MAFIOSO * SPLAT * BANG *GUNSLINGER* It’s HIGH NOON and you stand challenged by some dangerous varmints. Who’s with you and who’s against ya? With barely any warning, weapons are drawn! Do you shoot or hide? REACT!!! or it’s game over pardner! This is a long article with a lot Read more
WHISPERING ANGELS & DEMONS INTRO: Whispering Angels and Demons Years ago at the great Wuerzburg Improvisation festival in Germany, I was asked to do a warmup exercise for about 200 improvisers. Warm up exercises should serve a purpose. Since most people had never met before, an exercise to help people Read more
MEMORABLE MOMENTS (round 2) DON’T LOOK UP! Meryl Streep, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence and Jonah Hill It wasn’t in the script. It wasn’t planned. These are the moments the Director says “CUT!!! – Where did that come from??!! Let’s keep that!” It’s getting more and more common for directors to Read more
MEMORABLE MOMENTS (round 3) LET THEM ALL TALK – Meryl Streep, Diane Weist, Candace Bergen, Steven Soderbergh Directed by Steven Soderberg, LET THEM ALL TALK was shot in 10 days while crossing the Atlantic on the Queen Mary 2 surrounded by 2600 passengers and virtually no film equipment. It was Read more
LOOK AWAY! DAY TO DAY IMPROVISATION is a collection of exercises anyone can do almost anywhere to practice their improvisation skills every day. Improvisers often miss the obvious. A common note after the show revolves around the fact that everyone in the audience saw the offer that the improviser ignored. Read more
MEMORABLE MOMENTS Improvisation by great actors that made the cutGEORGE C. SCOTT It takes balls to trick a great actor into improvising and then to use that performance without the actor’s approval. But, that’s what the equally great director Stanley Kubrick did to George C. Scott. The great actor cared Read more
STAGE DIRECTIONS He said / She said The misconception that improvisation should always be effortless leads many people to avoid useful exercises that might take some effort to learn. “He said / She said” or “Stage Directions” is one of those exceptional games that benefit improvisers who play the game Read more
WHAT’S YOUR QUESTION??? How can I feel more comfortable using improvisation in my work? Improvisation skills are superpowers for therapists, psychologists, and social workers. I find it strange that improvisation classes aren’t formally prescribed for students in these fields. Psychologists and Social Workers in my classes often send me questions Read more
EYELID THEATRE DAY TO DAY IMPROVISATION is a collection of exercise anyone can do almost anywhere to practice their improvisation skills every day. Here’s a practice technique for seeing stories without aggressively forcing them. Improvisers who work too hard to create strong Narrative work rarely do. They push so hard Read more
I DON’T DO THAT!!!! Tina Fey admits, “I can’t do music!” She can. Sort of. She just doesn’t want to. And that’s OK! Talking to Seth Meyers, Fey described improvising with ‘Freestyle Love Supreme’, the Broadway Improvised RAP show. (Haven’t seen them? Check them out on You Tube: ) Fey said Read more