Episode 211 - Discover The Parallels Between An Improv Scene And Life With These Improv Friends

Hey, everyone. Welcome to the do the Thing podcast. This is your host, Stacy Lauren. All right, guys, well, you are coming again on my adventures, and I have recently been taking an improv class, and I'm on the second round now, and I decided to bring some of my fellow improvisers. I think that's what you guys are called, to join me for the do the Thing podcast, where we could basically talk about our experience, what we've been going through, maybe encourage, inspire someone to try improv, because I know it sounds so intimidating for someone that has never heard of, even thought of, even comprehended taking a class like that. Or maybe even just take the first step at whatever you want to do and whatever you're thinking about and kind of unlayering the fear and the scariness that comes with doing something that's unfamiliar. So I'm so excited to have you guys on with me today. And for you guys listening, I have brought on Seth and Gabriel to the do the Thing podcast, and we are going to be talking about our improv experience. Hey, guys.

Hello. Hello.

Yay. This is so fun. We just saw each other today in our improv class, and then I was doing what I do where I fail miserably. You guys are so supportive and encouraging now.

You're doing great. We're all having fun over there.

Gabriel, why don't we start with you? Just introduce yourself to everyone and just say why you joined improv to begin with.

Sure. Well, everyone, my name is Gabriel, born and raised, San Diego, doing improv because really, it sounded like a lot of fun. About a year and a half ago, a friend of mine mentioned it to me as something to improve our podcast hosting skills. And it just kind of. We didn't ever do it together, but the idea stuck. And a few months ago, I'm like, you know what? I have the time to fit it into my schedule. It sounds like a lot of fun, so let's just do it. So I just pulled the trigger on it, signed up for classes, and I met you fine folks, and it's been a blast ever since. It's been, what, three months now of improv? Yeah, it's been really fun.

Yeah. And just so you guys know, so we were in level one together. Improv has different levels. So we were all on level one together. And then it's so cool. We have all the same people in the same level two class. So we've gotten to know each other just on another level since we're doing it together.

Yeah.

And then, Seth, how about you yeah, sure.

My name is Seth. I started improv. Oof man. Years and years ago. I kind of came in through the back door because I took an intro improv class with my best friend when he was living in Philly. I was out there visiting and he was like, this would be really fun to try with you. We were just thinking it would be a nice way to kill an afternoon. And then literally right when I got home from that trip from Philly, I signed up for improv classes. And that was probably 2016 maybe. And I've taken a large swath of improv classes since. But I always say that I've taken more one on one classes than I care to admit. But I took improv in Milwaukee. I did short form with comedy sports, which is like the national Comedy Theater out here. I did long form there. Then I moved down to Chicago and I did long form improv almost exclusively at Logan Square Improv. I went through three levels at the Annoyance and then I went to LA and I started at the UCB school. Every single school has its ups and downs. It has its benefits and drawbacks, but I always find myself coming back to improv no matter where I live, because it's just a good way to get out of your own head. And it doesn't matter how seasoned an improviser is, nobody has this ego. It's just like the most welcoming environment you can ask for and it's just easy ways to make friends. And yeah, it's just, it's been an anxiety killer for me, so I just keep going back to it.

Yeah, I love that you said a way to get out of your head. I feel like that idea of just being present with people in an environment that is fun while being able to just kind of almost find yourself in a way because you're having to tap into all these different parts of you. I'd love to hear you guys just speak to that a little bit. Just what you've noticed with being present and being able to get out of your head.

Sure. What I like about improv is that I like performing, so I play music also. And I find that when me and my wife, we are in a two piece group together where we switch off playing, we both play guitar, when we both play drums, when we both sing. So we'll switch off depending on who is playing guitar and singing, but. But we emphasize original music and I find my improv itch is sometimes scratched in that scenario too because it means I'm being a little bit more fluid with the way I'M playing music, you can kind of write on the fly. Sometimes you just end up in a jam for a while. But what I've liked about improv specifically is that things just aren't so by the book. I keep telling people that every single improv school I've been in, the teachers always say these hard and fast rules are never hard and fast, meaning there's always ways that you can break these rules. And they only give you rules just to basically give you a template to get you out of your own head. You're like, you should just trust your instincts. That's what. That's all they're ever trying to get you to do. And the more I do that, the more. The more empowering it is, the more fun it is. And it gives you a chance to just play and feel silly and dance around with other adults who. You don't get any other space to do that. And in improv just encourages it like crazy.

