Want to do a great thing?

Want to do a great thing?
Say YES to a good thing!
Or be stuck with no-thing. 

Planning, brainstorming, and collaborating are HARD. So many times, we find it easy to say what we don't want or to point out the flaws in other people's ideas. It happens to the best of us. In improv we call this the "Yes, But" approach or "blocking". 

We can even confuse pointing out risks and gaps as the way we bring value in collaboration. I find that "bad" ideas usually fall away naturally when I support "good" ideas. Bad ideas don't need to be assassinated.... that gives them more focus. 

Try to focus on what you want instead of what you don't want. 

Try saying what you love about someone's idea before saying what you hate about it. 

Chances are, it will lead to a good thing that will eventually lead to a great thing.
For me, this is the heart of the "Yes, And" approach to life.
I hope we can all build toward great things! 

Speaking of saying YES,
Join us at STAGE TIME Open Improv Jam and try improv with me and the cast of our Tuesday shows!
Tuesday January 16th, 8pm at XYYVR (Bute and Davie Street)
No Cover, pay what you can

https://www.facebook.com/events/104672393433504/

Think improv is about thinking fast? Think again!

When I tell people that I improvise, the response is often "wow, I could never do that - I'm not fast enough" or "you must be able to think really fast on your feet."

Actually, I find that success and enjoyment in improv is the exact opposite.
It's about slowing down and listening.

When you are really and actually in the moment you can really and actually listen.
Then the moment that you are in gets brighter and the next move becomes obvious and joyful.

Instead of thinking fast about what to do next... choose a real emotion (C.A.R.E.) and slow down. Be there. What comes next will be organic and have folks marvelling about how fast you seem to think.

It's been an awesome and challenging year! 

In 2017 I've performed improv in Vancouver, New York, Seattle, Rome, Dublin, and Melbourne. 

I've made new friends and connected with treasured old ones. 

I'm minding my mind and working to "drop the rope" that leads to a negative brain feedback loop. I'm surfing the moment whenever and wherever I can. 

I wish all my friends, family, and followers a very happy new year and all the best in 2018. 

Hope we see each other at a show, in a classroom, or somewhere unexpected! 

My heart continues to be bold,

Dan

DJS Production Team - Dan, Jamie, Sarah Dawn
 Thanks to these amazing improvisors who help make my world a better place.
Catch our next show! 

Talent and Taste

After 3 years of healing from a back injury, I got up on the mountain and.... I've still got some talent! 

Improv is frustrating when you start out. 

Like snowboarding, or riding a bike, or any skill. 

You know what's funny, but your scenes don't seem to reflect your sense of humour. 
Or how funny you know you are. Here's the thing: 
You have to wait for your talent to catch up to your taste. 

Keep at it! The fact that you're unhappy is a GOOD THING. It shows you have good taste. 

Keep watching shows and noting why you laugh and the technique that is happening on stage to make you laugh. You'll get there... and when your talent catches up to your taste - oh man are you gonna have fun. Some more good news? Just like snowboarding, you retain a huge part of your talent once you've built it up.

Backstage at XY YVR with the cast for one of our Tuesday night shows. Felt so good to do a show & be proud of the work. 

Focus on the LOVE

Tatiana: Never try to win over the naysayers and the haters, put all of your energy into impressing the people who were supporters of you from the beginning.

Ru Paul: That is very wise. Because you know what? I ain't got time for the people who hate me, I'm too busy loving the people who love me.

Tatiana: Exactly. 

My husband and I love to watch Ru Paul's Drag Race because it is fantastic television with occasional life guidance.

In the second episode of All Stars, Season 2 (airing now), Ru Paul was interviewing the Drag Queens as they prepared their impersonations for the upcoming snatch game challenge. Tatiana and Ru had this meaningful exchange about paying attention to critics.

This rocked my world and I've been living by these words ever since.


Haters? Naysayers? I'm too busy loving the people who love me.


In this vein, I've got some catching up to do with my readers, since I haven't posted an entry in my blog since April.

I'm back in Vancouver, settling in nicely - and ready to resume sharing my discoveries and focus in improv and living in the moment yet again. I'm working on two new shows that premiere this month with LOVEly teams that will include more and more folks as we go. (posters below)
Thanks for joining me.


