ideas thoughts and concepts
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…
TEACH LIKE… A RIVER Rivers adapt to their environment. They look consistent from one angle but they can’t be pinned down to a single picture if you look closely. Improvisation teachers and their lessons appear to be one thing – a human teaching a topic to a class. But every Read more…
ESTABLISH & DESTROY VALUES!!! A quick way to make the audience care. Rowan Atkinson’s, mostly silent, obsessive character, Mr Bean is engaging to watch regardless of the language you speak. We know exactly what he wants and he’s obsessive about getting it. The simple nature of Mr. Bean can teach Read more…
REINCORPORATION & PLAUSIBILITY A key concept in ending the story “Yea, I shall return with the tide.” ― Khalil Gibran Instinctively we know that all things are circular. We start somewhere in some emotional state. We journey away, but something in us pulls us back to that beginning idea or image. Read more…
NOTHING TO LOSE REHEARSING MORE EFFECTIVELY – AND JOYFULY You sit on the edge. You look down. What do you do? Your real-world brain screams, “STEP BACK!!!”. The Improviser brain pushes you headfirst into the abyss. On the way down you question what to do. You hear the audience scream. Read more…
TREAT THEM LIKE CATS THE UNTEACHABLE STUDENTAs a teacher, I’ve always been interested in the “UNTEACHABLE” student. In schools where the staff say a child is impossible, or a boss in a corporate workshop says the employee is difficult, I want to meet those students. Cats are considered by many Read more…
END AGAIN An Exercise to Practice Possibilities Ending your story CAN be easy. The first thing you have to do is stop trying to make it great. Pressure to make a great ending will stop you from seeing obvious endings. It will make you hesitant so that even if you Read more…
Treat them like GORILLAS! One exceptional difference between humans and the rest of the animal kingdom is how much we hide and mask of ourselves compared to these other earthlings. By 9 months, we have already learned to ‘present’ our emotions in a way to manipulate others. By Adulthood, we’ve Read more…
IT’S ALL GIBBERISH TO ME “A different language is a different vision of life.” – Federico Fellini GIBBERISH – also known as Gromolo in parts of Europe, is hated by some, feared by others. It’s loved by those who do it well and it’s done poorly by many. GIBBERISH is Read more…
The Forgotten Gems of CHAPTER 6! One of the most referenced books in Improvisation is IMPRO FOR STORYTELLERS by Keith Johnstone. MOST people you talk with say, “I’ve never read the thing all the way through.” Keith intended it to be that way. He’s said that it was made to Read more…