How about for you, Gabriel?

Yeah, definitely. I guess for me, it's getting out of my head, I guess isn't something that I was necessarily looking for when I started doing this, but just anything, it does that for me. And I think I appreciate that. As I'm realizing it's doing it for me, it reminds me a little bit of I used to be on the football team back in high school a while ago. But the same kind of we're a team mentality. We're all here for each other, and while we're doing this thing, we're fully invested into this thing that we're doing. If I was back in football, it was. I'm focused on the guy in front of me, and I'm hitting him and pushing him back, making the play advance or here it's. I'm focused on the person in front of me, my fellow actor on stage, and we're looking at each other and trying to do. And be completely into the scene. And. And it is really cool. It's really fun. I didn't think I was going to, I guess, need or want that. And I don't know if I do, but I at least appreciate that it happens.

Yeah. I would love to hear you guys also explain improv and what it is for people that are like, you know, when you shut it down before you, like, oh, I. I could never do that. I would never want to do that. But it's because a lot of times people just don't know what something is. So how would you explain it to the listener? On what we're even Doing.

I guess I would explain. Improv is structurally, it's making things up on the spot. But an easy way to explain to someone who's never been to an improv show is basically, they will take a suggestion from the audience and then they will make up an entire story. Think of it as a play that just has a cast. It doesn't have characters, it doesn't have a script, it doesn't have any of that. It just. You feed off of whatever energy is coming from the crowd and then you take an idea and you just see what comes out of your mouth. Basically.

Yeah. I would say it's pretty much nail on the head how I would describe it. I know a lot of what I hear is people like, oh, so what do you have for your set? Like, no, like, no, no, no. It's because the whole improv is a lot of times improv comedy, which it is and it isn't. I know in our classes they've been saying, like, yeah, the funny is going to happen and it is technically a comedy club and people go there to laugh. And I think improvisational acting lends itself well to that because the people that do it want to be fun and silly, and so it just attracts that type. But it doesn't have to be. We've had more serious scenes even just in class, and there's something super enjoyable to it in that. But, yeah, it's not comedy per se. It just. It works well for comedy. Yeah, I would say it is acting improvised, is acting more than it is comedy.

When do you get that opportunity to just play right. And just be as silly as you want? And with some of the stuff they have us doing with the gibberish, and we did that dance thing the other day and all these things just to get yourself moving and not to have to really even think about what you're going to say, but just understanding that quick thinking, whether it's blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, or you're saying something. Anyway, that's one of the things that I love, is how it kind of enacts that side of you to come out that playful kind of curiosity. Fun side.

Yeah. And it is a lot of fun. We. We find ourselves laughing a lot. I even just in level one to two, I'm like, wow, I miss the games a little bit. I remember one of my favorite ones was when Skyler had us, like, line up and we had to, like, pick an emotion and he would conduct us like a director to up that. And yeah, it is an exercise for how to express emotion, how to use it in the scene. But even just as a standalone exercise, it's so much fun and so goofy. When I saw it happen at a jam, I thought it was one of the best things I saw on stage that night. It was just so entertaining.

Yeah. For the people listening, can you explain a little bit more about how he did it?

Yeah. So let's say there's 10 people on stage, and you'd line up in a semicircle, and then the professor, the conductor, is on his knees in front of you, back towards the audience. And each one of us would choose an emotion. He'd assign us an emotion. Let's say if it was sadness, and he'd use his hand level. But essentially we'd go on a scale of 1 to 10. If sadness is his hands low and it's at a 1 he's pointing at me, I'd go, oh, boohoo. Right Then he'd raise his hand, get me to go higher. But does that kind of mid level round of five like, oh, no. And then 10. He's just crazy. You're crying. You're doing everything you can to fully sell the emotion. And just that rapid fire or even simultaneous with I'm boohooing. Cece, maybe you're yippeeing because your excitement and Seth is disgust. He's like being at something and all of that happening at the same time and standing there in line and seeing what's happening left and right and still being fully invested into what you're doing is just so. To me, it's goofy, but so much fun.

Yeah. And I love that idea of taking something so simple. It's such a simple idea of that act. Right. Of just having an emotion when he says it, but then at the culmination of everyone doing it together and then the way it's orchestrated makes it into this magical kind of fun, playful thing. And then. Seth, did you have a favorite one? One of the games? Maybe we can talk about that first.

