One Weird Trick To Shield You From Negative Criticism

The main reason that I used to struggle with writing out and sharing my thoughts with people was because I was afraid that people would disagree with me vehemently and call me an idiot. This is especially true with me writing about improv, because there's a subset of improvisers who take a lot of pride in shouting down anybody who thinks anything other than what they've been taught. The worst thing is, I was afraid they'd be right about me being a total know-nothing.

The trick, I've learned, is to write about things I like and spend very little time discussing the things that I don't like. If I catch myself writing an incredibly negative post, it's usually because I'm wrapped up in a lot of emotion. Maybe somebody hurt my feelings at work or rehearsal and I wanted to write about how that person and everything they do is bad and is hurting the fabric of society. Then after I've written it, I read it back and it all seems a little silly.

If I write about my own experiences and things that have made improvisation fun for me, then who is anybody else to tell me that I'm wrong? If I spend posts upon posts being a positive beam of sunshine and someone comes in and calls me a dummy for enjoying things, that person is clearly just an a-hole. If you write about what you love, kind people will respect that (unless what you love is kicking puppies or something). The added bonus is that if you spend your time thinking and talking about things that you like a whole lot, you're going to feel a whole lot happier as a result.

Go ahead and get angry and write posts seething with vitriol. Get it all worked out of your system, then re-read that post and delete it immediately. By spouting negativity you are inviting other people to spout it right back at you. Granted, some things are worth posting takedowns of: puppy kickers, MRAs, people who order a diet coke and a water at a restaurant.

If you want to feel better and not worry about people telling you how awful and dumb you are, you should start by not talking about how awful and dumb everybody else is.

Being A Joy To Work With

I've been spending a lot of time at my day job lately and it's been making me think about what makes a co-worker a joy to work with and what makes others a chore to be around. What are the common traits of the people that light up my day as soon as I see them, and do I exemplify these traits?

I am guilty of showing up late from time to time, or venting my frustration with how the day is going, I can show up tired and hungry and I know that it affects my work, but I do my best to never allow these things to be excuses for not putting in my best effort. I spend most of my time at work finding ways to make the day easier and more pleasant for the people around me. It feels good to be around people who are happy, it makes me feel better to lend a hand when I can spare it.

In the same vein, the people who I enjoy working with are the ones who spend their time making the best of their day. We're at work, and even though sometimes they truly would rather be somewhere else, they're going to make this day worth their while. They're positive thinkers, they fix problems as they arise, and they're eager to help if they see someone struggling. They find ways to not only do the job that's required of them, but to do it with enthusiasm.

The thing is, those traits are useful everywhere and are an absolute requirement in a good improv troupe. When I find myself struggling through a day at work or a rehearsal at night, I know who I can turn to to help bail me out of my negative mindset. I know the people who will brighten my mood, and I strive to be that person for everybody else.

Get to work and find a way to enjoy it, because your joy can be infectious. Start an exuberant epidemic!

Mid-January Resolutions!

I talked about last year, but that stuff's in the past. I've got some ambitious eyes and they are set on the future. Life and career related goals for 2015, comin down the pipeline!

Resolution for Every Year: More Pirate Shenanigans

What I Did With 2014

So I did a whole lot of stuff in 2014 and I figure there's no shame in bragging about a little about some of it. Maybe in the process of boasting I'll be able to do a little bit of reflection, too.

Taken at ComedySportz Richmond's 2013 Improv Festivus

You're the Best Around! Or Nah.

About a week before Christmas I was in the living room with my mom and my younger sister when my sister made the bold claim that I was the best improviser in my company. It's one of those blindly supportive things that family members tend to say and it's generally the sentiment you'd expect from family. What caught me off guard, however, was my mom's response. "No, (this guy) is really hilarious!"

Things Pile On

This week I got massively overloaded and one responsibility stacked on top of another until the whole Jenga tower came crashing down. I like to think that I generally know my limits, but every now and again I let all the things I do get the best of me. I don't know that every person is like this, but I know that once I start feeling overwhelmed all progress on all things ceases. The struggle from there is getting the wheels moving again, even if they move very slowly.

My temptation is to apologize profusely for missing blog posts. I want to mention how terrible and lazy I am. I want to make jokes that an ape could adhere to a schedule better than I can and that I am more beast than man. But you know what? Screw that. Apologizing and feeling self-conscious and bad about myself is what made me shut down in the first place!

If you find yourself getting overwhelmed and falling behind on your self-imposed responsibilities, remember that you're human. You're not terrible or lazy, you're a person who's got a lot on their plate. You've probably put a lot on  your plate. There's no shame in that, and don't let someone make you believe that there is.

Take a break, form a new plan of attack, and dive back in. If you're like me, you probably need a moment to forgive yourself for being a human and not an all-powerful problem solving machine. Once you're able to do that and re-organize your thoughts, you'll probably produce better results after that break anyway.

