A weird thing has happened to me in the last couple of years. I had realized that I like teaching improv far more than I like improvising. It seems when I am up on stage improvising, I still put a lot of pressure on myself, something I don't do often when I’m teaching it. In fact, […]
This Sunday is Father's Day, and except for the fact that I already know Lauren’s going to give me a present, I am not really that excited about it. Actually, I am embarrassed. As a father, I feel like a fraud. I feel like I’m not a real father, because in the first year since Betsy […]
My wife, Lauren, and I were lying on the living room rug playing with our 11-month-old daughter, Betsy. She was playing quietly with these wooden blocks, and I was holding one in my hand when Lauren said, "Give it to her. Give her the block." As you might suspect I don't like to be told […]
When people first work with me, especially after the first class, they say things like, "Your class is like therapy," or "That scene was not funny," or "Oh my God, in that exercise you made that person cry." Generally, people view this as a bad thing. I get it; emotions are scary and it’s not […]
(Who's the funniest one in the pic above? Hint: I'm the one with the sunglasses). When I started out in improv my goal was to be the funniest one on stage. In retrospect, that wasn’t a very noble one goal. At the time, it seemed important to me for many reasons — primarily, if I […]
In improv, we all want to get noticed and be liked by everyone at the same time. The problem is, it’s hard for those things to coexist. To get noticed, you are going to have to have a strong point of view, and that will piss some people off. And not only is that okay, […]
When I was little kid, the first thing I ever wanted to be was a stand-up comedian. I loved the idea of standing up in front of a crowd and making them laugh. Then when I was 18 years old, I took my first improv class, and I have been side tracked from my original […]
Friday is my birthday. I will be 53 years old. In improv, that makes me ancient. Each year I have the same birthday ritual: I go into a major depression. It usually stems from thinking about how I wish I was more successful, more famous, and have more money — like my friends that I started […]
Alright, you have put together a great improv show and you are really excited about it. Now the important part: How do you get people to come and see it? If you’re like most improvisers, you will rely on people magically just showing up. Which in most cases doesn’t work. Some people are fortunate enough […]
In her wonderful book, Presence, author Amy Cuddy asks actor Julianne Moore what presence is for an actor. Moore answers: "The key to presence -- and this is one thing they tell you in school -- is relaxation." When I first starting out taking improv classes, I cannot tell you how frustrated I was that […]