I always like the energy games just because it helps kind of shake the rust off, which I love. Jumping right in with games that require you to do two things at once because it breaks your brain so quickly. It's exactly what I'm looking for. Get out of your head as quickly as you possibly can. Things, even where we're throwing the ball and kicking the ball around the circle to different people at the same time, this is splitting my brain. And I'm like, this kind of brokenness is. I don't know. I welcome it, it's just fun to feel like you're on the edge of disaster. The best improv shows I've ever seen are the ones that feel like it's about to go off the rails and the crowd's usually just howling and it's fun.

Yeah. And it's fun because it's disaster, but it's low stakes disaster. Like at the end of the day, the curtain comes down, everyone's safe, fine. Fun. Yeah.

So I think a lot of people why they won't do public speaking is because they're scared of maybe what people will think of them or they're going to mess up or whatever it is that comes up. Right. But when you're with other people that are doing improv, I mean, that's what I've noticed too about our group. It's just that support and the encouragement and the love that we get for each other, I feel like it makes it where it's just this real safe place to fail or safe place to just whatever you're gonna say, you have your back, I guess is what. What happens. Right. That's literally an improv term, is I have your back. And I love that idea that it doesn't matter. Like you said, there's not high stakes to it. The risk is what. We just laugh at ourselves.

Yeah.

I mean, yeah. I find that anyone can get something out of improv. If it's you just trying to forget about a tough week, improv will do that. If it's you trying to get better at public speaking, improv will do that. If you want to get friends, improv will do that too. It's just about committing to it. I remember the first time I walked into an improv class in Chicago. I was like, oh, my God, these people are going to be so good. They're going to be so good and they're going to be serious actors and they're going to be amazing. And I don't know how I'm going to fit in here. And literally in the first skit, I was playing opposite two other people and they were pretending to be babies with giant diapers. And I was like, I think I'm going to be okay. I'm like, this is everything wonderful about improv. Yeah.

Everyone I've met has been super encouraging, accepting, inviting. It's definitely a nice place to be in that. It's a bunch of adults from a myriad of, of backgrounds and, and whatever places they're from. But everyone at least like, like take our level one class. Everyone going in knowing okay, so this is the first day of kindergarten and we're all kind of in that space together. No one's there to beat anyone. No one wins that improv. No. I guess they do have the cage matches where you compete for applause, but. But even that concept is like, it's just kind of a funny way to do it. But yeah, no one's losing in improv. Everyone's just there to have fun together.

Yeah. And I remember one of the women that was in our first group, she was joining because she was painfully shy. And I remember her almost going to tears when she was saying why she was there. And then when we saw her by the end of It's a Person. And it's like amazing how you can be transformed through doing something that's out of your comfort zone.

Yeah, I would say the same about you, Stacy. Also, transformation is night and day.

Yeah, I'm glad you said that because it's so funny. I do a lot of stuff. I've done stand up comedy, I've done Toastmasters. I've done all these things, but this is severely out of my comfort zone. And it's great. It is so good because it's so hard for me. And that's why I'm learning so much about myself that I haven't learned in a while, because it's hard. I'm having to pull a lot of stuff. And I think you guys hear this a lot, but I'll share it for the listeners. But I think it's because I'm used to, if I ever do bad or if I ever have that kind of thought, oh, I wish I would have done better. Whatever it is, it's something for myself. But for improv, I want to do better because I want to support my person that I'm with. And so it's just knowing that that's something that comes up for me. It's been really interesting to work through. I also realized I'm not as good as being present and fully there. And I think improv is helping me with that and being more present, being able to just really kind of feel with the other person.

And that really requires you to turn your. Turn your judgmental side off a little bit, because the more you self edit, the fewer words that you're actually going to say on stage. And oftentimes the first thought is the best thought, not only because you're actually coming at it from a visceral place, but because you need to say something. Now you're on stage, you need to say something now so whatever the words are that are going to come out, are going to come out, and you can't be so critical. I think some of the best improv advice I've gotten is take care of yourself first. Because if you can take care of yourself first, it's going to make your scene partner's job way easier. Meaning if you go into a scene and you have a clear direction, you know who your character is and you know what they're into, what their passions are. If you can flesh any of that stuff out before you take a step on stage, it's going to make your improv partner's job easier. If they're like, I understand who that character is, and now I can figure out who they are, to me.

