KIM SCHULTZ IMPROV

to jump or not to jump...

2011-06-12T14:04:00.000-07:00

I awaken to Dena hitting me.

“Wake up! Wake up! We’re here! We musthave overslept! Hurry” We are apparently already in Prague, I think. It’s ourfirst morning out of the U.S. and we are on an overnight train to Prague,Czech.

“Kim! C’mon! The train is stopping!”

I’m still half asleep. I’m wearingjammies. Yes, on a train. Don’t ask. It seemed like agood idea last night. My overstuffed backpack is unzipped, half unpacked. Again, don’t ask. First time on a train.

I stand up, half zip the pack, throw on my boots, grab mybra and try to squeeze thru the door with my over packed pack. Dena is in the hall.

“C’mon Kim!”

We are standing in front of a closedtrain door. Crap.

I’m still half asleep. My pack is unzipped, my boots are unlacedand I’m wearing my shorty jammies and holding my bra.

“I’m gonna open it” Dena says as she manhandlesthe door open. The train lurches. Under her force, the door opens. The trainstarts to chug.

“I’m gonna jump!” Now I’m starting towake up. My pack is unzipped, my boots are unlaced. I’m wearing shorty jammiesand holding my bra and the only person I know on this continent is about tojump off a moving train. Aaaand she does. Well, now I’m awake.

And alone! I move to her vacated spot inthe doorway. The train is, of course, moving faster. I see Dena, laying on theplatform, looking up at me, getting smaller and smaller in the distance. Andalmost in seemingly slow motion, she shouts:

“JUMP KIM!!!”

Jump, Kim…This feels like a moment. CouldI do it? Was I a jumper?

We all have these moments in our life,moments that define us, that make us who we are- that separate the jumpers fromthe non-jumpers.

Sometimes jumping means just standing upfor yourself or speaking your truth to someone or even jumping into a new jobor a new relationship because you just felt you had to. But it always involvesbravery and leaping into a place you’re not entirely sure you are capable of going. And weall have these moments, moments when the universe calls on us to make a choice: jump ordon’t jump.

Which was I? Turns out, I was a jumper. Yup, Ijumped. Bloodied, battered and bruised, but successfully reunited with Dena!Ah, success! And sure, then there was something-- if you must know--about thetrain stopping and reversing and hundreds of heads popping out the windows towatch and the conductor coming out shaking his head to tell us in his bestbroken English that we had jumped off at the employee station and Prague wasstill 10 km down the tracks where the doors open on their own….but whatever….Ijumped! That’s what I choose to remember.

are you on FACEBOOK?

2011-05-26T11:31:00.000-07:00

Well A. You should be. I mean come on. It's time.
And B. Like me? I mean do you? Then LIKE ME! Become a fan!
Click below!

Facebook Page

Life-Prov! New CLASS!

2011-05-26T11:27:00.000-07:00

LIFEPROV: Improvise your LIFE !

Bored? Have pent up creativity you need to get out? Need a new adventure? Want to find new ways to be and to communicate and to live? Need a recess in your life? Take IMPROV! Learn how to get out of your own way, trust your gut, speak your truth, listen deeper and play more. Through games, exercises and drills, break through walls, open doors and laugh the whole time! Open to and life-transforming for anyone in any walk of life! 2 classes in the package

Next Session 1: June 2 & 6. Next Session 2: June 9 & 30. All evenings.
REGISTRATION OPEN. HURRY!
No Prerequisite. OPEN TO ALL
2 classes, $65

http://www.kimschultz.net/

No Place Called Home in NY Times

2010-10-02T11:12:00.000-07:00

The play I wrote and perform in,
No Place Called Home
is featured in today's NEW YORK TIMES. Take a read:

www.newyorktimes.com

Tickets available at:

www.noplacecalledhome.com

Notes to self...and you...

2010-06-07T20:13:00.000-07:00

Wow. really? Since March. Ouch. Note to self. Must blog more.

So, I wrote a play! It's called, No Place Called Home and is about an American woman's (me) trip through the Iraqi refugees crisis where she meets literally hundreds of refugees and accidentally falls in love with one of them (still me). The play is currently in development for a fall run. More info can be found on my website.....join my email list to be kept up to date on production dates, etc. More info on the crisis can be found here: http://iraqivoices.intersectionsinternational.org/

Also, the KSI house team Hi-Robot has a show on June 26 at a Turkish Rug Store...fun huh? Come sit on rugs, drink tea and laugh. More info on Hi-Robot's Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/manage/#!/pages/Hi-Robot/117064208304456

Also, Under The Street Improv, my all improv monthly show, is on hiatus until fall. Happy summer!

Also, I was reminded today through coaching a student that SPEAKING YOUR TRUTH usually clears the muck and makes things less awkward, and can be pretty dang life-transformative ...just something to ponder.

Also, must blog more.

Green bag promo tape

2010-03-05T17:08:00.001-08:00

Environmental video starring Kim and some unknown girl behind her...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-Af8yKcRSM

Today...

2010-03-05T15:02:00.000-08:00

...be big. Take up more space and air than you usually do. Breathe deeper, look wider, stand taller. You deserve it.

Where do you live?

2010-03-05T14:51:00.000-08:00

In a recent one on one coaching session, I told my student that I was looking for ways for her to live outside her normal living space through improv training. Meaning, improv teaches us to surprise ourselves and act and be in a place that we do not normally operate from. It opens up new arenas to explore. It may not be forever, perhaps even only for a moment, but it gives us a taste of what is possible and then---we can make a choice. We can make a choice to try to live there more because it feels good, or is rewarding ---or we can make a choice to go back to the way things were. Either is fine. To me, what isn't fine is living a certain way without even knowing another way is possible, or worse yet, knowing but being too afraid to explore it.

In good scenework, we are consistently pushed out of our comfort zone, out of our "norm". If we are truly listening, reacting and playing, we should constantly surprise ourselves, be constantly discovering new places to "live". That's why I love improv. That and all the laughs.

ALL IN A DAY IMPROV INTENSIVE coming up on MARCH 14, 1-6pm, $75
http://www.kimschultz.net/

IRAQI REFUGEE panel on 2/4

2010-02-01T09:38:00.001-08:00

I'm a panelist. Its THIS THURSDAY at Intersections, 274 5th Avenue, NYC 7pm

IMPROV SHOW: Weds. 2/3 730pm

2010-01-31T19:57:00.000-08:00

Hi Robot Performs at COMIX 7:30

FREE!

Check out long form improv!

353 West 14th St, NYC

reinvention

2010-01-10T15:28:00.000-08:00

In class recently, I reminded my students that they could reivent themselves. They were in the middle of a longform and it had started falling apart abit. they were getting off track and getting a bit down on it. I shouted 'Reinvent the moment! Reclaim whats happening right now'.

They looked at me like I was a nut at first, then...the improv got more free and a bit more fun....

How often in life have we already decided how something is gonna go? We already know the outcome before we even go through the moment. "Today's gonna suck", 'There's no way of making this better!", "Nothing will change. This is how it is." ----Is it? Is this how it is? Or is it only how it is right now?

