#69 Sleepy little town
Issue #69 Sleepy little town
5th July 2023
Happy July everyone!
I've had a great week - working again with the team at OM Studios to introduce the tenets of improv to a talented cohort of voice actors. It was such a privilege to see how improv could be used in innovative ways to allow characters to leap off the page more vividly. We've got another sold out course in a few weeks but please sign up to the waiting list if you're interested in lending your voice to a video game. I'm really keen to do more of this work. It's fascinating.
In other news, I went to see the phenomenal A Strange Loop at the Barbican and took my Farnham improv students to see Bristol's mighty Degrees of Error when they toured Murder, She Didn't Write to our sleepy little town. I loved showing them what improv was capable of with such extensive experience and trust.
But that's not all, dear friends ...
Rule of three
[Improv] TJ & Dave
TJ & Dave, who I've previously recommended in these very pages, are coming to London in September for 5 nights only at the Soho Theatre. They are also playing the Teachers Club in Dublin on 11th September. I sincerely believe them to be among the best improvisers ever to walk the Earth. I can't recommend them highly enough. And if you can't see them live, their Vimeo series is available to everyone.
[Creativity] Ethan Hawke
There are a lot of TED talks at this point. And a lot of those TED talks are about creativity in one form or another. But I found this one by Hawke particularly rewarding.
[Story] The Lottery
Shirley Jackson's short story The Lottery was written 75 years ago last June. It remains incredibly powerful and still depressingly relevant. It first appeared in The New Yorker and you can read a re-published version here. Use your trusty 12ft ladder if you've already used your quota of free articles this month.
Spotlight
I'll be teaching a FREE Parkprov scenes & Long-form session in Hyde Park this Sunday for Hoopla Impro, ahead of the annual BIG HOOPLA SUMMER PICNIC for the rest of the day. It's always so nice when lots of improvisers get together. Hope to see you there. We can talk about the weather. Radio will also be in attendance.
Longform thoughts
If someone makes you feel a bit odd, or a bit bad, and you can’t quite put your finger on why, this is a blog for you. If you’ve heard rumours but they just don’t jibe with your personal experience of someone, this blog is for you. If you’ve always had great experiences and are 100% sure nobody in your community is an issue, this blog is for you. And if you’re struggling to find your personal stance on how we as a community should proceed, this blog is for you.
Today, I wanted to link to Stephen Davidson's newly published blog on How to spot someone problematic. I think this is a hugely important issue and deserves our attention.
Radio contact
Radio looks into your soul.