This week is my 8-year-old daughter is taking her first improv camp. I was more excited than she was about it, even though her 20-something-year-old counselor didn’t know that I am “improv” famous when I dropped her off the first day. I was first exposed to improv when I was 18 years old, so to see my daughter […]
Taking in compliments has always been hard for me. I squirm a little bit, I want to deflect them. But as I grow as a person and as an artist, it’s important for me to try to take in the good things that people say about me and try to embrace them. Because it’s only […]
When you work with the same group of improvisers for a while you can get in rut. You get into roles, like "You’re the one who always edits” or “You’re the one who always does the first scene." You may not even be aware that it is happening. Recently, I was listening to Andy Richter's […]
My daughter Betsy turned 8 this week. She is truly my favorite person. My wife will say the same thing. I am proud of my daughter, and even more of myself. I made it. I did it. I am taking a victory lap. Parenting is like improv: You learn by doing, and it's the mistakes that makes you better, which […]
Recently, I’ve been thinking about my history of doing bad shows. After doing improv for more than 30 years, I never stop having them. The good news is the level of my bad shows rises. My bad shows today aren’t nearly as bad as my bad shows from 10 years ago. The other thing that […]
Recently, I had a student in one of my improv classes who was asking a lot of questions in their scene. They were rapid-firing questions as if they were interviewing the person rather than improvising with them. After the scene was over, we talked about all the questions. By the way, I don't believe in "you can't ask […]
When I first started improvising, I had an idea of the type of improv I aspired to do. It was more slow and grounded than other types of improv, made up of relationship-based scenes like the kind I teach today in my classes and workshops. It was an ideal that took decades to achieve. In my head, I […]
For me as a performer, I always want the audience to love me, and all the other kinds of love don't matter. This month I turned 60, and my wife and I gathered 12 of my friends for a party at our house to celebrate my birthday. After dinner, and before they brought the cake out to sing […]
The inner critic is that part of your brain that, when your improv show is over, finds all of the things you did wrong. It is ruthless. It is rooted in fear and wants to convince you that you are worthless. Its voice is so loud, you believe every word it says. The Inner Critic is a big […]
Some improv teachers (including myself) will say over and over again “Don’t try to be funny.” That can be confusing. A better approach is, “play the reality of the scene.” When improviser do that, especially when they are given a certain task, the funny will show up without them trying. In improv, the more believable you […]