Performers

Spotlight On: Alaska State Improv Festival

Posted by Bill Binder on September 10, 2013

ASIFOne of my great regrets from last year’s festival circuit was that I was unable to make the trip up to The Alaska State Improv Festival. The prospect of visiting a beautiful new place was enticing enough, but I’d spent enough festivals talking with Eric Caldwell from the Alaska scene to know that it was a city where people cared about improv in a big way.

I had the chance to talk with Eric about ASIF as it enters its second year and talk about what performers can expect.

Alaska is a pretty big trip for many performers and the airfare is going to be higher than many other festivals. Lots of groups will do fundraisers to fund their trip. Outside of airfare, what kind of budget do you think performers will need to prepare for?

Airfare is a consideration, but we time our submissions to coincide with Alaska Airlines‘ annual sale. There are also some really good perks with the Alaska Airlines card that can get people to Juneau for less than they think. The festival is during “shoulder season” so hotels are relatively cheap. Festival staff and volunteers did a great job last year taking the performers around for personal tours and we’ve even provided for some of the meals, so there aren’t really many other expenses beyond discretionary spending.

Juneau is a very beautiful city. When not performing what things can people do and see near the festival? Aside from some extra layers, are there any other things that people should pack for a day out in the city?

Juneau’s generally not all that cold in late April, more like Seattle on a cool day than “Nanook of the North.” The area near the venue has some great cafes and restaurants, museums, and art galleries. Outside of the main downtown area, some of the sites that were popular with our guests included the Alaskan Brewing Company, the Mendenhall Glacier, the Treadwell Mine ruins, and a Catholic shrine where we saw whales, sea lions, and eagles from a scenic lookout.

What’s the improv scene in Juneau like? What kind of shows define the Alaskan improv style.

The improv scene in Juneau has developed its own attitude. As people come in and out, we look at where their strengths and interests lie and aren’t afraid to create shows that cater to those areas. Mike and I tour with a show that is Dada-influenced. One of our shows features a couple of local slam poets doing improvised poetry and scenes. At one point, we had a couple of playwrights in the group and started performing improvised one-acts based on locally-written works. It’s led to more people taking chances in both their shortform and longform work, and to people combining their personal interests into their improv formats.

SusanMessing_web[1]Outside of performances, what other treats will be in store for visitors? Do you have any activities planned for visitors? Will there be any workshops or panels? After parties?

Alaskan Brewing Company was one of our sponsors last year, and our after parties were a highlight. Susan Messing will be coming in from iO – Chicago to lead a couple workshops. Amber Nash, of Archer fame, is coming up from Dad’s Garage in Atlanta. So, yeah, we’ll put the quality of our workshops against any festival in the country. In addition to that, we took our guests to not only the tourist spots but to some of our local favorites. We wanted people to feel like they’d experienced Alaska, and the performers let us know that we’d succeeded.

I know you have traveled to many festivals and been involved with many other festival organizers over the years. What are some other festivals that have inspired the shape of ASIF? What are some things that you feel are lacking in the festival community and ASIF is trying to make better?

The Seattle Festival of Improvisational Theater has had a huge influence on what we do. They’ve done a great job of offering great shows and workshops, providing a real sense of community, and keeping it all within a realistic budget. I’ve focused on what I see as “best practices” and look at how we can use our local resources to produce the kind of festival I would like to attend as a guest.

One thing that traveling performers look forward to at festivals is seeing other shows and having time afterwards to share with each other. How much opportunity will visitors have to just hang out with each other and learn from each other?

That’s a primary focus. Performers were provided with festival passes and encouraged to attend each others’ shows, mostly stayed in the same lodgings, toured around the community together, had joint radio interviews, and after parties with free food. Our venue, McPhetres Hall has a commercial kitchen available, and we’ll be continuing our tradition of stocking the kitchen for group breakfasts. The main regret the performers expressed last year was that there weren’t opportunities to perform with the performers from other communities. We’ve fixed that this year by adding a fourth day and the opportunity for mash-up shows.

