Patrick McCarthy is an actor, improviser and one of New York's most respected improv teachers. He teaches and performs at The PIT in New York. We talked to him about what truth in comedy means to him, why it's important to take an acting class, and his journey from addiction to sobriety.
I did it. Last weekend I actually did a live improv show in front of a live audience. It had been over two years since I had been on stage, thanks to Covid. But here I was at the Laughing Academy in Glenview improvising again with some people I had known for years and some […]
Greg Hollimon is an actor and improviser who is best known for his work on Comedy Central's "Strangers with Candy" as Principal Blackman. We talked to him about how to have a great stage presence, why he likes performing with Pimprov and how he got cast in "Strangers With Candy."
Aretha Sills is a legendary improv teacher and writer. She is also the daughter of Paul Sills and the granddaughter of Viola Spolin. If you really want to get a sense of the origins of improv and what it was like to grow up in an improv family and the huge contribution that Viola made […]
Marz Timms is an improviser, stand up, teacher and actor. He is the creator of Pimprov, one of Chicago's longest running improv shows. We talked to him about the Annoyance's style of improv, how to be bigger than the stage, how you can get paid in improv, and the difference between stand up and improv.
Improvisers inherently know that joy is in the now. That’s where the laughs lie, and the audience reinforces that when we are on stage. It's something we train for and hope to achieve in every show, yet I still don't achieve it every time I improvise. Staying in the moment can be hard, even for longtime improvisers like me. […]
If you are looking for a little inspiration in your comedy career, I have found three things — a book, a movie and a documentary — that really spoke to me recently, and if you don't mine, I'd love to recommend them to you. Comedy, Comedy, Comedy, Drama by Bob OdenkirkWho wouldn’t want to have Bob […]
I used to think that not only did my opinion matter, but that it defined me. And if you did not agree with me there must be something wrong with you, or worse, something wrong with me. Sharing my opinion about someone's show or a movie wasn't just a matter of an opinion. It was […]
I am not a very courageous person. It's weird to think that I teach people how to take risks, when in my own life I am pretty risk averse. Last weekend, I took Betsy to a skating birthday party for one of her friends, and the parents were invited to skate, too. I was excited to […]
How many times have you done an improv show, and after you get a suggestion from the audience, you get in your head trying to find the "right" way to use it? Or you are in scene and thing to heighten is right in front of you, but you resist doing it because you think it’s the […]