Now, stop trying to win over naysayers and focus on the LOVE.

Upcoming Dirty Little Secrets Improv Show in VANCOUVER!

LIGHTS! Debuts Oct 11th.

Nicole Visits NYC!

Sarah visits NYC

Jamie visits NYC

Shef visits Vancouver

Colin Visits Vancouver

5 Tips for Improvising as a Roving Character

When you are improvising as a roving character at an event, here are 5 tips that I've picked up to help make your time successful.

I've been doing roving characters at events for nine years - I started by playing Captain Morgan in the bars of British Columbia's lower mainland. Since then, I've been all over the world playing over 50 characters that make people laugh and create fun memories at events. These pics are from my gig last month in Switzerland helping to host a week long event. 

1. Have a good costume. It's the worst when your costume is shoddy. First impression has to make the audience want to look at you. Details are key. Try to get a NAME TAG that shows you're with the group. Interactive elements, props, and little gifts to give out make your job easier.

2. Have a good vibe. If you're having a good relaxed time, that joy will spread. 

3. Have a few start up lines or puns. This initiates contact with the crowd and lets you assess if they're cool with improvising a little with you. 

4. Create in the moment. Based on the reactions you get, let the relationship with the audience member unfold and play for as long as they're enjoying it. 

5. Know when to roam. Not everyone loves a roaming character. Be ready to say a quick joke or make an impression and gracefully make a fast retreat. Sometimes being part of the background like standing at a doorway is the best way to entertain and not annoy. 

I wish you all the best improvising as a roving character!

The Planning Conundrum

On the first page of his autobiography Born Standing Up, Steve Martin writes:

"My most persistent memory of stand-up is of my mouth being in the present and my mind being in the future: the mouth speaking the line, the body delivering the gesture, while the mind looks back, observing, analyzing, judging, worrying, and then deciding when and what to say next. Enjoyment while performing was rare - enjoyment would have been an indulgent loss of focus that comedy cannot afford."

This set off alarm bells for me.
I hadn't come across this explanation of the mind, the body, and the mouth in different time zones before. Yet, these bells ring true.

It brings to mind a question I've wrestled with for a long time:
How can I be "fully in the moment" and yet still anticipate and make plans for the future? 
I ask this both for when I'm on stage performing in improv shows, and in life.
Can I get my mind, body, and mouth all in the same time zone?

This question may not lead to an answer. But, I believe that dwelling in the question is more valuable than a single answer. I learned from a great professor back in university that this pursuit of dwelling in questions will bring the reward of better questions and realizations.

Where I'm at now in the journey of this question is this - When I set time aside to set intentions, plan, and organize, I can be more fully present in moments that lead me toward my goals. 

For me, this means journaling about my goals, practicing and performing improv to get in the zone, and looking ahead in my calendar to organize my time. These activities allow me to get closer to being present when it counts - creating those purposeful moments. Planning allows you to have purposeful moments that help you to get closer to your goals.

In a recent improv practice I learned that regardless of your great ideas and vision, you must be present and listen to co-create or you'll just live in your plan without flexibility and deny your partner's offer in the scene.

So, plan to get your mind, body, and mouth in the same time zone more often... and then when they are - listen and be flexible with the plan according to what is actually happening.

Tougher than it sounds!

Some photo highlights since my last blog:

Dirty Little Secrets - Second Show, Nov '15

Lots of trash comes from NYC

We took in some improv in Chicago for our 1 year anniversary

My sister's wedding in Jamaica

UCB Improv 101 - The Who, What & Where

I am now an official exchange visitor, the spouse of an "alien physician", living life and loving improv in New York City.

Jonathan and I are settled in our East Village pad. We're in our second month of living in the USA and I'm proud to report that we're doing good. Moving ain't easy... but is sure is exciting.

Getting the keys to our apartment on East 4th

It's been a busy six weeks with lots of emotions: excitement about this new chapter, exhaustion from packing up in Vancouver and setting up in NYC, sadness for being away from my friends and improv home, and eagerness to experience all the art and improv in the big apple. This is a wild city, completely packed with people, alive in it's rhythm of horns and sirens.