McPhetres Hall

McPhetres Hall

What’ the venue like?

The venue’s gorgeous. The original McPhetres Hall was a multi-purpose room inside a church. The church was destroyed by arson in 2006, and the church made a point to rebuild McPhetres Hall as a theater-first venue with flexible seating. The facility re-opened in 2011, built with local cedar, a solid light grid, and a nice stage. You could see the performers light up when they walked into the building.

You’re still early in planning your 2014 festival. What’s the one thing that you’re most focused on? What are your hopes for this year’s festival?

We focused on our master artists first. Susan Messing and Amber Nash. Check! Now we’re working on getting the word out to the performers. We had a solid roster last year, and we’re hoping to build on that. Andy Eninger gave us a great compliment, saying that he was amazed that a first year festival was so well organized. If we can maintain what we established in year one while presenting more high quality ensembles and continuing to expand our audience, we’ll be on the right path.

Anything else you’d like to mention?

The 2013 festival featured performers from all around the country. If you’re considering coming to AS IF, you probably either know someone who performed at the festival or know someone who knows one of the performers. They’ll be glad to tell you about their experiences at AS IF.

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Submissions for The Alaska State Improv Festival are open now, but they’re closing soon. You can submit your troupe right now on the submission page. If you’d like more information on The Festival, you can visit the festival website or drop a message to Eric directly here on the site.

Listen Like a Fourteen Year Old

Posted by Bill Binder on

Good scenes are sometimes like school

Good scenes are sometimes like school

As improvisors, and as teachers of improv, we get asked some of the same questions over and over again. We’ve found our quick little standard responses to those questions that at one point were pretty clever, but maybe it’s time to actually think about those answers rather than giving them lips service. Here are two answers I hear and find myself giving often.

Muggle: I could never do that on stage, I can’t think that fast
Improvisor: You’re doing it right now. We’re improvising all the time.

Student: How do I know what to ‘Yes and’?
Teacher: Just listen harder.

There’s a lot of truth in both of those answers, but they’re incomplete. The first is true. We’re all acting without scripts all day long. But we’re acting on years or decades of our own personal back-story that informs how we react; what we say. We don’t have that when we step into a character. We’re still learning who we are to ourselves and our scene partners. The second is also absolutely true. Listening is the key to building relationships. But how? Most students who ask this questions thought they already were listening. They heard all the words. They speak English (or whatever language the scene is in) well enough to parse sentences. So how can they listen better. We offer very little specifics in improv instruction, so here’s one. I propose the answer to both of those questions is not simply to listen, but listen like a fourteen year old.

I’ll explain.

Try to remember back to eighth grade. It was a weird time. In many ways, every character we inhabit is similar to a teenager; trying to discover who we are and how we fit into the world around us. What are our passions? What kind of person are we going to become? How do other people view us? How do we relate to those around us? What are these new emotions we aren’t accustomed to? Sound familiar? Of course it is. We may not consciously give time to those notions when we enter scenes, but they’re there. And this isn’t a bad thing. This is a wonderful thing. This uncertainty helps us seek out who we are. Somehow miraculously, teenagers survive. They turn into young men and women ready to change the world. Of course, if you’ve ever had to raise a teen (God Bless You) or spend any quality time with them, you know that it can be a trying process.

That’s because as adults, we sometimes use words recklessly. We don’t think through every sentence before we say it; think of all the ways it could be interpreted. But to a teen, they are desperate for clues as to how they are perceived and treated. They are paranoid about every word choice, gesture and fashion choice you make. They dig for meaning where none is present. Even if there’s nothing “between the lines”, they’ll find something there.

Take example from their paranoia. As performers, we are also often even more lax in our choices (in word and deed) onstage because we often act before understanding our own motivations. Don’t let your scene partners or yourselves get away with that. Every word, every movement, every facial expression means something to you. Don’t treat anything as throwaway. Ask these questions;

“Why did you just say that?”
“Why did you say it to me? You could have shared that information with anyone. Why me? What is different about me that I am told this and not someone else?”
“If you’re telling me, you want to have an effect on me? What do you want me to do? How are you trying to make me feel? How will this change who we are to each other?”

