How the Yes, Also Thing Happened
Brendan Martin
I emailed Suzi Barrett and she asked me if I wanted to do a bonus Yes, Also podcast and I said yes. The End.
Ok, I have more to say, I guess. This is the email I wrote.
Hello,
I'm 45 and in recovery (16 months sober), and I decided to start taking improv classes about a year ago in Baltimore, where I live. Since I started doing improv, a part of me is finally getting oxygen. I have a set of lungs I never used: Imagine that, and improv is the breath. I discovered this show and started listening to my heroes discuss their passion for this craft, which has been inspiring and clarifying. Hearing a top-talent improviser like Suzi Barrett talk about not getting game at first and then having it click, along with all the other struggles and twists and turns from the many guests, is something I'm grateful for, so I wanted to let you know. I'm listening to Jon Mackey right now, and there is just so much that's helpful! No question, and I'll rewrite this into a 5-star review, but I have learned that it's important to let people know when they are vital to your life, and I wanted to say thank you.
—Brendan
I won't share more than that on the specifics of what Suzi wrote back, because I don't feel like those are my words to share. But all that happened was she said what I wrote resonated with her, and she asked me if I wanted to do a bonus podcast for her show. I was shocked and scared, and I said no almost immediately out of fear. But then I remembered a story:
One of my luckiest moments running classes for the UCB Theatre in New York happened in 2011 when Amy Poehler stopped by to take a look at our curricula. Sitting in the UCB offices, I had a hunch that Amy still thought of herself as an improviser above other things. That she missed it and that she'd want a chance to be an improv teacher again. She's a famously good improv teacher. I asked her if she would sub a class I was teaching because I was going out of town. I didn't really know her that well, but Amy is so friendly that after 10 seconds you feel like you know her and you find yourself comfortable asking things like that. She looked up and said, "Hmm. I really want to 'yes' you on that... so... well... yes!" That Saturday she taught my class, and 16 people got taught by one of the best comedians in the country. And yes, she was great.
e
How To Be The Greatest Improviser On Earth (2018), Will Hines pg. 196
Improvisers say "yes," so was I an improviser? Gut-check. Sure, I am afraid to share the Recovery part of myself. "I'm not proud of what I did in active use." "People in recovery experience prejudice." "What if I relapse?" and a whole host of other thoughts bounced around in my head as marbles dropped on a marble floor. But the lesson I have from the people I admire most is to say "yes." So I did.
Then I had to wait four months (we emailed in June, and the recording was in November). Suzi Barrett's a busy person, and I want to make absolutely clear that she did an above-and-beyond job of staying in contact with me. Replying to me once a month when I wrote her—I am a project manager for life—she was a dream to work with throughout the process. Still, I had to listen to my head tell me, "She's not really interested. She's just being nice. She wanted to talk to you, but she's too busy now. Too successful." So then I had to work another muscle, letting go and trusting that the person in this scene had my back. Suzi did. She's a pro. She's such a delight that, when I logged on to do the podcast, she very kindly said this was my show and time to tell my story, and that she was there to help me.
Then I had to wait a couple more months for it to be posted. Then, it was. That story's over. Time for the next one.