We each have the opportunity to reinvent ourselves every moment of our lives. You decide how each moment is going to play out. Take charge. Reinvent. Reclaim the moment.

Did you miss it? Don't worry -- here's another! Unlimited opportunities for reinvention.

Photos from improv shows at Comix 2009!

2009-12-18T08:09:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays!

Go women!

2009-12-16T20:10:00.001-08:00

I just taught a brief intro to improvisation session for some ladies at the holiday party/event for Womensphere (http://www.womensphere.com/) and was reminded how powerful improv training can be in our life.

After 45 minutes, the women were hooked and wanted more---more of learning how to be MORE of who they are, more of being free to live each moment fully, more ok with whatever variable gets thrown at them. Good stuff. Its how I want to live my life.

And you? New session starts January 11 on Mondays. Jump.

http://www.kimschultz.net/

straight talk from Iraqis...

2009-11-25T20:23:00.000-08:00

Here is a sampling of some of the words we heard while speaking to the Iraqi refugees in Lebanon, Jordan and Syria:

"It's like a prison here."

"I have only one son and he cannot talk now"

"Just resettle me!"

"All day, we are sitting together...thinking...waiting...."

"I am sorry to not be able to offer you tea...but know in our heart, you are now family."

"Since leaving Iraq and my daughter, I have forgotten everything. We have no memory now, only sadness"

"There is no future for me. I only hope now for my children."

"Thanks for you!"

"It is normal to be scared now"

"There is no place called home now."

"We need voices. You must be those voices."

http://iraqivoices.intersectionsinternational.org/

Home.

2009-11-13T16:56:00.000-08:00

I'm home from my amazing trip abroad. Here are some thoughts:
__________________________________

So…one week post Middle-East-Iraqi-refugee-experience. I feel lost… a bit like a refugee myself. A bit.

Trying to wrap my brain around the experience is not easy. New York looks different. My friends seem new. All I have seems shocking. And after only three short weeks! I’m trying to spend each day growing back into my skin without losing the skin I have acquired from the Iraqis we met. I don’t want to lose what I experienced in their skin. This urban refugee crisis screams for attention, although the refugees are not. They are quietly waiting…for something to change…6 years later…

The refugees, social workers and children swirl around my head. I keep thinking about Majid and his 4 beautiful children and his brother who was shot and killed in the passenger seat right next to him. And I think about once famous boxer and artist who came from a family of artists who are now scattered all over the world. I think about his need to tell his story on his terms—the way he wanted it heard--the threatening letters, the dismembered bodies, his inability to create anything artistic anymore, the disclosure that he felt like a bat—only coming out at night. I think about the woman whose husband abandoned her and her daughter in Damascus and who wouldn’t let us take her picture, not because of fear of persecution, but because she no longer feels beautiful. I think about the poet we met, who was also a victim of intense torture, and who chose to share a love poem with us. A love poem.

And I think about the artists displaced in Damascus because art is dead in Baghdad. And I think about the hopeful Iraqi teens and young adults who are brave enough to believe in a future with education, a future of college in America. And I think about the children, always the children-- who look up at me with empty, confused eyes that have seen what children should never see.
This is what I think about now that I am back. These people who did nothing wrong but survive and flee—becoming refugees of our choice, OUR country. This is the face of our war in Iraq. This is the fallout. I feel the weight of responsibility to tell their stories as a call to action. After all, this is our mess to clean up.

I also think about the arab woman I accidentally clocked in the head at the airport in Amman and the fact I said “Shukran” (Arabic for ‘thank you’) to her instead of “excuse me” or “I’m sorry” before walking away and boarding my flight. Cut me some slack. Arabic is hard!

Stay tuned for how you can help or go now to:
http://www.thelistproject.org/
http://www.ninemillion.org/
http://www.refugeesinternational.org/

Wanna join me in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria?

2009-09-24T09:05:00.000-07:00

The Iraqi refugee crisis is one of the most under reported humanitarian crisis in recent history, with almost 5 million Iraqis displaced from their homes, many living as illegal migrants abroad, unable to work or access health care and other social services.

Intersections has brought together a delegation of creative artists (including me: Kim Schultz, yours truly) for a trip thru Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria to meet with Iraqi refugees and various humanitarian agencies to obtain a more complete understanding of this crisis.

Once the artists return to New York they will craft a multi-media presentation about their experience. The team will work in the Middle East October 2-17.

Follow me on the blog:
http://iraqivoices.intersectionsinternational.org/

All participants on this trip will be contributing to the blog. Follow our journey into bringing attention to the Iraqi voices....

First Thought, Best Thought

2009-09-24T09:02:00.001-07:00

I don't think my blog should be the only one you read! This is the WORLD WIDE WEB after all!
The following blog link really dovetails nicely with improv philosophy. First thoughts, first instincts tend to be most organic, most true, I believe. Enjoy!

http://www.tricycle.com/23september2009

Yes.

2009-08-22T15:28:00.000-07:00

These last few days, I have been shooting a promo for a TV show I am talking about with a couple of producers who are interested. They asked for this. It's been a great opportunity and I find myself wondering how did I get here?

Hmm..... Doodeley doodeley doodeley! (That's time travel music for you neophites.)

I was drinking beer with a friend at a party and she said you should turn your show into a tv show. I said yes. I started writing. I met with my current partner and asked her if she wanted to come onboard for the project. She said yes. She said we should meet and talk regularly. I said yes. I said, "I think we should start shopping it." She said yes. I asked if an industry friend would look at the idea. She said yes. Industry friends gave notes. I said yes. Sent it to LA producer I knew. He said yes. He sent it to a fellow producer friend he had. He said yes if he could see a promo. I said yes. I made a video piece and sent it to producer. He said no. Doh! Make another. I said yes. We made another. Today. This weekend. And now we wait...for him to say yes....

Yes moves everything forward. What can you say yes to today? What won't happen if you don't?

Giving the Iraqi refugees a voice.

2009-07-23T21:59:00.000-07:00

Iraqi Voices Amplification Project (IVAP)

Kim has begun preliminary research on a new project concerning the Iraqi refugee crisis. She has been invited by a social justice organization, Intersections International, to travel to the Middle East to interview Iraqi refugees and then write and perform in a multi-disciplinary play about the experience-- shedding light on an altogether under- reported crisis. Tentative premiere date February 2010.

FROM THE INTERSECTIONS WEBSITE:In October 2009, Intersections will travel to Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria with a small group of prominent artists-photographers, filmmakers, musicians, and new media specialists- for the purpose of meeting and interacting with displaced Iraqis and hearing their stories. Upon return, Intersections will début the artist's work that results from the visit as part of a national campaign to draw attention to this most pressing issue.

www.intersectionsinternational.org/amplifyingiraqirefugeevoices

...and it all came about through improv.....just say yes.

Break the Rules!

2009-07-15T09:59:00.000-07:00

In improv, there are no rules. In life there are many rules.