Don’t be satisfied with the first answer to this question. Keep asking. Assume that there’s more.

It’s not just for your scene partners either. Ask questions of everything you say. You’ll be delighted that words that come out of your mouth inform so much more than you might imagine.

Have something to add? We finally have a comments section. Let us know what you think!
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Currently Bill is an instructor at The Torch Theatre and producer for the Phoenix Improv Festival. He tours teaching and performing across North America. He was once fourteen.

Improv Etiquette 101:H2NO!

Posted by Nick Armstrong on September 5, 2013

no water botleIn this series of Blogs I will take you through why I believe Improv Etiquette is important and what it should be. I’ll try not to sound too much like an old man on a porch yelling at kids. I’m a reasonable guy, but do have some pet peeves that performers do. I think it’s important to take our art form seriously so hopefully this helps guide you. You can agree with me or not that’s okay these are just some guidelines that are pretty agreed upon by major improv theatres and veteran improvisers alike.

H2NO!
I was recently at an improv festival and I couldn’t believe how many performers brought water onstage.  They would do a scene and when the edit happened take a  swig of water, which then made an awful plastic crinkle noise, put it down onstage and started the next scene. Are you kidding? Now I’m staring at the water bottle! I can understand why stand-ups do it, it’s them up there shilling jokes. Improv is a theatrical experience and improvisors are the magicians. People come to watch improv to see something unique and funny and when you take a huge swig of water they remember you aren’t that magician you’re just another person shilling jokes. You can have water on the sidelines or backstage that’s cool, but don’t leave it onstage or drink it there you’re cheating yourself and the audience of theatrical experience.

Nick Armstorng

Nick is the Camp Director and Founder of Improv Utopia. He is also one of the founding members of the National Improv Network. We are always looking for better ways to serve the community hit us up!

16 Tips and Advice for Students of Improv

Posted by Nick Armstrong on September 4, 2013

brain

“My mother said to me, ‘If you become a soldier you’ll be a general; if you become a monk you’ll end up as the Pope.’ Instead, I became a painter and wound up as Picasso.” – Pablo Picasso

Students of Improv! You’re going to be okay! Art is hard! Long form is an art that requires patience. You will not get it overnight nor will you get it the next day. A typical 8 week class usually goes like this from a students POV, “I get it, Oh shit, I’m in my head, I get it! I’m lost, I get it, I hate improv I’m never going to get it, WOW I get it!” and so on. Oh this can happen to vets too, nobody is safe from the ups and downs of improv.

Below is a list of things to maybe help ease your fears and give you some friendly tips and advice to help you get through it all. Think of it as free improv therapy.

  1. You can’t be perfect at improv, so don’t worry about it.
  2. You’re not going to get it.
  3. You’re your own worst enemy.
  4. You’re going to live in your head for a while. It’s class you’re learning.
  5. There is no right or wrong so just try everything.
  6. Take direction. They are teachers for a reason.
  7. You’re not the best improvisor ever, you’re not the worst improvisor ever…there is no such thing.
  8. Don’t be someone else in class or do another improvisor, be you!
  9. Sure that guy/gal gets more laughs then you…who cares they do their improv you do yours.
  10. You’re never done being a student.
  11. There will always be a bad show, class or rehearsal no matter how many years you’ve been doing this. Grab a beer and walk it off.
  12. It takes at least 1000 shows and maybe you’ll start getting it.
  13. Play with people better than you.
  14. Watch shows, watch more shows and then when you’re done watching those shows, watch even more shows!
  15. Read, observe and live life. Don’t just be an improvisor.
  16. If you don’t get cast out of an audition it’s okay, do it again and again and again! Don’t give up.

I hope this helps you in your quest. Improv is a wonderful art filled with wonderful people. Probably the best people on Earth in my opinion. Remember, class is about trying to figure out who you are and what you can do. Performance is about trying to figure out who you are and what you can do too. So like Picasso, become the improvisor that winds up being you.

