If you've been improvising for a while, at some point one of your teachers/coaches will say you need to take an acting class. This may be confusing. If you are like me, you might think something like, “I am improviser, not an actor.” And then a huge acting opportunity will come along, like a play, […]

This Sunday is Father’s Day and it’s making me think a lot about my dad, who died a little over six years ago, a few months before my daughter, Betsy, was born. In one of the last conversations I had with him, I read him a list of 11 things he gave me as father. […]

Kindergarten ended this week for Betsy. She made it through, and more importantly, I did, too. Watching your kid grow up is emotional. One day she has a new BFF, the next she doesn't. It's like watching the stock market. When she was a baby all my friends that were parents said, "Enjoy this time. It will go fast." At […]

Do your art for the joy of it. Don't do it unless it brings you happiness. It's not about the fame and fortune. Those will come or they will not. Make up your own definition of what "making it" means and fuck the rest. Do what makes your heart sing or skip a beat, just […]

I think sometimes improvisers get hell bent at working at certain theaters or making a house team, and then they stay too long at places out of frustration or insecurity. I think moving on is even harder if you work with improv gurus, whom you make your higher power because you think they have all […]

I did it. Last weekend I actually did a live improv show in front of a live audience. It had been over two years since I had been on stage, thanks to Covid. But here I was at the Laughing Academy in Glenview improvising again with some people I had known for years and some […]

Improvisers inherently know that joy is in the now. That’s where the laughs lie, and the audience reinforces that when we are on stage. It's something we train for and hope to achieve in every show, yet I still don't achieve it every time I improvise. Staying in the moment can be hard, even for longtime improvisers like me. […]

If you are looking for a little inspiration in your comedy career, I have found three things — a book, a movie and a documentary — that really spoke to me recently, and if you don't mine, I'd love to recommend them to you. Comedy, Comedy, Comedy, Drama by Bob OdenkirkWho wouldn’t want to have Bob […]

I used to think that not only did my opinion matter, but that it defined me. And if you did not agree with me there must be something wrong with you, or worse, something wrong with me. Sharing my opinion about someone's show or a movie wasn't just a matter of an opinion. It was […]

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 […]