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This week's episode features Matthew Goodman, Ph.D.
Matthew Goodman, Ph.D. is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist (PSY32423), consultant, speaker, and mindfulness teacher. He is Founder of The Middle Way Consulting, where he supports organizations with wellness, team-building, and communication skills through purposeful play (including improv!), awareness-based practices (e.g., deep listening), and behavioral science principles. Dr. Goodman was previously Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and the Behavioral Sciences at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, where he provided clinical care, teaching, and supervision within the psychiatry residency program. He has expertise in mindfulness-based interventions and has taught mindfulness to children and adults in hospitals, clinics, schools, and to the general public for 10+ years, in addition to authoring several peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters on mindfulness and creating a documentary film on “the dark night of the soul” phenomenon in the context of meditation. His Zen-prov! classes create a nonjudgmental space for people to practice mindfulness, self-compassion, and other Zen principles such as “not knowing” through fun and interactive improv exercises.
During this episode we discuss…
From Matt, when asked how improv has improved his life offstage, “Creating more present-moment awareness. Confidence in taking risks and speaking what's on my mind/heart. More joy, spontaneity, and flexibility. Taking myself less seriously. Connection to others ”
Connect with Matthew on LinkedIn Instagram @matthewgoodmanphd
If you liked what you heard, Subscribe, write a review, tell a friend. If you didn’t like what you heard, well, try again next time. Each episode is different and we’re always improving (see what I did there?!)
Visit www.chooseimprove.com for resources and ways to improve in your life and work.
Join us for at chooseimprove.substack.com for weekly improvisations and monthly virtual sessions to practice improvising in your life.
Connect with us on Instagram @chooseimprove and linkedin.chooseimprove.com
This week's episode features Ali Farahnakian.
Ali is an American actor, writer, and improvisational comedian. He is the founder of The Peoples Improv Theater in NYC. Ali studied improv in the 1990s at the ImprovOlympic and was a founding member of the Upright Citizens Brigade. He was a writer on Saturday Night Live during its 25th anniversary season and received a Writers Guild Award Nomination. Ali’s television credits include “Law and Order: Criminal Intent,” “Special Victims Unit,” “All My Children,” “Third Watch,” “Late Night With Conan O’Brien,” “30 Rock,” and numerous national commercials. He is an alum of SNL, The iO Theater, and Second City.
During this episode we discuss…
From Ali, when asked how improv has improved his life offstage, “Improv has been a part of my life for over 33 years. It’s my way of life.”
Connect with Ali on Instagram @alialinyc and check out The People's Improv Theater in NYC.
If you liked what you heard, Subscribe, write a review, tell a friend. If you didn’t like what you heard, well, try again next time. Each episode is different and we’re always improving (see what I did there?!)
Visit www.chooseimprove.com for resources and ways to improve in your life and work.
Join us for at chooseimprove.substack.com for weekly improvisations and monthly virtual sessions to practice improvising in your life.
Connect with us on Instagram @chooseimprove and linkedin.chooseimprove.com
This week's episode features Alec Brown.
Alec Brown is a content creator, writer, improviser, stand-up, and musical comedy entertainer. His latest project is the viral TikTok series “Challah At Ya Goy!”A play on words celebrating delicious bread and a Yiddish term for gentiles, “CAYG!” takes viewers on double entendre-laden two-minute riotous recipe revues that climax in tasty test fests: oy vey!
In pre-Covid times, he co-wrote and co-starred in the musical comedy show Peter, Paul and Carly which played a dozen sellouts at NYC’s Duplex Theatre. Alec has performed stand-up at venues like The Broadway Comedy Club and was invited to join Upright Citizens Brigade’s prestigious Academy. He appeared monthly in 2019 at the Peoples Improv Theater and has since become an Associate Producer at Story Pirates, specializing in children’s improv and writing. His voiceover work is featured on several episodes of their iHeart Radio Award-winning podcast; his sung vocals can be heard on their song “Cheese Quest.” He’s currently in the Writing Lab at The Groundlings.
Alec’s writing has been featured on numerous online platforms, most notably on theatre satire site The Broadway Beat (recently acquired by Coil with Reductress and The Hard Times). Articles include “Man Disappointed Nothing Spooky Happened After Seeing Beetlejuice A Third Time” and “Gazillion Bubble Show Faces Controversy After 6-Year Old Counts.”
During this episode we discuss…
From Alec, when asked how improv has improved his life offstage, “It's really trained me to listen to what others say in a broader spectrum (i.e.-tone, word choice, timing, and intention)”
Connect with Alec on Instagram and TikTok @challahatyagoy
If you liked what you heard, Subscribe, write a review, tell a friend. If you didn’t like what you heard, well, try again next time. Each episode is different and we’re always improving (see what I did there?!)
Visit www.chooseimprove.com for resources and ways to improve in your life and work.
Join us for at chooseimprove.substack.com for weekly improvisations and monthly virtual sessions to practice improvising in your life.
Connect with us on Instagram @chooseimprove and linkedin.chooseimprove.com
This week's episode features Melanie (Mel) Rubin.
