With the new year upon us, I thought I would share with you five things that have helped me in my improv career. With a little courage and willingness, these five things can make a big difference in your career and in your life. Want to learn a new way of improv that is as easy as having a […]
I hate to admit this, but the longer I teach improv, the more I see the benefit it has in people’s lives. Maybe I’ve drunk too much of the improv Kool-Aid over the years, but improv is a pretty amazing artform, and lately I’ve been struck with how improv can bring people together in a way that […]
Want to know how to become a better improviser, or at least have more fun when you’re improvising? Learn how to improvise with love. Love is the glue. It's the thing that holds a team, a show and even a scene together. It's why the audience is there, even though they don't know it. It's […]
This year, my 4-year-old daughter, Betsy, was really into going trick or treating. She was out of her mind excited about it. Me, not so much. I was just the parent taking her. When she woke up on Halloween morning at 7:14 a.m. the first thing out of her mouth was "When is it going to […]
I have learned in improv that if something is fun in a scene, do more of it. I get that’s how it works in improv, but I’m not as good at applying that same concept in my own life. But the other day, I was driving home from the grocery store with my two-and-half year […]
The irony is not lost on me that I am an improv teacher, which is about teaching people how to play and have fun, which is what I have the hardest time doing in my own life. (This is a classic case where the teacher teaches what he most needs to learn himself). Since I […]
If you haven’t heard by now, last week, after 108 years, the Chicago Cubs finally won a World Series title. Pretty incredible, especially for me who has been a Cubs fan my whole life. But if you have been reading this blog with any sort of regularity, you know that a celebration of any kind […]
You would think as an improviser I would like to play in my everyday life. You would think I would at least know how to have fun and be silly. I am sorry to disappoint, but I don't. A couple of weekends ago it became very clear that this might be becoming a problem. On Saturday afternoon, my […]
Beware of the buzz kill. That person who is in your group or in your class who takes a perfectly good show or class and shits all over it. They do it with their words. They do it with their negativity. Have pity on them; they don't know any better. I should know, I am […]
Years ago there was an actor here in Chicago who used to book a lot of commercials, parts on TV and films and voiceovers. He always had a positive outlook and he was one of only a handful of actors in town making a living at acting. When I’d see him in the waiting room […]