Performers

Marketing You or Your Group

Posted by Ryan Nallen on December 9, 2014

In this day and age, if you’re not online, you’re dead. That might seem blunt, but it’s absolutely true. If you’ve ever read Austin Kleon’s “Show Your Work” you’ll know first hand that having an online presence is essential to promoting your work and showing the world what you have to offer. It’s also the best way to get constructive criticism, share what you know, and build trust with your audience. Not to mention, everybody else is already online. If you’re trying to get people to come to your shows, festivals, or theater, they need to have a way to find out about it.

In this day and age with all of the technological advances we have at our finger tips, you NEED to have content online that you can direct people to. Content varies in a variety of ways. For the purpose of this article, I’ve broken it down into 3 simple, but detailed, sections. There’s written, audio, and visual content. Through this article, I’ll break down these different mediums, how they can be beneficial to you or your group, and tips on how you can implement them. Keep in mind, these are all just suggestions. Feel free to incorporate one, all, or none of them at your leisure.

WRITTEN

Written content is a broad term that can be something as small as a status promoting your show to a press release detailing everything your production and performers have to offer. It allows your audience to READ about what you think is worthwhile to share or just what you’ve been up to. Types: Articles, Blog entries, Facebook statuses, and Tweets.

FacebookCreate a Facebook page
This is one of the first things you’re going to want to do. Facebook is the KING social network right now. Pretty much everyone I know has it and that’s how I find out about news, shows, and everything else that is going on in the world. I know comedians who will post a comical status and then I see them incorporate that into an act they do later. In other words, posting the joke as a status was a test run to see if it works (people liked it). Having your own page for your group adds some professionalism to your group as well as a direct place for people to go to find out what’s happening lately.

  1. Events allow you to directly invite targeted/specific people to your show(s).
  2. You can tag multiple people in your group when you promote a show so that it appears on all of their timelines (more eyes might = more people in your audience).
  3. (Most Important): Stop inviting people to help you plant bell peppers in Farmville.

Twitter2. Create a Twitter Account
The point is to drive more traffic to your page and most importantly to your show. The time frame it takes to create a facebook page or a twitter is probably less than 20 minutes.Tip: Use hashtags. Twitter allows you use to hashtags to drive more traffic to your posts. Using #improv #comedy #theater allows you more chances for people to see what you or your group have to say. It also allows you to connect with other groups or theaters already utilizing Twitter. Tip: If you’re managing multiple Twitter handles, it’s best to use a service that allows you to update/tweet all of them at any given time easily rather than signing in and out of the Twitter website. Look into services like: Tweetdeck (personal favorite), and HootSuite.

Web3. Create a Website
Setting up a functioning website would probably take a few hours and then you have it as a point of reference to direct people to for as long as you pay for the domain. Tip: You don’t need to be an advanced HTML coder to create your own website. There are a ton of drag and drop website builders that are easy to use and will allow you to do it yourself. Some cost-efficient and easy to use services include: Wix, WordPress, Tumblr, and Squarespace.

 

AUDIO

Audio content is pretty self explanatory. It’s what you want your followers to HEAR. It is beneficial because it allows your audience to literally hear your voice and/or music (if you’re a musician). If you have an opinion or an idea for a series, you can create a podcast Types: Podcasts, MP3 recordings, Voice-over, etc.

PodcastStart a Podcast
Services like: Podbean, Pod-o-matic, and Libsyn are established sites for hosting podcasts. If you have a few friends and want to talk about something that you think others want to hear, do it. Better yet, post it up because it’s something you’d want to listen to.

SoundcloudCreate a Soundcloud
If you want to just do voiceover recordings, impressions, characters, or show the world that you can sing, you can do it here. Just create an account, upload your audio, and wha-lah! Soundcloud offers a widget (on Android) where you can just click record and easily upload it to your account within a few minutes.

 

VISUAL

Visual content is what catches your audience’s eye. It can be anything from a 6 second vine to a short film. Any type of visual content allows your audience to SEE your creativity and what you’re offering.
Types: Videos (YouTube, Vimeo, Vines, etc), Drawings, Show Posters or Flyers.

YouTubeCreate a YouTube or Vimeo Channel
If you’re ever submitting for a sketch team, production team, or talking to a director/agent you’re undoubtedly going to hear “show me an example of your work.” In other words, let me see your reel. This is step 1 to developing a place where your reel is eventually going to go. This will be the home for all of your video content.

InstagramCreate an Instagram
Think of it as a virtual photo album for your group’s shows and travels. If you’re a group that travels to a lot of festivals, having an account that showcases all of the wonder places you’ve been is great for you and your group as a reminder of what you’ve done together, but also shows your audience/fans/followers what you’re up to and what you find interesting to share. Tip: Hashtags allow more ways for people to see your images.

VineCreate a Vine
Have a funny idea that’s only 6 seconds long? Create a Vine account for you or your group and start vining. There are TONS of people who have had major success just because they had a funny 6 second looping video. Tip: Hashtags and the ability to tag people allow for more opportunities for people to see your work. Use ones relevant to your group and popular ones that are on the rise for more loops.

FacebookDesign a show poster or cool logo
Having an eye-catching logo or show poster is Advertising 101. It’s the first thing people are going to see and it might stop them for a second when they’re walking by. The logo might catch their attention and have them look up your group on facebook, twitter, or your new website and find out when your next show is (if it’s not listed on the poster). For posters, keep it simple. The simpler the better. People don’t want to read a novel when they look at a show poster. Give them the name of your group, location, and performance dates accompanied with a cool picture. Tip: If you’re not a great artist, ask a friend to help you come up with something. If you see another group with awesome posters/logos, ask them for help (and offer to pay them for it).

