Remember this Simpsons bit with Krusty about hemorrhoids and riding bikes? That "I can ride a bike again!" idea jumps into my head a lot (more often than a person should really think about hemorrhoids...probably). I think about it in conjunction with that "It's just like riding a bike" expression used to refer to an […]
I love Pattern Play. I love the way an ensemble, focused-outward on making each new move in the service of what they individually have seen come before, can make a group look like it has ESP. I love "the moment." I love the way an authentic reaction to a moment -that in no way could […]
I'm wishy washy about improv class showcases. On the one hand, if the point of going through classes is to learn to do performance-ready-level improv, then it seems sadistic to make 101 students "put it up on its feet." But on the other, nothing informs an improviser like improvising and all it entails - collaborating […]
A Coalition show called Strange Bedfellows pairs an actor with one half of a script with an improviser who ad libs their half. I had the honor of performing one night in the improviser's role. And I have never been more terrified pre-show. In a typical show, I have at least one improv partner. I […]
Mikael Johnson, Jason Saenz and I are Best Friends. And our Best Friends format is one of my favorite. This show was the only show we taped. And while it isn't our best, it'll suffice to document our Slideshow Opening and our Three Character Format. Enjoy "Drunk Camping."
When building Group Games, trust simplicity as The Coalition's Big Bosses did in this To The Ether game. Why? When a pattern is this clearly established and heightened you can reach the point where you don't even need to finish the sequence before the audience is laughing uproariously, having completed the pattern in their own […]
To establish sustainable scenes, it is helpful to remember that each player on stage can have at least one Personal and Scenic game at their disposal to heighten. Personal Game – how you react to who you are, where you are or what you’re doing * I love cake; when I eat a piece I’m overcome with […]
The embedded clip is an Organic Opening from a Harold. In it, the group establishes a progression through three vignettes: Frat Boys, Freshman and Senior Sorority Girls They engage the environment and make interesting stage pictures. They leverage verbal patterns of call and response. And they follow each other. Enjoy! [wpvideo kXymzgzB] Want to learn […]
As said best in Truth in Comedy, “The Harold is like the space shuttle, incorporating all of the developments and discoveries that have gone before it into one new, superior design.” The other way around, Harold’s learnings pack in the lion’s share of what you need to know to do any other long-form, which is […]
A "Blackout" is a short scene with one big punchline. In sketch, or in improv with a tuned-in booth operator, the lights would go out on stage after the punchline, designating the end of the scene and earning the name "blackout." Blackouts are fun. They can help vary the pacing of a long-form show. They […]