I am not a very courageous person. It's weird to think that I teach people how to take risks, when in my own life I am pretty risk averse. Last weekend, I took Betsy to a skating birthday party for one of her friends, and the parents were invited to skate, too. I was excited to […]
How many times have you done an improv show, and after you get a suggestion from the audience, you get in your head trying to find the "right" way to use it? Or you are in scene and thing to heighten is right in front of you, but you resist doing it because you think it’s the […]
Last week would have been Martin de Maat’s birthday. If you don’t know him or his work, he was an incredible improv teacher who made a huge impact on the Chicago improv community. Martin was born in on Jan. 12, 1949 in Chicago. He was the niece of Josephine Forsberg, who was Viola Spolin’s teaching […]
The winter is upon us, which is always a good time for those books that are easy to read and hard to put down. So, if you are looking for something breezy and not too taxing on the remaining brain cells you have left after living through a global pandemic, I have three perfect comedy […]
I just wanted to let everyone know how good I am getting at being a dad. The other day, I had gone to the store and bought birthday cards for Lauren’s mom and my mom and these mini unicorn cupcakes for Betsy. I put them all on the kitchen table and got a pen so we all could […]
When I was a kid, I wanted to be stand-up comedian. That dreamed was interrupted when I took my first improv class when I was 18 years old. That was almost 40 years ago. I have done very well in improv. I have gotten to do a lot of great shows, teach all over the country and […]
I recently watched the documentary “Inventing Improv,” about Viola Spolin, an actor, director and most importantly, a teacher, who wrote one of the most important books about improvisation ever written, Improvisation for the Theater. Spolin is often referred to as "the mother of improv" and the documentary explores her lasting impact on this art form. In […]
My daughter Betsy is having a hard time making friends in Kindergarten. At recess on the playground, she gets scared and shuts down, and instead of talking to the other kids, she just follows them around like a lost puppy. What happens is they either ignore her completely or they get annoyed. As a dad, my heart breaks for […]
Yesterday was a clusterfuck. I got in the car at 11 a.m. to leave for a 11:15 a.m. Covid test and the car did not start. The battery was dead. The exact same thing had happened the day before. Lauren had gotten in the car to go to a dentist appointment and the battery was […]
Have you ever auditioned for something you wanted really badly and gotten it? It could be an improv group, a play, a movie, or a TV show. You were probably super excited when you first get the news, and then terrified when you showed up to the first day of rehearsal or when you got […]