Just to clarify, you’re not limited to using one or the other. You can use one, two, or all three types of content when promoting your work. In fact, the more the merrier. You can write a Facebook status or Tweet (written) and accompany it with a photo of your cast or video from a previous week’s show (visual). You can record a podcast (audio) and then share it via Facebook, Twitter, and/or your website (written). You could also just use one. Keep in mind though, you don’t want to bombard your audience with too much content or they’ll be turned off to it. Think quality over quantity.

In the end, it’s all about who you want to reach and what you want to promote. It’s also about asking yourself, “Do I want people to know about this? Is it important to me?” There’s nothing wrong with working with a limited audience or traveling by word-of-mouth, but if you want to build yourself up so that your work can be found nationally (or internationally) and create more opportunities, you’ll need to have content ready and available online. It’s also going to give you the feedback you need so you know what works and what doesn’t. These are all suggestions on creating an online presence for you or your group. Hopefully this is helpful for anyone interested in establishing an online presence or in need of the first steps to marketing themselves.

Ryan Nallen is a writer and performer in Chicago. He is a graduate of iO, Second City Conservatory, and the Annoyance. He plays with his independent team Risky on the Rocks, the Harold team Denver at iO Chicago, and with the Incubator team Desperado at The Playground Theater. He is an Associate Producer for Big Little Comedy, on the Marketing Committee at the Playground, and a Midwest Representative for the National Improv Network. You can also follow his online ramblings at @TheRyanNallen.

5 Ways an Improv Troupe Can Communicate Better

Posted by Nick Armstrong on December 2, 2014

I get asked this a lot…How do we deal with someone in the troupe that is hard to work with? How do we kick someone off the team? Should we add new people? Should we get a coach? How do we make these decisions? Improv is such a positive force we sometimes forget to set some ground rules because we assume everything will work itself out because we are all easy-going people. Well this is not the case all the time. We are also artists that have strong passionate feelings about things. Sure, improvisors are awesome we all know that, but a troupe needs to communicate and be on the same page or else it will quickly fall apart.

A troupe needs to set up expectations up front so when you come across a situation it’s easier to figure them out in a diplomatic way. Below I have listed some things that will help guide you and your troupe into communication bliss.

1. Get Organized From the Start:

I’ve mentioned this in a blog post before. Your troupe should start an improv bible. Now the bible in the blog mentioned is focused more on the improv aspects of your troupe, which you should have, but in addition to that bible, start a bible on the rules of your team outside of performance. Here’s an example of what you’d have in there:

A. How do we pay for a things – rehearsal space, coach, etc… – Dues Based? Monthly Dues? When we show up for rehearsal? I would personally recommend a monthly dues based system. Why? It’s easy and holds every member accountable. So if they miss a rehearsal you don’t get screwed out of money to pay for the space or the coach. This saves you a lot of tracking people down.

B. Troupe Positions – Sure you’re all improvisors in an ensemble but get organized – Like a Boy Scout or Girl Scout Troupe they have Senior Patrol Leaders, Patrol Leaders, Scribe etc. What are you in your troupe? Positions I think you need to have – 1. Booker – Books the rehearsal spot, coach and submits to festivals etc. 2. Treasurer – Handles all money to pay for space, coach and handles dues. 3. Marketing – Handles all social media posts, invites and team events. And switch roles every few months so you’re not always doing the same job, unless you guys are happy with your jobs then you can keep them as long as you want. But figure out how you’ll handle that.

2.  Set the Rules of Your Troupe:

If you miss rehearsal are you allowed in the next show? How many rehearsals can you miss before you are unable to be a member of the team? How does the team vote ? Meaning how will people deal with who is on or off the team or what new rules will be added or taken away? Does the coach/director vote? Does the coach/director make those decisions? Or is it a team matter only? Have this written in stone so there is no confusion and have everyone understand it and have it be accepted unanimously. If all else fails ask your coach for advice.

3. Get Serious! Get a coach!

PLEASE!!! Get a coach or a director. If you are serious about improv and growing as an artist you need an outside eye. Do not have another teammate give notes or step out and coach you. You need to grow as a team and you can’t do that with one member hopping out and coaching too. It’s a weird dynamic that doesn’t work. If you don’t have enough coaches in your community then someone has to decide not to be on the team and just take the role as a coach. But the best thing about a coach, is as a veteran, they can give you advice on what to do if you’re having issues with an ensemble member. They can be a great mediator. Trust me they’ve been through it all before.

4. Troupe Boundaries 

You have to talk about what is okay and not okay to do. Is it okay if we have physical contact? How far can that go? What are we as a group comfortable with? Some people don’t like to be touched and that’s okay. Know that now so you can figure it out and move ahead as a troupe. You don’t want to find out a month down the road when you kiss someone onstage that they were uncomfortable with that now and are quitting the team.

5. Team Vision

What kind of team do you want to be? Again, set expectations – Do you want to be a traveling troupe that goes to festivals or just a local troupe. If most of you want to travel but there are a few that don’t then you really need to figure out if this troupe goes forward. Agree on what you want out of the troupe. How many shows or rehearsals do you want a month? Where? I know it sounds like a lot but figure it out.

