In the Moment with Sarah Nowak

Sarah Nowak is a graduate of the Second City Improv Conservatory in Toronto and has studied improv with Ali Faranakian, Ptolemy Slocum, Kurt Braunholer, Pat Shay and many others. Since moving to New York, she has performed with the improv groups Jesus Chrysler, Chicken Ranch, Team Fernandez, The Strange Box of Dr. Oddbody, Kill Secretary, Kill, and has hit the festival circuit with the independent ensemble Sid Viscous. She also occasionally enjoys performing in live scripted works of varying lengths. She currently performs every Saturday with The PIT’s improv house team The Baldwins.

How were you first introduced to improvisation?

A million years ago, someone handed my brother Adam a flyer for a free "comedy workshop". We went to the workshop and learned some short form games and then we were asked to join the team, which became the Buffalo chapter of Comedysportz. I didn't know what improv was, I was just goofing. I loved comedy but had no aspiration to be on stage, I was a pretty quiet kid up until then. I ended up being in the first improv show I ever saw, which is mildly unsettling, since we charged people money to watch it. Later, I saw the Calendar Girls in Chicago, which was my first time seeing a long form show. They did a LaRonde, and it changed my life. I didn't know improv could be like that, just scenes flowing into one another with no no wigs, no stupid songs, just these two women being really honest and playing real. It was hilarious, I wanted to see more of it and I wanted to do it.

You studied at the Second City Conservatory in Toronto. How popular is the world of improv and sketch comedy in Toronto?

Enormous. I went up there once or twice weekly, mostly for my classes or to see a random show, but I couldn't really get into the scene up there because I don't drive and I was relying on my boyfriend at the time. It's unfortunate, because I really loved it and I briefly considered going for Canadian citizenship in order to keep working up there. But the Training Centre at that time was huge. When I was in the conservatory, Mike Myers was really popular and I think that brought a lot of people in.

You perform at the Peoples Improv Theater in NYC with the house team The Baldwins. How would you describe the Baldwin's style and form?

Our form is sort of a Deconstruction/loose Harold. We don't have a hard form, or, we might and I am just not paying any attention to it. I like to think our focus is solid scene work. We play a little slower than some groups, and try to bring everything back and explore every discovery. After shows we sit around and talk about all of the things we forgot to bring back. It's a group of smart, respectful people, so things rarely go super blue.We're also a group of teachers and coaches, so we can get a little analytical of our own moves. Something I like about us is even though the group has been around for four years, we're still exploring new ways to play and unique ways to keep our shows interesting to the audience and to ourselves. We recently took a Contact Improvisation class together, which, if you don't know, is a dance class where you are in constant, sweaty and grunty physical contact with another person. It made for a lot of inside jokes, if nothing else.

Can you tell us about the improv-horror show you produced called "The Strange Box of Doctor Oddbody?

That's actually my brother Adam's show, we've produced it together the past few years and have cast my team The Baldwins as the players. He and I are hardcore horror nerds. In the show, Adam plays Dr. Avery Oddbody, who is a sort of crypt-keeper type host, and he gets the titles for three different stories, and we perform them.

The improv itself is different, because we are limited within each story to that universe, which is really fun to play. Instead of exploring the suggestion, we explore one narrative at a time, and bring it all back to a gruesome end. We have a few rules, one is that we can never have a monster that already exists. No Dracula, no werewolves, NO Twilight references. We have to create our own monsters and work within a lore that we are creating on the spot. Its a really fun challenge and it is, every time, very scary. For our run last year, the first story of the night was always performed in the dark with flashlights and our suggestion was some kind of horrible sound Adam would play from the booth. The shows were always pretty funny, don't get me wrong, but the experience of being in the dark was always very, very scary. I remember playing a scene with Jen Curran, another Baldwin. We had exited a scene, went through a transformation and returned as snake creatures, slowly crawling out on stage on our elbows with our heads down. I have no idea what it looked like but I remember really scaring myself with that.

I always marvel at how it is funny, but also very scary, and for those to things to exist together, it's my favorite everything.

As a Level 1 teacher at the PIT, what message do you want your students to leave with after finishing their first level of improv classes?

