You have probably heard this term thrown around in your improv classes a million times: "Make your partner look good." And you have probably been confused by it. What does it really mean? Recently Mark Beltzman was my guest on Improv Nerd. Mark is a highly respected improv teacher, actor and improviser. During the interview […]
Improvisers in Chicago have it really hard today. I can’t tell you how many improvisers I know who fell in love with improv in their home towns, and then moved to Chicago with stars in their eyes about arriving in the improv Mecca. And within a year, they are discouraged and depressed and don’t know […]
We all deserve to be treated like a stars. And if you are waiting for someone or some big, magical job or a part in a show to give you permission to act like a star, you’ve got it all wrong. Nobody is going to treat you like a star until you start treating yourself […]
I am in improv rut. The last couple of shows I have felt like I’m experiencing improv-vu, doing the same flat, uninspired, boring scenes over and over again. I am pulling the same stock characters out, making the same choices, and I can't for the life me understand why it's not going better. If you’ve […]
I promise I will make this brief. Yes, more and more improvisers are eliminating object work from their repertoire, myself included. But really, when we do this we are only cheating ourselves. Today’s improvisers often think object work is gimmicky and silly, something that’s beneath them. But recently, I interviewed Todd Stashwick – a well-known […]
This week there is no blog. I am taking the week off. I am exhausted. I have been traveling across the country teaching Art of Slow Comedy improv workshops and doing live Improv Nerd shows. Trust me, I’m not complaining, I am grateful. Never have I been so in demand. Sure, I could sit down right now and squeeze […]
Have you ever been afraid to start a scene because you didn’t think you had the perfect initiation? Or do beat yourself up when you make a move that your teammates don’t seem to understand? If you suffer from these symptoms, there is a word for what ails you, and it’s called perfectionism. If you […]
The death of Robin Williams was sad and sobering. As my friend, Erika, said, it was like "Elvis had died." In the comedy/acting world, she was right. Most people reading this blog would love to have a career like his, including myself. And most people reading this blog, including myself, would think having a career […]
Improvisers, as a rule, don’t like to ask for money. It’s one of the hardest things for us to do because we come from the land of "yes and," from the planet of “make your partner look good.” Most of us have performed for years where we got paid in stage time, and if we […]
If you want to kill your improv career, make sure to have resentments. Lots and lots of resentments, toward all kinds of people, places and institutions. If your Harold team gets broken up and they don’t put you on another team, or you audition for something and don’t get cast, do what I’ve done and […]