REMEMBERING KEITH JOHNSTONE 1933 – 2023 Keith Johnstone passed away. The lights have dimmed for the last time on March 11, 2023. I’d like to share my thoughts, for what their worth, about Keith in life and what he passed on to me… His work and ideas are reflected in Read more
AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 WAYS A WORLD OF IMPROVISATION JEDDAH, SAUDI ARABIA 2023 February tour Hilight – Jeddah, Saudi Arabia AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 WAYS Saudi Arabia A culture in transition I was invited to visit the UNIVERSITY OF BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia by the Read more
When will Improvisation get you fired? Some people HATE improvisation. If that person happens to be your boss, then your impulsive attitude towards spontaneous expression could get you kicked to the curb. There are some surprising examples where impro has been the reason for dismissal. Damon Wayans, Adrian Brody, Milton 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
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
DON’T DO YOUR BEST Working with Keith Johnstone has been a great honour in my professional life. I remember arriving at the Loose Moose Theatre late in my teens… or was it early in my twenties? In any case, I didn’t know who Keith was. In fact, my first improvisation Read more
2022 spring tour AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 WAYS Spring 2022 Dubai, Egypt, Germany, Holland, Italy If you travel a lot, the world becomes one large diverse community. The airports are bus stops and the countries are neighbourhoods with distinct personalities. The people in those neighbourhoods are unique on the Read more
MURDERVILLE A review of a televised, semi-improvised, murder mystery Based on Murder in Successville, a semi-improvised sitcom airing in Britain from 2015 to 2017, Murderville is the NETFLIX version starring Will Arnett that premiered in February 2022. I wanted to like it. I really did. MURDERVILLE is a scripted murder mystery Read more
PUPPETS AND IMPROVISATION Like Masks, Puppets have an other-world quality. Some of us love them while others are freaked out by their “creepiness”. Love them or hate them puppets bring technical skills, creative skills and even some deep metaphoric insights that will make us better improvisers. WHY PUPPETS? Why should Read more