PHEW! That’s a lot. Hey guys and gals, remember improv is fun! YAY! Sure  this looks all serious but  it’s necessary. You will save yourself a lot of time and heartbreak by putting these things in place. It holds you all accountable and there is no questioning what is right or wrong if rules are in place from the get go. Hopefully with these 5 items in place communication will be a breeze.

If you have any questions or you think I’ve left something out please feel free to comment. Go Improv!

Nick Armstrong

Nick is Camp Director and Founder of Improv Utopia an improv retreat for grown ups in California and Pennsylvania. He is also one of the founding members of the National Improv Network as well as performer in The Sunday Company at The Groundlings and a member of the critically acclaimed Harold Team King Ten at iO West. Feel free to follow me @nickarmstrong on Twitter or on Facebook. We are always looking for better ways to serve the community. Drop us a line and let us know what’s up. 

To e-mail nick e-mail at nick@nationalimprovnetwork.com and for workshop information visit www.nickarmstrong.com.

 

Spotlight on San Diego Improv Festival 2015

Posted by Nick Armstrong on December 1, 2014

The San Diego Improv Festival launches into its second year in February. I was able to interview Kevin Dolan one or the Producers of the festival. Check out what wonderful things this city and the festival have to offer.

This is your 2nd year of the SDIF. Tell us how the SDIF came about.

Amy Lisewski, the Artistic Director of Finest City Improv (FCI), has always believed in bringing the top improvisers to perform and teach workshops in San Diego. Even before FCI had its own space, she would have the best people she knew down from LA to teach workshops during the day and perform on the same bill with local teams at night. Once FCI had its own theater – and one that is attached to a hotel no less – having multi-day festival was a natural step.

It is unique to have a festival where the theater and hotel are connected. Tell us about that and what the hotel has to offer for improvisers.

FCI has a great location, attached to The Lafayette Hotel, Swim Club & Bungalows. The place has a retro feel reminiscent of a Hollywood-style property you would see in a 1940s movie. The hotel restaurants have tasty food, the lobby is a great place to relax, and the rooms have been recently remodeled. And of course there is a swimming pool which we use for the festival’s big social event: the pool party on Saturday afternoon.

The biggest advantage to being attached to the hotel is that it’s great for connecting with other improvisers. We want the San Diego Improv Festival to be a social event as much as it is an improv event. We want people to make friends and come back every year to see those people again.

The neighborhood surrounding FCI is also “uber-hip,” or so I’m told. I can definitely tell you it has some good restaurants that don’t cost a fortune.

What can improvisors expect?

Our goal is to make SDIF the perfect weekend vacation for the improviser.

Even if your team isn’t performing at the festival, you can participate in our open jam on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights before the shows start. This is an opportunity to get on stage and play with the people you’ve been partying with all week.

We also have a full workshop program, with four already scheduled and four more in the works. Improvisers will be able to take up to two workshops on Saturday (10am and 3pm) and two on Sunday (11;30am and 3pm). Workshops will be two and a half hours long to facilitate getting adequate stage time for all attendees. Nick Armstrong and Karen Graci from LA, and Colleen Doyle and Jason Shotts from Chicago, are the confirmed workshop instructors.

Then there are the parties. I already talked about the Pool Party on Saturday afternoon – it’s scheduled between the morning and afternoon workshops – and that’s the social highlight of the festival. There will also be parties either on site or very close by on Friday and Saturday nights after the shows. With the hotel so close by, the parties were very popular last year and I expect it to be the same this year.

And of course we’re going to have a great lineup headlined by King Ten from Los Angeles and Dummy from Chicago; as well as other great teams from Chicago, New York, and other places closer to home.

The San Diego Improv Festival is the perfect improv vacation: take great improv workshops, see world class improv teams, party with fun improvisers, and participate in an improv jam (or two).

If accepted to the festival what do improvisers have to look forward to? Discounts? Workshops?

Performers will receive a wristband which will allow them to get into shows free of charge when there are seats available (at start of show). Performers can guarantee a seat by buying tickets or a festival pass in advance and are given a 50% discount. Performers will also receive a welcome package upon arrival.

Tell us about your great city…What can improvisers from out of town do while they’re there?

Of course, San Diego has some of the nicest weather anywhere in the world. Also, FCI is not too far from Balboa Park, home of the San Diego Zoo as well as a number of popular museums. San Diego has a number of micro-breweries, for those who like beer. And of course the beach isn’t far away. Surf’s up!

What have been some of the biggest challenges putting a festival on?

There are a so many details involved in staging a festival. We are fortunate to have people like Kat Brown, Erin Hanehan, and a great team of volunteers to make everything go smoothly.

 

Instantly submit to SDIF today.

Nick is Camp Director and Founder of Improv Utopia an improv retreat for adults in California and Pennsylvania. He is also one of the founding members of the National Improv Network and performer and teacher at iO West as well as member of The Sunday Company at The Groundlings. He has also taught many workshops around the country.

Meet the New Submission Tool

Posted by Bill Binder on November 20, 2014

The very first submission on the site was nineteen months ago, almost to the day. Since then we’ve heard a lot of feedback from both troupes and festivals on how to improve the tool. I don’t intend for that communication to end, but I’m very excited to announce the new submission tool which went live this week based on the feedback from folks. So grab a tasty beverage and I’ll give you a tour.

For Troupes

One of the things festival organizers have asked for is more customized information. More information is always great, but if we start making troupes fill out complete forms for each festival, the whole point of the instant submission tool is kind of lost. So the submission side isn’t too terribly different. You can still submit with one click, but if you need to include a little extra information, there’s now a way to do it.