In improv, people try to create rules, because it's easier to try to figure out the right way to do something, instead of your way...in the moment. In life, there are many rules. We live by rules often blindly, not even knowing how strongly they affect us.

In improv, I encourage students to break rules, to follow their imagination, intinct, gut--not the way they think it should be done, or the way other people do it. In life, there are certain rules we must follow (laws, common sense etc.) But then there are the rules that only WE decided we need to follow; rules that somewhere along the line we decided were true about us or our abilities.

What are those rules for you? What rules are you living your life by that only YOU say you have to? What rules can you break? What new vistas can be discovered in your life by breaking them---by pushing yourself past what you think you can/should do and living out on a limb, or on the edge of a cliff for a while. Sure it's scary, but isn't all good stuff at first?

Improv is just a big POTLUCK!

2009-07-15T09:45:00.000-07:00

So....back in Minnesota...from where I hail, hang my hat, call home...we have a little custom called the potluck. Everyone brings a dish---a tator tot hotdish or a cucumber salad or some rhubarb barssss (said with a Minnesotan accent and a lot of soft sssss's...barssss) and we all eat, visit and eat some more. It's fun! Really! It's also rude to show up to a potluck empty handed, to just eat and not contribute. And since Minnesotans are nice, everyone brings a dish. Improv is just like that!

What? Huh? Did you have too many barsssss Kim?

A good improv scene means everyone brings something. First person initiates a strong start, 2nd person reacts bringing their point of view to the idea building it up. A third person entrance also gifts something. We all bring something to the scene or we stay out. That way the scene becomes juicy and delicious---like my tuna hotdish!

Every person has a gift in improv. Bring your point of view/reaction/heighten move/gift to the next scene you're in...in life or on stage. Never show up empty handed!

Where are you?

2009-07-14T20:59:00.000-07:00

Improv teaches us the importance of noticing, discovering and utilizing our environment. And since it's all made up in improv, anything is possible. But something has to be discovered. Otherwise, we are in an unknown place, standing around talking, being affected by nothing.

The best improv scenes I have seen or been a part of are those that have a vivid, fully explored environment-----a dirty, dusty, moldy basement or a beach full of clams or a space station running out of oxygen. All these environments inspire and transform the scene.

It happens through saying yes to discovery, imagination and details. We reach out and discover a book, we say yes to the fact that it feels like we're in a library, we notice how eerily quiet it is (detail) and realize it's a haunted library, which then gives us the confidence to call our scene partner a scary apparition and so on and so forth....and the scene develops and grows

In life, details of environment are equally important. When was the last time you slowed down to notice the details around you? The color of your desk, the design of a building, the humming sound in the background, the ghost next to you... These details in our space help keep us present in the moment and grateful for all we have. Slow down. Be where you are. Notice the details. Let it in. See what happens. Life is in the details.

WOMENSPHERE Class!

2009-06-10T10:49:00.000-07:00

COURAGE, CONFIDENCE & EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATIONS through IMPROV: A Womensphere RENAISSANCE Series

http://womensphererenaissance1.eventbrite.com/

The Womensphere Renaissance Series

Renaissance. noun: Rebirth; renewal; resurrection; reactivation; revitalization. A revival of intellectual achievement or vigor . The act of reviving or condition of being revived

The Womensphere Renaissance Series is about empowering women to become more effective leaders and managers of oneself - and thus, of people, organizations, careers, and personal lives - through play, adventure, exploration, culture, and rejuvenation.

Through Womensphere's Renaissance experiences, we also bring together women from a diversity of backgrounds and expertise for inspiring connections and fun networking!

Register now! JULY 23!

Sample from book...

2009-05-28T08:58:00.000-07:00

I am writing a book on bringinging the skills of improv into your life, tentatively called

IMPROVISE YOUR LIFE: A How-To Manual for Humans

A part of the book includes exercises in Life-Prov. What follows is an excerpt:

___________________________________

MIRROR, MIRROR
Set an egg timer for 10 minutes and look at yourself in a mirror until the timer goes off. Notice your thoughts. Journal after if you feel so inspired.

ZEN
Open all the windows and doors fully in a room and stand in the middle, arms outstretched and just BREATHE.

DONE
Cross something off your ‘to do’ list today by merely doing it.

EXTREME GENEROSITY
Leave a very large tip for the next good service you get. Be more generous than necessary.

OM
Meditate. Bring out that old egg timer again. And sit and meditate for 5 minutes. Deep breathe and only breathe. Push any thoughts that pop up out of your head and focus on your breath. Extend by one minute every time you do it.

UNDERWATER BASKETWEAVING
Today, sign up for a class in something you know nothing about. Japanese? Tai Kwon Do? Painting with pastels? Check your local listings. They’re often cheap or free!

I’M BUSY
Schedule a day of PURE PLAY. Do no work or anything that could at all be conceived as work. Only play! Is it a walk? A massage? Swinging? Drawing? You get to say.

on being....

2009-05-26T11:20:00.000-07:00

One of the most important lessons improv has to offer is how to just be.

In scenework, I am constantly encouraging my students to BE that person, don't act it, BE it! I want them to slow down and just BE in that location, just be with that person and speak and act from that place. Not easy. We get scared, defensive. Our brain likes to get in the way. Our brain wants to work. What if we didn't need to do any work?

Franz Kafka wrote on being:

You need not do anything; you need not leave your room. Remain sitting at your table and listen. You don't even need to wait; just become still, quiet and solitary, and the world will freely offer itself to you to be unmasked. It has no choice.

I love it when the world offers itself to me unmasked. Onstage and off.

Thanks Franz. Rock on.

Are you where you want to be?

2009-05-06T08:14:00.000-07:00

I was just working with a company in Florida on the idea of "Authentic Leadership". We worked on the concepts of being open and present, engaging relationships through storytelling and living in courage. It was a great workshop: a reminder to bring the WHOLE PERSON to the job. THAT's when we are successful, happy and ultimately fulfulled.

Some comments from the group:

"Improvisation reinforces how we should operate in the now and not be limited by prior experiences and prejudices"

"Just because something seems impossible, be open to it anyway. It doesn't mean it can't be done"

"Improv reminded me of where I want to be"

Are you bringing your whole person?

2009-05-05T12:12:00.000-07:00

Want another podcast?We'll you're in luck!

I spoke with Eileen Lichtenstein of THE BALANCE AND POWER NETWORK

about improv as a tool for living a fuller life.

LISTEN to it now at

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/eileen-lichtenstein(air date 4/8/09)

The PERFECT improv partner

2009-04-04T10:34:00.000-07:00

Want the perfect partner? Are you being one?
Are you....

participating with an open mind?
not worrying?
trusting?
giving?
Totally accepting of what your partner gifts you?
not judging?
honest?
willing to play?
truly listening?
respectful?
committed?
in the moment?
using your intelligence?
bringing all of who you are?
courageous?
supportive?
intuitive?
vulnerable?
energetic?
versatile?
exploring and heightening?
unpredictable?
confident?
receptive?
compassionate?
focused?

Then good.