Yeah. Which is a tricky thing, because the nature of improv is you're not necessarily supposed to come with anything other than let it be inspired. But I think there is some. I know. I do it, too. There's like, some degree of. Yes. But there's also this tool belt that we know we have access to as we're going up there. So I know I've gone up with thinking, like, I have an idea for a character. Maybe I've been playing around. If this character gets a chance to get on stage, then great. But I'm not going to try and force it.

Yeah. A lot of the time, the things that I go up with, I guess, are I'll be like, all right, I'm just going to pick an emotion, and then the suggestion that they call out to the audience, like, let me get a location. And they get a location, it'll be like, Disney World. And I'm like, the emotion that I already chose before they picked what the thing was, was happy. I'm like, that's going to work out well. I'm at Disney World, so I'm just going to be the most ecstatic kid I can. Something like that can really help steer. And it'll. It'll make your job less difficult if you can. Even if you're like, I'm going to hobble out on a stage, and I'm going to see how that informs what my next choice is. Something like that can be a fun. Like you said, a tool belt. That's exactly what it is.

Yeah. Like Paris coming out as the gorilla.

Yeah.

That's so funny. I have to just point out, I don't know if you guys ever noticed this, but all of the life lessons that improv parallels. Seth, when you were saying earlier and you just kind of mirrored it with the first thought that comes out of your head. Earlier you said, trust your instinct. And I wrote it down because I was like, oh, yeah, I think that's something I could work on with improv. But I'm like, isn't that cool? Trusting your instinct in life also is really important. And then you have to know who you are as your character. Right. You have to know what this character is. And that's a life thing where you really want to know who you are as a person and know what your passions are and really feeling into your emotions. And then you said something else, which is taking care of yourself first, so then you could take care of your scene partner. Anyway, this is screaming out, so I thought I would share, but it's just interesting, those parallels that I think these lessons that we're learning in improv are such good life lessons too.

Yeah, well, I mean, in real life, I mean, no one's given a script, right? We're all improvising our way through, quote, unquote, real life. And the improv stage, I think, is a way to explore what it means to rapid fire, make decisions and roll with them in a safe way and in a really cool way. Even if it's not. I'm. I'm not a gorilla. Using the Ferris example. I'm not a gorilla. I don't know what it means to. To be a gorilla and ask about my performance. But in that it's stretching the quick decision. Pick a path and run muscle. That's something that definitely translates off the stage.

And then adding fun. Let's just add some fun and play to our lives. And I think improv kind of reminds you of just how easy it could be just to make a simple. You could have literally nothing, just you and another person. And you are able to transform any space that you're in into a fun, playful environment because of having some kind of idea of what to do. And whether that's doing the ticky talky game where we're throwing little bunnies back to each other, or we're doing an emotional. What was that? Orchestration. Emotional orchestra or just taking a simple ball or just Even the gibberish thing. Anyway, there's just all these different things that you could just add and just change your mood in a minute when you're wanting to add some play to your life.

Yeah. You'd mentioned that being present can be something that's really difficult. But I have found that improvising has made me a much better listener. And I've found that the best improvisers I've ever seen are the people that are the best at listening on stage. They not only are listening to what their scene partner does, but they're also anticipating what they mean by things. They're reading into subtext, they're doing callbacks. They're just so good at reading the scene. But I tell people all the time, if they seem like they're good at soaking in information, and I'm like, you're listening to everything I'm saying. If you're this good of a listener, you're going to be an amazing improviser if you can just listen to what they're saying and react to it honestly in the moment, as a fallback. That works every time.

I'll get your advice with this, then. So this is something I noticed. I think it was today I was picturing. And I don't know why a first date comes to mind, but imagine being on a first date with someone and you're nervous and you're anxious and you might be in your head or whatever, and you're not truly yourself yet because you've got that. That's still how I feel with improv. Everything's kind of fuzzy and so it's still not completely comfortable. And I know what that means for me. I just need to do it more and more and more, and then I'll eventually get good at it. So it's kind of fun because it's like a personal quest now. But do you have any thoughts on just making that feel better as you're up there and being able to quiet that. I don't know. Anxiety, I guess would be the word. Down a little bit.

I think, like you said, reps is going to be the quickest way to get there. But on the other hand, for me, the wow moment was the first time I got a big laugh from stage. And it was during a line that I was genuinely reacting to the moment. And it was not a joke at all. I was literally just reacting to what someone said. I was like, that doesn't make any sense. And then everybody just started laughing. And I was like, okay, that's interesting. So all I did is react to the moment. And every single time you get one of those reps, it just kind of reinforces it.

