Got Your Back

We sat down for a chat with Amy Jordan of the New Movement Theater in Austin, TX.    Amy can be found teaching, directing, writing, performing, and generally doing it all at numerous venues in Austin. We covered a lot of ground in this interview from specifics about her teaching philosophy to asking her to reflect back to when we were improv students, and what questions we had at that time...   Also remember to check out our Comedy Nerd-out featuring 13 speeches from some great local comedy minds.    Featured song in this episode Carbonation By Enon

In the midst of a summer project KC and I sat down for a quick episode about what's been on my mind this week. Namely, bios and bailing.   As the artistic director of ColdTowne I am blessed with the task of reviewing submissions for stage time, and I wanted to share some opinions about the tendencies I've noticed.    We also take a few minutes in this episode to talk about bailing in improv. Worse than a mere lack of commitment, giving up entirely is not at all uncommon in improv...and so we had a brief conversation about bailing and where the impulse comes from.   We're excited to tease some big news in this episode as well, but that will have to wait until it is ready to give you the full scoop. So for now, a vague reference is all we can offer.   Have a good summer, and get those backs.   This episode's featured music is Lipstick Tree by Tipsy.

Every summer improvisers from around the world spread their wings and flock to the many summer intensives offered by theaters like IO, UCB, and Second City. This summer a dozen improvisers from Austin are all headed to the Annoyance Theater's week long summer intensive in Chicago, IL.  We sat down with Brian May, Matt Needles, Cortnie Jones, Lance Nealy, Frank Netscher, and Got Your Back's own KC Harvey-Taylor to talk about the upcoming trip. We cover what they're excited about, what they're nervous about, what they think they could use work on as improvisers, and we even were able to convince them to make some wild predictions about what might happen along the way.  The episode was fun, silly, honest and revealing.  If you would support this group they are hosting a fundraiser party where your donations will help cover their travel expenses. In exchange you can enjoy a live surf rock band, and enter to win some amazing prizes in a raffle (including headshots or a voice over dem

For as long as I've been involved with improv in Austin I've known Valerie Ward. She's a talented teacher of many levels and ages at the Hideout where she also can be found being a talented director, performer, and (as is a theme for our show) an all around wonderful person.  We talked with Valerie about the variety of things she's involved with, from being co-owner of the delicious (and highly recommended) vegan ice cream parlor, Sweet Ritual, to touring the world with her long running troupe P-graph. We also discuss her experience improvising for 42 consecutive hours in the Hideout's improv marathon, as well as the upcoming murder ballad inspired show she'll be directer there, A Deed So Dark.  Through all this we were able to cover a number of facets of Valerie's improv philosophy, and we can't thank her enough for taking time to be on our show. Her group P-graph can be seen performing every Friday at 10pm at the Hideout Theatre. The featured song this epis

The sass is on full blast in this episode of Got Your Back podcast!  I (Cody) asked KC if he'd like to do an episode called "you aren't listening" after becoming frustrated with some common patterns I've noticed in the improv I've been watching recently. So, we sat down for what was intended to be a short discussion on not listening...and it turned into one of our longer episodes. From not listening on-stage, to not listening off-stage, to not listening after the show at the bar/yogurt shop we covered the gamut of how this common problem manifest itself and how that effects a group/show/performer. Then we gave our advice and opinions on some possible solutions and exercises.  Many thanks are due to KC (as always) for keeping the episode positive and on track while I used the show as a platform to publicly grieve about some peeves.  The featured song this episode is "It's Up to You" By KVHW. Listen to this episode:here on ituneshere for direct download & androidor s

In this live episode we invited fellow ColdTowne instructor, Will Cleveland, to discuss the matter of improvising from your head vs improvising from your heart.   We talk about the pros and cons of each play style as well as what we feel the balance between the two might look like.    Then we end the show by taking a few questions from the audience.   Join us on June 7th at 7pm at ColdTowne Theater for our next live show!   Featured Song from the Menahan Street Band

A mainstay of the Austin improv community and a true hero of mine, Jericho Thorp, joins us in this episode. Jericho is a member of Midnight Society who perform weekly improv shows on Saturdays at 10pm at ColdTowne Theater. Midnight Society is one of the longest running groups in Austin (the second student group created out of ColdTowne conservatory). They're masters of improv, sketch on stage and on screen, commercials for this podcasts, and seemingly anything else that comes their way. I find Jericho to be a tremendous actor whose commitment and ability to believably portray characters both big and small is inspiring. He always seems to be having a good time, and his skill and energy often reminds me of why I love doing improv.  In this episode we talked with Jericho about character, commitment, and much much more.  Then to top it all off we played a great game that KC created where we improvise short scenes, and then talk about the process and why we made certain choices.Midnight Societ

This episode covers in detail the process of creating and putting on an improv show. From conception to closing night, KC and I did our best to describe the process.  If you're thinking about putting on an improv show, or any kind of show, our opinion is that you should go for it!  Particularly if you're new to the process or new to a city you might not know the ins and outs of exactly how show comes together or how they wind up on stage.  Don't worry though. The process isn't so complicated once you break it down...so, come on...it's time to have that talk about where improv shows come from.