Let’s look at the main submission page for any festival. It looks pretty similar to the old tool, except for some minor visual tweaks. You still have all of your troupes listed with a checkbox on which groups to submit.
submit 1
When you check the box, you’re ready to submit, but you’ll notice a new sidebar shows your troupes availability and has a small area for any notes to the festival producers.
submit 2
If you’re unable to make a certain day of the festival, that’s really helpful information to send to the festival producers, so you can uncheck any days you won’t be available to travel.
submit 3
After that you’re good to go. That’s it. Hopefully still a very simple process.

Just a reminder though. One thing that hasn’t changed is that while we can program changes to our own website, we can’t reprogram PayPal’s website. Sometimes PayPal takes up to 15 seconds to complete your transaction and send confirmation back to the submission tool. If you don’t wait it out for those few seconds, your submission might not be recorded properly.

For Festival Organizers

The rest of this blog post is mostly for festival producers, but for everyone else; if you’re curious about what the submission process looks like or you want some extra tips on how to let your best side be seen, then read on.

One thing that has been added for anyone that is reviewing a festival is a quick link on their main profile page. Just below their troupe and theatre information will be a link to take them directly to the festival page. This saves some clicks of going to find it int the list. This link is only visible to the reviewers (meaning other people won’t see the festival link on your profile page) and will disappear once the festival starts.

myfests

Once on the festival submission list, you’ll be presented with a lot more information right away.

review1

Immediately visible will be the name and avatar for the troupe, their city and state, their availability, any notes left by the troupe, their home theatre, time of submission and status.

Not all troupes connect their troupe with a home theatre, and they certainly aren’t required to, but it is often helpful to help festivals have a bit of background on your troupe. If you want to connect your troupe to your home theatre, you can contact your home theatre’s admin and request to be added.

troupes

The Status pull down is only visible to the event’s administrator (other festival reviewers will see text in its place). This is so multiple people aren’t undoing each other’s work. The check box area can be set to “SELECTED”, “WAITLIST” or “REJECTED”. Once one of those options are selected, a second drop down appears to let you track if a group has been contacted and whether they’ve confirmed or declined an invitation.

review3

That last part was important to me personally. I know it can be heartbreaking to not get into a festival, and even moreso when you find out about it from some other group’s Facebook post. Contacting “all” groups, both accepted and rejected is really a best practice for festivals and this status box will hopefully help producers better facilitate communicating with groups.

The last thing you may have noticed is the (Not Paid) tag next to certain troupes. You won’t see that often, but it will happen. Earlier in this post, I mentioned waiting for PayPal to send confirmation back to the website. 95% of the time, people do that. But once in a while, a group will leave the PayPal page before letting everything finish up. We certainly don’t want to penalize groups who have troubles with PayPal, so on those occasions where a group didn’t quite finish the PayPal portion of their submission properly, it will still show up in the submission list with a not to try to get in touch with those groups and finish the submission properly.

And of course, since there are more options on the submission review list, there’s also an “Update” button to save your changes. Actually, for festivals with very long submission lists, there are a few “Update” buttons, spaced out along the page to prevent a lot of scrolling, but there’s no need to stress over which one to use. They are all identical.

Whew!

So that’s the new submission tool. Big thanks to the folks at the OC Improv Festival, Alaska State Improv Festival, Twin Cities Improv Festival, Phoenix Improv Festival, Detroit Improv Festival and Houston Improv Festival who offered a lot of suggesstions and helped with occasional beta testing on these new tools.

So what’s next? There are some more tools coming soon, but none of them will require a complete replacement of the tool. Those features will just start popping up in the next little bit. Curious? Here’s a sneak peek at some of the features coming in the 2.1 version of the submission tool:

  • Who’s Reviewed This? Soon each reviewer for a festival can mark individual troupe submissions as viewed. This will allows the submission committee to track who has seen which shows. (Hint: everyone should see every show)
  • Mark Complete Nothing huge technologically here. Just an option to set your review process as complete. This will remove the link from reviewers profile pages.
  • International Options More flexibility for festivals overseas (currency, timezones, etc).
  • Contact Now An option to directly email groups from the submission list. This will automatically set the group’s status to “Contacted”

I hope the new tool makes people’s lives a little easier and give festivals and troupes the opportunities to put on the best shows for audiences. As always, suggestions for the future of the tool are always welcome.

Currently Bill is an instructor at The Torch Theatre and producer for the Phoenix Improv Festival. He tours teaching and performing across North America.

3 Tips To Break Your Routine

Posted by Ryan Nallen on November 18, 2014

Routines are the worst. That’s right. I said it. Why? Because I am a human and I can say things. Oh, sorry, why did I say that first thing? Because doing the same thing over and over is boring, repetitive, and eventually no longer productive. When you first did that thing, maybe it was a sketch show or a stand-up joke, it was great. That’s because it was new and fresh. You found it exciting and you were eager to share it with people who wanted to hear it. Then you did it 50-100 times. The excitement and passion you had in the beginning has faded. It got boring.