Dress for Success BENEFIT performance!

2009-04-03T14:11:00.000-07:00

DRESS FOR SUCCESS BENEFIT!
Spring Into Action: A Benefit Concert for Dress for Success!
April 14, 2009 at 7:30pm

KSI House team will be performing at this benefit!

Event Details: Where: Sage Theater, 711 7th Ave, 2nd Floor (47- 48th st)
When: Tuesday, April 14th, 7:30 – 9:30pm
Tickets: Available at the door.$5 with gently worn, business-appropriate women’s suit or accepted.
$15 without item Food/Drink: Wine, beer and snacks available at the venue.

Dress for Success promotes the economic independence of disadvantaged women by providing professional attire, a network of support and the career development tools to help women thrive in work and in life.

Featuring Music & Comedy by:
The MetropoliTones www.metropolitones.com
Kim Schultz Improv House Team www.kimschultz.net
Folk It All Singer/Songwriter, Kierstin Gray www.kierstingray.com

video killed the radio star

2009-04-03T14:06:00.000-07:00

Like podcasts???

Like me?

Wanna listen to me on a podcast?

http://tribecaradio.net/wpradioblog/jaygrayce/jay-grayce-113/

I was a guest if the JAY GRAYCE show on NY TALK RADIO.NET

We discussed my shows, my soap opera kisses and killing owls.

Tune in. Do it.

Hi Robot!

2009-03-30T16:38:00.000-07:00

Introducing the NEW KSI HOUSE TEAM

HI-ROBOT

Wednesday, April 1, 9pm, Comix. No joke.

Be there.

Showbiz Expo!

2009-03-30T16:21:00.000-07:00

I was just at SHOWBIZ EXPO yesterday!

I was exhibiting my improv wares (ie classes) in the Exhibition Hall AND I taught an improv class for participants at the end of the day. It was a great day of meeting people, sharing the magic of improv and lots of coffee! And it all ended with a free limo ride, champagne and pigs in a blanket!

Special thanks to table volunteers Tricia Scott, David Marx, Megan Hoelle and Randy O'Neill.

Check them out at http://www.theshowbizexpo.com/

PS NEW classes starting soon....see http://www.kimschultz.net/

SINGLES IMPROV!

2009-03-21T14:57:00.000-07:00

Single?
Tired of meeting the same people in the same way?
Curious about this improv thang?
TAKE THIS CLASS!

2 hours. 16 singles. Buckets of love potential...Think about it...You'll get all the awkward stuff out of the way now! Maybe Cupid will strike. All paired up fun and games. No pressure. Excellent way to break the ice. What do you have to lose?

Bring a friend.$25 or 2 singles for $40!
Friday night April 3, 7:30-9:30pm
Drinks after at a local bar.

Email to register
www.kimschultz.net

a thought.

2009-03-21T14:52:00.000-07:00

"Being powerful means that my experience, my discovery, even my pleasure are mine to create. This view has us see how audiences create performances, children create parents, students create teachers and citizens create leaders. It is not that this shift of cause is necessarily true, but it gives us power. In every case, it puts choice into our own hands instead of having us wait for the transformation of others to give us the future we desire. Inverting our thinking does not change the world, but it creates a condition where the shift in the world becomes possible."

Peter Block, Community: The Structure of Belonging

Now go be powerful! Transform!

death by lasercat

2009-02-01T21:49:00.000-08:00

See kim on Saturday Night Live aired Jan 31...
http://www.hulu.com/embed/jul8mtxMsQBYJqQFl3FQ6g/47/85

UNDER THE STREET IMPROV

2009-01-30T22:12:00.001-08:00

Awesome improv show

No cover!

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1

730pm

COMIX Comedy Club

353 West 14th st---just E of 9th ave

Come check it out!

It's funnier underground!

little ways to improvise

2009-01-29T17:09:00.001-08:00

1. for an afternoon, say yes to everything
2. go somewhere you've always wanted to go
3. take action on something you have been putting off
4. look people in the eyes
5. next time, you have the opportunity, speak truth
6. actually listen to what is said
7. pay attention to how it is said
8. enjoy each bite of food
9. smile
10. do something nice for someone anonomously

classes!

2009-01-29T17:04:00.001-08:00

Wanna take a class?

ONE DAY IMPROV INTENSIVE
Sunday, Feb. 1, 1-6pm
Do it all in a day. Great opportunity to jump. Low risk. Great reward. Times like these require bravery. $75

8 week LEVEL 1 IMPROV
Starts Thursday, Feb. 19, 8-10pm, $240

www.kimschultz.net for more

Jump into Improv!

New Year, New Moment

2008-12-18T11:29:00.000-08:00

Improv is all about moments--experiencing and living fully into each moment, finding the funny, the fullness, the...truth ...of THAT moment and living into it. Thats what makes improv funny. Not preplanning the next moment or regretting the past one, but LIVING in this one.

As the year turns, we have a new and big shot at living in the moment. It's a huge moment shift. Take advantage of it. Live fully in it. Enjoy 2009 and all of its ridiculous, sloppy, joyous moments.

Happy holidays and Happy New Year!

Historic Jumps

2008-11-07T13:49:00.000-08:00

What a week! I have been a CNN junkie-- addicted to polls, craving more Obama and falling for David Gergen! (His dulcid, fair, even keeled tones draws me in with every breath!) And at last there was a payoff: We Americans have elected a NEW president who I believe CAN and WILL bring the change we so desperately need in this country.

We have taken a BIG LEAP as a country and it feels like we took BIG LEAPS as individuals too. Individuals made this historic election possible.

New York feels different. People are looking at each other, the air is fresher, hope seems to have returned to the collective. Seriously.

NOW is the time to take other big leaps. Ride the wave of momentum! What have you been afraid of doing or avoiding? Take your own big leaps, create your own jumps of faith, discover your own acts of bigness and braveness. Take advantage of the energy and impulse and possibility in the air.

Here's to it!
(...and David Gergen, my new BF! )

P.S. how happy am I if I never see or hear Baye Buchanen again!?!?!

Get Zipped!

2008-10-12T17:12:00.001-07:00

There are 2 Zipper shows left of THE F TRIP---my unbelievably autobiographical solo show!

There was a lovely audience for the last show--supportive, intent, engaged. It was an interesting experience for me---playing in such a larger, proper theater space, sharing my intimate story there. I had to keep reminding myself to stay in the present and stay connected. It's funny in a solo show---there's no one to connect to, BUT THE AUDIENCE! So when I struggled onstage, it was usually, because I had stopped connecting to the audience...and connecting in a real way, not a fake way. I genuinely speak to the audience and need their response---be it verbal or just emotional. It's a 2-way street. An actor without an audience is just a rehearsal. Come be a part of the connection. Take my trip.

Tickets: www.thezipperfactory.com and more info at www.theftrip.com
Tuesday, October 14 and 28, 7pm
Zipper, 336 west 37th street.