Yeah, I mean, there's a. There's a lot of humor. There's a lot of joy in everyday life. And what I like to see on stage is, oh, maybe that actor said exactly what I was thinking. And so that's why I'm laughing, because Just the lunacy of how are we so on the same page? Is just so incredible. And that brings out a laugh or sparks some sort of something.

I was just going to mention to that point. It has made me realize how relationships are in sitcoms.

Yeah.

It makes you start judging sitcoms really harshly where you're like, wait, this character's motivation doesn't make any sense.

Yes, sitcoms exist and work because they're everyday situations, and maybe they're heightened a little bit to be a little bit more ridiculous. But people laugh at it because they can see themselves in those situations and know what that feels like in whatever it is. If it's getting denied soup from a vendor because he doesn't like the way.

You'Re talking to him a lot of the time, you'll end up being able to pick apart those scene dynamics when you're watching those shows and you can view it just like you would improv. You're like, I understand these two characters motivations. I understand the relationship to each other, but I don't understand why they're acting this way in this scene. You're kind of looking behind the lens in that way.

Yeah. And I think Skyler has mentioned it. The audience is doing a lot of work and offering a lot of grace in the suspension of disbelief. Like our scene at the end of class. Like, the audience will choose to believe a goblin can be talking to his overlord. But if at any point the goblin or the overlord acts in a way that doesn't make sense for the world they're in or how you've already established a character that breaks away.

Yeah, exactly. Yeah, that's a great point.

You're almost opening this portal to your mind. Right. Being able to just kind of add this whole nother level of creativity and exploration into just all the things that are cool about you, the other person, the world. I mean, it's just such a great way to just expand in that way. So, okay, I'd love to hear what your guys's favorite thing about. Let's talk about favorite exercise in improv. And maybe something someone can do at home that maybe can't do a full improv class or if they just want to mess around while they're at home. Do you have any thoughts for that?

One of the things I found myself doing with my roommate and his girlfriend, because she's around a lot, in a good way. I like her. And this happened at least two specific times I can think of is there was one time we were at a bar across the street from our place. And we had brought our own food in because it was allowed. And then it was pizza, and it was wrapped in foil. And we're sitting at the bar, and instead of throwing everything away, we took the foil, we matched it up into a ball, and just across the bar, we're just, like smacking at each other and, like, setting up little goal posts to try and kick it into just playing around like that. Or just the other week, I have a pillow shaped like a watermelon, and we just somehow or other, we just got into this mood of, okay, we're going to hit it around at each other. Try not to let it touch the floor. Just simple things like that that just kind of force you to move around. And still, to me, that's like, play 101 is this. Just take this thing and smack it around a little bit.

Yeah. I think our culture is so. I don't want to say against play, but we definitely don't advocate for it. And so it just gives you all these other ways to explore that that are fun. How about you, Seth?

Yeah, I think I like the games that require you to dig deep, I guess. So improv games that I play at home all the time are the ABC game where you're literally. You start each sentence with the next letter of the Alphabet. That's just like a fun exercise. And then you're like, oh, I already. I remember using this word last time I played it, or whatever. Other times you can do five things. It's super easy to play with people that have never done improv. And it's fun because it's another big energy game.

What's five things again? Can you share that?

So literally, you'll get shouted a category, and you have to name five things from that category. And the idea is, nothing is wrong. Meaning you say, for instance, types of coffee. And then you go, Folgers, 1, black, 2, brown, 3. It doesn't matter what you're saying, as long as you're keeping the energy up. And then you say five things. Five things. Five things. Five things. That kind of game is super fun. And it's. I'm always surprised at the type of people that are for a really low barrier to entry improv game. They're always having fun with it, especially if it's a big group.

I like the one we did today. Bad tweets.

Yeah. Yeah, that's fun.

Yeah. And so for people listening, that one is basically every person in the circle. So you're saying a word and then finishing the sentence, basically, as it goes. And then when the perceived end is, then the next person basically says hashtag. And then whatever the bad tweet is, that represents that sentence. And it's just a fun way to, I don't know, have that connectedness because you're all completing a sentence. But it also adds the fun because you're trying to create a bad tweet.

This going like, oh, China and Russia and USA and just like, how long could this go? That's fun.

My favorite one was just the dance one. I don't know. There's just something. Because I'm not huge into dancing. And like, there was just something so fun about just each of us had a turn to do a dance move, and then we had to follow.

We all followed that little diamond.

Yeah.