This July, I completed my UCB level 100 intensive course. My instructor for the course was Amber Petty and she wore the kind of glasses that you might see in a Far Side cartoon by Gary Lawson. The aim of the week secretly became to try and make Amber laugh because she has a wicked sense of humour and the kind of laugh that makes an improvisor know that they've succeeded.

My instructor Amber Petty 

My take away from the course is with the UCB approach, you establish the WHO, WHAT, and WHERE of the scene in the first three lines. I spent most of the course aiming to get good at this - building solid initiations. Once we practiced initiations, we worked on what makes those first three lines great: Character, Emotional Reaction, Status.

What I noticed that was different the most from the Vancouver style was less emphasis on telling stories and creating relationships using eye contact. This is more about instant rapport to get to the funny.

The course culminated with a 60 minute show on the UCBChelsea stage.

UCB Intensive class show

Our show format was based on a single audience suggestion that inspired impromptu monologues from our fellow improvisors, followed by short scenes inspired by the monologues. (An Armondo style format)

Suggestion

Monologue

Scene 1

Scene 2

Scene 3

Monologue

Scene 4

Scene 5

Scene 6

Monologue

Scene 7

Scene 8

Scene 9

I found it worked really well and the show was funny. Amber edited our scenes using blackouts from the booth.

I like this idea of making a great initiation to an improv scene by establishing the Who, What & Where as soon as possible in first 3 lines.

I'm excited for level 201 where we'll really dive into the concept of UCB's highly revered concept of finding the "Game".

I'll be back in Vancouver at the end of the month, to host the Colin Mochrie & Friends show on Saturday August the 22nd 2015 at 7:30pm.
Join me - Tix are $75-85 and benefit the Colin Mochrie Sponsorship fund.

Available at vtsl.com

You are ready!

In the last post on my blog, I explored the idea that you are enough. 

Today, I follow up on that idea with another assertion - YOU ARE READY! 


In my work as a corporate communications trainer, I often hear clients tell me that their confidence is directly linked to how much preparation they've done.

In other words, they often don't feel confident if they haven't prepared.

I didn't feel nearly ready to leave Vancouver! 

Improv teaches us that you can be confident without being prepared because you are READY.
Your wisdom, experience, intuition, and ability are all available to you to make something up in the moment. To co-create with your audience.

You're ready to listen.
You're ready to contribute based on what you hear.
You're ready to be in the moment.

Of course preparation is essential. Sometimes though, we use preparation as something to hide behind as a way to cheat ourselves of being in the moment. Being prepared sometimes means doing it "like you practiced" or delivering the thinking that you've done previously. It can be comfortable to live in the past. It takes great courage to be in the moment and jump in "unprepared" and aware.


You may be unprepared, but that doesn't mean you're not ready.

You are enough.
You are ready.

Right now.

Met up with some Vancouver Improv pals after my first weekend in NYC!

Jon and I saw the Sunday Service perform at the PIT Theatre

You are enough!

In both my corporate training work and improv teaching I've been exploring a theme: you are enough.

It's the concept that your experience, your wisdom, your approach, and your interpretation are all ENOUGH.

We spend so much time not being as confident as we could be because we're second guessing our worth and inner genius. The performers (and communicators) that I've noticed to be most comfortable in their own skin seem to know that they are enough.

So approach your moments with the confidence that if you listen you'll find the answer, if you're present you'll connect with everyone, and if you be yourself it will be the greatest gift for everyone else.



Because you are enough. Right now. You are enough.

Happy Improvising!

I recently had to remind myself that I'm enough while getting ready for our move to New York! 

Finding the "Button"

I'm writing today about happy endings.

The very last line or beat of a scene is called the "button". The button can be a funny line that sums up the whole story, or a pun that ties everything up in a funny way, or simply the final remark. When you get good at delivering a button, you can dramatically improve the lasting impression of your scene.

The button is hard to master - it's half in the delivery and half in the content. I've seen many terrible scenes (because they were not going anywhere or not clear) vindicate themselves because an improvisor quips in with a clever ending line that makes everyone feel better. The button saved the scene! I've also seen many great scenes seem to fizzle at the end because they couldn't find a neat way to wrap it up.

