Steve Green always has such insightful and gentle ways of expressing complex improv concepts. I love working with him in scenes, or being coached by in him classes. He is somsone who I believe should be running his own improv school. He is not only great at progressing information, but he cares about the people he is teaching.   He's one of improv performers that you wonder "why aren't they a famous actor? Getting paid the big bucks. Being alongside Scarlett Johansson and Benecio Del Toro in the latest Marvel movie ... "

I have a lot of admiration for Steve. 

As does anyone who has worked with him.

This interview takes place as a casual conversation in Bean & Cole in Chester. Lovely backdrop. We always meet there for a chat. This time, I just recorded it!

Initially, I wanted to interview Emily regarding her views on tradition, ritual and movement inside a church. Her personal story of being the first person to go to college, and her interest in musicology (which I had never heard of before!) was so interesting. I will probably interview Emily again!

Shout out to the Tower Tour at Chester Cathedral.  It is so neat to see the imperfections in the cathedral while at the same time seeing such beauty.  The Chester Cathedral is one of the top tourist attraction to Chester - an already gorgeous city. To book a Tower Tour check out the Cathedral website: https://chestercathedral.com/

Now we start getting into the cool stuff!  Emily works at the Chester Cathedral - built in 1093 but at that time was a benedict abbey. It is this big beautiful building that is a tourist magnet.  When I saw Gaia there it was breathtaking. Gaia was this massive rotating earth that was internally lit. I've also done the Tower Tour there and it is SO INTERESTING. She works there!

It's like working at Hogwarts - except more progressive.  YES. I'm not a religous person, but I love the stuff the cathedral is doing. We get into in the podcast ... so listen ... 

Continuing our conversation, we talk about the history of religion in England. And I catch Emily off guard and ask her about something in the room - which looks like a wood knife about the size of my forearm. 

We start to get into the "choreography of church" and how you move around any old church or cathedral. This will get us into Liturgy in the next part, which I find so fascinating. Could liturgy exist in other fields?  Does theatre have liturgy in a sense?  Does a casual tradition like "watching a game at the pub" in a sense have social roles, movement, and rituals?

So fortunate to have Emily lend her intelligence and time. 

Emily Lanigan-Palotai interview is different than the past episodes. This one is good for people who want to talk about music and "what is music?" Emily did her Masters in Medieval musicology, focusing on chant (music). CHANTING. Like, it's effect, where it comes from .. and how prevalent it is in rituals. We talk about the history of traditions and rituals and "what is a church?" She is currently helps to care for the artefacts at Chester Cathedral, and we discuss how her job interacts with something called ‘liturgy’. Emily is fascinating and brilliant. Her story is such a beautiful story. In later episodes with Emily, we also discuss the BIPOC (or BAME) representation of Jesus Christ or the imperfections within religious spaces. God may be perfect, but that church door needs some oil!   This whole series is about my curiosity, and Emily was a super interesting interview.

The finale of my conversation with Jay Sukow.  I always like talking to Jay.  He as experience, kindness and one thing I greatly value in friends - he is honest. I always aim to reward that economy of honesty. Highly recommend Jay Sukow as a teacher and to see his shows.  He is commonly teaching in-person improv classes in Los Angeles.  To stay upto date follow him at Today Improv, in fact he is teaching an improv intensive at the end of this year! (2023) https://www.facebook.com/todayimprov

PV Tips are a fantastic free resource for improviser. Paul Vaillancourt is a brilliant mind in improv with lots of experience.  He not only provides tips from his own experience but the absolute ARMY of guest improvisers is so engaging. 

Super valuable.

Here is a link to the playlist: https://youtu.be/WDtmp110cj4

You can find him on YouTube at PVImprov.

We keep going about improv and it's community.  I feel like Jay should be the AD at an improv school somewhere. LITERALLY, if he set up roots at an improv school somewhere I would consider moving my whole family there and helping him start up a school. 

I've taken Jay for two courses, and had him coach some teams.  I believe he has such an amazing view on improv, that brings the best out in people.  His teaching style is inspired by famous coaches and spiritual leaders ... but he is not lofty. He is grounded and real. He cusses, he loves the Beastie Boys and stands up for what's right. 

You can find out more about Jay here: https://www.jaysukow.com/

I love Jay Sukow.

I had the opportunity to interview Jay about "control" in improv and more. I could talk to Jay forever. He has been one of the biggest inspirations in improv.  He has such a soft touch when teaching. Jay says stuff so simple but also so profound - and I think that is genius.  You can find out more about Jay at:

https://todayimprov.com/

His goal is to have everyone take at least one improv class.