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November 9, 2016
What the Cubs Taught Me About Improv

If you haven’t heard by now, last week, after 108 years, the Chicago Cubs finally won a World Series title. Pretty incredible, especially for me who has been a Cubs fan my whole life. But if you have been reading this blog with any sort of regularity, you know that a celebration of any kind […]

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October 25, 2016
You Are Not a Burden

Here’s something I see often in my improv classes: Two students will improvise an incredible scene, get tons of laughs, play real and grounded characters, and then when it’s over, they rush off stage and get back to their chairs as quickly as possible, as if they are in the witness protection program. The thought of […]

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October 12, 2016
What I've Learned So Far as a Dad

As you know, a little over three months ago, Lauren and I had our first child, a beautiful baby girl named Betsy Jane Carrane. Being a parent is the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. I am a glad I did not know how hard this would be or I wouldn't have […]

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September 28, 2016
How to Kick Someone Out of Your Improv Group

Kicking a member out of your improv group is something nobody wants to do. Most groups avoid it because improvisers hate confrontation. But sometimes it has to happen, and if you do have to let someone go, remember what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. So here are some tips to help prevent you from […]

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September 18, 2016
Congrats to the 2016 Emmy Nominees!

Tonight is the 2016 Emmy Awards. It's a big night for the television industry, and it's also a big night for the improv community. When I was looking at the list of nominees the other day, I couldn't believe how many improvisers were nominated in all categories -- acting, writing, and directing. Here is our […]

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September 13, 2016
Why I Still Do Improv

What still excites me about improv after all these years? I get this question a lot. And the answer may surprise you. It is the teaching. I love teaching. I love teaching improv even more than doing shows or the podcast Improv Nerd. And this will blow your mind coming from Mr. Self-Hatred and Self-Loather […]

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August 31, 2016
What Is the Art of Slow Comedy?

This summer I taught two sold-out weekends of my Art of Slow Comedy intensives, and after the first two-day intensive, one my students from Denmark asked me: "What is the Art of Slow Comedy?" That is hard question to answer since I have evolved and so has my teaching. After I explained it, he said, […]

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August 24, 2016
Goodbye, Judy Fabjance

The Chicago improv community has lost another great one, this time to fucking cancer. Judy Fabjance was a beloved improv teacher at The Second City Training Center, a member of the ground-breaking group Gayco, and a mother to Daphne and wife to Kelly. She was only 41. She started taking improv classes at Second City […]

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August 18, 2016
The Improviser's Secret Weapon

I really should not write a blog this week. I am fried and burnt out, and the best thing to do in this situation is just re-run an old blog. But I am not built that way. I am from the school of “push through the pain until something breaks,” and I rarely take my […]

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August 3, 2016
Is Improv Art?

Is improv art? Apparently not in the state of Texas, according to the Texas State Commission on the Arts. When the 15-year old non-profit, volunteer-based Out of Bounds Comedy Festival in Austin recently went to apply for some funding, they were told flat out by the commission that "improv is not art," and therefore OOB […]

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