I don't say this enough and that is "Thank you." Next to "Yes and…," thank you can be two of the most powerful words. Instead of being grateful, I am usually busy comparing myself to others, which just makes me feel worse. But being grateful and saying thank you for what I do have right now […]

You hear this all the time in your improv classes – you need to take more risks on stage. But what improv teachers forget to tell you is that when you take risks, you’re going to feel feelings: anger, sadness, anxiety, fear, shame and, in rare cases, joy. This is a by-product of taking risks, and […]

We have all experienced a fair amount of pain in our lives -- from our parents getting divorced to being picked on in school or breaking up with someone. Most improvisers want to avoid thinking about their pain, thinking it's not appropriate because they're doing comedy. The problem is not that we have pain, it's […]

This message is going out to all you talented, young improvisers out there: Good improv is good acting. I know what you are thinking: “I am doing comedy, I don't need to be a better actor.” Or maybe you’re you didn't even realize that what you are doing on stage when you’re improvising IS acting. […]

Have you ever had the experience where you were creatively stuck on stage? Either you opened your mouth and nothing came out, or worse, you just kept talking and the scene just went nowhere? When that happens, it’s like going into a black hole. But luckily, there are some things we can do on stage […]

I want to let you in on a little secret about improv: The results don't matter. I need to keep reminding myself of this one, because lately this has gotten in my way of my improvising and of teaching improvisation. If I do an Improv Nerd and the interview does not blow people away or […]

Joy is something I am trying to work on in all aspects of my life, especially in my improvising and my teaching. For years, I really didn’t know how to feel joy, and I resented people who seemed happy. God forbid if I met someone who had joy, or worse, had it all the time. […]

Do you ever judge your scene partners’ ideas? One of the basic tenets of improv is to accept everything that our scene partner says as a gift and go with it. I don’t know about you, but I know this concept is way harder than it sounds. I know I am guilty of judging my […]

I am burnt out, fried, my creative reservoir is dry, and the weather man is saying there's no chance of rain in the seven-day forecast. I have gone way past the point of exhaustion. Instead of pulling over to take a break, I passed every rest stop along the way and kept speeding across the […]

What I've Learned After 50 Episodes of Improv Nerd Next week we will be airing our 50th episode of Improv Nerd. It’s been less than two years since we started Improv Nerd, and recently I’ve been reflecting on how it all came about. For more than ten years I was a contributor for WBEZ, a […]