Thank you for all of the feedback on my most recent blog. I have taken all of your reactions on this post on social media and my website to heart. Based on your comments and after re-reading the blog, it is clear to me that I could have been more articulate in getting my message across. I […]
This blog post originally had a different title, which I have changed. Please see my additional blog post where I clarify some of the points made here. I believe in comedy we always have an opportunity to heal others. We may heal the audience, people in our group, or more importantly, ourselves. Certainly, making people […]
Today, many improvisers want to shy away from certain taboo topics. As artists that is their right, and as a teacher, performer and human being, I try to respect people’s individual boundaries to not do scenes about things they don’t want to talk about. But as a teacher, I also don't want you to miss […]
You know why I think so many people are drawn to doing improv? I don't think it's because they want to be famous, or even that they think they're funny. I think it's because improv gives people a sense of belonging and community, something that gives people a powerful sense of meaning in their lives. […]
We are told improv is great for finding your voice. Everyone who markets improv uses that phrase, but until recently, I really didn’t know what people meant by it. And surprisingly, I am learning this through another art form — storytelling. After a bit of break, I am back to doing storytelling and I am […]
I love reading books on spiritually as much as I love ones about improv. And one of my favorite things to do is see how spirituality and improv overlap. Recently, I having been reading a book called Love Is Letting Go Of Fear by Gerald Jampolsky, which is loosely based on some of the concepts […]
Improv is collaboration. That is why we do it, because we love to collaborate with other people. But when you have been improvising for a while, you can get set in your ways. You can start to feel comfortable only playing a certain style of improv or playing only with certain people. I know this works […]
In improv, we are always striving to be authentic on stage, but teaching authenticity can be a tricky thing. One of the people who taught it the best was Del Close, an improv teacher I studied with who influenced a generation of comedians from Bill Murray to Chris Farley to Tina Fey to Amy Poehler to […]
As you know, one of my favorite topics to talk about is shame, especially how it affects improvising and performing. Nobody has done more research on the topic or is filled with more of it than I am. That make me an expert on the subject. In all seriousness, it is killing me. Shame is the […]
This is the blog you are getting this week. I am pretty sure it’s not my best work. I can live with that, since when you get this I will be finishing up a five-day vacation with my wife, Lauren, and my daughter, Betsy. It is our first official family vacation. Hopefully, I will have […]