It’s important to start over or start fresh sometimes. If you want to push yourself as a performer or a writer, you need to change it up. If you’re an actor, doing the same thing over and over, will most likely get you typecasted. Sometimes that can work in your favor (we need a guy who does physical comedy) or in your detriment (he just throws his body around the stage). By changing it up, you are constantly challenging yourself and telling the world, “Hey I’ve got more ideas than that one thing I showed you I’m good at.” You need to be a mover and a shaker. Here are 3 tips on how to successfully break your routine so that you can keep challenging yourself on a consistent basis:

file_101560_0_Baby_Mirror[1]Recognize it.
The best course of action is to recognize what you’ve been doing, how long you’ve been doing it, and to…stop doing it. If the routine has been going on for a while, try doing something different. This pretty much applies to everything in life. If you haven’t picked up a book in the past year then pick up a book and read something for God’s sakes. Like Amy Poehler’s new book “Yes, Please” which is great. Let’s say, for example, you’re an improviser and you’ve found that for the last 6 months you’ve consistently played straight-man characters every show. Then for your next show plan to play a wild outlandish character. I don’t mean PLAN in the sense that you have a character monologue and you walk out during an improv scene and steamroll everyone as Anastasios Papagologis, The Pastry King. (This is my wheelhouse character and I’m only using it as an example for this article. Don’t get any ideas!) As I was saying, no, don’t plan, instead, just know that at some point during that show you’re going to do something unlike what you’ve done before character-wise. That could be anything from a new physicality to a voice. Sames goes for the contrary, if you’ve played ridiculous characters all year, take a step back and play it straight. If you never do object work then start the scene holding, grabbing, or touching something. If you’re a writer and you’ve only written satirical jokes for the past 4 months, try writing something new like non-fiction or a short story. Change is good. Change is your friend. Changes opens the door for more creativity.

garb-can[1]Throw it away.
Literally take what you have been doing and throw it in the trash. If it’s a page in a notebook, tear it out and throw it away or turn the page and literally write ‘new routine’ on. If it’s something you refer to such as an online document, create a new folder entitled OLD, and drag the document into it. The physical act of moving it from one place to another or throwing it away is key. That act is in itself refreshing. It’s like throwing an ex’s stuff they left in your place in the dumpster. Out with the old and in with the new. Make room in the cupboards for creativity by throwing away the reserves you’ve been relying on to get by.

writingablogpost[1]Write something new everyday. That might seem daunting, but it’s not. I said write something. That means anything whatsoever. It can be a brief summary of your day or an idea that pops into your head on your commute to and fro. There is no limit and there is no restriction. If you’re not ready to jump into 3 mandatory pages a day as prescribed by The Artist’s Way then write whatever you can. But, it has to be every single day. You can either buy a notebook and literally write or draw in it, use the note-taking app on your phone, or download other cloud-based note-taking apps like Evernote, Google Keep or Google Drive so you always have them backed up and stored. With those apps, you won’t have to worry about losing all your ideas if you lose your phone or your notebook. The constant act of writing everyday will eventually get you into the habit of having new material to draw from. You’re probably thinking, wait a minute, isn’t that a routine? Well, smarty pants, yes it is. However, it’s a good routine to help you break out of your bad routine. In addition it’s something NEW you haven’t been doing already. Think of it as a routine to generate new material rather than a routine that stalls your creativity. Sure, 90% of what you write each day might be garbage, but that other 10% is gold and you better mine it like it’s 1848.

In the end, the goal is to continuously challenge yourself. Not only as a performer, but as a person. Routines can be good, but they can also stall us and leave us too comfortable to be productive again. Doing the same thing over and over is soul-sucking and exhausting, but starting something new can be exciting and rewarding. Now, if you’ll excuse me, back to writing my Anastasios Papagologis, The Pastry King, monologue.

Ryan Nallen is a writer and performer in Chicago. He is a graduate of iO, Second City Conservatory, and the Annoyance. He plays with his independent team Risky on the Rocks, with the Harold team Denver at iO Chicago, and with the Incubator team Desperado at The Playground Theater. He is an Associate Producer for Big Little Comedy, on the Marketing Committee at the Playground, and a Midwest Representative for the National Improv Network. You can also follow his online ramblings at @TheRyanNallen.

Welcome Ryan Nallen to the NIN Team

Posted by Nick Armstrong on November 13, 2014

We are happy to announce that Improvisor Ryan Nallen will be joining the NIN team. Ryan has been contributing very resourceful blogs for the last year and will now join our NIN team helping spread the word and making the site even better. I had a chance to interview Ryan:

Tell us about your improv background…What schools have you gone to?

I’ve been improvising now for around 7 years. I originally went to college to wrestle at the University of Illinois Champaign Urbana. I had taken a theater class because I was told it was a blow off (easy) class by my student advisor. For the final exam we had to do a student written play and half way through I forgot my lines. I just started rambling and making things up to justify what was happening. The class laughed at the nonsense coming out of my mouth and afterward my teacher pulled me aside and said, “You should look into doing this. You have a natural talent.” After the season finished, I decided to take that teacher’s advice and quit the team. I have been acting and improvising ever since. As for my training, I am a graduate of iO Chicago, the Second City Conservatory, and the Annoyance Theatre.

Who are you favorite improv instructors?

Thats a tough question for me because I feel like every teacher I have had has taught me something valuable or has provided me with great insight based on their own experiences. You can always learn something from somebody and I try to maintain that belief with every class or workshop I take.

1376993388SwitchFire[1]

Switch Committee

Tell us about Switch Committee and how you guys formed? Why do you travel to festivals?

