If you’re a reader of my blog, you know that I often recommend that you stop looking to the gatekeepers to give them validation, but instead work on developing your own shows and your own work so you do the work that inspires you. So I was incredibly proud and impressed when I found out […]
For years I thought to get good at improv you, had to get piled on by constructive criticism — what some people call “negative notes.” I was that student who would go up to the teacher after class and beg them to “be tough on me.” I was tortured that way. I even took this philosophy into […]
Since the start of the pandemic, I haven't gotten to perform in front of a live audience. That changed last week. No, it wasn't in a theater. It was for a small group of preschoolers and their parents in our backyard. Betsy, who is almost five years old, became obsessed with inviting some of her friends over to put […]
In the last year that I have been teaching improv online, I have gotten to work with improvisers from all over the country and at various skill levels. And regardless of their experience, I have seen the students in my classes and workshops make the same mistakes over and over again. And I’ve also seen that once most […]
I recently watched a documentary on Netflix called The Last Blockbuster. It's about the last remaining Blockbuster video store in Bend, OR. It also takes a look at how the once-powerful chain that had 9,000 video stores collapsed. Watching this documentary brought back memories about when I was high school and first started renting videos. […]
Lauren and I read a lot of library books to my four-and-half-year-old daughter, Betsy. Recently one night we read a new one called Alex's Good Fortune, by Benson Shum. The plot goes like this: Alex invites her friend Ethan over to her house for Chinese New Year, and (spoiler alert) we learn about all of the things […]
Working with great improvisers is exciting and fun, and usually I ended up learning a lot from them. Over the years I have been fortunate enough to get to play with some of the best improvisers out there, and because I am still doing Jimmy and Johnnie on Zoom, I still get to do so. Here are […]
Last week my family packed up and moved to a new house. Which I guess is good news? But I have a hard time with change of any kind, even if it's an improvement. After we unpacked the boxes and I smudged the house with sage to prevent any negative energy from coming in, I then […]
Recently, I wrote a blog about what you can do if you get a note in improv class that you don’t agree with. I got some great comments from both improv teachers and improvisers, and I thought that it would be helpful to share some of the comments with you. If you’re an improv teacher, […]
Have you ever gotten a note from an improv teacher that you didn't agree with? Did it make you feel confused, frustrated or even ashamed, like you had done something wrong? I assure you, you have not. They say that there are no mistakes in improv. But that doesn’t apply to teachers giving notes. If you […]