Beyond the basics, my hope is that they know in their bones that they already have it in them to do it. A lot of times you see people come in with the heightened awareness that they are in a "comedy class" and they start working really hard to make scenes interesting or to say funny things. The funnest part for me is to watch them figure out that they are already interesting, and that human beings are hilarious as ourselves.Kevin Scott (whom you have profiled before) told me something I tell my classes all the time, which is "Human beings react to human behavior." Real, honest reactions are the most powerful. I hope they come away from my class with that and a real desire to keep exploring improv and participating in its evolution. Also, seriously, don't eat in class or rehearsal. It's so gross.

What is it about improv that makes you want to continue performing?

The money! It's too good! I am CLEANING UP.

I guess much of my life is wrapped up in it I wouldn't know how to stop if I wanted to. But also, after the 100 million years I've been doing this I am learning new stuff all of the time like it's my first day, and I still really look forward to getting on stage every week. I get really excited to see what's going to happen. It's goofy but true. The people are the best you will ever meet. Everyone is so different but so kind and cool and fun to hang out with. I am very lucky to have found this. And also the money.

In the Moment with Dave Razowsky

David Razowsky has over twenty years of experience acting and directing with Second City, IO West and Steppenwolf, and he has taught improvisation for over fifteen years. He has served as consultant to Dreamworks, Whose Line Is It Anyway?, and Boom Chicago. He served as Artistic Director and Dean of Second City Training Center, and as Faculty in the California State University system. He continually teaches improv around the world, from Fresno, to Denver, to Norway and The Netherlands, and continues to act and direct professionally in Los Angeles.David has appeared on Spin City, Roseanne, The Weekenders, The Young and the Restless, Working and many other TV shows. He's a frequent ensemble member and writer for the Second City Mainstage in both Chicago and Los Angeles.

How were you first introduced to improvisation?

In 1982 or 1983 I auditioned for a show in Chicago and didn't get the part. As a matter of fact, I had a horrible audition. I think I used a Lawrence Ferlinghetti poem as an audition piece, which shows you where I was. It was just a piece I liked. I knew nothing about auditioning. Obviously. About a week after the audition I got a call from the director of Geese Theatre Company for Prisons, saying he got my name from the director of the show I just auditioned for, and would I like to audition for his show. Why not? I was 25, I wasn't getting any jobs as a photojournalist (I have a bachelors degree), I was working in a camera store (sort of like a writer getting a job selling pencils), and I was eager to move onto the next stage of my life (nicely punned, Dave). I auditioned, got cast, and was improvising non-comedic theatre in prisons across the United States for the next 10 months. It changed my life in wonderful ways.

The cast of Stacy's Not Here features so many wonderful improvisers. How did the group form and get it's name?

Peter Murrieta wanted to put a group of actors together, with the intention of it being like a band: each actor would give a specific feel to the work, they would know their instruments and perform them confidently and organically. We have been together for over 12 years. This is our last month together. Dee Ryan is moving to Chicago with her family. It's sad, but life's only constant is change. As far as how did we come up with the name, we were sitting around trying to come up with a name. I suggested "Stacy's Here," someone thought it was too cute. "Stacy's Not Here" was then suggested. The rest is what made you ask the question.

In addition to being an instructor at iO in Los Angeles, you also teach bi-weekly drop in classes at Theatre Asylum. What do you enjoy most about conducting the drop ins?

My life, my work, my art, my journey has congealed. I see something that inspires me, which I then investigate in my classes through exercises. The majority of workshops I conduct around the country are made up of Drop-In Workshop work. Here's a link to my drop-ins: http://www.davidrazowsky.com/davidrazowsky.com/Drop-In_Class.html

What is your philosophy on the "rules of improv"?

There are no rules of improv. We get in trouble in life as in art when we attach ourselves to dogma. The only thing that matters in improv (as in life) is how connected and mindful you are in this moment. Your whowhatwheredon'taskquestions crap clouds people's minds and dilutes what's really important: how do you feel about what was just said? Be eager to respond, don't be eager to talk.

Is there any difference between an improviser and an actor in your opinion?

An improvisor has three emotions: lust, anger and lustanger. An actor has a long tail, a full emotional palette, is vulnerable, is present.

You are an instructor at the Master Improv Retreat for Artistic New Directions in Big Indian, NY each summer. Could you describe to our readers what they should expect from this workshop?