YES DAY

2008-09-21T18:14:00.000-07:00

I just asked a student whom I am personal coaching to do some homework. I asked her between our sessions to find one day to SAY YES to absolutely everything that was proposed to her--to have a "Yes Day". She agreed (almost said no...:)) which got me thinking...thats a tall order! A day of saying yes to all and everything around you. Yes to the homeless man, yes to the request for time, yes to answering the phone when it rings--no screening! We have grown into such habitual no-sayers. Our knee-jerk reaction is often NO. There are always a million reasons why we can't: Money, time, energy, experience.... The Yes muscle is out of work and needs training. That's how improv training helps!

Try it. Choose one day...SAY YES to everything. Write me! Comment on this blog! Tell me how it went! YES!

it's in the details!

2008-09-17T08:10:00.001-07:00

In our improv work, we find that better scenes are developed through paying attention to the details. No detail is too small. The way your scene partner stumbled when they entered the scene, the word you chose, the animal sounds given you in the forest, the tone of someone's voice.

The more we notice, connect to and are inspired by the details, the more lucious our scenes are.

Today, pay special attention to the details around you. Listen to this moment. See these details. Use all your senses. Allow the small things to inform and inspire you. Note the luciousness of your life.

The F Trip at THE ZIPPER and COMMONWEAL

2008-09-17T08:10:00.000-07:00

'member when I used to blog? Ahh...good times...I have been immersed in the production of producing my solo show, "THE F TRIP". It is a autobiographical story I wrote involving 3 trips and 3 different men. It has to do with fraud, faith, fathers, forgiveness and falling in all the ways you can fall!

It was written in an improvisational style and performed in the same. It is funny, but also gets rather tragic as well! Hmmm. Something for everyone! !!

There are 2 opportunities coming up to see the show in 2 cities!

MINNEAPOLIS/LANESBORO, MN
Commonweal Theatre
Lanesboro, MN
Tuesday, September 30 & Wednesday, October 1, 730pm
Tickets $15
http://www.commonwealtheatre.org/

NEW YORK CITY
The Zipper Factory Theater
NYC, NY
Tuesdays October 7, 14 & 28, 7pm
Tickets $20
http://www.thezipperfactory.com/

ALSO SEE www.theftrip.com

Hope to see you at the show!

F-tripping big time!

2008-06-09T16:01:00.000-07:00

I have not been blogging much as I have been writing my solo show, day and night: The F Trip

It is kicking my butt in every way shape and form. I'm writing my story while trying to maintain authenticity and at the same time, an engaging piece of theatre. I'm also trying to bring all (or most) of who I am to the show, which means funny and serious and improvisational. And I love telling stories. So I am telling 3 stories woven together in an improvisational manner that are at once devastatingly serious and desperately funny...hopefully.....please...God?

The show is moving forward, at sometimes an alarming rate. I will be premiering it at the MIDTOWN INTERNATIONAL THEATRE FESTIVAL July 25-27.(http://www.midtownfestival.org).

...and then fingers crossed, moving it to The Zipper in the Fall.

More details forthcoming...

Plan on coming to see me practice what I preach!

Signs we're "IN IT"

2008-04-30T14:15:00.000-07:00

In improv class, usually late in level 3, I ask my students for physical and/or emotional characteristics or signs that they are "In it"(in their bodies, in the moment, in the scene) or "Out of it" (in their heads, thinking, working)

I think its interesting what is present when we are "in it". How cool if we could be more in it in life too.

IN IT signs

having fun

not worrying

listening deeply

it all speeds by

words just come out

feel connected

it's easy

deeper, richer, funnier...and swollen...

2008-04-18T09:06:00.000-07:00

Last night in my Level 4 Improv class, I set a goal for several memebers of the class to not manhandle or direct the outcome of the scene, but to allow it to be discovered, to allow it to appear for them to grab. This is a difficult task. We want to protect ourselves, make sure we look good, make sure we don't fail. It's safer and easier to grab a quick half-truth, than wait for something that may never come. In trusting and being open to a new truer, possibility, there is a possibility of failure. I think it's worth it. The scenes that develop when people are organic and honest, not pushy and safe are much deeper, richer, funnier scenes. It's an amazing lesson. It's also a hard one. We sometimes need to trust more, trust the outcome will be good, trust we need to maneuver less and feel and grab more. We need to allow the good stuff to unfold in front of us and then say yes to it. What develops is a deeper, richer, funnier life. I think, anyway.....But I have a strangely swollen foot from my trip to Brazil...so who knows....

Happy Hour!!!

2008-03-24T08:19:00.000-07:00

Announcing the triumphant return of

KIM SCHULTZ's HAPPY HOUR!!!

Where Comedy is Absolute

-an old-fashioned, new-fangled comedy variety hour-
Monday, March 31 8pm

COMIX Comedy Club, 353 West 14th Street near 9th.Ochi's Lounge

NO Admission charge!!!! 1 drink/food item minimum

Come laugh, come all!

http://www.comixny.com/www.kimschultzhappyhour/myspace.com

Please RSVP tomailto:toKimschultzimprov@gmail.com

UPDATES!

2008-03-12T09:39:00.000-07:00

New Classes!

Level 1 Improv starts THIS SATURDAY at 1130am, 8 weeks, $225

ONE-NIGHT IMPROV Intensive is Wednesday, March 19, 6-10pm, $60

Do some improv. Change your life.

letting it in

2008-03-12T09:35:00.000-07:00

In some recent classes, I find myself coaching people to "Let it in" "Be affected". I'm curious about this, because when did we stop letting it in and being affected? Did we get wounded or shut down too many times? Why are we so afraid to be vulnerable and be affected? Improv is all about being affected and then moving forward from that spot, being more of who you are at that moment. What's the worst that could happen? Isn't that "worst" far better than the effect on our life of not ever being affected, not ever caring?

Take a flying leap!

2008-02-05T08:41:00.000-08:00

Last night I was teaching my level one improv class (such a fun group!) and we were talking about boldness in choice making and the difference it makes. I asked them to be bold in a silly clapping game we were playing. Suddenly, the game became more energized, committed, slightly dangerous and laugh out loud fun! The layering of boldness into what we do seems to affect the outcome. No longer are we meek and waiting, inactive, but rather intentional and specific and ok with it all. And the world supports that. It's reflected in its response.

Be bold about something today. Be intentional and commited about it. See the difference.

New Year! New Post! (at last...)

2008-01-02T12:14:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! a time of rebirth, recharging and reinventing!
The slate is clean; the possibilities, endless.

Every improv scene starts that way: clean fresh, full of possibilities. The more specific and detailed you become in the scene, the more of a reality the scene becomes, the more grounded in truth it becomes. The more interesting it becomes. Thats the joy. Start with nothing, get everything. Same in life.

Have a joyful 2008! I hope you get everything out of it.

WHO IS KIM????

2007-11-14T20:42:00.000-08:00

KIM SCHULTZ is a very funny lady who radiates big gamma rays of joy! Originally, a Minnesota girl, Kim is a multi-talented performing artist: She is a gifted actress, a brilliant teacher, a quirky writer, a skilled producer and a knockyouover funny improvisor and stand-up comic. Plus she sings! Kim is grounded and real, while also being silly and over the top fun. Her passion for comedy is contagious and her generosity of spirit is a gift to everyone in her orbit! Kim is definitely someone to watch!

