Blog Archives
Anybody Else Hear a Cowbell? It’s Coming From That Hot Tub. Hey, Someone Brought BBQ Ribs & Budweiser!
Will Ferrell is returning to 30 Rock (the building, not the show) to host this weekend’s episode of Saturday Night Live with musical guest Chris Stapleton. And this blog post will ask just one question:
What’s your favorite Will Ferrell sketch?
Okay, that’s an unfair question.
The correct answer is Will Ferrell on SNL What is Will Ferrell on SNL.
IMPROVing How Knowledge Speaks to Us (& to Others)
Have you ever wondered how to attempt accents from places in and around the British Isles?
Well then, you’re in luck.
A valuable element of life is the pursuit of knowledge on a continuous, daily basis. The exciting part about this relentless educational adventure is that the new information is boundless, meaning there is no limit to what can and should be learned. Nobody knows everything for every single present and future moment.
Except maybe Ben Stein.
As a matter of fact, engaging with and encouraging the introduction of non-traditional knowledge is where genuine creativity lives and breaths.
Here’s a quick tutorial of accents by actor and famed impressionist Tom Hiddleston.
As an improv actor and student, I can say with confidence that, despite your skepticism, you’ll discover a valuable use and surprising moment for knowing how to properly speak with the accents showcased in the video above. Sooner or later.
I bet you’re already chuckling at a time and place to utilize one of those accents.
Happy Monday!
Laughter is the best medicine…unless you have the world’s worst dentist.
However, if you’re at an improv comedy show, you actually want to hear about the “world’s worst dentist.” Plus, you want to see a driver pick-up the strangest hitchhikers and witness an interrogation for the most random murder you never thought was possible.
This is exactly what happened (and so much more) at the Improv Workshop Graduation at the Columbus Funny Bone club, which included yours truly within a very talented, hilarious group of improvisers. And everybody showed up yesterday under the bright lights and gave the audience entertaining performances with lots of laughs.
As I work on posting the video footage from this improvisational showcase (thanks Mom for recording!), let’s take a look at two improvising favorites. This is, according to the video, the first time Whose Line Is It Anyway? comedic giant Ryan Stiles did a skit with his hair-impaired friend Colin Mochrie. They do shake hands as if meeting for the first time.
In improv, you want to add a new twist that takes a common activity or profession to the next level. Evidenced by the clip below, Ryan Stiles and Colin Mochrie have been doing exactly that from the very beginning.
Big thanks again to my parents for coming to the show and a standing ovation for my incredible classmates and our great improv teacher, Jeff Gage.
Happy Monday!
This past Saturday night, I saw the Second City touring company with my improv group: A Group of Strangers. The 2-hour show (a mixture of sketch comedy and improvisation) was incredible. The scenes were clever and laugh-out-loud hilarious. Plus, the writing was superb. There was never any doubt that professionals were on stage. And they did impressive research on Columbus. There was no better evidence of this than a dinner meeting between a husband and wife who were die hard Ohio State fans (so, normal OSU fans) and their daughter’s new boyfriend: a fan of that Team Up North.
Quite frankly, it was all too real!
The improv was remarkably quick, smooth and funny when reacting to random suggestions from the audience and themselves. Doing improvisational comedy is immensely difficult. It requires extensive training and practice and takes a lot of hard work to make it look easy. There is no time for silence, breaking character or the word “no,” so it was a special sight to see masters of this craft at work.
Speaking of which, here a couple Second City alums (if only the public knew their comedic talents) who got together at their old training grounds a few years back…
Have a Happy Monday…Yes, And a Great Week!