This is one awesome intensive, working with the finest directors of theatrical improvisation in the country. Directors and teachers from Second City and The Groundlings. Gary Austin, an original member of The Committee will be there. Michael Gellman, the man who coined the phrase "long-form improv" will be there. Rachel Hamilton, one of the best improv instructors working out of New York City will be there. It's a beautiful place, the food is delicious, and you work from 10 in the morning until our daily student performances at night. There is nothing like it in the country. Nothing. I've been associated with it for over five years, and I still can't believe I get to work with these great folks. Here's the website: http://www.artisticnewdirections.org/retreats.html.

In the Moment with Susan Messing

Susan Messing, a NJ native and graduate of Northwestern University’s Theatre School, is an alumna of the iO, Second City’s Mainstage, and a founding member of Chicago’s infamous Annoyance Theatre. She continues to teach and perform improvisational comedy @ iO, The Annoyance, Second City, and is an adjunct instructor for DePaul University. Her standup act with her puppet, Jolly, was featured at the HBO/US Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, and on Comedy Central’s Premium Blend and NBC’s Late Fridays, and her most impressive bit movie role was as a bad stripper in a halo brace in Let’s Go to Prison! Susan has been an improviser and comedian for over twenty four years. Nice things said about Susan include Chicago Magazine calling her “Funniest Woman in Chicago,” Chicago Reader naming her “Best Improviser” and recipient of CIF 2010 “Improviser of the Year.” You can see her fuck around in her critically-acclaimed show, Messing with a Friend, every Thursday @ The Annoyance, now in its 5th year.

How were you first introduced to improvisation?

Northwestern University has a show called "The Meow" show, which is a combination of sketch and short form. I never was in it but I remember acknowledging that it existed. During my junior year, I heard there were auditions for something called "The Harold" at this fairly new place, The ImprovOlympic. I didn't make the cut, but after graduation in 1986 I rediscovered ImprovOlympic (now iO because of threats of lawsuits from the International Olympic Committee), started taking classes, drank the KoolAid, and I was hooked.

What is your advice to female improvisers who say they are tired of playing mothers, wives, girlfriends etc.?

Stop playing mothers, wives, girlfriends, etc. Is this still an issue? Seriously? Even if I'm playing these roles, there's no stereotypical template we need to follow. My moms have polio, my girlfriends have no arms, my wives have a daisy chain in the next room. Just trying on stuff that interests me. Mix it up- and FYI- I don't recommend this for offstage.

How do you instruct newer improvisers from worrying about "looking stupid" on stage and letting go?

The worst thing that will happen if you look stupid onstage is that people will laugh at you and we're doing comedy so fuck you. See? Always works, even "unintentional" comedy.

What can you tell our readers about Martin de Maat (teacher and artistic director at Second City who passed away in 2001)?

Martin was a caregiver in the truest sense of the world. When he did the hokey pokey and turned the class around, THAT'S what it was all about. And yes, I am serious that he would have the class do the hokey pokey. He insisted on celebrating the individual and the collective whole. He was a wonderful teacher and an exceptional person.

So many of your contemporaries have moved to Los Angeles or New York. Why have you chosen to stay in Chicago?

I stay in Chicago for two reasons- I feel that the work here is always evolving at such a great rate and I feel that it's the most supportive place to raise my child. I love LA and New York but Chicago is home.

Has being a mom influenced your style of comedy?

I'm not sure if being a mom has influenced my style of comedy as much as the struggle of dealing with being awake and alert for a late night show. That said, somewhere in the recesses of my mind I am a bit concerned that one day my daughter will watch a pile of dvds of my show and wonder about my sanity.