Switch Committee had originally formed out of iO. Dave Karasik and I were in level 1 together and enjoyed playing together so we decided to form a group inviting other people we’d played with who we felt we had good playing chemistry with. Since the group has formed, we have had 2 runs at iO, performed at almost every venue in Chicago, and have traveled to and taught at over 10 festivals around the country. I really love traveling to festivals because I enjoy meeting new people who love doing the same thing I love to do. It’s something very special to get people from all over the country together to sit and watch each other do make believe. Traveling to new places to meet and see how other people are improvising is very exciting to me. Also, it’s like a vacation and who doesn’t love a vacation?

You’re becoming a part of the NIN team. What has NIN meant to you?

First of all. Thank you! This is awesome and I’m honored! I think NIN is an invaluable resource to the improv community. The purpose of it and how the people involved work so hard to bring performers and teachers from all over the country together speak volumes about the kind of support and collaboration that exists in our small world. Through NIN I have been able to connect with people and festivals that I might not have been able to connect with otherwise. It’s given me a central place to go to find festivals and more importantly groups and people with shared interests. It is because of NIN that I can say I have improv friends in almost every state in the country.

Where do you see improv heading?

We are in a weird, but GOOD, growth phase right now. A lot of theaters are growing, moving, and getting larger, which is fantastic for the performing arts community in which we belong. For example, in Chicago, iO and the Annoyance recently moved to new locations, Second City is expanding, and multiple other theaters like The Playground and M.C.L. (Music Comedy Live – formerly Studio Be) are rebranding and establishing new programs. Then you’ve got other shows popping up in attics and garages (the S%$& hole) generating the entire support of the community simply because they’ve created a judgement-free environment inviting pretty much anyone (sketch, stand-up, improv, musicians, etc.) to come and play free of charge.

With that, there will always be a show to see. I’ve seen it first hand here in Chicago. You don’t need thousands of dollars or a theater license. All you need is a space to play in and people who want to play in it.

How do you feel about the national improv scene?

I think its great. I absolutely love traveling to festivals and seeing what other people are doing in terms of their form and playing style. It’s also great to see the support that everyone has for one another. Rather than “oh I don’t know you you’re from another state” its “hey we love doing the same thing tell me more about you and your group.” It’s like a family and everyone is eager to watch each other play. Nationally its continuing to grow as well with more theaters and festivals popping up and existing theaters moving/expanding. I see it continuing to grow and people continuing to try new things. I see it getting bigger with more opportunities for people to perform both locally and nationally. It’s very exciting!

Nick is Camp Director and Founder of Improv Utopia an improv retreat for adults in California and Pennsylvania. He is also one of the founding members of the National Improv Network and performer and teacher at iO West as well as member of The Sunday Company at The Groundlings. He has also taught many workshops around the country.

Crime Time

Posted by Nick Armstrong on November 4, 2014

That’s right everybody. It’s CRIME TIME! Queue the 1990s-esque intro with kids striking poses with their arms crossed and hands on their hips looking “tough” with sideways hats on while Pearl Jam’s guitar intro from “Even Flow” plays and the word ‘CRIME’ flashes across the screen in neon lettering. It’s time to talk about something we sort of look past or don’t really discuss when it comes to festivals and traveling. While festivals do amazing jobs promoting the local landmarks of the town, they sometimes don’t mention the ‘shadier’ not so good areas. Let it be known that this article is not to be discriminatory of any race, ethnicity, gender, religion, or any of the sort. It is merely to meant highlight a topic that not many festivals or performers think about when they travel to a new town and to bring awareness to the fact that crime is everywhere and you should keep that in mind when going somewhere you’ve never been before. Everyone gets so caught up in the excitement of what’s to come that they aren’t thinking about what could go wrong right now.

This has never been something that I have heard a festival come out and say outright. Mainly because talking about the bad things isn’t really something you want to highlight. It’ll make people not want to come to your festival, right? Yes and No. The sad truth is that the ‘bad’ happens everywhere. Crime exists everywhere you go. It’s next door, down the street, on the train or bus and everywhere you look. However, half the battle is being AWARE of it and knowing where it’s most prevalent. I’m not saying put up street advertisements or marketing in your festival promotions that there are certain places you shouldn’t go, but just by word of mouth you could be keeping a lot of people safe.

If you’re a performer and you’re reading this, just be aware of your surroundings and keep in mind that you are in a new town and you might not know the specifics of what goes on in that area. That means you should ASK where the best places to go are and where the best places to avoid are. There is no harm in asking. We’re talking about safety here. There are certain parts of Chicago that I will never go to or travel to on the train at night. Why? Because the crime statistics and the everyday news indicate there’s a damn good chance I’ll get robbed, beaten up, or worse. That’s not a dig at anyone who lives in those areas, but a fact reinforced by the local news and crime reports.

Furthermore, I learned this first hand at a festival recently. I remember we decided to walk around and see the sights and sounds of the city. We practically screamed “WE’RE TOURISTS” as we waltzed around pointing at things uttering “ohhs” and “ahhhs.” It was the middle of the day and we were excited to wander so we weren’t really on alert for anything. Note: Anything can happen at any time; especially when you least expect it. Unfortunately, we went down the wrong block, which resulted in us being followed for the next two blocks by two guys who were sending off the tell-tale signs that they were going to jump us. Luckily, we spotted them, stopped walking, and were in an open area looking right at them so their element of surprise sort of went right out the window. Once we made eye contact with them they slowed their walking down and crossed the street. The one guy who was trailing behind ran up to his friend and put his hands in the air while mouthing, “What happened?” Now, I could be completely wrong. They could have been coming up to say “hey welcome to our city let us take your picture”, but given the mean looks on their faces, the clinched fists in their hands, and everything I’ve ever heard about muggings I would have to argue otherwise. Later I would discuss this with local performers who said, “oh yeah you shouldn’t walk around there.”