_______________________

Nick Armstrong

Nick is Camp Director and Founder of Improv Utopia an improv retreat for grown ups. He is also one of the founding members of the National Improv Network. We are always looking for better ways to serve the community. Drop us a line and let us know what you want! For more information visit: http://www.nickarmstrong.com or http://www.improvutopia.com

 

Improv Etiquette 101: You Don’t Have to Wear a 3 Piece Suit!

Posted by Nick Armstrong on August 20, 2013

imagesIn this series of Blogs I will take you through why I believe Improv Etiquette is important and what it should be. I’ll try not to sound too much like an old man on a porch yelling at kids. I’m a reasonable guy, but do have some pet peeves that performers do. After all if you don’t care why should the audience. I think it’s important to take our art form seriously so hopefully this helps guide you. You can agree with me or not that’s okay these are just some guidelines that are pretty agreed upon by major improv theatres and veteran improvisers alike.

Are You Kidding?

Recently in an improv audition and more recently onstage I’ve seen more than one person wear shorts onstage…CARGO SHORTS TOO! Who needs that many pockets? We are doing theatre and people are paying to come see our shows, and even if they aren’t paying to see them, we still should have some respect for what we are doing. We need to take it seriously. Don’t wear shorts onstage. I’m not saying wear a 3 piece suit with a pocket watch, but I am saying at least wear nice pants and a button up shirt with no logos or your favorite band on them. Sure, I’m only covering guys on this but men are the biggest offenders of this rule in my experience.

Nick is an Actor, Improvisor and Writer living in Los Angeles, CA. On TV Nick is currently on AMC’s Story Notes and has been on the Emmy-Award winning shows The Office and Grey’s Anatomy. He has also made appearances on Jimmy Kimmel Live and Parks and Recreation. Recently, Nick received a development deal for a TV Show he created for A&E.

Onstage Nick has trained at The Groundlings and iO West. You can catch him performing regularly at the world-famous iO West in Hollywood, CA on the famed genre-based group Kind Strangers and LA’s Longest and Critically Acclaimed Harold Team King Ten. Nick is also the Camp Director and Founder of Improv Utopia. And if that wasn’t enough, he is also one of the founding members of the National Improv Network. We are always looking for better ways to serve the community. 

Spotlight On: Denver Improv Festival

Posted by Bill Binder on August 16, 2013

DIF_LogoThere are plenty of festivals going on this year. Sometimes it can be tough to decide on which festivals to submit to without knowing much about the city or its festival. This is the first of hopefully many interviews with festival producers around the country to provide a little peek into what visiting their festival might be like.

David Schultz is one of the many members of The GroupMind Foundation, the non-profit organization which produces the festival. I was fortunate to get in a little time with him between producing shows and planning the festival along with the other members of GroupMind.

The Denver Improv Festival kind of disappeared a few years ago and then re-emerged. What motivated the re-launch of the festival? What were the hopes for what the new festival would become?

Well, I guess there are two answers to that first question. First, the improv scene in Denver really began to mature 3-4 years ago, which brought a renewed interest in doing a festival. It seemed like a great time to bring it back. There were new theaters opening, new training centers picking up steam, and the scene was really taking off. Secondly, the Denver Improv Festival is organized by the GroupMind Foundation, which is a non-profit organization. Because of the lapse in doing a festival, we needed to bring it back to maintain our non-profit status. That may have been the last nudge we needed, but it was a nudge precisely when the scene was ready for it. Our hopes were pretty simple – bring the festival back and try to get better every year.

What are your goals for the 2013 festival?

Above all else, our goal is to bring the whole Denver improv community together to celebrate how far we’ve come, and enjoy each others company. Of course, there are some goals that we have every year – put on great shows, show the best of Denver improv, bring in talent from other cities to expose locals to other styles, and have as much fun as possible. GroupMind also has some boring goals this year like better utilizing corporate sponsorship, keeping our headliners as happy as possible, and filling all of our workshops. Everyone seemed to have such a blast last year – so my general goal this year is to not screw things up too much.

