#23 Immortality & breakfast cereals
Issue #23 Immortality & breakfast cereals
17th August 2022
Greetings, wonderfolk.
So it's been an odd week. I'm still testing positive for COVID although I feel fine in myself. I want to say thanks to everyone who reached out to see how I was, I really appreciated it.
It's strange to be locked in the house again. I decided to use the time to finally get my website published.
(Well, to be strictly accurate, I first used the time to binge entire seasons of Fboy Island and Instant Dream Home but once I got my energy back I was all about that web design).
Way back in issue #7 of the newsletter, I said:
My website has been under construction for about 9 months now. I've resolved to publish it by the end of May so I'm asking you, dear readers, to keep me honest with that pledge. I'll share a viable product in the last Improv Fables of May or you have my permission to give me a VERY stern look.
Haha! That did not happen. But today I'm pleased to say that I am able to share a working version of chrismead.co and ... I really like it.
You can see all my upcoming shows here.
And I've collected every class, course and online workshop I'm teaching in one place here.
If you're an existing team, and want my help as a coach, you can also get in touch with me here.
It's all very exciting and now I've spent the time getting it up to date, I've got big plans to expand and curate more content. Please do have a look if you've got a moment, it's taken me more hours than I care to count. I'm also very up for kindly critical feedback. What can I improve?
Meanwhile, I'd also like to recommend the following...
Rule of three
[TV] The Sandman
I was obsessed with The Sandman comic when I was a teenager. It was like nothing else on the shelves. It was about everything - dreams, myths, religion, art, humanity, immortality & breakfast cereals. To this day, each of my Apple products are named after a different member of the Endless - is it weird that my AirPods are called Death? Yes, it definitely is. Anyway, bearing in mind it came out in the 80s, the TV adaptation has been a long time coming. I was ... mistrustful that it could be done well. But I was pleasantly surprised. It's not perfect (and some aspects of the source material haven't aged well) but it is very definitely The Sandman - and that's enough for me right now. Check it out on Netflix and I've also linked to one of my favourite (standalone) issues of the original run - The Sound of Her Wings.
[Game] Squirrel with a Gun
There's a new game coming out soon where you play a squirrel with a gun. A normal squirrel. Carrying a full-sized gun. The trailer came out this week and the internet lost its mind.
[Video] Rube Goldberg machines
I've always loved Rube Goldberg machines - where, for example, a piece of toast is launched onto a seesaw, causing a clockwork mouse to pop a balloon full of glitter, triggering ... well, you get the idea. I even created an improv warm-up out of the concept. Here are a couple of my favourites and yes, I ABSOLUTELY would LOVE you to share more with me.
Giant | Funny | Honda | Classic
(Also, Instant Dream Home is actually good. Especially the one where they make the treehouse.)
Spotlight
This week I want to turn the spotlight on my wonderful friend, Vinny François and his incredible organisation, Improv College. There are so many improvisers around the world who don't have access to regular teaching or coaching and Improv College, as a proudly online-first organisation, is doing astonishing things to bridge that gap. It's a 10 month programme where you play with the same people for the duration, building real community and connection between your fellow players. Vinny is amongst the best of the best - both as an improviser and a human being - it's a real opportunity to be able to study with someone of his calibre. This season there are comedy, drama, narrative and audio-only improv teams, so there's definitely something for everyone.
With tiered pricing, scholarships for equity-seeking communities and pricing for international students, his aim is to remove financial barriers for anyone who wants to learn improv.
I can't recommend this opportunity highly enough. I was on an Improv College team in 2020 and I learned a huge amount. It was invariably the highlight of my week.
Applications for 2022/23 are currently open and close on 29th August so don't wait around.
PS - My own A Face for Radio! workshop series with Queen City Comedy is now open for bookings. Last week when I plugged it ticketing hadn't opened, so I thought I'd give it another push? THANKS!
Longform thoughts
"But as a Black woman, on the side of the stage, when I’m waiting to go in, I’m not just watching and listening. I’m filtering, and filtering, and filtering again. And when I’ve finally filtered out the experiences that I’d have to explain, I go in and do the best I can to help my team put on a successful show."
What with all the COVID and building the website, I didn't have time to write an essay this week but luckily the wonderful David Escobedo recommended this compelling piece by Bianca Nkwonta which brilliantly unpacks some of the complexity surrounding making improv more diverse.
Radio days
New harness, who dis? (It's Radio)