To the older people starting out in improv: You belong. This is for you. If you are an older person and you are just starting out doing improv, stand-up, storytelling or acting, I want to say to you are in the right place. You did not wait too long. You are not wasting your time. […]
Looking for something to get an improviser this holiday season besides a Chipotle gift card or a 12-pack of beer? Well, how about something to read, like a book? Every year, I put together a list of my favorite books from the previous year, and this year is no exception. Whether you are planning to […]
Anger is funny. Think about all of the great scenes you’ve watched in movies and sitcoms where the character keeps getting more and more frustrated as a situation gets heightened. Ed Helms losing his shit in The Hangover, George Costanza yelling at people in a movie theater, Steve Martin going crazy in Planes, Trains and Automobiles. These […]
Happy Thanksgiving, improvisers! All week long, I have been looking forward to today. When it comes to holidays, Thanksgiving is definitely my favorite on the list. It’s pure. It’s simple. I’m going to go out on a limb and say it is the best holiday of all time. How is that? My wife Lauren, on […]
I hear this all the time from my students who are just starting out in improv: "Be Hard on Me." "Don't Hold Back." "I don't need all these positive notes like I am doing nothing wrong up there." I get it. I was totally the same way. I think some of us come from parents […]
I am delusional. I usually think that if I want to make more money in the performing arts, I just have to work harder. But the truth is when I do what the Universe wants me to do creatively, the money usually comes in, and usually not how I expect it. For the last several […]
Every once in a while we get lost in an improv scene. We freeze, not knowing what to do next. We panic, shut down, feel defeated. But if we pause for a second, we can usually get ourselves back on track – if we know a few basic tips. Think of these tips as your […]
Some people think that all it takes to put together a great improv group is picking the right people. Though that it is important, I would argue what is equally important is bonding as group. I have found the formula is pretty simple: Time + play = bonding as a group. I have found as […]
Recently Saturday Night Live hired two very talented, hard-working and funny cast members from Chicago: Chris Redd and Luke Null. When Chris Redd got hired, he had moved to LA and was getting parts in movies and TV shows and had even done his own stand-up special, so he was already getting noticed. But Luke […]
The irony is not lost on me that I am an improv teacher, which is about teaching people how to play and have fun, which is what I have the hardest time doing in my own life. (This is a classic case where the teacher teaches what he most needs to learn himself). Since I […]