September 2010
8 posts
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Theme Music
I love me some good music and it’s no surprise that whenever I attend an improv show, I always have an ear out for the tunes that are played before/after a show. I’m always delighted to hear some personal favorites (e.g. The Roots - “The Seed 2.0”). Songs are played in between shows to get the crowd pumped but there are also specific tracks that play right before a team...
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Musical Improv
The last two posts both had a common theme to them: basically, we do improv because it’s fun. Sure, we are constantly trying to better ourselves at it and we definitely have respect for it/take it seriously but, in the end, it’s supposed to be fun. While we’re performing, we escape from the “real world” and are able to live in the moment of whatever...
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“If you are not having fun then you are the asshole.”
– One of my improv instructors passed along this quote from well-respected, veteran improviser Susan Messing.
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The Audition
Matt Elwell, President & CEO of ComedySportz in Chicago recently blogged, “Auditions suck. They’re like seeing who will be the best surgeon by giving all the med students machetes and telling them the last one standing gets a residency.”
It’s unfortunate…sometimes even the best of surgeons lock up because of nerves or just have an “off” day. The...
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WatchAwesome interview with Chicago improv greats TJ & Dave by WBEZ/Vocalo. Love their approach and this quote, “In Chicago, you are on stage with people who hope to do this for the rest of their lives. In Los Angeles, you’re on stage with people that hope they never have to do this again.”
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The Improv Slump
It’s very common among athletes. A player will occasionally fall into a period of time when nothing is going right. He can’t hit the ball, make a shot or catch a pass. No matter how hard he tries, he can’t shake it. The more he tries, the further down he falls. Yes, I’m talking about a slump. It plagues improvisers, too, and it just happened to me.
I’ve fallen...
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