Recent Posts:
Why It’s OK to Fail in ImprovDecember 11, 2019 - 10:30 am
11 Things I’m Grateful For This YearNovember 25, 2019 - 2:09 pm
Obsessing Doesn’t Make You BetterNovember 13, 2019 - 2:52 pm
What I’ve Learned from John HildrethOctober 23, 2019 - 3:54 pm
8 Things to Help You Be More CreativeOctober 16, 2019 - 1:14 pm
Teaching improv to preschoolersOctober 2, 2019 - 10:52 am
5 Ways to Practice Being in the MomentSeptember 18, 2019 - 9:52 pm
The 7 ingredients of a perfect improv sceneSeptember 10, 2019 - 3:51 pm
3 Ways to Improve Your Listening SkillsSeptember 5, 2019 - 10:35 am
How Improv Helps People with Down SyndromeAugust 21, 2019 - 1:50 pm
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Go ahead, promote yourself
/6 Comments/in Blog /by Jimmy CarraneGo Ahead, Promote Yourself One of the hardest things for me to do is to ask people to come to my improv shows. I have been performing on a regular basis for more than 20 years and it’s still difficult. I tell myself “Oh, they don’t really care,” or “Why would they come see me?” […]
It's not about being funnny
/2 Comments/in Blog /by Jimmy CarraneIt’s Not About Being Funny If improv is not about being funny, then what is it? You’ve heard it a million times: Improv is not about being funny. But what does that mean? If it’s not supposed to be funny, what’s it supposed to be? I have students pull me aside all the time after […]
My wife thinks I'm not a good actor
/22 Comments/in Blog /by Jimmy Carrane10/19/12: My Wife ThinkS I’m NOT A Good Actor I recently had an audition for NBC’s “Chicago Fire.” A security guard, a couple of lines. Pretty easy… or so I thought. But, whenever I have an audition, I put so much pressure on myself that it’s no longer about getting the job, it’s about my self-worth. […]
Keep saying Yes, And
/0 Comments/in Blog /by Jimmy CarraneKEEP SAYING YES, AND… When I started taking improv classes in Chicago in the late ’80s and early ’90s the goal was simple: study with Del Close at the Improv Olympic, get hired by Second City and then get on Saturday Night Live. The path was narrow. Anyone who even thought about teaching, directing or […]
Stop Trying to Be Liked
/11 Comments/in Blog /by Jimmy CarraneI got into improv for the wrong reason: to be liked. I was looking for everyone to validate me, especially the audience. “Oh, what a noble thing I am doing,” I thought, “making people laugh.” I was lying to myself. I desperately needed their love, and I would bend and twist myself into any shape they […]
Getting back the joy
/3 Comments/in Blog /by Jimmy CarraneRecently, a student in one of my Art of Slow Comedy improv classes admitted she had all these judgments about what you should and shouldn’t do in improv and was trying so hard not to make a mistake that she wasn’t having any fun. The sad thing was, she hadn’t even been doing improv very […]