I recently finished teaching one of my Art of Slow Comedy Summer Intensives, and I'm gearing up to teach another one this weekend. I've been teaching these intensives every year for the past several years, and each year I get the pleasure of teaching students from all over the world: Germany, New Zealand, China, Denmark, […]

I have been performing since I was in my 20s. And when I started out, I wish to God someone would have told me that to get good at improv, you’re going to have to get comfortable being bad at it for a while – in public – before you can master it. There are […]

Something weird has been happening to me lately: I wake up and I feel successful. I have not changed my diet. I am not getting enough sleep. And I am still not famous. But still, I feel successful. As you know, for me, this not a normal feeling. And you could see why I would […]

Over the years I have taught all types of people in my improv classes and workshops. The majority of people are actors and improvisers, but another group that I’ve found can really benefit from improv are therapists, life coaches, and health professionals. Why? Because therapy, just like improv, is all about listening. And when therapists […]

Have you ever been back stage before a show and peeked out at the audience to see only a tiny crowd and your heart sank? Yes, it’s disappointing. We all want to play to packed houses all the time, but the reality for most improvisers and actors is sometimes that just doesn’t happen. Each group and […]

Last Saturday night I opened my one person show, “World's Greatest Dad(?).” It did not go perfectly; no show ever does. It went well, don't get me wrong, but I had high expectations. So afterwards I was filled with shame, self-doubt and self-hatred. I wanted to hide. I wanted to die. Some of my friends […]

I have big news to share with you today. I am really excited to announce that my new autobiographical one-person show, World’s Greatest Dad(?), is going to be opening at Second City’s Judy’s Beat Lounge next month. The show will run on Saturdays at 6 p.m. from June 15 through July 20. If you’ve been […]

If you have a kid in any grade from preschool to high school, you’re probably well aware that we’re right in the middle of Teacher Appreciation Week. And this week, as I helped get together a gift bag for my daughter’s teacher, I started reflecting on all of the great improv teachers I have had […]

Sunday is my birthday. I turn 55 years old. That is not a typo. It’s hard to believe, but it’s true. In improv years, that makes me 104. Even I am amazed I’ve been around that long, teaching and performing improv. My life is not what I imagined it would be when I took my […]

Have you ever gotten off stage after a so-called bad show and immediately started blaming your teammates in your head for what went wrong? Even if you don’t tell them you’re blaming them, when you start to focus on other people as the problem, you run the risk of alienating them. Not a good move […]