In the Moment with Scot Robinson

Scot Robinson is from Chicago where he cut his teeth at The Second City, Improv Olympic and The Annoyance Theatre for over ten years. He helped create over 35 original shows and logged hundreds, yay, thousands of hours of stage time. Since coming to LA, he’s managed to appear in “Anchorman” with Will Ferrell, on MADTV, Comedy Central, Air America’s “Ravenhurst”, and All Comedy Radio. Scot also appears in the hilarious book “Comedy by the Numbers” and it’s accompanying short films directed by Mr. Show’s Bob Odenkirk and continue to enjoy working with “The Office” Kate Flannery in the critically acclaimed live show “The Lampshades” at numerous venues here in LA, such as the opening act for The Dan Band, as well as the US Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, the San Francisco Sketchfest, the Vancouver Comedy Festival and the Las Vegas Comedy Festival. The Lampshades also perform every month with Toby Huss in The Rudy Casoni Show at the Steve Allen Theatre. You can also catch Kate & Scot on the hit Disney series “Wizards of Waverly Place” where they play Jen Stone’s parents Marty & Elaine Finkle. And keep your eye out for Scot in Cartoon Network’s new show “Fingerball!”. In addition to teaching at IO West in LA, Scot also teaches how improvisation is used in team building, innovation, problem solving, and overcoming blocks to creativity in the MBA programs at Duke University, UCLA and Columbia University.

How were you first introduced to improvisation?

Right after graduating college I moved to downtown Chicago to be a starving artist. I was great at it. One of my best friends from school asked if I wanted to take an improv class with her. I only knew what it was because Chicago was the home to The Second City. We all knew about Second City from the original cast of SNL and SCTV. All you had to do was see a few of the free improv sets they’d do after each show and you’re hooked. Back then people like Mike Myers, Chris Farley, and Bonnie Hunt were on the mainstage not to mention Steve Carrel, Steven Colbert & Amy Sedaris were in the touring company on their way up. Soon after I started my first class at The Players Workshop of The Second City, Mick Napier was starting up the Annoyance Theatre and began teaching his first classes. At the same time Improv Olympic (with Del Close) had just started gaining a foothold, so it wasn’t long before I was working at Second City as well as studying & doing shows at The Annoyance and IO all at the same time. I wasn’t the only one doing this. It was really a golden age of improv in Chicago, before it became such a popular art form. There was ample class time with the best teachers in the country and a relatively small community of performers, so you got tons of stage time.

You were involved in so many shows at the Annoyance Theater in Chicago. Which show was your favorite and why?

They were all so much fun, mainly because everyone had permission, and a good understanding of, improvising within the “script”. I put “script” in quotations because none of the shows ever had an actual written script. It would probably help to understand how we created our shows; Whoever the director was, they’d cast it and start rehearsals. Sometimes the director had an idea of the kind of show they wanted, other times, they had no idea. In rehearsals we’d improvise scenes to try out different characters, relationships and situations. Once everyone decided on their characters, we’d improvise more with the director exploring different relationship pairings, situations, etc. (more of the same, but in a more refined way), all the while constructing a storyline out of the best scenes. Most shows the performers would work with the musical director and write songs for their characters. The director would have to strike a balance with all these characters, storylines, and songs so everything made enough sense. Once the show started it’s run, they’d continued to evolve because people would try out different lines/jokes/bits and the cast would discover a lot of new things. As long as we knew where we needed to get to in our scenes, we’d take different routes there. It kept the shows interesting for us as well as the audiences, some who would see the same shows 10, 20, 50 or more times. I’d have to say my favorites were "Your Butt" and “Co Ed Prison Sluts”. In “Your Butt” the cast was onstage for the entire show and it was entirely in black and white. Co Ed Prison Sluts was fun simply because it was the theatre’s flagship show. Although I didn’t originate the role of the transvestite psychologist, I did the show for over 4 of it’s 10 year run. And I got to work with Kaluah the dog. I believe she was the only cast member to never miss a performance.

You started your improv career in Chicago and moved to Los Angeles in 1997. What changes to the improv scene in Los Angeles have you witnessed over the past decade?

Back when IO West, Bang Theater and Second City LA were getting started people in in LA really weren’t sold on improv at all. Being responsible for someone else’s success just wasn’t how LA actors thought. People would take classes just because their agent told them to, to pad their resume. Consequently their performances were sub-par, which didn’t help matters. It wasn’t until various theater’s reputations of having healthy creative processes and no B.S. politics that a sense of community grew and students began committing themselves to the time it takes to develop. Of course that’s when industry people started coming to check them out. Striking that balance between process and product has always been difficult here so I’m very impressed by the strength of the improv community here.

You currently teach Heightening the Scene (Level 3) at the IO in L.A. What do you hope your students take away from your class?

