I think craft is important. I think the audience is important. I think how I feel about my performance is important. I know some improvisers who don't care about the craft, and at least in some cases, winging it seems to work for them. I also know some
I'm sure I've mentioned it, but I take a lot of classes online. I think now is the Golden Age of online improv classes. I can take classes with master-level teachers from the comfort of home. What a time to be alive! A Note on
A few weeks ago, in a practice group, a performer I admire got upset with herself for not being a "fast improviser." A main theatre teacher I had, Danny Hughes, talked about this, so I wanted to explore it in a build-my-own-lightsaber sort of way
Active Listeninglet yourself be changedImprov NonsenseWill Hines A few weeks ago, I emailed Will Hines. He emailed me back and asked if he could use it in a Substack (link above). Since I asked this question, I feel like it's fair to repost my words here, but also,
I've had the opportunity to meet and talk to some pretty cool people in my life. I don't ask for pictures because of some combination of not wanting to bother them and also wanting to keep a professional relationship (as unlikely as whatever that might be)
Preface: Feel free to skip this if you're just looking for a review. My very personal two-word review of the 22nd Del Close Marathon is: Still sober. Which can mean many things, but at the very least, I think they are all positive. When I am having
This is a song about a couple of adult people who have spent Oh, quite a long time together 'Til one day, one of 'em gets restless and decides to leave Whether it's the man or woman who left is unimportant It's a breakup
I had a hard, tiring week for a variety of reasons, so this week is going to be short and I am not, despite the title of this blog, going to beat myself up about it. The way I write, I tend to put little ideas into my drafts folder
The night of my first jam, when I was just starting out—I think I was still in core classes, partway through 501 —I met this kid, Logan, who came in off the street: never improvised, never seen a show, totally fresh. He'd heard about improv and wanted
It's to the chagrin of many students that ultimately reps are what stand between you and mastery of a skill, but the reps you need may be all around you. Near the end of my core curriculum days, I was out with a teacher, and we got to
A few months ago, I was walking with another performer to Brass Tap, a bar/restaurant in Baltimore, after the shows. As a quick aside, I do frequently go to bars or other places that serve alcohol. If the existence of bars could, in and of themselves, make me drink,
As I write this, I just got back from a 201 showcase, which is where the game is introduced in my theatre, and it was so much fun. It was off-the-wall bananas. One of the scenes was basically two rappers treating the Little Mermaid as a documentary, so
