Remembering Martin de Maat
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 assistant and the original founder of The Players Workshop, which later became Second City.
Martin himself began working at Second City as a dishwasher when he was only a teenager, and began teaching classes at Second City for his aunt when he was only 18 years old.
In 1974, when he was 25, he moved to New York, where he became a successful theater and film director, but he often returned in the summers to teach at the Players Workshop. In 1984, he returned to Chicago and began teaching improv full-time, joining the staff of the new Second City Training Center as well as teaching at Columbia College. From 1985 to 2000, he served as the artistic director of the Second City Training Center, transforming it into the largest improv training center in the country. Sadly, he died of pneumonia on Feb. 15, 2001, at the age of 52.
Martin became a beloved fixture of the Chicago improv community who fostered a sense of playfulness and community among his students. According to Wikipedia, he always greeted his students with a hug whenever they came into class. I don’t remember that, but I do remember him getting very emotional on the last day of class. That’s just the kind of person he was.
I was lucky to study with him when I was a student at Columbia College back in 1984, before I even had a clue that I was one day going to teach this stuff. What was amazing about Martin was that you always did your best work in his classes. I can’t explain how he did it. It seemed magical.
Almost 40 years later, students will pay me that same compliment and I am so grateful that I can pass on what he taught me.
He created a space that wasn’t about competition, but about collaboration. He removed the pressure of being funny so you felt you couldn’t make a mistake, which of course encouraged everyone to take more risks. He did this with Spolin’s games.
His classes were part improv, part philosophy. He believed that improv was bigger than just being funny. Though I was young at time, he was the first person I met that believed improv was bigger than just making people laugh. He was passionate that improv could change the world with concepts like “yes, and” and “making your partner looking good.” That is what he gave to his students.
Mark Sutton, who is one of Chicago’s most respected improv teachers and a founding member of The Annoyance Theater, wrote a beautiful piece about Martin’s impact that I wanted to share with you today.
It was Martin de Maat's Birthday the other day. I (we) were remiss in noting it. Especially… in a city that Martin influenced so heavily. Most of you probably didn't know Martin. Fewer were taught by him. But all of you can probably connect something you do or something you've learned to his presence in this world.
Martin was the Yin to Del Close's Yang. His teaching style was softer, more patient, more spiritual... if you will.
He believed in you. Not only as a performer, but as a person. And he wasn't there to teach you so much as he was there to help you find yourself.
He gave me endless advice and support. He gave me my first job at Second City. And he gave me wisdom, insight and understanding that shapes my teaching to this day.
He truly believed that anyone could benefit from learning improvisation. And he truly believed that there was joy and magic to be found when two people walked on stage to play together.
Most have seen the quote posted at Second City "You are pure potential." It's a good one, but the best thing I ever heard Martin say was a little more challenging: “You do not have the right to use this art form to make yourself feel inferior." Martin believed in the power of us all. Let's continue that in the work we do.