I’d like my students to show the utmost concern for each other on stage. Taking advantage of every opportunity to show us another facet of your personality is a lot easier when you show your partner your utmost concern. Heightening can mean different things, and students should understand the different ways to achieve it in a clear, concise way. People resonate with different ways of going about it. My favorite definition is Mick Napier’s saying, “Be more the way you are”. We get to know the people in the scene better by learning what’s important to them, and getting to know them better is the whole point.

You appeared in the hilarious "Ron Burgandy / Aqualung / flute scene in the movie Anchorman. What was that experience like for you?

You can get a pretty accurate idea of what the movie set was like by how playful the movie is. The director Adam McKay is an old IO guy and a lot of the cast were seasoned improvisers. The set definitely had that feeling. Just a ton of funny bits from everyone, in every scene. I think most comedy people would want to work in that kind of atmosphere. The only downside is that some very funny people got cut out because they shot SO much funny stuff.

You have been performing as lounge singer Hori Pismo with Kate Flannery in the musical lounge duo "The Lampshades" for over ten years. What has been the evolution of that show?

We started doing The Lampshades back in 1991-92 at The Annoyance in Chicago. Kate and I were doing “Manson: the musical” and “The Real Live Brady Bunch” at the time. We were both fans of old Hollywood, the Rat Pack and old music. We both always wanted to do a lounge act so we asked our very talented friend Dave Adler to help with the music. We’d meet for a couple hours each week and come away with 2 or 3 new songs we’d try out next show, which was opening for Jimmy Carrane’s show “I’m 28 and still live at home and sell office supplies”. Of course the audience didn’t know there was an opening act, so we’d be in a hole before we even started our set. It was a live music act then, and I would drink real scotch before and during our sets. We’d go off on tangents, sing the wrong lyrics, and discover lots of new material simply by virtue of not knowing what we were doing. Kate was a saint considering how Dave and I loved to go off to crazyland. We also tried it as an hour and a half variety show with bad sketches and weird guests. We’ve played so many ridiculous shows in such adverse situations over the years; wedding showers and receptions, a tent in Caesar’s Palace parking lot, nursing conventions, the gay porn awards (you get the picture) that we’ve developed a lot of material which gives us a lot of creative latitude to play it loose and continue to improvise and keep the show feeling fresh. I recently decided to make my character Hori Pismo a happier drunk, which is a departure, and the energy is very different. It’s exciting for everyone not knowing what’s going to be different show to show. It keeps ‘em coming back and keeps us growing as performers.

In the Moment with Katie Rich

A Chicago native, Katie attended Northwestern University before getting hired by The Second City National Touring Company in 2007. She left the Touring Company in January of 2011 after getting the opportunity to travel the world performing, writing and teaching. Katie is honored and humbled to be joining the cast of the Second City's 99th Mainstage review, which is set to open in late March. She can be seen in those ubiquitous Sonic Drive-in commercials, in Martin Short’s Let Freedom Hum, in Harold Ramis’ The Ice Harvest, and with Abigail Breslin in the upcoming Janie Jones. Katie would be nowhere without her friends and worse than nowhere without her family to whom she owes everything. She spends a lot of her time wondering what to do now that her dream has come true. Go Bears.

How were you first introduced to improvisation?

In high school, actually. My freshman year the Fall Play was a Second City-style sketch review with short-form games thrown in, and I auditioned because one of the popular girls auditioned. Her name is Leah. She didn't get cast, but I did! I'm from Chicago, so we were able to go to Second City to see what it was all about. The show we saw was, "Truth, Justice, or the American Way" and it featured folks like Steve Carell, Jackie Hoffman, Stephen Colbert - although no one knew who they were at the time. I was 13 years old and after I saw it, I just knew it's what I wanted to do.

You performed with the Second City National Touring Company and the MS Norwegian Cruise line. What were some of the highlights of your touring experience?

The best shows were the ones in a tiny, iota of a town, like Salmon, Idaho, where the folks had never seen anything like us before and just wanted to laugh so badly. When someone comes up to you and says, "Hey, thanks for making us laugh. We needed it - it's been rough here lately," man, do you feel so blessed and happy and humbled to be doing this work.

You have appeared in commercials for Sonic Drive-Ins with Sayjal Joshi. How is improvisation utilized during those spots?