Here's a list of the things that I'm doing: 

• Commuting an hour each way to improvise twice a week
• Working 25-30 hours as a server
• Trying to organize a group of improvisers in my immediate area
• Planning new classes for the winter session
• Legitimately attempting to budget during Christmas season
• Writing and "promoting" a blog twice a week

There are a lot of minor stresses that encircle each of those things and that make my head start to spin. But those are all things that I want and need to be doing. Most of them are things that I have chosen to subject myself to! I've taken my break and now it's time to refocus. Let's all dust ourselves off, get our heads straight, and forge ahead like we need and want to. 

I believe in me and I believe in you, we can handle these things!

Spolin:A Basic Understanding

I've been looking for some more theory to have rattling around in my brain and I managed to get my hands on Improvisation for the Theater by Viola Spolin. Spolin is regarded as the "American Grand Mother of Improv" and basically all improv theory comes out of her work in some way or another. I haven't finished the book, so if there's a twist ending don't spoil it for me. Here are some

 of the basics that I've gleaned:

Voila! Viola Spolin

Nashville Improv Community

Last Tuesday night I had the honor of performing with three other improv groups in Nashville at Zanies. The line-up was Nashville Improv Company, Sprocket Improv, LOL!Nashville, and Tongue N Cheek Improv (or TNC as their fan page bills them). It was a super fun night and it was very nice to get together with some improvisers who I hadn't really gotten a chance to talk to before. Also we all brought in a lot of people and started practically zero fires, so we'll probably be invited back!

Where I Say Nice Stuff About Improv Friends

Love and Improv are similar in at least one way: they both can seem impossible until you find the right people. I've found the right people.

The Nashville Improv Company with Tara DeFrancisco and Michael Tatar!

Dealing with Pre-show Anxiety

Most days I feel like I could take on the world and at least go even, but sometimes the creeping spectre of doubt is able to land a few hits on my psyche. Pre-show nerves, it happens to the best and most experienced of us. If you're nervous, that's great! It means you're taking risks and leaving your comfort zone. After the jump, I'll go over a few ways that help me cope with anxiety.

First step: Breathing and wiping down your sweaty palms.

My Mid-Twenties Have Begun--What Now?

This past Sunday was my birthday. I am a fresh-faced 25 year old who is ready to take on the world! It's way better than the withered and weary 24 year old that cropped up around this time last year. It's been a heck of a year and I think it calls for some serious reflection.

Taken at The Basement theatre in Atlanta. Best house lights in history.

Improv Jams and Why They're Great

Wednesday night, I was lucky enough to be part of Nashville Improv Company's most recent Improv Jam. For the uninitiated, an Improv Jam is when you perform a show and invite audience members to join you on-stage. The NIC does these as short form shows that usually run about 90 minutes. Students, prospective students, improvisers from other troupes, and frequent audience members make up our typical Jam crowd. At first blush, it seems like a lot of things could go wrong by just inviting somebody with potentially no training on stage, but a lot tends to go wrong even when have 10 year vets filling out a cast. Instead of asking what the worst that could happen, let's find out what's the best that could happen.Improv Jams rule. They are crazy fun, and I believe every troupe should have one occasionally. Here's why:

Learning to Trust

Trust: It's a pretty important thing in improv. It's a pretty important thing in life, too. It can also be very difficult to earn from and give to other people. Growing up on the internet where everything is a scam and everybody is probably lying to you, our generation is pretty rightfully wary of just trusting any schmo who asks that of them. But you know what? Trusting people feels good, man.

Polar Express Rafi wants YOU to trust your scene partners!

Teacher Post: The Benefits of Building a Blanket Fort

Gonna drop some teacher tips on you guys today! So your class is clipping along at a pretty good rate and your students are pickin' up what you're puttin down every lesson. You're blitzing through curriculum faster than you could have expected because A) you're probably a better teacher than you give yourself credit for and B) your students are geniuses who were created in laboratories. Now's the time to stop and smell the roses, but how do you do it? Sometimes it's as simple as reading stories or playing their favorite games for half an hour, but sometimes you gotta go big. You gotta build a blanket fort.

My second-in-command Callie Mattox and I finishing the Blanket Fort. The students had all jumped inside already.

Improv Game: Improv Turducken

The NIC Thanksgiving show (or T. Hanks Giving, as we call it) is coming up this Saturday and we are getting into the holiday spirit by stuffing our games with seasonal cheer. The Improv Turducken isn't a game that we slightly altered to fit a theme, but one that sprang forth in rehearsal as a twisted reminder of what happens when your improv ingenuity goes to far. It is an improv scene, stuffed with another scene, stuffed with another improv scene. It is beautiful and terrifying to behold and also sometimes covered in cranberry sauce.

Improv TurDucken: We have improv'd too deep, and too greedily.

Long Form Theme: The Dungeon Master

My improv company loves themed shows. We have had Wild West shows, Summer Camp shows , and even Pirate Musicals. Our Thanksgiving show is probably the best example of this, it's T. Hanks Giving. We all dress as Tom Hanks characters and theme our games around Tom Hanks movies, it's brilliant and dumb. When I was working on coming up with a new theme for shows I realized we hardly did anything with the fantasy genre. Then I wondered if it would be possible to improvise a D&D campaign in front of an audience and not have it be totally awkward and terrible. This is the ongoing tale of my struggle with The Dungeon Master.