If you are anything like me and you suffer any kind of disappointment in your improv career, you want to quit. Immediately. Change your phone number. Move out of state. Go into the witness protection program. I am there right now. I suffered a big blow to my ego last week, and now I am […]
This past week, I was working really hard and feeling depressed, because I felt like my work wasn’t getting me anywhere. So I went on Facebook to try to feel better. And it didn't work. It made me feel worse. Everyone I knew was posting about some part they had just gotten on a TV […]
In most improv classes, you learn how to connect with your partner – how to mirror their energy, make your partner look good, build off the last thing that was said, all the stuff we like to say to you about good scene work. But what they don’t usually teach you is how to connect […]
On Monday came the sad news that Harold Ramis died. He was 69 and had been sick for some time. I was first introduced to him when I was 12 years old. My older brother, Bobby, first turned me on to the original cast of Saturday Night Live and then he really fucked me up […]
Sometimes, improvisers get so focused on trying to learn a cool, slick form that they forget that they need to have good scene work. The truth is, if you can do compelling two-person scenes, you can do anything. Jimmy is excited to announce his new Two-Person Scene Tune-Up workshop, which will be held at Stage […]
Lincoln's birthday was yesterday. It made me think about how great Lincoln was for this country. Sure, he grew up in a log cabin, hailed from Illinois, and ended slavery. But I’ve also heard he was a founding father of improv. The way I’ve heard it told, Lincoln never intended to go into politics. Being […]
I love my Monday night Art of Slow Comedy improv class and I am going to miss them. They have taught me so much and last night was no exception. In this level, we typically warm up with a series of two-person scenes. This week, after they finished, I asked the class, "How did you feel about what you just did?" One […]
What do you do if you are taking multiple improv classes at multiple improv schools and your head is filled like a piñata full of improv? Last week in my Art of Slow Comedy class, after we had warmed up with a series of two-person scenes, one of my students opened up and said since he is studying at The Annoyance, […]
Improv can be a lot like being on the playground in 3rd grade waiting to be picked for the kick ball team. Today it is much the same: When you audition to get on a Harold team at one of the many improv theaters or hope to be asked by a classmate who is forming […]
Last Sunday was the three-year anniversary of the death of Mary Scruggs. Mary was head of the writing program at Second City. She was a brilliant improv teacher and a gifted writer. I remember when I heard that she had died, I was floored. I was in the suburbs about to teach a workshop for […]