d really like to receive. This year, if you're an improviser, instead of asking for another plaid shirt or pair of skinny jeans, how about asking Santa for some things that will really make you a better improviser?
Yes, the things on this list can't be put in a box. But as the Grinch realizes: "'Maybe Christmas,' he thought, 'doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little big more.'"
So without further ado, here are the five things I hope Santa is able to magically leave under the tree for you this year:
The other night after an extremely fun Jimmy and Johnnie show, a former student who was in the audience came up to me and my wife, Lauren. I asked if he was still doing improv, and he said to me sheepishly, "Yeah. I have been improvising for six years now, and the problem is I don't know if I am getting any better."
Then Lauren jumped in asked him a question. "Are you still having fun?”
"Yes,” he said.
“Well,” Lauren said firmly, "If you are still having fun, that's all that matters."
Wish I had said that. Because she is right. It is that simple, it’s just not that easy.
The whole point of improv is to have fun. When we take our first improv class, we all fall in love with the freedom we feel in class, the ability to just let loose and be creative. We like it because we’re having fun.
Then somewhere along the line, it becomes competitive. We want to make it on a team, or get a part in a show, or we simply start comparing our progress with other people's progress – “They do better characters, or make stronger choices” -- the list can go on and on. We end up putting pressure on ourselves, which is the number one killer of improvisation.
One of the most common ways we put pressure on ourselves is by saying, “I have been doing improv for X number of years,” or “I went through all the levels at Bob's Improv School.” When you say this kind of stuff, you usually think you should be farther along than you think you are, and without knowing it, you’re putting even more pressure on yourself.
When we put pressure on ourselves, we take the joy out of improvising. If you want to put pressure on yourself, you should become a high powered lawyer, not an improviser.
The problem is we are in a hurry to get better. Unfortunately, we don’t have control over when we get better. In fact, in my experience, it rarely happens on my time table. Actually, it works just the opposite: If you don't care if you are getting better, you get better faster.
I have been doing Improv Nerd for over four years, and you know what? This last run of live shows, I finally felt I was getting better as an improviser. It only took 30 years, hundreds of shows and 165 episodes of Improv Nerd for me to feel this way.
How did this happen? Because, I stopped caring if I was going to do a good show or not. I stop worrying if I was getting better. Letting go of those things gave me more room to have fun, which is the true goal in improv. And guess what? When I started putting my focus on having fun instead of being good, I got better without even trying.
So, please, for me, let go of the idea of getting better. Right now, assume you are getting better and that you don't need to worry about it, ever. And remember, I am a slow learner and this took my over 30 years to learn. I just hope it happens faster for you than it did for me. In the meantime, just have fun.
Nothing gets me more excited than when an improviser from another city reaches out to me because they are thinking about moving to Chicago. Of course we talk about classes, performances opportunities and their goals. What we often forget to talk about is something equally important: Where are they going to live?
So, if you’re an improviser who’s been performing for a couple of years in a smaller city or you’ve been killing it on your college improv team and your thinking of making the big move to Chicago, this blog is for you.
I know moving across the country to a brand new city can be overwhelming. Chicago, especially, is a sprawling city with a reputation for being the murder capital of the country, so picking the right place to live can be tricky.
To get the lay of the land, start by taking a look at the map of the L, which is our (mostly) above ground transportation system. In Chicago, you won’t really need a car, because the L takes you everywhere you need to go, plus it’s usually cheaper and easier than looking for parking. The buses are pretty good here and if you are brave enough, some improvisers get bikes and hopefully a light and a helmet.
For reference, Second City is located near the Sedgwick stop on the Brown Line, and iO Chicago is at the North/Clyborn stop on the Red Line. But living right near either of those institutions is going to be cost-prohibitive (we’ll explain more below).
So that means, you’ll need to find another neighborhood to live in (preferably along these two L lines). To help you out, I’ve put together a list of the five best neighborhoods to live in if you’re an improviser. I recommend you look for an apartment within several blocks (walking distance) of one of the L stops mentioned below.
Good luck and welcome to Improv Capital of the world. You are going to love it here and may never want to leave.
Fuel up at bars and restaurants like Penny’s Noodle Shop, Cozy Noodles n’ Rice, Wrigleyville Dogs, Costellos, Chicago Bagel Authority, and Red Ivy. For grocery stores, you’ve got a Whole Foods on Ashland and newly remolded Jewel on Southport.
Apartments may be small, and you’ll likely live by yourself or with one roommate. A two-bedroom averages about $1,700 a month.
It also has the Davis Theater, which is one of few indy movie theaters still left in the city, a great book store called The Book Cellar, and one of my favorite stores in the city if you are into holistic healing, Merz Apothecary.
As for improv performance opportunities, North Center is the home of Corn Productions, which hosts a slew of shows, including its long-running Improv Gladiators.
As for grocery stores, there are tons to choose from, such as the brand new Mariano’s on Lawrence and a Jewel on Lincoln and Montrose.
Aside from being near Second City and iO, if you’re into stand-up, there’s also Zanies Comedy Club. And a couple of stops away, you’ll find yourself at Comedy Clubhouse where the One Group Mind house teams perform. These neighborhood are chalk full of grocery shopping, there is one of the cities biggest and coolest Whole Foods right across from iO and a Treasure Island across from Second City.
If you’re already an improviser living in Chicago, let us know if you have any additional comments to add to the list. You may just be helping out a future teammate!
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Mike Carr has been the Artistic Director at SAK Comedy Lab in Orlando, FL, since 2006. Mike Carr has performed with Mission Improvable, studied at iO Chicago where he was on the Harold team Revolver and has been able to improvise at his job at The Monster Inc. Laugh Floor at Disney World. In this episode, Jimmy talks to Mike Carr at the Tampa Improv Festival about how he got started in theater and what it's like to be an artistic director at an improv theater.