There are a lot of great theatres in Denver with very different philosophies. How does that variety shape the Denver Improv Scene?

A lot of the theaters and training centers are relatively new and their viewpoints are so different. Because of that, a lot of improvisers have gone through the curriculum of two or three different theaters. That exposes them to different points of view and let’s them find a style/technique/form that they really connect with, and they can take ideas from all of the programs. As a result, we’re seeing a lot of good teams that aren’t house teams tied to one theater. I’d like to see more of that. A new venture called “Red Rover” was organized by Justin Franzen at the Voodoo, and quarterly they put on a show where several of the training centers bring on a current class to perform and represent their style, and the night wraps up with instructors from all centers performing together. It’s neat to see, and shows the diversity between training centers.

Outside of a performance, what else can performers expect? Will you have any master workshops? Or unique workshops? Will there be any other organized activities?

We are finalizing our workshop lineup over the next couple weeks, so I don’t want to get ahead of myself in terms of content. One thing I will say is that we are doing fewer workshops this year, and limiting them to the headliners. In years past, we also included local workshops. In retrospect, that diluted the training pool a bit and made it hard to fill up classes. This year headliners get better numbers, and we can teach local workshops at a time when they aren’t competing with headliners. In terms of organized activities, we’ll be doing after parties – these were a TON of fun last year. Look for karaoke too. One of my favorite memories last year was walking into an 80 seat theater at 1am and seeing every seat full as karaoke was going on.

For those who haven’t been to Denver, what are some of the things people can check out in the city during the day? Where’s the best place to get breakfast near the festival?

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Pineapple pancakes

All the venues under consideration are located downtown, and downtown Denver is very walkable. If you are a fan of craft beer, you couldn’t be in a better spot. Also, one of the favorite destinations was a bar called the 1-Up. It’s great because it is jam packed with old school video games and pinball machines. It’s a blast, and for .25 it can be pretty cheap. I think Nick Armstrong got severe forearm cramps playing Track & Field last year. If you have transportation, Denver is only a quick drive to amazing outdoorsy stuff like Red Rocks, the turning of the Aspen, and Casa Bonita. As far as breakfast, the big hits last year were Hi Rise Bakery and Snooze – home of the delicious Pineapple Upside Down Pancakes. I pride myself on recommending places to go, so anyone who makes it out this year can hit me up and I’ll point them in the right direction.

You’ve been to many festivals and experience the good and bad. What are you bringing to DIF that you’ve discovered at other festivals? What are you hoping to provide at DIF that people haven’t experienced before?

I actually haven’t been to too many myself, but I did just return from the Detroit Improv Festival and boy do those folks know how to organize. I was taking lots of notes, although I don’t even dream to match their scale this year. What I would like to provide is a real sense of community, and allow troupes from other scenes to mingle and share ideas. We aren’t a huge festival, and I see that as a good thing and allows for more intimacy. Last year people really mingled at the after parties and it was an absolute blast. I want to bring everybody together, display great improv, and leave everyone with a smile on the face. Hopefully that word of mouth spreads, and more people want to come next year.

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Submissions for The Denver Improv Festival are open now, but they’re closing soon. You can submit your troupe right now on the submission page. If you’d like more information on The Festival or The GroupMind Foundation, you can visit the festival website or drop a message to David directly here on the site.

The GroupMind Foundation is a nonprofit 501(c)(3)organization whose purpose is to enrich, educate and entertain our community in the art of improv. It will work toward this mission through educational outreach programs for local schools, the Denver Improv Festival, and various performance and skill workshops.

Detroit Rising

Posted by Bill Binder on August 15, 2013
DSC_0107

This sticker speaks truth

Of the dozens of festivals I’ve visited in the last few years, The Detroit Improv Festival was a special treat this year. Partially, because it was a return to my own native soil (Auburn Hills, MI represent). Partially because it was amazing to talk to the people of Detroit who – popular to what the news might tell you – are incredibly hopeful and united in very rough times. But mostly, it was special because DIF was the first festival to build their lineup from submissions here on the NIN page. As a result I not only got to check in with old friends, but was able to meet so many new friends in person who I’d first met here. I got to talk to many new faces I recognized from avatars here and see new shows from groups who hadn’t really made the festival circuit before.