Yeah. Oh, that was funny. Just thinking of that. I'm excited for in future levels, musical improv. I think that'll be a lot of fun. I mean, I love music. I'm not good at it, but it's a lot of fun for me.

What kind of music do you like?

I listen to a lot of everything right now is a lot of emo and pop, punk and rock. I like going to shows that are rock or metal because I like throwing my head around.

Yeah, that's awesome. So what is musical improv like? Is that similar to improv and then you're adding music, or is there a difference about it?

My understanding is not a whole lot, because what I know from it really is seeing the musical games that they would play on Whose Line Is It Anyway? But as they have a tune going and they have to create lyrics on the spot to the tune and like, going in turn, and everyone gets a line or two, and then they all do the chorus together. Something like that.

So I'd love you guys to speak to the friend aspect because that was almost the number one reason that first class, when Skylar asked us who Skyler was our instructor for the first class, just so you guys know, he asked why you guys are here. And a lot of people said to just meet new people. And that's something I work on a lot with my community, is helping people get opportunities to meet people. Because I think it's so easy to. To get sucked into your couch vortex and not want to leave your little happy cave because it's safe and it's comfortable there. And so I like showing people that just by joining something like improv, and whether it's improv or something else, you literally have a whole group of friends. You can now be connected to. And I'd just love to hear you guys maybe speak to that part of it a little bit.

Aside from being a great anxiety killer, I think improv is the best way to meet new people because you will see their silliest side and their most vulnerable side. And you feel like you can be honest with these people right away because you're about to show them all of your flaws and insecurities, and they're about to do the same to you. Like you said, if you're dancing in front of a room of 16 other people and you're a terrible dancer, guess what? All of those people are also terrible dancers. And you're all in the same boat. And that makes it so you guys are all working from the same playing field. So I always find that the friendships that I get from it are. It doesn't even matter if you're in contact. Right. Every single time you see them on the street or whatever, you'll go, what's up, man? I haven't seen you in forever, so let's get coffee or something. I just find it super valuable.

Yeah. And if you think of Sylvie with improv of day one, we were all explaining why we were doing it. There wasn't a lot of, oh, I'm here to prove that I'm the best at this, or become an incredible actor, make my way in Hollywood. It was. Everyone was, I'm here to meet new people. I'm here to have fun. I'm here because I want to play a little bit more, be goofy, be silly, break down some sort of. Of barrier within myself. Everyone's coming to it. Even if obviously we're all incredibly different and unique and special people, but we're all coming in from the same place in that we kind of want similar things out of it. And everyone's supportive of that in each other. Is why improv specifically is a really cool way to meet people.

I'd love to hear you guys kind of speak to this. So there's people that are just terrified of even thinking that they could even do improv. And so how do you get them to just. And again, whether it's improv or insert whatever it is that seems interesting to you, how do you get them to just check it out and even see if it's something that they would want to do and break that fear down?

Yeah, I would say. And this would work for anything. Go watch it first and see what it looks like from an audience side. Think about improv. I did watch an improv show before I started Classes and it was a lot of fun. It looked like a lot of fun. I remember thinking like, okay, I want to be able to do that. That looks great. And then Susie was like improv or anything that's performance based. Like, you know, there's an audience that could be a huge barrier. Personally, I love an audience. I'm a big old ham for attention, so it doesn't bother me. But I know it's a big thing for everyone. And I would say remember that for one, no one here is forcing enough to be an actor at the end of this. Or, you know, like, okay, once you do improv, you're on stage for life and this and that. It is something we're working towards, but it could be also just for you and your classmates and that's okay. And lastly, I would say also this performance is that if you think of why you would go to an improv show, you're there, you want to have a good time, probably want to laugh and you're not going to sit there and think, okay, so I want to scrutinize every thing they're doing on stage because that's what's going to be fun for me. Odds are you're not doing that. You're there, open minded and just ready to smile and to laugh with everyone else in the crowd. And so remember that from the other side, everyone who is in the crowd isn't your opponent, they're not against you, therefore you're there with you there, just another player on the team. They're just not the ones spitting out lines.