The advertising agency gets certain scenarios approved by the head folks at Sonic and then we just riff within those parameters. Sometimes there was certain jargon we had to use, like various ingredients or tag-lines, but other than that we were on our own. (I've decided all my answers are going to use the word, "folks," because they have thus far without trying )

What is your definition of a "good" improv scene?

It is simple and there is a sweetness to it. We don't see enough scenes where the characters just seem to really get a kick out of each other. Folks.

What can you tell us about your 2.5 seconds in the movie The Ice Harvest directed by Harold Ramis?

I can tell you that John Cusick is very, very tall and I believe he dyes his hair a jet black. And, that Harold Ramis is an absolute delight. Truly. He is very grounded and still a great lover of Second City and Chicago and the art of Improvisation. There is a real avuncular quality to him. He is kind and treats everyone with respect from the lowest folks on the totem poll to Oliver Platt. Who was heavier than I thought he would be. He has very big lips.

You also perform with the musical improv team The Deltones. What additional skills does an improviser need to possess to perform musical improv?

The knowledge that musical improv is not as difficult as it appears. In fact, a musical Harold can be easier than a "straight" Harold in many ways as in a musical Harold you are usually following just one simple plot. Also, you can utilize the songs as a way to describe and reveal your characters feelings through the lyrics - something that would seem very heavy-handed if done through spoken dialogue. But, while it may be a bit easier when it is done well nothing knocks the socks off crowds more than an improvised musical. Improvisers themselves don't much care for it when they're in the audience, but improvisers don't care for much when they're just watching it, do they?

And, folks, stop thinking every lyric has to rhyme. It's nice when they do, but it doesn't ruin everything if they don't. It's more important to reveal your characters emotions and to not rehash plot points that have already been established than to come up with clever rhymes.

Can you tell us about your one woman show "Katie Rich is So Obnoxious"?

I can. That was my one-woman show seven years ago and I would never like to speak of it again. I can, however, tell you about my current one-woman show called, "The Advantages of Leaving the House." I've done it in Los Angeles and in Chicago at the Just for Laughs festival and I'm actually quite fond of it. It's simply one long personal, true monologue that deals with my life two years ago when I was on drugs and going through a divorce. Well, sort of. It's along those lines. You'd like it. I'll let you folks know when I'm doing it again.

In the Moment with Craig Cackowski

Craig Cackowski began improvising in 1989 with the College of William and Mary's I.T. After moving to Chicago in 1992, he studied at the Improv Olympic with Charna Halpern and Del Close. He has played on numerous Harold teams over the years at iO, including Baby Wants Candy, Carl and the Passions, and Cog. He has taught for iO and iO West since 1995 and directed such shows as Frank Booth in The Blue Velvet Lounge and J.T.S. Brown. As a Second City cast member, he co-wrote and appeared in five revues on the Chicago Mainstage and E.T.C. Currently residing in Los Angeles, he teaches frequently at the Second City and iO West, where he is the three-time winner of the Del Close Award for Teacher of the Year. He may be currently seen in such longform shows as The Armando Show, Quartet, and Dasariski, his long-running 3-man show with Robert Dassie and Rich Talarico. Film and television appearances include "Curb Your Enthusiasm", "Community", "How I Met Your Mother", "Arrested Development", and "Year of the Dog".

How were you first introduced to improvisation?

I was a freshman at the College of William and Mary and saw our college troupe, I.T. in the lobby of the cafeteria. They seemed to me like the coolest, funniest and most literate people on campus, which should give you some idea of how cool I was! I was too intimidated to audition that year, but I followed their shows for two years before I finally got in my junior year. It was a mixture of shortform and Harold. I was hooked for life.

Your sister Liz is also a comedian. How was humor valued in your family growing up?

Everyone in my family is funny. We love to laugh. My dad has a high-pitched laugh and would laugh too long, too loud, and at inappropriate times when we would go to the movies, so much that my mom would constantly shush him. More importantly, we're all willing to laugh at ourselves and our mistakes, which gave me the requisite humility for a career in show business...never take yourself, or anything, too seriously!

You performed with Second City touring company, etc., and Main Stage from 1995 to 2002. Is there an experience from your years at Second City that stand out for you?