Of course none of that would have been possible without the incredible work of all the people behind the festival. Chris, Keith, PJ and Michelle were hustling non-stop. James was keeping the fort down at Go and the volunteers were always around to help the visiting performers. DIF has undergone a huge growth in the last year, bringing in more troupes and more venues and certainly more headliners. Susan Messing, Jill Bernard, Craig Cackowski, Rich Talarico, TJ Jagadowski, Dave Pasquesi, Rob Belushi & Dave Razowsky at the same festival certainly exposed the people of Ferndale to some of the best improv in the country. A free family friendly show on Saturday afternoon also delighted crowds. I’m sure a lot of newcomers to improv this weekend had some preconceived notions shattered and hopefully they’ll continue to visit shows at Go Comedy and Planet Ant in the year to come.

 

The Rust Belt on Nine Mile

The Rust Belt on Nine Mile

The festival did a great job of showcasing improv to the people of Detroit, but it also did a great job of showcasing the city of Detroit to improvisors. They designed many parts of their festival with the performer in mind. Not all of the venues were traditional theatre spaces, but all were within walking distance of Nine Mile and Woodward Avenue. It was easy to get from venue to venue to see the shows and friends you wanted to see. A tour of Detroit and a weekend barbecue were also available in addition to donated food throughout the week from local restaurants.

A fairly unique addition to this year’s festival was Pam Victor’s Geeking Out Interview. Many festivals have featured live podcasts, but Pam offered a very in depth interview with experienced improvisors for an audience. This year she interviewed Razowsky and Clifford about their long and successful history and memories of their training. As a special treat, the show also featured our own Nick Armstrong talking about NIN and also a special announcement of Improv Utopia East coming to Pennsylvania. Pam is one of the most dedicated people out there on preserving some sort of heritage for our craft.

It was in many ways one of the first large opportunities we’ve had to sit and meet people from the network and learn what kind of things you’d like to see in the future. Some great ideas came from discussions – some that may show up down the road – and some that are great and simple ideas that might start showing up on the site in the next few weeks.

High applause for The 2013 Detroit Improv Festival. It’s in a beautiful city and the people do their best to showcase improv to the people there as a beautiful art form from people across the continent (big hello to all our Toronto friends). I look forward to seeing the festival grow for years to come.

—
Currently Bill is an instructor at The Torch Theatre and producer for the Phoenix Improv Festival. He tours teaching and performing across North America. He ate more coney dogs in Detroit that what would typically be considered “healthy”

 

Improv Competition: Healthy or Unhealthy?

Posted by Nick Armstrong on August 13, 2013

17765_512x288_manicured__qnem5coi9kc5pxt8mjzdpa1Okay, so over the years I’ve received multiple e-mails, facebook posts, invitations and so on about voting for a specific team or theatre to either win an “improv award”, win “the best comedy theatre in (Name of City here) or come to their cagematch and vote for their team. I’d like to share a few thoughts on this:

Vote for My Theatre as Best Comedy Club in (Enter City Here)

I see this all the time, and somebody reading this probably has a theatre that has won it and is listed in their local newspaper as the champions of comedy in their city. I recently asked a good friend of mine, who won the award, if there was any benefit to winning it. Did they get any new audience? What did they get? He said, “No new audience, but they offered us a discount for advertising.” So let me ask you this, is it worth the time to clog up your social and theatre marketing, scrounging for votes to be listed? Will scrounging for these votes drive people away from your social media page? If you’re asking for votes that you’re the best comedy club in your city, does that mean you really are? Votes don’t equal great shows right? And if your Uncle, who has never been to a show votes for you is that a fair and honest practice?