Another way to fully grasp the issue is to look at it from the criminal’s perspective. If I was a criminal (I’m not but if I was), I would rather rob or steal from someone who doesn’t live around the area rather than somebody who does. Why? Because the people traveling are unsuspecting and they aren’t going to tell the police, “Hey I saw him last week walking down State Street!” Distancing yourself from the crime is bad guy 101. This is why criminals travel across the city, steal someone’s iPhone on the train, and then go back to where they live which is 10-15 miles away. By you being the one who is traveling, you’ve just made their job a lot easier. In short, for the criminal, you’re a better target because you’re not from around there and you’re not suspecting it.

In conclusion, if you’re traveling to a festival and you’re going to go walking around the city please make sure to ask the local performers where the best places to go are as well as the not so good places. If you’re a festival producer or local performer, pass any and all information you may have about troublesome areas around town so as to keep everyone safe. As stated before, the sad reality is that crime is everywhere, but we can most certainly combat that with awareness. Being knowledgeable and aware is going to be all the difference. It’s better to know than to not and wish you had later. Keeping everyone safe and knowledgeable about what is happening in your town should be at the top of the list of the many wonderful things you’re offering to your performers.

  • Ryan is a graduate of iO, The Second City Conservatory, and the Annoyance Theatre in Chicago. Ryan performs improv comedy with his independent team Switch Committee as well as on the Playground team Desperado. In addition, he is an Associate Producer for Big Little Comedy, which is responsible for the Big Little Comedy Festival each year. In 2013, he completed an entire month of comedy by performing 31 days in a row for the month of January. He’s a frequent blogger (here, The Second City Network, and the iO Water Cooler) Instagramer, Pinterester, and Tweeter in his spare time. You can follow the madness @TheRyanNallen.

Over the Rhine

A review of the IF CINCY Improv Festival of Cincinnati

Posted by Bill Binder on October 30, 2014

A few weeks ago, I was very fortunate to perform with Switch Committee at the first ever improv festival in Cincinnati. The festival, produced by OTRimprov, went off without a hitch. They were very well organized months in advance in terms of preparation, marketing, and hospitality. This festival was run very smoothly and it looked like they have been doing it (running festivals) for a while even though it was only their first year. They were more than prepared in terms of providing performers with hotel deals and all the essential information visitors to their city would need (local restaurants, coffee shops, bars, uber/lyft info) for the festival. Everyone involved was so nice and hospitable. So, rather than being vague and saying “it was great” over and over, I’ll give some specifics on the things I loved. Here goes:

  1. CINCINNATTI! It is a very hip and stylish city with buildings designed with beautiful murals and street art. Before our workshop, we went to a coffee shop down the street from the theater called the Coffee Emporium. I got something called a Milk Way. Write that down. Milk Way in Cincy. There are a few areas of town that could be considered a little shady, but doesn’t every city have that? If you’re visiting to perform I would just ask the organizers or other local performers where the best places to go are instead of meandering around town on your own. It’s also really close to Kentucky, which we did not know. We thought our phones were messed up numerous times throughout the weekend while we were driving around.
  • Swag Bags We got bags which contained t-shirts, lanyards, chips, water, and other knick-knacks. I’m a big fan of the swag bag and most importantly the lanyard because I collect them trading cards. For some festivals, you have to purchase a t-shirt, but they were kind enough to include them in the bags. Free t-shirts may be expensive, but if you have the budget it’s definitely something I suggest the festival do. Keep in mind, you want performers to wear those t-shirts and represent your festival when they get back home. “Oh that’s a cool shirt, how was that festival, I think we’ll submit next year” is something that could come out of providing your performers with shirts.
  • Team Dinner They offered dinner to all the performers at the local hotel everyone was staying at. There was bread, croissants, cookies, pop, green beans, and mac n’ cheese, potatoes, and roast beef. It was a very nice gesture and I know all of the teams appreciated it. They didn’t have to do that, but they did and that speaks volumes about how they welcomed the performers to the festival.
  • House Dad We were assigned a house dad who was available to answer any questions we may have had while on our visit to Cincinnati. I love this because it gives visitors the ability to interact with a local performer and find out more about the place they are visiting. Phoenix does this too and it is extremely helpful for the performers in getting accommodated and feeling welcome.
  • The Know Theatre The theatre is beautiful and perfect for an improv show. There are two performance spaces within this theater. The ‘underground’ Cabaret stage right when you walk into the theater, which is a small and quaint stage perfect for a 2-man show and the ‘Mainstage’ upstairs, which is fully equipped theatrical venue with an enormous amount of space and a turquoise carpet perfect for a 10+ person ensemble. We got to play upstairs and very much enjoyed the amount of space provided.
  • Workshops They offered workshops to the performers. We were fortunate enough to be able to teach a workshop and it went extremely well. I know Susan Messing also taught a workshop and if she’s teaching a workshop that’s just another reason you should be at this festival.

All in all, OTRi did an incredibly fantastic and amazing job producing their first ever improv festival. I mean, hell, they got Susan Messing to headline their first year! That’s big time baby! The bar has been set and it’s pretty high. At the end of the weekend, the whole festival was a major success and I’m very excited to see how it grows and develops in the years to come. Teams looking for a new improv festival to go to should put this one on their radar.