Wow...so many great experiences, it really was like going to comedy grad school. I learned so much about timing, about refining a scene, adjusting to different audiences and fellow performers. But for one, single memory: I was lucky enough to work there during the 40th anniversary celebration, when a bunch of alumni came back. David Pompeii and I wrote a scene called "Gourds", a slow, character-driven scene about an African-American man and an immigrant striking up a conversation on a courthouse bench. Alan Arkin attended the show during the anniversary weekend, and made a point to compliment us on the sketch and how it reminded him of the type of scenes the original company did. It felt great to know that one of Second City's original, legendary cast members felt we were honoring the spirit in which the company was created.

You spent a number of years studying and performing in Chicago. What brought you to Los Angeles?

After leaving the Main Stage, I felt there weren't enough new challenges for me left in Chicago. I would kick myself if I didn't give L.A. a chance and challenge myself to be an actor where there's more opportunities (and more rejection) than anywhere else. There's film and TV projects that come through Chicago, but I found that I was agonizing over the 4 or 5 big auditions I would get a year...I wanted to be in a place where I had 4 or 5 big auditions a month, where it was no big deal.

You have been traveling to perform or teach in other improv cities (with a possible visit to Denver next year). Has there been anything that surprised you in the improv communities you have visited?

It's interesting to see how much has changed in the 20+ years I've been doing improv. A college troupe was a rarity when I was starting out, now it seems that most high schools have troupes. There was no internet to share information, now previously isolated communities have the same resources available to them as the big-city folks. And there's so many improv festivals now, where you can get high-quality instruction, and learn from watching other improvisors. If anything, there's sometimes more passion and dedication in the cities where improv isn't a stepping stone to big-time show biz...it reminds me of my early days in Chicago, when people were improvising purely because they loved it.

You perform in "Dasariski" with Bob Dassie and Rich Talarico. What type of form(s) do the three of you prefer to perform and why?

There is not a form so much as there is a style. We do long, slow, 3-person scenes, and our shows usually last 45-50 minutes. Sometimes we will stay in one scene as long as possible, so the entire show is one 3 character scene, sometimes we will explore the backstories of those characters more, so it involves flashing back and forward and meeting other characters. Other times we explore the environment more, and meet a bunch of unconnected characters at a mall, or a theater opening night, for example. The show usually ends up having a loose storyline in the end, so it's fair to call it a one-act play, though we don't think of it as narrative improv.

Fear in improv is a common theme discussed among improv performers and teachers. How has your attitude about "fear" in improv changed over the years?

Fear is something to be tapped into and enjoyed. If you can use your adrenaline to help you focus rather than paralyze you or spaz you out, it's a great way of getting out of your head. I still get nervous before performances...you're about to make up an entire show, and you don't know what you're going to say, so why wouldn't that be scary? The key thing, though, is to think of it as roller coaster fear, rather than, say, dentist fear....we're going on a big, scary ride, and we don't know what's going to happen, but it's going to be FUN.

In the Moment with Jill Bernard

Jill Bernard has been performing with ComedySportz-Twin Cities since 1993, and is also a founding member of HUGE Theater. Her one-woman improv piece, Drum Machine, has been featured at the Chicago Improv Festival, the Toronto Improv Jamboree, the Miami Improv Festival, Philadelphia Improv Festival, and the ComedySportz National Tournament, among others. She has taught and performed improv in Norway, Canada, and over thirty of these United States, in cities that include Juneau, AK; Spokane and Seattle, WA; Washington DC; Bowling Green, KY; Phoenix, AZ; and also on an episode of MTV “Made.” She is one-half of the duo SCRAM with Joe Bill of the Annoyance Theater. An Artistic Associate of the Chicago Improv Festival, she has studied at the Annoyance Theater, Improv Olympic, the Brave New Workshop and other organizations; and is the recipient of the 2005 Chicago Improv Festival Avery Schreiber Ambassador of Improv Award, and the 2007 Miami Improv Festival award for Best Solo Show.

How were you first introduced to improvisation?

We played Freeze Tag at cast parties for our high school plays. Yeah, I know at other high school parties they were getting drunk, we were playing Freeze Tag.

You have performed and taught in over a dozen festivals across thirty states. What is it about the traveling and festival experience that appeals to you?

