Recently, I had a student in one of my improv classes who was asking a lot of questions in their scene. They were rapid-firing questions as if they were interviewing the person rather than improvising with them. After the scene was over, we talked about all the questions. By the way, I don't believe in "you can't ask […]
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 […]
Have you ever auditioned for something you wanted really badly and gotten it? It could be an improv group, a play, a movie, or a TV show. You were probably super excited when you first get the news, and then terrified when you showed up to the first day of rehearsal or when you got […]
I've been teaching improv classes for a long time, and over the years, I've seen students do the same things over and over again that get in their way. Here are the top 5 things that improvisers should avoid doing in class and suggestions about how you can do it differently. 1. Don’t apologize after […]
We have all experienced a fair amount of pain in our lives -- from our parents getting divorced to being picked on in school or breaking up with someone. Most improvisers want to avoid thinking about their pain, thinking it's not appropriate because they're doing comedy. The problem is not that we have pain, it's […]
This message is going out to all you talented, young improvisers out there: Good improv is good acting. I know what you are thinking: “I am doing comedy, I don't need to be a better actor.” Or maybe you’re you didn't even realize that what you are doing on stage when you’re improvising IS acting. […]
Do you ever judge your scene partners’ ideas? One of the basic tenets of improv is to accept everything that our scene partner says as a gift and go with it. I don’t know about you, but I know this concept is way harder than it sounds. I know I am guilty of judging my […]
How to Deal with Fear Before a Show Fear before a show is unpredictable. Sometimes I have it, and sometimes I don't. Last month, I had it before doing "Messing with A Friend" with Susan Messing. I love Susan as much as a person as I love playing with her. Having Susan ask me to play with her […]
There’s been something coming up lately in my improv classes, The Art of Slow Comedy, that I call the dark side. Students will be doing a scene with a so-called dark subject matter -- pedophilia, racism, abortion -- and the scene will end up being more dramatic than funny. Afterwards, the students will look shaken […]
There’s been something coming up lately in my improv classes, The Art of Slow Comedy, that I call the dark side. Students will be doing a scene with a so-called dark subject matter -- pedophilia, racism, abortion -- and the scene will end up being more dramatic than funny. Afterwards, the students will look shaken […]