Vote for my team for an Improv Award

Okay, this one kind of drives me a little crazy. If people like your team and your team’s work, they will nominate or vote for you, right? Wouldn’t it mean more to win knowing that each week you put on a great show and you had people that wanted to nominate or vote for you? If you win because a ton of your friends, who might even be in other cities and have never seen your show, voted for you and you walk up to the podium is that basically like rigging an election? I say win on merit and hard work not marketing for votes. Case in point, the Del Close Awards nomination submissions in Los Angeles have recently gone up, and when they did all I got was barrage of “Nominate my group for best team.” I’m okay with a little awareness of this awards ceremony as it is all in good fun, but when it becomes a campaign for votes it takes the fun out of it and takes the merits of the show away. Shouldn’t we want to win on our talent and merit? Should we even have Improv Awards?

Team Vs. Team: The Cagematch

Most every theatre has some sort of competitive improv competition, such as The Cagematch. This is where two improv teams square off onstage in an all out improv battle to the death. The rules are two teams do a show and the audience votes for the winner. That’s that thing, you see each team brings a billion of their friends and they vote for them and whoever has the most friends wins. It’s great for the theatre because it packs the house and that’s good, theatres like packed houses and that’s why Cagematches are popular. My friend and improvisor Kevin McShane from the long-running iO house team Trophy Wife once brought up a question, “Is there anyway we can just pack the house without doing a competition to get people there?” Me, I’m not a big improv competition guy, but I see why theatres do it. It gets people in the doors, buying drinks and it’s usually people that don’t watch improv as much. But what are you really winning as a team? I’ve seen shows where CLEARLY team A won, but team B brought more people so they ended up winning. I know life isn’t fair, but it just seems like a strange practice. In my earlier years in improv I did The Cagematch and I remember winning and knowing we had such a bad show compared to the other but still won. We felt awful. We felt ashamed. It was almost like you couldn’t look the other team in the face because they knew they had a stellar show and that our show was just average to bad.

In the end, I’m not for or against these practices and I see pros and cons to both, but I’m interested to see what everyone thinks about improv competition, is it healthy for the art or unhealthy, is it a necessary evil? We don’t have discussions set up on our site yet, but feel free to comment on Twitter and Facebook your thoughts on Improv Competition. I’d love to hear what you think!

About Nick Armstrong:

Nick is an Actor, Improvisor and Writer living in Los Angeles, CA. On TV Nick is currently on AMC’s Story Notes and has been on the Emmy-Award winning shows The Office and Grey’s Anatomy. He has also made appearances on Jimmy Kimmel Live and Parks and Recreation. Recently, Nick received a development deal for a TV Show he created for A&E.

Onstage Nick has trained at The Groundlings and iO West. You can catch him performing regularly at the world-famous iO West in Hollywood, CA on the famed genre-based group Kind Strangers and LA’s Longest and Critically Acclaimed Harold Team King Ten. Nick has taught improv at iO West, Westside Comedy Theatre and has done workshops all over the country.

Nick is also the Camp Director and Founder of Improv Utopia an improv retreat for grown ups. He is also one of the founding members of the National Improv Network. We are always looking for better ways to serve the community. Drop us a line and let us know what you want!

For more information visit: http://www.nickarmstrong.com or http://www.improvutopia.com

I’m an Improvisor Offstage Too!

Posted by Nick Armstrong on August 6, 2013

images

I guess it’s not new news. I guess I’ve always known it, but I started thinking about it today and I realized that my offstage life and my onstage life have collided like the Higgs Boson. Here’s how:

Damn! I’m Not Perfect?

As much as I want to be perfect, I know that this is unattainable. Such is improv. You can get great at it but you’ll never be perfect. Otherwise, why would you keep doing it? Wouldn’t it get boring? If we say we are perfect, then we have nothing to reach for anymore and we could end up becoming stale and actually worse. I’ve seen people become content with their improv, hell sometimes I find myself doing it, but when that happens I force myself to change and find a new challenge. I guess when I’m 104 and on my deathbed I could lie there and say, ”I did it, I’m perfect.” It won’t be right, but I still might say it anyway. I will also probably not know where the hell I am, what I’m doing or who I am at that point. Strive for greatness, but don’t worry about being perfect.