Writing your life

2007-10-18T09:18:00.000-07:00

I have been writing a lot lately. Writing this one person show. Telling my stories, incorporating my standup, improvising the whole while. I think the success I have found in writing is due to my ability to say yes to my impulses without judgement and to my ability to squelch the voices in my head that say I can't. If I don't follow impulses and instinct, I become inactive, thinking, worrying and unable to move. And if I can't quiet the voices (kkkill kkkill kkkilll herherherherher) , I can't trust myself enough to do it. Then done. Inaction.

Staying in action keeps our life moving. Staying in action keeps things happening. Improv teaches us this.

Erin Keating, teacher extraordinaire, www.prototypeworkshops.com, makes us write 10 minutes every day. It's nothing, but it keeps us in action. And it's enough.

New classes!

2007-10-13T18:51:00.000-07:00

New classes starting!

8 week sessions

MONDAYS start October 29, 630pm

& SATURDAYS start November 10 3pm

8 weeks/$225

ALSO...

ONE DAY IMPROV INTENSIVE

THIS SUNDAY, OCTOBER 21 1-5pm

$40

Email me for more info and to register

Audition bigger. Live bigger.

Play creates play; Energy creates energy

2007-10-08T08:53:00.000-07:00

SOOO many instances in life about how you get what you put into something. If you bring energy, say, it usually begets energy. It is contagious. the room and the individuals in it are affected. Same with play, if you bring a sense of play to what you are doing, play is created. It's really wonderful and simple. If you bring attitude and judgement, the same is created. Lesson? Bring what you want. Live it. In a truthful way.

Last night was an amazing HAPPY HOUR show! Such talent and fun. And SUCH great energy and play in the room. Lesson learned.

Oh, and...my graduate students of improv are performing this Sunday @ 7pm at a new venue I have: SAGE Theatre in Midtown Manhattan. No drink minimum!! woohoo!

They're SO talented and funny. Hope you can come!

HAPPY HOUR TIME!

2007-10-01T18:01:00.000-07:00

Comedy. Variety. Oh my!
Kim Schultz's Happy Hour
where comedy is Absolute...

Sunday October 7, 7pm
@
Ha! Comedy Club
163 West 46th Street. Times Square.
$8/2 reasonably priced drinks. Makes you happier.

http://www.myspace.com/kimschultzhappyhour

Reservations are encouraged. Email me.

Hope to see you SUNDAY!!!

Living the 'harold' Life

2007-09-23T20:16:00.001-07:00

I think Life is a Harold.

The Harold is a long form improv structure in which scenes, characters and themes are discovered and reappear several times throughout the structure. It is one of the most freeing and occasionally miserable experience improvisers can have. You must let go of control. You must be free to listen and respond. You must be bold and imaginative. You must trust and take blind leaps of faith. You must make bold declarations of truth and you must play in the worlds discovered. It's brilliant. It can also be dreadful. You are often leaping into nothing.

Life is like that. Brilliant. Occasionally dreadful. Real. You have to be bold, risk, listen, play. Things and people and themes recur. That's my favorite part. Notice some oddity in your day and chances are you'll see or hear about it about 3 more times that week. Listen to what someone tells you and chances are someone else will mention it to you, or you'll see it on a billboard or on the street. Life is a Harold. Things come back. Things affect us. Themes, people, points of view recur. And thats cool. Pay attention to it. Pay attention to the details of your Harold today. Everything is connected.

Showing Up

2007-09-15T17:52:00.000-07:00

I'm taking this GREAT class with Erin Keating called PROTOTYPE--about creating a solo performance piece. First of all, Erin is fabulous---insightful, smart and grounded. The group is also great--a brave, creative group of ladies. But it dawned on me how the only way anything gets done is by someone showing up. If none of us said YES and showed up for this class--no class, no one person shows! If nobody shows up for a meeting, no meeting. If no one shows up to clean the highway, dirty highway. If no one shows up for a performance, no show and the actors go have an early beer! Often times, things that seem impossible to start simply need someone to show up and the task is already in motion.

In Improv, we need to show up--to class, to the scene, to our lives. If we don't show up, the scene collapses or our scene partners are left hanging or the class is cancelled or we're suddenly 60 and are filled with regrets for not showing up in our lives.

Hard things, seemingly impossible, get done when one brave soul shows up. Sometimes, like on a lazy Sunday or in a bad mood, that is the hardest part. but it is also the easiest. Take a step forward. Show up. Show up for your partner, for your team, for the world. See what happens in your life.

Kim Schultz's Happy Hour!!! is back!!!

2007-08-30T19:26:00.001-07:00

Sunday, September 9

630pm

Ha! Comedy Club/163 west 46th street

Reservations: 646-642-6957 or email:

kimschultzimprov@gmail.com

$8/2 drink minimum

Come laugh, be happy!

creating light

2007-08-29T07:38:00.000-07:00

I was teaching last night and we got into a discussion about living and working from outside what you know. Living in the place that you don't know you don't know and how to do that.

It seems to me we self-impose rules on what is and can be in our life. Early on, we decided certain things about ourselves and the world, and as adults we rarely stop to re-examine them. Improv can do that. It can help you re-examine what rules you operate from because there are no rules in improv and we always seek rules. In improv, you have to move in the darkness, knowing nothing. But the thing about improv is that not only can it open windows, but it can even create windows where before there was only wall.

Recently, in my life, I've been looking at the truths I have determined to be true in my life and been examing them for their validity. Is this the truth? Is it the only truth? Are there other possiblities? What if there were? What if I declared another truth and lived from that one instead? Would anyone be the wiser? Would anyone care? Maybe my life would change. Or maybe it would just be a fun game. Either way.....there seems to be more light.

The joy of improv

2007-08-27T10:02:00.000-07:00

Improv is such a joy to watch when the players are filled with joy. When they are filled with angst, judgement and fear, it is no longer fun to watch. If you're not having fun, do something. Doing is action and action creates freedom and freedom creates joy. Not doing is thinking and thinking creates angst, judgement and fear.

Be a 6 year old. Everything is huge and joyful. See your world today through a 6-year old's eyes.

Trust is a many splendored thing or who took my doughnut!?!?!?

2007-08-22T10:37:00.000-07:00

Trust.
It's a funny thing. Some people always have it, some never do, sometimes you lose it, sometimes you have to earn it, other times it's given away for free. It's hard to predict trust. It's a slippery little thing...trust.

In improv, TRUST is ESSENTIAL to good scenework. We must trust that we're all looking out for each other and will each do our best to do the best improv work we can. Certainly, trust builds over time, but I often find that the best improvisers and the best improv ensembles have it immediately(or some nascent form of it) and don't question it (certainly be greateful for it, but no questions! Don't mess with the mojo!) In improv, we are starting from a place of nothing, of nakedness and building into something(hopefully) wonderful. In order for that to work, I believe we have to trust the process. we have to trust each other and we have to trust ourselves. All equally important.

