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Best known for creating the HBO sketch series Mr. Show, playing criminal lawyer Saul Goodman on Breaking Bad, and writing the famous “Matt Foley” sketch on SNL, Bob Odenkirk is a comedy legend. He took some time out from his busy tour schedule to chat with Jimmy about his many new projects, including his new book, […]

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Michael Delaney has been a member of the UCB since 1998, where he teaches improv and sketch writing. He’s been part of legendary teams like “The Swarm” and “Stepfathers.” We talked to him about why he thinks so many talented people have come out of the UCB, what the game of the scene means to […]

If you’re an improviser, you have probably thought about quitting hundreds of times. And that questioning probably won't stop any time soon. As fun as improv is, it can be pretty shitty at times. You are dealing with egos, jealousy and lots of disappointment. You are reliving high school. And some of us would rather […]

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Tim Paul is an actor, writer, and director living in Chicago. He’s created numerous shows along with The Annoyance Theatre including “Bear Force One,” “An Aerosmith Christmas,” “Fisting: A Period Piece” and more recently his solo shows. He sat down to chat with Jimmy about using life experience in his writing and performing and why […]

Last week I went to Worcester, Mass., to teach improv at Claremont Academy, a high school made up of a diverse population of teenage kids. Not only are you dealing with different races and cultures, you are also dealing with adolescents. For an improviser, this was not a glamorous gig. It was not writing for […]

This week there is no blog. I am taking the week off. I am exhausted. I have been traveling across the country teaching Art of Slow Comedy improv workshops and doing live Improv Nerd shows. Trust me, I’m not complaining, I am grateful. Never have I been so in demand. Sure, I could sit down right now and squeeze […]

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Here’s one from the vault! Live from Chicago’s Sketch Fest at Stage 773, Jimmy interviews the members of Sad On Vacation. The guys talk about their writing process, the importance of a group’s natural chemistry, and the influence of distance and fame on their creativity. Enjoy!

If Del Close, one of the founding fathers of improv, had a mission (other than terrorizing some of his students in his classes), it was to make improv an art form. And if that’s true, that makes you an artist. Back in the ’80s, improv had very little respect. If you told people you were […]

Sometimes in one of my improv classes, a student will say after doing a great scene with a strong character, “I felt lost. I did not know where the scene was going.” "Good," I will say in an ironic way. "Stay lost. It's working for you." In our creative process, it’s a good thing to […]

I have been involved in a bit of controversy around some of my Facebook posts. I have heard through others people that some of my friends are concerned, they think I am ruining my reputation, sharing too much information or having another break down. On the most recent episode of Improv Nerd podcast, we turned […]