Mel Rubin is a tech support specialist, hip hop improv performer, instructor and beatboxer based out of New York City. She studied long-form improv and musical improv comedy at the Magnet Theater (NYC), and is a performer on the hip hop improv team North Coast, who has been featured in The New York Times and Time Out New York. Mel is also an active performer, workshop facilitator and public speaking coach with Freestyle+ and loves to travel across the country bringing the joy of improv to anyone who will let her.
During this episode we discuss…
From Mel, when asked how improv has improved her life offstage, “It's given me the super power of my very good memory, I'm sure of it! The active listening element has translated into my real life and I have such a visual and detailed memory because of it. It's also helped me be so much more present because if you think too far ahead, you miss what's right in front of you (just like in improv).”
Connect with Mel on LinkedIn and Instagram @melrubin2
If you liked what you heard, Subscribe, write a review, tell a friend. If you didn’t like what you heard, well, try again next time. Each episode is different and we’re always improving (see what I did there?!)
Visit www.chooseimprove.com for resources and ways to improve in your life and work.
Join us for at chooseimprove.substack.com for weekly improvisations and monthly virtual sessions to practice improvising in your life.
Connect with us on Instagram @chooseimprove and linkedin.chooseimprove.com
This week's episode features Gus Vieweg
Gus is a musician, micro-entrepreneur, programmer, student, playwright, and, of course, improviser.
He got his start with improv in college with the Comedic Improvisational Alliance (CIA) at North Carolina State University. He has also improvised in San Diego and North Carolina, where he started an improv Meetup group and performed in the 2019 North Carolina Comedy Festival with his improv trio Broken Compass. He has also taken improv classes at ComedyWorx and the People's Improv Theater.
A North Carolina native, Gus now lives in Fort Collins, Colorado.
During this episode we discuss…
Bonus: Listen and see if you think his voice resembles the same famous comedian I think it does!
From Gus, when asked how improv has improved his life offstage, “Improv has helped me learn how to lose, how to delegate, and pick your battles. I think of most of my life as ‘side support’ with some very intentional mainstage performance.”
Connect with Gus on LinkedIn and Instagram @GusVieweg and on his website gusvieweg.com
This week's episode features Candace Swaninger…
Candace is a Talent Development manager, passionate about leadership development & onboarding. As the Senior Specialist of Talent Development at Petco she leverages strategy, relationship building, creativity and problem solving to help others become their best selves through impactful Talent Development programs.
During this episode we discuss…
From Candace, when asked how improv has improved her life offstage, “Improv has helped me both professionally and personally. Professionally, I use it frequently as a workshop facilitator. I also think it allows me to roll with the punches a bit more day to day. Personally, it definitely sparks creativity in me and my family. I like to make up songs randomly, and my husband started doing it with me while we were dating, and now my son also does it. It's also a great tool for play with kids.”
Connect with Candace on LinkedIn
If you liked what you heard, Subscribe, write a review, tell a friend. If you didn’t like what you heard, well, try again next time. Each episode is different and we’re always improving (see what I did there?!)
Visit www.chooseimprove.com for resources and ways to improve in your life and work.
Join us for at chooseimprove.substack.com for weekly improvisations and monthly virtual sessions to practice improvising in your life.
Connect with us on Instagram @chooseimprove and linkedin.chooseimprove.com
This week's episode features Jason Moore…
Jason Moore is an entrepreneur in health tech, currently the Founder and CEO of Spren. He has spent over a decade building sensor and data systems to make people's lives easier, safer, and more productive. Globally recognized HRV expert — health and performance consultant to pro sports teams, first responders, and medical research teams, he is really fascinated about why humans make the decisions they make, and if we can help them make better ones.
During this episode we discuss…
From Jason, when asked how improv has improved his life offstage, “It was hugely educational for myself and our whole company about how nuanced the practice of listening and communicating can be. As a company, we did a bunch of what are probably standard improv exercises, and we were all caught off guard at moments when we were making assumptions or getting too "in our own head" to respond correctly in the game (or even realize that maybe "correct" isn't even the right way to think about things sometimes!).”
Connect with Jason on LinkedIn and check out his company Spren online
If you liked what you heard, Subscribe, write a review, tell a friend. If you didn’t like what you heard, well, try again next time. Each episode is different and we’re always improving (see what I did there?!)
Visit www.chooseimprove.com for resources and ways to improve in your life and work.
Join us for at chooseimprove.substack.com for weekly improvisations and monthly virtual sessions to practice improvising in your life.
Connect with us on Instagram @chooseimprove and linkedin.chooseimprove.com
This week's episode features Justyn Williams…
Justyn is a man of many interests. His mission in life is “Build bridges, and break barriers for myself and others. Whatever I do, do it with intention." He has an immense level of curiosity and an overflowing sense of imagination. He daydreams a lot. He empathizes heavily. His experiences as a D1 college athlete majoring in psychology (at the University of Pennsylvania) instilled in him a deep passion for well-being encompassing physical fitness, mental wellness, and functional nutrition.
