#28 The big announcement
Issue #28 The big announcement
The 21st night of September 2022
Hi everyone.
So the big announcement.
I'm writing a book.
And I need your help.
Seth Godin says the main reason to write a book is to clarify your own thinking on a subject. And I've been thinking about improv since I saw my first longform show at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2001.
But I love stories. I love their power. And a function of stories historically was to educate - to teach you something about being a better person.
Don't judge someone solely by their appearance.
Build your life on firm foundations.
If Grandma has radically changed her look, maybe don't get into bed with her...?
Which got me thinking - perhaps I could tell stories that made people better improvisers?
And that's when the idea for Improv Fables took shape in my mind. The book I'm proposing will be a collection of short, weird, funny stories but with a discussion of the improv theory behind them in the back matter.
The moral of the story becomes the improv lesson.
And I want the stories themselves to stand on their own two feet, so that even if you don't care about improv (?) they're still a fun read.
That's the idea in a nutshell. And as of this week I'm launching a new tier of the newsletter to help me write it.
If you join me on this book-writing journey, you'll get the following:
One extra email at the end of each month with a chapter from the new book. I'm working with Buttondown (my brilliant newsletter provider) to enable comments on the online version of these posts - so subscribers will hopefully be able to interact and discuss the ideas in more detail.
I'm going to put my Improv Exercise Master List into this tier and commit to growing the database by at least one exercise per week.
There'll be EXTRA Radio pictures (I mean, why not?)
Finally, taking my cue from a popular feature Katy and I ran in the days of the International Improv Station - I'm going to restart Improv Office Hours. That means every other Friday from 10-11am (UK time) I'll be sitting on a Zoom call, ready to discuss any aspect of improv you would like to chat about. I've missed doing this so much and am really glad I get the chance to reinstate it. We don't even have to talk about improv - it's more a life, the improv and everything kind of vibe.
I'm also planning a bunch of extra perks like lesson plans, secret classes and maybe even shows but they'll be a little further down the line once I've settled into the workflow.
I'm working on a Pay What You Want model. If you enjoy what I do here, and want to support me to write more, then you can do that. I'm suggesting a donation of £5 a month but really you can pay whatever suits you - and that includes nothing at all. Yep, you can access everything in the new tier for free - all I ask is that you commit some time each month to helping me write the best book I possibly can.
Oh, and the main newsletter will come out every Wednesday as normal, no change there.
So there we have it. The masterplan. Hopefully a way to help me focus on writing AND keep me honest by giving me regular deadlines to hit.
So how do you upgrade?
To subscribe to the new tier visit - https://buttondown.email/mrchrismead and enter the email address with which you already subscribe to the newsletter. If you have cookies enabled, you might not even need to enter your email again. Buttondown will walk you through the process from there.
For fun, let's say the first 10 people to subscribe at the £5 per month level or above gets a free signed copy of the book when I publish it. That sounds fair.
And if you'd like to do the free version and commit to feeding back on my drafts then please just reply to this email and I'll enable all the premium features for you.
Finally, thank you from the bottom of my heart to anyone who has read this far and that goes double for anyone who ultimately decides to take this journey with me.
I am so excited and so scared and I can't wait to get started.
Rule of three
[Magic] Sleight of hand
I've always enjoyed Penn & Teller when I've stumbled across them on YouTube. But this sleight of hand routine is truly remarkable. And the trick gets even better when they show you how it's done. PS if you like that, here's a throwback to an early appearance on SNL that is literally revolutionary.
[Book] Project Hail Mary
Loved The Martian so knew I'd dig this new novel by Andy Weir. It has the same mix of nerdy science and geeky humour as its predecessor. And the big bad is a single-celled organism that eats stars.
[Newsletter] Recomendo
Love this newsletter. Always something interesting to read, watch or buy. Mostly buy for me. I have to stop that.
Radio days
The last days of summer.
(and the newsletter will be back to it's regular format next week - thanks for reading!)