#155 Spark new fires
Steel. Samurai. Speech. Survival.
26 FEBRUARY 2025
Hi there.
I’m writing this newsletter at 7am on the day I’m sending it. It’s the first time this year it’s been light outside as I woke. From my window I can see a world picked out in shades of cream, pink and mauve.
Radio is sitting on my lap and keeps trying to settle his chin down on my arm as I type.
And I’ve just read that there’s a baby, born late last year, called Ronin Hawk - who is the actual grandson of Tony Hawk AND Kurt Cobain.
I’m feeling very inspired and lucky. IMPRO Amsterdam always makes me feel like this - full of hope and creativity. To my fellow festival ensemble, I wrote:
Being in any ensemble is an honour. It’s my favourite thing about improv - co-created spaces, stories that surprise the storytellers in the telling, I move because you moved. It’s a mode of being that feels vanishingly rare and vastly precious … And this is how we‘ll steal the world back from the dead-eyed and the AI-ed - by stringing together moments of quiet wonder. We were an ensemble once and now we scatter to the four horizons carrying the embers of it to spark new fires.
It’s that kind of day. A new beginning, a chance to discover your world anew.
Rule of three
[Fantasy] The Mistborn Trilogy
I very rarely re-read books, let alone trilogies (there are so many books to read, it turns out) but I’ve thoroughly enjoying sinking back into the story of Vin, who can burn metals internally and gain superpowers. Fantasy novels can be slow and ponderous - this one moves like flung steel, hits like a polished duelling cane and riots your emotions throughout.
[TV] Shōgun
One episode in and I was completely besotted. Not a historical time or place in which I’ve personally seen many stories told - and Ancient Japan is obviously THE BEST. Everything from the acting to the effects work is top notch and that’s before the samurai start being total badasses.
[Acting] Speaking the Speech
Or to give it its full name Speaking The Speech: An Actor's Guide To Shakespeare by Giles Block. I’ve been devouring this since the brilliant Jennifer Jordan recommended it and it absolutely fascinates me. Block is particularly concerned with letting the text live in the moment, to use breath and tempo as if the words are coming to you as you speak them. That, he concludes, is the mark of a truly great actor. And I’m all like BUT WE GET THAT FOR FREE IN IMPROV. So that’s fun!
Spotlight
I’m launching a Pretend Night in Farnham on 16th March 2025. I’m really hoping some of you might come and spend the day in Farnham with me (it’s about 1 hour out from London Waterloo and then the venue is 5-10 min walk from the station). Schedule will look like this:
11am-4pm Stupidly Theatrical
This will be a 5 hour workshop (incl. 30 mins break) where I’ll go through all my tools for creating scenes that are not only beautiful and theatrical but silly and funny too. I’m really excited about this theme - I love relationship-based stuff but I never want to lose the fun. It’ll be £50 for the day and includes a ticket for the show in the evening as part of the package (like at London Pretend Night).
6pm-8pm The VERY FIRST EVER Pretend Night Farnham
This will be a show portion of the day. First half will be a themed-improv jam (some games but a lot of open scene work too) based around the style I taught earlier in the day. Then the second half will be like all the other Pretend Night shows - an ensemble of improv veterans doing beautiful, well-paced theatrical improv. £10 to watch the whole thing or play in the jam if you so desire.
You can buy tickets for just the show here.
Finally
There’s just ONE day left before the applications close to work with me in Amsterdam for three days and create a NEW theatrical format you can take back to your home community. I’m so thankful to Flock Festival for giving me this opportunity and really excited to go deep and nerdy with a really focussed and select group of performers.
Read all about it and apply here (applications close 27 Feb)
Longform thoughts
There are some well-known teachers whose workshops sell out within minutes of the festival website being updated (we all know the names). BUT oftentimes the real workshop gold lies with improviser who are teaching something ultra-specific that they love and have a particular passion for.
Read my hard won improv festival wisdom by perusing my Improv festival survival guide.
I was reliably informed by multiple people at IMPRO Amsterdam last week that it wasn’t clear that this section ALWAYS links to a full essay I’ve written for the newsletter. So click that link to see the full thing. And there’s an archive of past essays here.
Radio contact
A family reunited.
Engaging in Paper io reminds me of the pure fun of retro arcade games combined with modern competitive twists. The game’s balance of simplicity and depth invites endless replayability, forcing me to continually adapt and perfect my strategies. I feel a genuine sense of achievement every time I successfully secure a vast territory under pressure.