Improv Nerd, the live comedy podcast hosted by Jimmy Carrane, begins its new season this summer, featuring some of the funniest and most well-known improvisers in Chicago. The show will run on Sundays from July 5-26, with a special preview show on June 20. All shows will be held at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont […]
This week, social media was a-buzz after Louis C.K. did the monologue during SNL’s final episode of the season. If you haven’t seen it, he talked about every hot-button thing you can think of, from being mildly racist, to Israel and Palestine, to child molesters. Social media went crazy, I mean nuts, especially about the child […]
If you’ve ever taken my Art of Slow Comedy improv workshops, you know that they can be charged with emotions, and often participants can be more vulnerable than they have ever been in improv before. Students often get angry, cry, and show all kinds of emotions that they aren’t used to expressing in public. My […]
Improvising is about creating something beyond your imagination with the help of other people. It takes humility, it takes courage, it takes faith. We are creating something out of nothing on a regular basis. And to do it, we have to stop pretending that we know what we are doing and get comfortable in the […]
I’ve been traveling around the country a lot lately, teaching improv in all different cities. And one thing I’ve noticed in some communities is that improv can feel like gang warfare. There are theaters that don’t want their students studying or performing at other venues. They are protecting their turf. I get it, they are […]
If you want a bigger career in improv you are going to have to network. If you want to climb the improv ladder, you will not be able to able to avoid this step. You are going to have to play the game. You are going to have to schmooze. If you don't want to, fine. Maybe […]
If you’re an improviser, you’ve probably thought about it: How do I get a writing job on TV? That, my friends, is a very good question, and the answer is not as simple as you may think. Unlike a regular job where you just send in your resume and cover letter, when you apply for […]
When you get to be an improv teacher as respected as Will Hines, former head of the UCB Training Center in New York, who happens to write a great blog (http://improvnonsense.tumblr.com), you get flooded with questions from improvisers all around the country. When you’re me, you just tag onto Will’s questions to make yourself sound […]
Last week, I talked about how to give good improv notes if you are an improv coach or director. This week, I'm going to give some tips on how to give improv notes to your own teammates -- a much trickier proposition. First, let me say, if you are part of an improv group and […]
As an improv director or coach, giving notes after a show is an art. Like improvising, you can only get better at teaching and directing improv by doing it and making a lot of mistakes along the way. Though my methods may seem a little unconventional, I wanted to share them with you because I […]