Mischief Improv

Liam and I had just performed in London at Hoopla Impro. We talk a bit about that performance but also talk about:

• When Should People Take Big Risks in Improv
• What Role Does the Audience Play
• Teaching Knowledge vs Constructivist Thinking

It was a crazy great interview!

We had our first regular show at the Lock Keeper in Chester – and what a huge response! I talk about that.

But first I mention this Improv summit I've been working on, where we got representatives from improv teams from all over Liverpool, Manchester, and Bangor to come together to just talk. It was great. So happy to have met people face to face. Already talking about doing it again.

I was in San Diego, and I was fortunate enough to get to interview Vanessa Anton, again! Vanessa Anton is a teacher and performer with Cornerstone Improv in San Diego. She also travels around the world teaching workshops.

This was recorded as we drove through San Diego.

Vanessa a gem. #improv

This episode I talk about something very vulnerable to me personally.

First off, we talk about conflict in improv teams. I give the three pronged advice of Sarcasm, Emotion and Take the High Road.

• Don't use sarcasm
• Don't use emotion – except for happiness and genuine sympathy
• Do take the high road

I fail at this. I am only human.

I also convey what my greatest fear is with regards to being the leader of Mischief Managed Improv.

Please like, share … and recommend this podcast to all your improv friends.

I made a blanket fort! In the best interest to mitigate echo. I talk a bit about "lying" during improv scenes and when character try to change each other. "Initials" is a game I invented for our team, and it works really well for any genre team! It can teach the tropes associated with that genre but also to deliver concepts as if they are real and without apology.

"When I hear a good improv tip I TELT it everybody I know!" Let's talk about TELT!

Lukas Kirkby guest coached us, and then we had a rehearsal where I introduced the Mischief Managed format to the new players. I go over some incredible moves the players did in supporting one another.

We did the warm up I learned from Jay Sukow which is called The Handshake where the team invents a handshake. Moves within that handshake have to be representative of the people who are doing the handshake, then they have to teach that handshake to everyone else. First of all, the moves made to emphasize the brilliance of another player's moves were great! Second the ensemble of multiple people coming together to merge together to make one owl! AMAZING!

And I loved how they re-used ideas from the beginning of the set so that everything had a purpose.

We're back for Season 3. I'll tell you how my non-auditions went, a little bit about our 4 new players and how we're diving into Short Form as a way to learn more about Long Form.

We learned how to "sell it" by playing New Choice, Pillars, Hesitation and Sentence Fragments. All of these games require the players to sell and justify an idea that isn't theirs. That's what makes it funny for the audience and fun for the players! So then we lean into that philosophy in a Long Form set. Take your scene partner's ideas and sell them and justify them!

We also did 185 where the suggestion was "blah blah blah." Too many teams have internal competition – it really damages the community of improv. 185 with "blah blah blah" is a great demonstration for how support can bring the entire show to the next level!

This episode is a few rapid fire questions to Maggie Noland and David Elliot. I get to ask them things like:

• If there was an improv moved named after David Elliot, what would it be?
• If there was a short form game named after Maggie Nolan, what would it be?
• If you walked to the top of "improv guru mountain" and someone unexpected would be the "guru of improv" who would it be?
• What did you do better when your first started, that you sort of lost after doing it for so long?
• How can you tell when someone is new at improv?

It leads to some fun conversation with two people not only do I think are hilarious, but incredibly insightful. I love people who can crack jokes but also have emotional depth. I find not only do I enjoy spending time with them, but I learn from them as well.

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Previously we had asked two of our talented cast member Maggie Nolan and David Elliot "what is the pompous things improv performers talk about?" … when we talked about it.

This time we asked, "what don't improv performers talk ENOUGH about?"

Give it a listen.

Between seasons I interviewed two of my improv cast members, after some drinks. We get raw and honest about improv as a community and some skills. This is Improv UNPLUGGED!

Maggie Nolan, David Elliot and I talk about our experiences in the improv community. This episode we discuss what we see people post a lot about online. We talk about what a lot of people seem to want to weigh in on ... but may have very little impact on their improv rehearsal!

WELCOME TO SEASON 3 OF MISCHIEF MANAGED IMPROV PODCAST! Episode 0!