Yeah, I think I would agree with that. Seeing shows is obviously the best way to, to get entrenched in. That's a lot of the time. The way people are like that seems kind of fun. And then a lot of time you have hosts that are like, guess what, we have classes because this is fun and it's not inaccessible to you. And then once you start taking class, I mean, you can take an intro class for free pretty much anywhere because they know that you're going to get hooked after that first one. And even if all you're in it for is just to be silly once a week. I've had classmates that are like that. They're like, I don't want to perform on stage. I'm not really interested in a social aspect. All I want to do is be silly in a classroom with people once a week. If that's what your goal is, guess what, you can do that and that's fine. Nobody's going to shame you for that, nor blame you. I get that. But I would highly recommend for you to at least try stepping on stage once in a while, even if you're scared because you're. You'll be surprised at. At how easily you can rise to the occasion, especially when you're in a room of people that you trust.

Yeah. And it's totally fine to be scared. I almost felt like throwing that upon that last performance. I don't know why I've been getting so in my head in this class. It's great. I mean, I think I do know I'm learning a lot about myself, but it's okay. It's just getting comfortable with the discomfort and knowing you're going to push through it. And then when you push through it, it's going to feel so good. It was weird, too, because I've done comedy stuff, and it's like 150 people are there, and I'm fine. I'm still nervous, but I'm not as nervous. And this one we. There's only like, 10 people there, and I wanted to throw up, but then it's exhilarating. I guess if I was a skydiver, it'd be the same kind of thing. You get this adrenaline rush when you get to do something like that.

It's fun working towards something, too. As far as having live shows, if you feel like you're able to put these things into practice, it's going to make your training more rewarding.

Yeah. What do you think about. So when people watch the shows, it is a little intimidating because you guys are really good. When I watch you, that's where I think I get in my head, too, because everyone's so good and I'm like, just, somebody sucked, please. And so how do you get that? Because you're so supportive and so encouraging and so loving. And I know everyone's like that in improv. And so how do you get someone to just understand it's okay to suck, or it's okay to not know what you're going to say. It's okay to freeze. It's okay to do all these things because. What did you say earlier? Gabriel, what is the risk?

Things are so low. Right.

Things are so low in improv, it's ridiculous. Yeah. And it is funny because in everyone being supportive and in being super encouraging, I guess know that at least in the group of people we have, you know, none of it's disingenuous. It's not like, oh, I think you did something wrong, but I'm not going to tell you because I want you to feel good. No. Everyone has room for constructive criticism and I don't think anyone's holding that back. We just all genuinely like what each other's doing.

When you watch the shows, it could be intimidating because everyone is so good and you could say, oh, I could never do that. That's what happens. People are like, I could never. I mean, Toastmasters. Oh, I could never speak like that. I'm not going to do Toastmasters or insert whatever it is. Oh, it could never be funny like that. So I'm not going to even try improv. How do you get someone just past that little thing just so they could know that it's worth it, just to try it and see if you even like it?

I think you have to assess your goal. I think because you can do that with, with anything. You can be like, I want to be. I want to be an architect, but I'll never be able to be Frank Lloyd Wright, so why start? You're like, that's a crazy way to think. If you want to be an architect and you believe that it'll be fulfilling, then that you should do that. And I don't view improv any differently. If you feel like getting out of your comfort zone is something that would be positive for you, mentally, go for it. If you feel like being in a social circle that is outside of your normal friend group or your family, then I say go for it. I think there's so many things on that checklist where you just need to check one of them and you're like, then you should go for it. And you can choose whatever your improv journey looks like. You don't need to be doing jams every week or anything like that. I encourage you to, but you don't need to do that. You don't need to be that kind of improviser. You just. I think it would be good just one foot in front of the other. A lot of the time early on, for me, I would say that the, the hardest part was actually driving to the building because everything before that, I'm like, just agonizing about it. I'm like, I just have to get out there. I have to get up there. And I hate driving there, I hate showing up, I hate tacking on a smell when I walk through the door. But then five minutes into the first exercise, I'm like, now I remember why I came. And if you can keep that mentality every single week, it makes it easier.

Yeah. And if you think of super famous people in X activity. If you think Arthur Franklin.

Right.

There's only so many people who are going to gain fame and ratty from any individual thing, but there are plenty of people that do it anyway. The success of the action is the action itself. It's in the doing of the thing, not in the notoriety or the reputation that follows. If that's your motivation, then fine. But maybe, I guess think about that. But everyone who we've met that's doing improv, no one's there to become famous. Everyone's there to do improv.