I’m Human I Make Mistakes:

Sometimes I make big ones, sometimes ones I regret. But just like in improv a mistake can turn into a golden opportunity. I’ve found that the mistakes I’ve made have turned into opportunities for me to learn and become a better person. So I say bring on the mistakes! They can only make you stronger.

Support:

The world does revolve, but not around you. Yeah sorry everyone. I’ve always lived by the motto “Give back more then you get” Okay, so I ripped this off from my time as a Boy Scout. But I live by it. In improv it’s never about you, it’s always about connecting and supporting the group and achieving that group mind. I believe this is a great attribute to take with you offstage, whether it’s at your work, helping someone across the street or supporting a cause, you will find that support only makes the world a better place and makes you a better human being.

So, be an improvisor offstage too! Don’t stop being one once you step off that stage. Be one everyday, every hour and every minute. Commit to life just like you commit onstage, you’ll find when you don’t commit life and improv are much harder. If you do, I can guarantee you that the reward will be amazing.

Wouldn’t the world be a better place if Improvisors ran it?

Nick Armstrong

Nick is an Actor, Improvisor and Writer living in Los Angeles, CA. On TV Nick is currently on AMC’s Story Notes and has been on the Emmy-Award winning shows The Office and Grey’s Anatomy. He has also made appearances on Jimmy Kimmel Live and Parks and Recreation. Recently, Nick received a development deal for a TV Show he created for A&E. 

Onstage Nick has trained at The Groundlings and iO West. You can catch him performing regularly at the world-famous iO West in Hollywood, CA on the famed genre-based group Kind Strangers and LA’s Longest and Critically Acclaimed Harold Team King Ten. Nick is also the Camp Director and Founder of Improv Utopia. And if that wasn’t enough, he is also one of the founding members of the National Improv Network.

Improv Warrior: Rick Andrews

Posted by Nick Armstrong on July 30, 2013

large_rickandrewsImprov Warrior (n.) Someone who goes above and beyond the call of duty. An improvisor, who is not just a performer, but lives and breaths improv, heightens the art, cares for the art and brings it to new levels.

Today’s Improv Warrior is Rick Andrews who is on the board and one of the organizers of DuoFest in Philadelphia. He is also a teacher and performer at The Magnet Theatre in New York. On the first night I was at DuoFest I saw Rick and asked him where he was staying in Philly while doing the festival he said, “I’m going back to NYC every night.”

So get this, Rick would do a show, Dwight D. Eisenhower which was one of my favorites at DuoFest, host some of the hours with crazy positive energy and then when the shows ended, around midnight, he’d hang out and go to the after parties, then he’d hop on a bus at 3 a.m. in the morning, get on a train to get home to teach by 10 a.m. at The Magnet Theatre.

I asked Rick why he had to get back to teach, why couldn’t he just get a sub. It turns out Rick was so concerned about his new level 1 class that he wanted to get back to them to make sure they were taken care of. Sure it would be easy to just get a sub for the weekend, but that’s not Rick.

I’ve always said that improvisors are a different class of people and when I met Rick in NYC about a year ago, before DuoFest, he solidified that thought even more.

Rick is the definition of an Improv Warrior. His dedication to DuoFest, his students and the art form are way above and beyond. Rick is definitely and inspiration to all improvisors. Rick travels to festivals around the country and is available for workshops.

Nick Armstrong

Nick is an Actor, Improvisor and Writer living in Los Angeles, CA. On TV Nick is currently on AMC’s Story Notes and has been on the Emmy-Award winning shows The Office and Grey’s Anatomy. He has also made appearances on Jimmy Kimmel Live and Parks and Recreation. Recently, Nick received a development deal for a TV Show he created for A&E. 

Onstage Nick has trained at The Groundlings and iO West. You can catch him performing regularly at the world-famous iO West in Hollywood, CA on the famed genre-based group Kind Strangers and LA’s Longest and Critically Acclaimed Harold Team King Ten. Nick is also the Camp Director and Founder of Improv Utopia. And if that wasn’t enough, he is also one of the founding members of the National Improv Network.

 

 

 

 

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