#18 A telekinetic badger made entirely of lasers
Issue #18 A telekinetic badger made entirely of lasers
13th July 2022
Greetings, artists and dreamers!
Well, it got a little COVIDy in the Mead household this week.
Luckily, I decided to continue with an earlier decision I had made not to get it - which turned out to be the right choice as Laura has not enjoyed the experience at all.
She's on the mend now but her illness has necessitated a quieter week for me as I mopped her fevered brow, worked out how to stream The Great Canadian Baking Show (shout out to host and improv chum Ann Pornel) and made endless rounds of Marmite toast.
Let's do some recommendations.
Rule of three
[TV] Key & Peele
We're studying Jordan Peele as part of Improv Cinema Club and this has given us all an excuse to share our favourite Key & Peele sketches. I was introduced to this brilliant Les Mis skit and was able to share my own favourites - A Cappella, Gremlins 2 and, of course, Anger Translator.
[Thoughts] Comparison
"Comparison is the death of joy" wrote Mark Twain. I'm not sure I've ever heard a truer adage. Except maybe when Teddy Roosevelt said "Comparison is the thief of joy"? I just can't decide which one said it better. Haha! I always make that joke. Although I've just found out that neither of them said anything of the sort. Anyway, this twitter comment thread about making comparisons has loads of great thoughts on the matter (and some idiotic ones too - it is twitter after all).
[Video] Multiverse skateboarding
Check out this amazing skate video where the filmmaker has overlayed all the times the skater fails the trick onto the final success. It's absolutely beautiful - and eloquently illustrates an old improv truism that failure often creates the more interesting choice.
Spotlight
I've been working with Safe Play since 2020. Our aim is to create a safer space for the European improv community. We hope to be a resource for those with a similar mission at a local level, as well as those dealing with sexual misconduct and sexual assault personally. On our website you can find a range of materials, as well as a form if you'd like to share your story. We're not a professional survivors network but we do want to walk alongside those who have been affected by these kind of situations. Our sincere hope is that the future of our art form can adhere ever more closely to its founding principles of trust, support and collaboration so that even more people get to play.
Longform thoughts
Thanks so much for all the engagement around last week's Seven habits of highly effective improvisers. And welcome to all the new subscribers who joined off the back of it. I'll be diving into each tool in more detail over the next 7 issues.
This week: Build from you
"Usually I’m playing a robot or a space invader or a telekinetic badger made entirely of lasers. And yet those characters often like tea. Because I like tea."
Again, this is a live conversation, and I'd love to discuss it further with anyone who wants to reply to this email. I've already made a few changes to the original article after some amazing discussions with fellow improvisers. I really appreciate you taking the time to help me make this better. Thank you.
Radio days
Radio flashback. This is the day we met.