#52 I am so sick
Issue #52 I am so sick
8th March 2023
I am so sick.
I fell afoul of some melting pot mega-bug created by too many improvisers being in the same place in Amsterdam. I haven't felt this bad in years.
Which is a long way of saying this will be a short newsletter.
I haven't done much except continued to watch the US Office and nostalgically looked up all the YouTube clips they referenced.
Rule of three
[Event] International Women's Day
I couldn't send a newsletter today without celebrating the fact it's International Women's Day. It's worth saying that many of the skills that make one a great improviser - listening, support, empathy, humility - are attributes that we have often gendered as feminine. Many women have had to become experts in all these disciplines, simply to exist in the world. When I think of my favourite improvisers globally - they are overwhelmingly women. I briefly considered trying to name them all but knew I'd only miss someone out. What's important is that we seek to reflect this excellence at the highest levels of our art form - festivals, schools, conferences, shows - we need to promote and champion these incredible artists and performers. We need to give them visibility. International Women's Day is about equity at a global level. We should all be working towards that collectively, but even more urgently in spheres we can directly affect.
[Book] You Are Not Alone
Case in point. I'm proud to know some of the world's greatest improvisers. But for me, if I had to pick the greatest of all time, that person would be Cariad Lloyd. Cariad is a phenomenon - and you can hear more about her personal philosophy of improv on YesBot. She's also just had a book published about grief, based on her award-winning podcast, Griefcast. You Are Not Alone has been getting great reviews and I can't wait to read it. Excellent work, Cariad.
[TV] Shrinking
The Ted Lasso team have done it again. This new show starring Harrison Ford and Jason Segel nails that perfect mix of funny, painful, deep and breezy. It deals with themes of trauma, loss, reinvention and mental health and it's just so beautifully put together. It's on Apple TV if you have it.
Spotlight
Last week, I teased a weekend improv intensive in April. I'm pleased to say it got an extremely strong response and so I put tickets for the Improv Fables Weekend Intensive online this morning. Astonishingly, I've already sold over half the places just from people who expressed an interest last week. So if you'd like to spend a whole weekend with me, exploring storytelling, creating improvised folk tales and generally performing some grounded, emotionally-connected scene work, read all the details here.
Radio days
Radio was pleased to see us after 8 days away.