Recently, I had an experience where I could have lost trust in someone. He didn't tell me the truth. And I'm a big fan of the truth. So I had a choice. I could be a non-truster, run with the masses, trusting no one or nothing, being skeptical about everything and getting nothing. Or I could take a leap, be a truster and risk getting hurt again, this time potentially much worse. I choose the latter. I choose to be a leaptrustrisker.

Sure, you may get hurt when you trust. Your scene may suck rocks. Life scene or improv scene! But as high as the stakes are, the potential is even higher. The reward is unmatched. And trust is the only way there.

One last thought: Wouldn't it be great if we didn't have to earn trust? If it was just given? as a gift? Crazy.

seeing the big picture

2007-08-13T11:45:00.001-07:00

I haven't blogged in about 17 centuries....my apologies to my frequent readers.....

I've been away-

see above (yes, I am wearing a cowboy hat next to a funny tree)

I was in Israel..amazing trip...blah blah blah....but what it reminded me of is how important travel is to those who think big or act big. Even if it's travelling to the next town, travelling reminds us how big the world is, how little our troubles are and at the same time how small the world is and how we have similar problems.

Now, I'm not saying the Palestinians and I had a kumbya (...we did--I used improv to settle the mid-east conflict...yes...I'm that good), but travel reminds us of who we are and who we're not.

Improv can do that too. It makes us so aware of our moments, of our choices and ultimately who we are. i always say to my students: whatever you come up against in improv is probably what you come up against in life. What you struggle with in improv is what you struggle with in life.

Interesting...anywho. I loved this tree. Take a trip. Enjoy your life.

New classes start soon in NYC. Email me if interested.

ITOTW

2007-07-02T12:01:00.001-07:00

A student of mine, Sho Albert, sent me some notes of things I have apparently said in class. So this shall serve as today's Thought of the Week! Thanks Sho!

There is no right or wrong. Let go. Be on your toes. Don't stand on your heels, watching.Your time, your life, is NOW. Be open. Be present. Be aware. Be forward. JUMP. Follow your impulse.
YES! YES AND...! Be there for your partners. Make THEM look good.
Allow things to be energized, committed, and FUN...rather than energized, committed, and WORK.
If you say it is true, we believe you. So, believe in it yourself.

Last night....

2007-06-25T08:53:00.000-07:00

a note of thanks...to all who came out last night and supported
"Kim Schultz's Happy Hour".
we had a great crowd(70?), had lots of laughs and learned lots of lessons:

1. always be specific
2. energy is contagious AND can be rehabilitated with more energy and truth
3. just play and all will be fine

hope everyone left happy and got your Dum-Dum! The big opening number will be available for your viewing on this blog soon!!

next "happy hour" is AUGUST 12 @ Ha! Comedy Club

new classes start in August!

Kim Schultz's HAPPY HOUR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2007-06-14T12:33:00.000-07:00

SUNDAY, June 24

7pm

ha! comedy club

$7 cover/1 drink

ITOTW #2

2007-06-12T22:05:00.000-07:00

The more we play, the happier we are.

Army: Be all that you can be!

2007-06-07T20:50:00.000-07:00

I was at an awesome corporate training class yesterday for an awesome company called "ID:ology". We spent a chunk of time talking about being fully present at work and bringing 'everything you are to everything you do'. What a great thought! So often we only bring a portion of who we are to different portions of our life. We are only half, quarter or sixteenth people depending on where we are and who we are with. Who has time or interest for...little partial people? What a shame! Because the less we be who we are the harder it is to remember who it is we were.

What if we brought ALL of what we are to ALL of what we do?

Improvisation teaches us that. Each moment in improv is crucial. Without it, we have know idea of what the scene is. We go to our heads; we have to think, worry, create. If we are fully who we are in each moment of the scene, being fully who we've been gifted or discovered ourselves to be, we get to ride, coast, play. Because we are being TRUE to who we are, all of what we are.
We get to be happy.

Happy at work...novel concept.

Bring everything you are to everything you do---onstage and off!

News and the beginning of "ITOTW"!

2007-06-07T20:35:00.000-07:00

the second playshop was a big hit. big crowd, lotso laughs! power of "saying yes" in action!

big news!

new show in the works:

Kim Schultz's Happy Hour: Where the Comedy is Absolut!
Old-fashioned, New-fangled comedy variety hour!
Featuring standup, improv, songs, dance, fire eaters and who know what else?

save the date: Sunday, June 24 7pm
at HA! Comedy Club!

Improv Thought of the Week (ITOTW): Be who you are fully in each moment. Be who you say you are. This is the only moment.

Another opening, another show!

2007-05-29T11:57:00.000-07:00

Come see grads of KSI perform comedy funny ha-ha! TUESDAY, JUNE 5! 7PM at
HA! Comedy Club
163 West 46th St in Times Square!

Improv out of context

2007-05-22T12:30:00.000-07:00

I have been meeting with lots of companies, law firms, pie shoppes lately to introduce them to the idea of improv in the workplace. It never ceases to amaze me how applicable improv is to all walks of life.

We all need to learn to communicate better,
to better speak our truth
to work work easier as a team
to listen bigger
to trust our instincts
to say yes
to not be afraid of being wrong
to open our imaginations
to be more playful and have more fun

And THIS is what improv does! In an amazingly effective and FUN way. It's accessible for all and impossible for none! Improv is the new black!

IMPROV!!! ...not just for actors anymore.....

CALLING ALL IMPROVISERS-----

2007-05-16T08:59:00.000-07:00

I'm organizing am improv troupe! This troupe will be practicing and performing longform with some games and music at Stand Up NY in June and again in August. I am looking for experienced long-form improvisers who are playful, smart and wanna play. Some pay based on door sales...

Interested? Send me your stuff.

ALSO---

Starting a new SUMMER INTRO to IMPROV intensive. 2 weeks/$65. midtown location. Great way to introduce yourself to improv and me. Saturday and Wednesday sessions in June. Email me to register or for more info.

Thanks! JUMP!

Email me at kimschultzimprov@gmail.com

What Sally Fields says.....

2007-05-07T09:33:00.000-07:00

I was shamefully watching an episode of my new favorite show, "Brothers and Sisters" the other night...maybe it was even last night. And Sally Fields had met a new boy she was considering dating. She then brought him on a weekend getaway(Seemed a little premature...) Foolishly and secretly, he went off in the woods and kissed her arch-nemisis Holly. Sally was classy about it of course, but she nonetheless, threw him a gem...a real keeper: "We present ourselves fully in the first moment we meet someone. When I met you, you were sleeping with a 22 year old undergrad. What more did I need to know?" Or words to that effect.....

Sally is so smart. A. because she took work on a good series and I'm glad to see her working again and B. Because she's right. we do present ourselves fully in the first moment of meeting someone. That's why we have instincts about liking someone right away or disliking them immediately.

