improv is good for you*

Jan. 30, 2007
Actors perform scenes from classic plays, then improvise new scenes as these characters very literally cross each others’ paths — it’s culture and comedy in one delicious meal. Trainwreck features Justin Akin, Chris Caniglia, Kevin Cragg, Ali Farahnakian, Michele Medlin, Rylan Morrison, Ashley Ward and Matt Zander. Directed by David Levin.
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The first time I ever saw long-form improv, I wrote down the date in a notebook.
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Jan. 17, 2007
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Today marks one year of improv-comedy training at The People’s Improv Theater. I will say, with no exaggeration, that 2006 has been one of the best years of my life, largely because I have met some truly awesome people along this journey. I think New York City’s greatest irony is that despite a population of 18.7 million (8.1 million in Manhattan), it can by incredibly difficult to meet new people. But on an improv stage, you’re taught from the outset NOT to be strangers, but instead to “know each other” in the scene. So much of my day-to-day is a circuit of events: Wake up, shower, walk to the subway, wait in the same spot on the platform, get coffee at 11:30am — you know the drill. But with improv, the moment a scene starts, I don’t know what’s next. The “what” may be good, bad, funny, not funny — but it’s not yet determined. And in some lucky cases, the “what” is already there, waiting to be found. Tonight is my 40th and final official improv class at the PIT, and on Thursday my classmates will perform one last time under the mantle of Level 5 students. And, yes, improv fans, my classmates and I have seen dozens of faces, and we’ve rocked them all.
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