Thinking of a good button .....

So here's how to master the button: It's a mix of delivery and content.

The delivery: The button has a certain definitive sound. It usually ends on a downward inflection versus an upward inflection that would make it sound like a question and continue the scene. This aurally suggests to the audience that the scene is done. "And that's why I'll never eat cotton candy before going to a bike shop ever again!" Try reading that sentence with a downward inflection at the end. You can make it FEEL like the end of a story by going up on the word "ever" and down on the word "again". The delivery can indicate that it's the final line. Get used to feeling when a scene is coming to a close and experiment in the timing around delivering that button. There will be a window of opportunity when it's clear that the scene needs a good button to end on. Sometimes it can be sooner than you think.

The content: A good button sums up a scene. It can be what a character learned from the situation, what was experienced in the scene, or simply a positive note. This is the time to think back on the suggestion that inspired the scene, what happened to the characters, and what the audience liked about the scene. Ask yourself if there are any loose ends that you could tie up in that final line. Is a pun coming to mind? If none of these options are obvious, you can always end on a positive note "... and that was the best trip to the doctor I've had since she used to give me lollipops." Ending positive will always be a good note to end on, whereas a negative ending can be a drag if your joke doesn't land.

Jon Snow's button is often "winter is coming"

So, pay attention to endings! They often contribute to your overall reaction to a scene. Master buttons, and feel confident that you're going to tie everything up at the right time with the right words.

And, scene!

It's all in the delivery

Mastering delivery can lead to you be great in almost any improv scene. 

I study my funny friends on stage. Like Scott Patey, who was our special guest in Improv Against Humanity at the Vogue Theatre last night. I hosted, so I got to introduce and watch all of the inspired scenes. Scott can reliably delight an audience so I watch his trusted delivery methods. He has tried&true methods of delivering a line so that it produces laughter. Each of his characters is rich and three dimensional and they all know how to deliver a crisp line within the persona. So much of his unique comedic style comes from his delivery. 

That's Scott, delivering the middle finger as a corpse in a windmill full of corpses. Humanity! 

One of my improv teachers said to me "Being funny in improv isn't about saying funny things, it's about saying things funny." 

My advice to new improvisors is to pay attention to the times the audience laughs at your work - when you can feel them on the same page as you. Try and remember the way you delivered the line. That "innocent response", that "last word", that "horny answer".  These can become tools for your characters to use in future work. You'll get the feeling of good delivery, and you'll start getting good at delivery. 

Also, pay close attention to the way that the ending of a scene sounds. You'll often hear that the final sentence completes the scene and wraps up the entire story. So it feels as if you've just swallowed the last delicious morsel of an epic piece of chocolate cake. 

 

What are you leaning on?

Having to lean on a cane showed me what I had been "leaning" on before.

I've been recovering from a back injury the last 6 months. In October, I herniated a disc in my lower spine that caused me to lose feeling and strength in my right leg and foot.

I've made great strides and am still slowly healing week by week. There's been ups and downs, breakthroughs and setbacks, promising days and dismal ones too. There still are. 

Until feeling came back to my foot, I used a cane. It was to help me balance and to be a reminder for myself (and fellow performers) to take it easy with my body. 

For those 4 months, I performed on stage with a cane. I did about 100 shows with that cane. It changed the way that I perform:

The cane meant losing one hand that always had to hold it. 

The cane meant that the audience wondered about me in a different way. 

The cane was a constant prop. 
The cane had to be a part of my every character. 

I suddenly became aware of what I had been leaning on the whole time before the cane:

Being physical at a whim. 

Lifting people and props. 

Doing lots with both arms. 

Fitting in easily and getting a warm reception from the audience. 

Becoming whoever I wanted with relative believability. 

I had to develop a different way of improvising by not leaning on these strengths or options. I've become better at being still and staying interesting without moving too much. I've become better at reacting emotionally instead of physically. I've become better at setting other actors up - especially for physical jokes. I've become better at playing Doctor House.

Having to lean on a cane showed me what I had been "leaning" on before. Now I'm a better improvisor for it.

So, what are you leaning on? 

Rowing with the cane as I whitewater raft with The Fictionals