Last Sunday night, Saturday Night Live celebrated 50 years on TV with a three-and-a-half hour special. I watched all of it all, including some of the red carpet beforehand. I have a long history with the show, starting when I was 12. It was the first show on TV that made me laugh out loud. […]
If you’re a storyteller and you want to make your story unforgettable, make it funny. Laughter is one of the best ways to connect with your audience. Unfortunately, some storytellers don't think they are funny and are afraid to even try, but it’s easier than you think. Once you follow these five easy ways to […]
One of my favorite books on long form improv is The Complete Improviser by Bill Arnett. Bill is an incredible teacher, director and improviser from Chicago whom I first met at IO-Chicago back in the late ’90s. The other day I needed some inspiration for upcoming class, so I took Bill's book off my shelf, […]
Students often want to know when they will know they are getting good at improv. The simple answer might be, “When you are getting more laughs,” but I actually think it's the opposite. When people are starting out in improv, the way they usually measure their success is by how many laughs they get in […]
Season's greetings to all of you who are reading this. I hope you have a happy and joyous holiday.As we come to the end of another year, I always like to take some time to come up with a list of 5 things I would like to do more of in improv in the coming […]
There is one common improv habit that keeps coming up in my online and in-person improv classes and workshops. It usually happens in a very simple agreement scene. Let’s say the scene is about two teenagers sitting outside the principal’s office, laughing at the prank they pulled that got them in trouble. The players are […]
Thanksgiving is about being grateful, and this year, I'm feeling especially grateful for the changes that I've made as an improv teacher over the years. If you read this blog, chances are you have worked with me in an improv workshop or class, or you have listened to the podcast Improv Nerd, or you just […]
If you want a great shortcut to doing stronger scene work, make sure that you give a name to yourself and the other people in the scene near the top of the scene. That’s because making up a name for yourself or your partner is a fast and easy way to discover the relationship between […]
Do you ever find yourself doing an improv scene and you're not quite sure what should happen next? If so, one easy hack that I've found works well is to heighten your character's emotions. Emotions can make dialogue flow easily and sound natural, especially when they are coming from a real place. And sometimes all […]
Vulnerability is a great way to connect with your scene partner in a deeper way, and usually being vulnerable in a scene leads to unexpected choices because you are working from your heart instead of your head. Where being vulnerable can be the most effective is when your character is being blamed or baited into […]