Creativity & Performance

Here's something I notice teaching improv. When a student makes a character choice, there's always a moment of hesitation. A half second where they could pull back, soften it, make it safer. And sometimes they do. But when they don't and they commit fully, that's when the scene comes alive. What Commitment Looks Like Onstage In improv there's no script and no safety net. The only thing that makes a character real is you deciding they're real and then acting like it. If you're

Here's a quick scene for you. Two improvisers walk on stage. One of them launches into a passionate monologue about the mating habits of penguins. It's weird. It's specific. It's kind of brilliant. The other improviser nods, steps in, and says, "Dr. Kowalski, the board of the Antarctic Zoological Society is waiting for your report." That's support. And that second improviser just made the whole thing work. You see this all the time in improv. The funniest person on stage isn'

Let me tell you something I wish someone had told me ten years ago: you're taking this way too seriously. And by "this" I mean everything, your job, your relationships, your side hustle, your fitness journey, your Instagram aesthetic, the way you frame every conversation like it's a negotiation. You've turned your life into a strategic plan and somewhere along the way you forgot that living is supposed to be part of it. I know because I've been there. Twenty-plus years as an

You Don't Need to Feel Ready. You Just Need to Start. Most of us wait for a feeling before we act. I'll speak up when I feel more confident. I'll apply when I feel ready. I'll start when the fear goes away. But here's what improv taught me: that gap never closes on its own. You have to walk through it. The Waiting Trap The Gap: Most people think "I'll do it when I feel ready." But readiness is a myth. The gap between how you feel and what you're capable of is wider than you t

You are sitting in the waiting room. Again. Not a real one. The one in your head. It is the space between the thing you want and the thing you are afraid to start. The space between the stage and the wings, between the blank page and the first word, between the idea and the offer. Most people live their whole lives in this room. Improv taught me something surprising about waiting. In improv, we have a name for this. We call it being in your head. It is the moment before the s

You're staring at your screen. There's a half-written draft staring back at you. Maybe it's a post, a script, or an idea you typed out at 2 AM that now looks ridiculous in the light of day. You're about to delete it. Don't. Here's what nobody tells you about creative work: the draft you want to delete is usually the one that matters most, because it's the one that's actually alive. It's rough, unpolished, sitting out in the open waiting for someone to say something about it.

Improv, short for improvisational theater, is an exciting art form that thrives on spontaneity, creativity, and collaboration. At its...