Yeah. Which means that it is a safe place. And so if you just even go and you don't even talk, it's fine. They're supportive of that. They even let you take a break if you want. And I love what you said earlier, Seth, with the agonizing. I go through that where sometimes when I'm doing something uncomfortable, I do. It's exhausting to get up and go. I don't want to go. And I'm whining to myself. But once I'm there, whatever it is, working out, improv, whatever. Once I'm there doing it, I'm totally so happy. But I think a lot of people think sometimes it's hard to just get up and do it. But once you get there, the momentum sort of takes you in, and then that's where the play comes in. All right, guys, so I would love to hear your number one piece of advice for. For the listeners on doing the thing.

Interesting. I guess what comes to mind is in order to do the thing, and to do the thing well, you should really understand why you want to do the thing. And if you can figure that out and know that, hey, I'm gonna do this because I want to get out of my head if I want to just have fun and let that be your guide as you're doing your thing, then you're gonna keep yourself on the right path for yourself.

I'm going to go with. And this is a little confusing because we haven't learned it in this improv class, but I've learned it in previous ones. So editing scenes is part of what improvisers do. So tagouts and sweeps are the main two edits, meaning you can tag someone out and become a new character to that character. And then sweeps are where you end the scene for them. One of the tips that I got early on in improv that has been true not just in improv, but for most of my life since is trust your feet. Meaning if you feel like the scene should End. Don't think it should end, just end it. So if you're standing on the side and you're like, oh, I feel like this is the joke to go out on. A lot of the time you'll see people leaning off the wall. They're starting to lean forward. And I get. I'd have teachers, they're seeing me doing this, like I'm a sprinter or something. And they're like, trust your feet. Just if you're leaning in already, that means you should have edited the scene. Meaning your body almost knows what to do before your brain does. Almost. And I feel like that's been true in my life in other places. So I'm like, I. I feel especially anxious this week. So it means I should definitely try to get to some more improv. That's the easiest way to do the thing is just trust yourself. It goes with the tie in with what we were saying about trusting your instincts. If it feels like you should be doing it, you should probably be doing it.

I feel like I need to ask you this question. So what do you think about improv? Helps with anxiety.

It doesn't let your subconscious get in the way. So depressed people live in the past, anxious people live in the future, and they both have trouble being present. And improv requires you to be present constantly to the point where you don't have time to think about what's happening in the future or in the past. You have to think about what's happening right now. And it's oftentimes the only time I notice I'm doing that. With the sole exception of also playing sports, because I play hockey. I think similar to what Gabriel was saying about playing football, when you're on the ice, the only thing I'm thinking about is where the puck is. I'm not thinking about the fact that I'm late on bills. I'm not thinking about the fact that I have this big project at work. I'm just thinking about where the puck is. And I think I do the same thing for improv. I'm like, I'm worrying about what's happening in this scene, and the more I can do that, the better off I am, mental health wise.

What else is coming alive for you guys right now? After having this conversation, I feel like.

I need to go to another jam. Yeah, I gotta practice what I preach.

Yeah, maybe you want to do a little more from it. Also making me want to find more places to do karaoke, because I get a similar type of joy from being on stage doing karaoke. That I.

Let's make it happen.

Yeah, I know.

I'm in it. I'm in it.

I love it. We're co creating the karaoke moment right here. Well, you guys want to share where people can follow along with you? Is there any place that they can see what you're doing and what you're up to?

I would just say check out the theater. You'll see me around the theater. I don't just stop off at Finest City, but I go to Mockingbird too. They have some great shows if you've never been there. It's a different flavor of improv, but it's worth seeing.

Yeah. If any chance to go down for me, I'm kind of just at Finest City right now, but I'm trying to go there at least once a week to watch shows, so catch me there. I guess. If we're also talking socials and following, then my Instagram is @Jacques trap, spelled J, A, U, Q, U, E, S, C, R, A, P, P, E. That's me everywhere on the Internet. If you want to find me on Discord or Xbox or anything else, that'll be it. I also, I mean, I'm really making it right now, but I have 12 episodes of my own podcast that was out that's called the Third Seat. You still hear me BS around with a few of my pals, then by all means, check that out.

I love hearing you talk about your podcast because you're really private about it in a way, because it's just something that you. Because every time I've tried to ask any questions about your podcast, you're like, I don't know. Me and my friends are just talking. And I love that. That's exactly what I love about a podcast. Right. It's just having conversations with people. And then I also really liked that you said yours are in real life. So it gives you that intentional time to be with people in person and be able to do it in that way, so. Well. Cool. Well, thanks, you guys. Appreciate you coming on.

Yeah, of course.

Thanks for inviting us. This is awesome.

And for the listeners, do the thing. Don't wait for opportunity, create it.