Justyn leads the growth strategy and manages strategic relationships with the recruiting consultancy, StartupTAP, which has worked with clients across 7 countries and 29 cities that have collectively raised over $10 billion. He’s also a Community Builder with StartupGrind, the world's largest community of entrepreneurs, with a presence in over 600 cities worldwide. And, he leads virtual wine education and tasting events for groups of 5-100 people. He formerly worked at LinkedIn (which we talk about in the episode :)
And ever since he was a kid on the schoolyard, he has been someone who reflexively stands up for underdogs, embraces those who are marginalized, and ultimately aims to make those around him feel like they belong. He’s huge on bringing good vibes and cultivating team spirit in everything he does and he proudly speaks up for causes that advance human rights and respect for every person regardless of skin color, class, gender, or orientation.
Justyn started taking an improv class after meeting Mary at the San Francisco Sketchfest. He has taken improv classes with Mary and Improve, at EndGames Improv in San Francisco, and Upright Citizens Brigade in Los Angeles.
And he does all that with a smile on his face and giving people hugs along the way (and Mary can attest to…Justyn gives GREAT hugs!)
During this episode we discuss…
From Justyn, when asked how improv has improved his life offstage, “Many ways: reduced anxiety in professional social settings, increased my curiosity about others/the world, and strengthened my fortitude to overcome whatever obstacles life throws my way (e.g., joblessness).”
Connect with Justyn on Instagram @yojustyn and on LinkedIn.
If you liked what you heard, Subscribe, write a review, tell a friend. If you didn’t like what you heard, well, try again next time. Each episode is different and we’re always improving (see what I did there?!)
Visit www.chooseimprove.com for resources and ways to improve in your life and work.
Join us for at chooseimprove.substack.com for weekly improvisations and monthly virtual sessions to practice improvising in your life.
Connect with us on Instagram @chooseimprove and linkedin.chooseimprove.com
This week's episode features Samantha (Sammy) Cole…
Sammy is a Communications Coordinator at Schmidt Futures, founded by Eric and Wendy Schmidt to use a broad set of tools—including gifts, grants, investments, and startup activity—for charitable, educational, and commercial efforts with a public purpose.
Sammy tried improv for the first time in college and fell in love with it. She was a member of ComCo, the University of Michigan’s oldest (and according to Sammy, best :) improv group. She has led improv workshops in classes throughout her college career and was an intern at Improve.
She lives in NYC and continues to improvise in life and work, and through classes, going to improv jams, and watching improv shows.
In this episode we discuss…
From Sammy, when asked how improv has improved her life offstage, “It has made me a better listener, inspired me to be authentic and creative, helped me to inspire others around me to do the same.”
Connect with Sammy on Instagram @samanatee and LinkedIn
Note: Mary introduces the episode as “Improv’ed” which was the original name of the show before calling it “Improved”. We recorded this episode before that brilliant revelation :)
If you liked what you heard, Subscribe, write a review, tell a friend. If you didn’t like what you heard, well, try again next time. Each episode is different and we’re always improving (see what I did there?!)
Visit www.chooseimprove.com for resources and ways to improve in your life and work.
Join us for at chooseimprove.substack.com for weekly improvisations and monthly virtual sessions to practice improvising in your life.
Connect with us on Instagram @chooseimprove and linkedin.chooseimprove.com
This week's episode features Kate Axelsson…
Kate is at User Experience Researcher at Microsoft, TEDx speaker (she gave a talk about comedy when she was 19), and a passionate, curious creative who loves understanding how things work and isn't afraid to be a newbie or be seen trying. She seeks to infuse her work with joy and make wholehearted, authentic connections. As a self-proclaimed multipotentialite who wants to be a dozen things when I grow up, she pulls from her improv training, striving to “yes and” my way through life. She lives by the principle of paying it forward and loves mentoring those seeking to break into UX Research.
Her first taste of improv was at a 3-week performing arts camp in 5th grade. The acting/improv week was a huge turning point and made her want more. She spent summers watching "Whose Line is it Anyway?" and in high school tried out for the "Impulse Improv Team" and did that for 3 years. In college she took comedy courses, tried stand-up comedy, started a weekly improv group and studied improv and comedy writing at The Second City. She completed her senior thesis exploring comedy and social impact.
In this episode we discuss…
Plus, we do an improv scene that was probably only entertaining to us 😆
From Kate, when asked how improv has improved her life offstage, “It's taught me to trust myself! I feel prepared to engage with strangers, put myself out there, present at work, etc. because I know I have my improv skills to fall back on. Quick thinking and recovery have come in handy in life! It's also reminded me that I don't need to control everything; I've noticed in my scenes I want to be "at the wheel" steering the scene, when really it's okay to be on the same plane as everyone else. Not all of life can (or should!) be controlled so being okay with being *in* it is key.”
Connect with Kate on Instagram @kateaxelsson
If you liked what you heard, Subscribe, write a review, tell a friend. If you didn’t like what you heard, well, try again next time. Each episode is different and we’re always improving (see what I did there?!)
Visit www.chooseimprove.com for resources and ways to improve in your life and work.
Join us for at chooseimprove.substack.com for weekly improvisations and monthly virtual sessions to practice improvising in your life.
Connect with us on Instagram @chooseimprove and linkedin.chooseimprove.com
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