Improv is all about being yourself more fully in each moment. Not always easy. Sometimes it's easier to be a shell. But even then, that's who you are at that moment and that's what people get.

I was teaching high school non actors improv this week. They were visiting from North Carolina.
Ahhh, the high school years!

They were so worried about looking bad or different or committing fully or being wrong. There is such a fear from the start of adolescence of being FULLY OURSELVES. Unfortunately, it often carries over into adulthood. So I pushed the high school girls past their level of comfort(Because that's what I do!) and saw glimpses of who they were or could be. Improv can do that. It can fully flesh out who you truly are. So when you meet Sally Fields, she can say right away, "I knew you for what you were! I adore you! I could tell in the first moment!"

P.S. Is anyone else sick of Calista? Gya!

This is the game.

2007-05-02T11:50:00.000-07:00

I was playing an improv game with my class last night. It was a simple, silly child's game focusing on playing and not thinking. Everyone was playing by the rules, doing their job in the game--but something was missing. They were doing what they had to do to participate in the game but nothing more. It took me a minute to realize this. And to notice also that no one was having fun. No one was 100% committed or being 100% playful. It was if people were waiting for the class to start, the real class, the real exercises, the REAL games. And in fact it already had. And they were missing it. This was their game. This was their class.

How often does this happen in life? We sit around waiting for our "real life" to begin. Once we're out of debt, out of school, or in love, or land that perfect job...all the while missing out on where we are right now. Missing out on what is right in front of us. Improv reminds us that 'THIS" is the game. This, right now, is what we should be playing, not anticipating the future, better game, but playing this one fully and with committment and conviction.

I called my students out on it and they started to play the game more fully and miraculously we ALL started to have more fun. And that's the funny thing. When we commit to the game now, it becomes more fun, more engaging. We don't know what the future holds. We may not even have a future. We only have right now------ to play fully.

This is the game. This is the moment. This is your life.

The truth of it

2007-04-23T18:45:00.000-07:00

So...I went to the Pit www.pit-nyc.com the other night. We saw this wonderful improvised therapy/storytelling long form. It was dangerous because of how truthful it was. And I believe that is what makes good theatre. Truth. Say what you know. Declare it to the best of your ability and in the most specific way you can. My students have been working so hard on the PLAYSHOP coming up tomorrow night. www.Standupny.com. And there are so many new elements thrown at them, but through it all, SPEAKING YOUR TRUTH will always get you through it all. Say what you know to who you know. And don't talk to strangers!

If you're in the NYC area...come see what I'm talking about.
Tuesday night@7pm@Stand Up NY Comedy Club

PLAYSHOP NEXT TUESDAY, APRIL 24TH

2007-04-18T10:09:00.000-07:00

playtime

2007-04-16T19:24:00.000-07:00

I'm planning the line up for the performance playshop, my grads are going to do next week at Stand Up NY. It's so funny because there is so much work behind the play. The students have worked so hard to get where they are. I work to organize the show. We are working all weekend to be ready to perform, to be ready to play. And all it is...is play! I think it's the most important thing to remember-- that all it's play! We get so stressed out over things, over auditions, over lines, over, rules, over bosses, over fights, but if we lighten up and play more and work less, things seem to get easier....except taxes! That always seems to be work...

Tea talk

2007-04-13T09:31:00.000-07:00

Having attention to this moment keeps us in this moment. But that's hard. We generally do(or at least I do) a hundred things at once. And then wonder why nothing gets done or feels like it got done or made us at all happy. Breathe. Notice. Patricia Madsen in her "Improv Wisdom" writes:

"Some art forms build in the idea of paying attention to what is right in front of us. Those who study the Japenese tea ceremony learn the concept of 'tea talk'. Guests know that inside the teahouse one must speak only of what is inside the house. Even polite discussion of the news, social or political events or personal issues is forbidden, including complaining about the heat or mentioning any discomfort. Instead, the guest is invited to pay attention to the detail of what is present at the moment--the scroll in the alcove, the flower in the vase, the kind of sweet that was chosen to be served along with the bitter, frothy green tea. What is spoken is meant to be a reminder of the unique character of the event. The tea saying, Ichi go, ichi ei means "One time, one meeting". This particular gathering will never happen again. Live it now. Savor the detail."

Or as my friend Amanda Whisner said, "What happens in Vegas , stays in Vegas!" Same thing.

Ichi go, Ichi ei. See? Now you know some Japenese! What??? You have an itchy eye??

Trusting instinct

2007-04-12T08:58:00.000-07:00

I recently had an incident with a business associate that reminds me of how true and important what improv teaches is.

This person sent up my "Spidey-senses" from the get. Everything in me told me not to trust him. My instinct said "no". And being an improv teacher, I'm a big "yes" person, so you can imagine my dilemma. I wanted to say yes to what he offered. I should say yes. So, I said yes.

But it just goes to prove that in improv, as in life, there are no rules. Everytime you think you can make one (saying 'yes' for example) something comes along and disproves the theory. So, I said yes to this person in my life, but I stayed present to my feelings and instincts and tried to pay close attention to the "Scene" of my interactions with him. Well, turns out, your instinct is never wrong when listened to without self-imposed filters. He turned out to be a big fat liar. I knew it from the start and got out before more damage was done.

What's cool about improv and life is that there are no rules to follow, with which to turn off your instinct and present moment awareness and just say 'hey, I'm following the rules". We have to listen, trust ourselves, and follow through with what our instincts and impulses tell us, not follow a rule book. We make up our own book as we go along. It's easier than it sounds. It's just doing less and imposing less. It's feeling more and listening more. And oh, yes, it's also about remembering that improv, like life, is supposed to be "play" not "work".

wax on, wax off.

New Day, New Blog...

2007-04-11T07:25:00.000-07:00

New font...too...See? I keep my word.

I was teaching my level 1 improv class last night and had some revelations. We were talking about heightening your point of view in scenework, being committed to it, being 100% true to who you were at that moment in the scene. And it dawned on me, how great life would be if people did this in the world. How great if our leaders were authentic in in their dealings and committed to that-- no matter what the odds. What if our friends were 100% committed to being their own authentic selves. There would be no discrepency between what should and what is. We would all be committed to what is present and authentic NOW---having nothing to do with regret for the past or worry for the future. It's easy-- because truth is easy.

Hmmm......now I really need some more coffee.

I have a performance playshop with 8 fabulous, former students that will be performing later in April. I'll keep you posted on details. Talk about seeing authenticity and commitment in action!

First time blogging! I so scare-wed!

2007-04-10T13:23:00.000-07:00

So, now I can add blogging to my list of special skills on my resume thanks to my friend and student Kali Karagias. http://www.adhd.typepad.com

Woo-hoo! Is it working? Am I blogging? I am sooooo 2007!

I teach improv, in fact run my own school o' improv! I also do corporate improv, educational improv and have just been named Director of Improv at STAND UP NY at this major comedy club in NYC.

Soon there will be pictures and special fonts, games and puzzles!---but for now this will have to do!

Say YES to what life offers you! More sage advice to follow...