  In this episode of Got Your Back podcast we broke down an elegant yet complex piece of improv wisdom, "eat the whole pizza".   We had a lot to say about the benefits of reacting to the last thing said, and really trying to "use the whole buffalo".   In part our theory is simple; if you react to what is already going on (ideally the last thing that was said or done) then you won't have to work to invent something to do next.   One thing we didn't talk about on the recording is how this reminds me of a Jason Shotts lesson I heard of second hand. Someone would say an opening line and then as a class they would ask 3 questions about that line: - What was just said? - What did they really mean? (subtext) - What else can we infer from that line?   If improvisers really took the time to use each line (or offer to include information added through physicality) they might realize the abundance of information in each move...and perhaps slow down some to use more of what is already there. &nbs

Listen to this episode for a detailed breakdown of why each of these books made our list of recommended reading for improvisers. Aerodynamics of Yes - by Christian Capozzoli Art by Committee: A guide to Advanced Improvisation - by Charna Halpern Bill Arnett's Improv Blog - blog by Bill Arnett Free Play: Improvisation in Life and Art - by Stephen Nachmanovitch Guru: My Days with Del Close - by Jeff Griggs Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai - by Yamamoto Tsunetomo Impro: Improvisation and the Theatre - by Keith Johnstone Impro for Storytellers - by Keith Johnstone Improv Nonsense - blog by Will Hines Improv Octopus - blog by Alex Berg Improvisation at the Speed of Life: The TJ and Dave Book - by Tj Jagodowski, David Pasquesi, & Amy Sedaris Improvise: Scene From The Inside Out - by Mick Napier Improvising Better: A Guide for the Working Improviser - by Jimmy Carrane & Liz Allen Jill Bernard's Small Cute Book of Improv - by Jill Bernard

  Bill Stern is an improviser currently living and performing in Chicago, whose comedy roots are based in Austin. He's also an incredibly charismatic performer that is one of my personal favorites to watch. Bill is a master of getting the audience to buy in... Normally we break the interview into two sections, but we got so carried away in the first section that we decided to just keep going. We covered a vast number of topics including a revival of the now one year old lost harold discussion with Chris Mckeever drawing on Bill's experience performing at IO Chicago. During the interview Bill ran K.C. and I through an exercise on air that blew our minds out of our butts.  Then to end the show everything went off the rails when I tried to have Bill play a poorly prepared game where he had to sniff out a fake band name from a list of other real band names. By the end of the game I was so amused/embarrassed that I completely lost my composure and became a gigglin

Nathan Sowell is one of my good friends, and a much sought after improviser in the Austin improv community. Nathan is a member of a number of groups including Nice Astronaut, Skutch, Fantastic Buddies and he is currently directing the upcoming My Step-Dad is a Genie. In this interview with Nathan we discussed his keen ability to make moves during a show that really help to give the show shape and keep things flowing. We also talked about Nathan's tendencies as a viciously supportive player, and the simple power of supporting your fellow improvisers. To end this episode we played the official comedy board game of the nationally franchised comedy club, "the improv". It was a weird look into the past... Commercial in this episode by Wink Planet. Reminder that our intro song is "It's Cool" by Joey Kendall. Who is also this week's featured artist, with his song "the closest things"

  David Hess is truly a renaissance man. Perhaps you've seen him improvising with groups including The Team and Glamping Trip, or acting in a local live stage version of the Ghostbusters, or acting online in something like the trailer for Hell No: The Sensible Horror Film, or even performing with one of his bands Supersonic Uke or Baby Got Bacteria... Hess' talent is multifaceted and undeniable. So, we were thrilled to have him in the Got Your Back studio for an interview. We discussed his philosophies for his various projects, and how he has managed to stay busy without stretching himself so thin as to dilute his work. We also had a lengthy conversation about finding your voice as an artist, and how that nebulous process can transform assumed weaknesses into unexpected strengths. To end the episode we brought back our no laughing game, Keep It Together. Catch David Hess improvising with Elevator Action opening for Bad Boys in May at&

We interviewed one of the most experienced, and (in my opinion) most talented improv instructors in Austin, Dave Buckman. Dave's impact on my development as an improviser has been profound. As an original ColdTowne faculty member he taught my final level of classes, and helped me come to understand a number of the resonant improv tenants I still operate on today. In the middle portion of this episode we had a detailed discussion of one of those lessons, "the importance of reacting specifically to the last thing"... When I started thinking about moving to Chicago, Dave encouraged me to make the leap and go for it. After I moved back to Austin he encouraged me to teach and direct shows at ColdTowne. So I feel like I (like so many others) owe a great debt of gratitude to Dave Buckman. We began this interview talking with Dave about his history as an improviser. We discussed his time spent training in Chicago at IO and Second City,&n