I have this theory that great improv is happening everywhere in the country, not just Chicago, New York and LA. It's thrilling every time I get to see that I'm right. There's no reason that there's great improv in Cheyenne, WY or Charleston, SC or Honolulu, HI, but there it is! I also like getting to work with different students and see what regional habits are, if a whole city has a certain style to their improv related to the culture of that place, that's fascinating to me. I also love travelling. I love going to different cities and seeing what famous person has a house there that features an audio tour.

What is "Drum Machine" and how was it created?

Drum Machine is my one-woman improvised sweepingly epic historical musical. I say that to the audience and they laugh, and then I do it. Most of the time I use a little drum machine for accompaniment, whenever possible I switch that out for a live musician, it's so much better. It came about in 2002, I had heard of solo improv and seen Lisa Jolley's show "Jolley on the Spot" plus Andy Eninger's "Sybil." I woke up one morning and said, "There should be a show called Drum Machine." At the time I was living down the street from a music store. I walked down the block and said to the guy, "I'd like to buy a drum machine." He said, "What kind?" I said, "I have no idea, what's a drum machine?" He sold me the little cute Zoom Rhythmtrak 123 that I still use, and a little amp. I went home and spent some time laying in bed giggling and trying out the show. Originally it was just an extension of the ComedySportz game Day In The Life Musical where you create a musical based off what an audience member describes as an exciting day they've had. It's grown and changed since then. I performed at Red Curtain Cabaret some short slots, then the Chicago Improv Festival the next year, and it's taken off from there.

Many people that have been improvising for as long as you have discuss getting in an "improv rut". Does this happen to you and if so how do you overcome it?

I have the good fortune of having a terrible memory. I can't remember things. Everything always seems new to me. So I never get bored, it's how I've played ComedySportz for 17 years and still get excited every night.

There's a different kind of improv rut I call the "Sine Wave of Suck" which happens to everyone. It starts at about your ninth month of improvising, you think you've got this on lock-down and suddenly you suck. A few weeks pass and suddenly you're funny again. The first time it happens, it's terrifying, but it will continue to happen throughout your improv career. Eventually you'll learn to laugh it off, 'hello old friend!' Things to do while you're in the rut are focus on fundamentals, be efficient, provide support. I used to advise people to try to suck more and maybe they'd come around the other side, but someone who read my book really misunderstood what I was going for there, and was actively trying to ruin every scene. I think I'll revise that for the fourth edition.

What do you say to yourself right before you take the stage?

I don't know! I hope it's inspiring. My improv brother (I call him that because we started improvising at exactly the same moment, from the same audition) Eric Knobel used to say "LET'S DO THIS" in a really intense voice before we went to do corporate shows, just to relieve the tension of how tough those shows can actually be. I hope that's what I say.

I'm coaching a team right now for the Brave New Institute in Minneapolis, and when they ask my team their show goal, I make them say "To do our jobs." Our job is to play, you see. I don't really like show goals that overburden the performer. Asking someone to think about a lot of stuff consciously is going to prevent them from sailing into the zone and just doing good magical improv that flows. At least that's what I think. I don't want a lot of stuff laid on me right before I go onstage.

What was your inspiration for writing "Jill Bernard's Small Cute Book of Improv"?

I just wrote it in one spurt, overnight, on my little typewriter.

Can you tell our readers about the improv scene in Minnesota and the HUGE Theater?

In the metro area there's two big short-form theaters, ComedySportz and Stevie Ray's Comedy Theater, both celebrated their 20th anniversary last year. There's a sketch and long-form theater called the Brave New Workshop that started in 1958. A new space just opened up called Yes And Studios. There's a lot of independent teams running around performing where they can.
HUGE Theater is a non-profit. We started in 2005, and we're just about to open a theater because we believe all those independent teams deserve a home. We want there to be a place where you can see great scenic improvisation every night of the week. It was started by Nels Lennes, Butch Roy, myself, Joe Bozic and Mike Fotis - although Mike and Joe are tied up rocking the scene at the Brave New Workshop so Butch, Nels and I have pushed on to open the theater. We're in the construction phase right now. The pre-construction phase, actually, the city has yet to give the final signatures as I write this. You can read along at our blog at http://www.hugetheater.com for all the latest.