This episode of Got Your Back podcast was recorded live at ColdTowne Theater during our first ever Comedy Nerd-Out. We invited three great minds from the Austin improv community to participate in the show, and they were kind enough to prepare to speak at length on a topic of their choosing related to improv, comedy, performing, or anything else they might feel passionately about.The speeches given were: - "You Suck Forever: Thoughts on Improv Nihilism" by Bryan Lubu Roberts- "Finding, Feeding, and Chasing Inspiration" by Roy Janik- and "Who Arted?" by John Ratliff Personally, I found each of the speeches to be uniquely inspiring in their own wonderful way. Bryan was fiercely honest, funny, and profound. Roy offered a new way of thinking about the physical manifestation of inspiration that was novel and exciting. Then Ratliff finished by making me proud to think of improv as an artform and myself as an artist...I really can't thank the speakers enough for creating the content for this episode. T

After our recent episode on how to get stage time in Austin we thought it would also be helpful to compile a list of advice, tips, and best practices when auditioning for improv shows or groups. In this episode we were joined by two local improvisers and directors who are experienced on both sides of the audition process, Valerie Ward and Lance Gilstrap. Together we broke down the pieces of advice listed below and went into further detail on each. Listen to the episode at the bottom of this post to hear the full discussion or check out this article from Jason Chin or this article from Huge Theater where many of these helpful tips came from, and best of luck if you have an upcoming audition! Advice On Auditioning For Improv Shows and Groups - The most frequent piece of advice I've found when researching this topic was to encourage people to support their fellow scene partners. Try not to look at the other people auditioning as your competitors. If you are cast then some of them w

In this episode of Got Your Back we interviewed Rachel Madorsky. Rachel is an original ColdTowne faculty member who I personally am particularly thankful for because of how overwhelmingly supportive she has been to myself and others in the community. I have also been lucky enough to travel with Rachel while teaching improv corporate training for Whole Foods, and I can attest to the all around greatness of her character. In addition to teaching and performing Rachel works as a licensed psychotherapist, and was kind enough to engage us in a conversation about a number of topics including the intersections between therapy and improv. In the second part of this episode we dove deep into talking about the importance of vulnerability in improv, and did our best to break down and better understand what I believe can sometimes be a scary and misunderstood topic for improvisers. Finally, we played a round of a new guessing game called "Lifetime

One of the most common questions I receive as the artistic director at ColdTowne is "How do I get stage time in Austin?". Whether you're new to improv, or just new to Austin, in this episode KC and I have you covered. We discuss how to put together a group or show, and how get that show on stage. Even if you don't live in Austin, the general ideas explained in this episode likely apply to the city you live in as well. Simply put, if you want to perform somewhere you need to find the right person at that venue to talk about performing there. This post and episode (listen below) details that process for Austin, but for any city if you think you'd like to perform somewhere just ask. If you look on the venue's website they likely have information posted about how to perform, or who to contact about submissions. This question is a welcome one. We'll get into more detail about how to submit in Austin specifically, but first...it's time to have that talk. Where do shows come from? Most

On this episode of Got Your Back we were joined by Kareem Badr.   Kareem is a co-owner of the Hideout Theater in Austin, TX where he also teaches and performs regularly in a number of shows including the Big Bash on Friday evenings as well as with his long running and world touring group of 9 years, Parallelographophonograph.   Kareem was kind enough to stop by the studio and spend some time talking with KC and myself about a number of topics ranging from the nitty gritty of his approach to narrative improv to the parallels between improv and the way of the samurai.    Also in this episode we continue our conversation from the previous episode regarding process vs. product in improv. Again, Kareem had a tremendous amount of thoughtful insight to offer on the subject, and ultimately left me questioning where the boundaries of each are.    In the final part of this episode we do our best to help out the community at large and "let go" of some characters we feel may be showing up to

We're blowing the doors off of this show, and starting 2015 with a bang by interviewing one of Austin's great improvisers, teachers, & directors, Mr.John Ratliff.    One of the things I most admire about Ratliff is how deeply thoughtful and passionate he is about improv. I think more than anyone else he has changed how I think about performing.    Full disclosure, I will often have moments of uncertainty in which I will do a test where I imagine what Ratliff's reaction to my choice might be because I so highly regard his opinion of improv to be "pure" in a way that it gives me reassurance to think he might agree with me.    So, that is all to say when we started this show we couldn't wait to conduct this interview with Ratliff.    In the initial portion of the show we spoke at length about the project he is currently directing, The Church of Indeterminate Divinity, that is an incredible and loving mash-up of religious services with the (often alluded to) religion of