Congratulations IF CINCY! Great Job!

  • is a graduate of iO, The Second City Conservatory, and the Annoyance Theatre in Chicago. Ryan performs improv comedy with his independent team Switch Committee as well as on the Playground team Desperado. In addition, he is an Associate Producer for Big Little Comedy, which is responsible for the Big Little Comedy Festival each year. In 2013, he completed an entire month of comedy by performing 31 days in a row for the month of January. He’s a frequent blogger (here, The Second City Network, and the iO Water Cooler) Instagramer, Pinterester, and Tweeter in his spare time. You can follow the madness @TheRyanNallen.

Spotlight On: The 14th Annual Phoenix Improv Festival

Posted by Nick Armstrong on October 28, 2014

The Phoenix Improv Festival celebrates it’s 14th year in 2015! I had a chance to interview Executive Director and NIN Co-Founder Bill Binder to chat with him about what we can expect this year.

What makes PIF 14 different than other improv festivals?

Last year we shared the building with another event. I’m sure the other event was great and I heard good things about it, but I overheard a conversation between two of the ushers. The first usher was concerned about sending people to the correct event and the head usher said “If they’re here to see art, send them to the Improv Festival.”

That’s something I didn’t ever think I’d hear. Your question was how we’re different than other festivals, and certainly we’re not unique at all in celebrating the art of improv. But what is unique here is how much our city celebrates it as art. We play in a beautiful venue that seats about 400 people and – of course – there are performers in the audience. But there are also hundreds of people who may or may not see improv throughout the year, but they come to the festival to celebrate the cultural landscape of their city. Our audience members see improv in rotation with the opera and the ballet in town. And let me tell you, you know that old saying, “Treat your audience like poets…” it works the other way. This audience will treats us like professionals and artists and the work we get to do in response lives up to that. It feels great to play in that kind of environment.

What can we expect from PIF 14 this year?

Kind of tagging onto the last question, this is our 14th year and our audiences are coming to a grown-up event, so we are going to act like grown-ups. There will defiitely be some parties, but the performances themselves, we’re going to try to treat the festival and performers like we’re there on purpose, not some kids who stumbled into a theatre. I think this year we’re going to go even further in treating our visitors like the professionals they deserve to be treated as.

What can an improvisor get if they are accepted into PIF 14?

All performers play the mainstage. There is no sidestage or second smaller venue. Each group gets put up for one night at the Holiday Inn across the street from the venue. Each group gets a den mother who is available 24 hours for them to give them rides, get them food, show them around town, get them to the festival, etc. There are two parties with transportation to and from. There will be a photoshoot on Saturday. All groups get a video of their performance for submitting to other festivals. We have workshops on Saturday as well as our third unconference to discuss the art and business of improv. We will have panels and possibly a return of Jam City.

Besides the Improv Festival, why else should a troupe take a trip out to Phoenix. What’s the Valley of the Sun have to offer?

Well, Oprah’s favorite pizza place for one. people always ask about that. But if you really want good pizza, there are plenty of other places we can get you. Downtown Phoenix has plenty of museums, and many of them are great, but I won’t list them all because the names mean nothing. But the Musical Instrument Museum and Butterfly Wonderland are pretty self-explanitory. There are no baseball games in town that weekend, but there are plenty of places nearby to watch games. The Roosevelt Row area is a more Bohemian neighborhood right next to the hotel where many small local bands, galleries and restaraunts are within walking distance. If you really want to experience “the old west”, there are plenty of scenic parks and fairly inauthentic ghost towns your den mother can get you to. And of course, the hotel has a pool.

You’ve been at it for 14 years. What have you seen change in improv from year 1 to year 14 in your community?

In 2002, the love of improv was huge, but in a very small circle of people who didn’t have the knowledge or the skill to share that love. Only seven years ago, I ran a listing for classes and the person running the mailing list kept insisting that I put the words “zany” and “wacky” in the listings. When I refused she said “OK, but you’ll be yelling into the wind.” We’re not yelling in the wind anymore. There are six great improv theatres in the area and many smaller groups. The community knows what improv is and there are hundreds, not dozens, of people meeting each week to practice, or just discuss the craft. There are a dozen great shows every week somewhere in Phoenix, and those folks come together to put on an amazing event each April.

Nick Armstrong

Nick Armstrong is Founder and Camp Director of Improv Utopia an improv retreat for adults in California and Pennsylvania. He is also one of the founding members of the National Improv Network and performer and teacher at iO West as well as member of The Sunday Company at The Groundlings. He has also taught many workshops around the country.

Your Chance to Spread Our Artform to Those Who Need it Most

Posted by Nick Armstrong on October 21, 2014

National Improv Network is proud to partner with The Detroit Creativity Project. Their mission is simple: To empower and inspire young people through improvisation, an art form that helps students build confidence and develop a creative and collaborative approach to their lives. 

As improvisors we have a chance to do something special here. Sure we’ve donated to help theaters, to help festivals, but now it’s time to give the ultimate gift. The gift of improv to kids who don’t have access to it.  Help DCP expand their program. Any little bit helps. And please share this with your communities.

FROM DCP:

Mission Throttle: Help us take the lead in the RiseDetroit Challenge!

The RiseDetroit Challenge is being sponsored by the Marjorie S. Fisher Fund on Crowdrise. The fund is giving away $100,000 to Detroit charities like us: The Detroit Creativity Project.

The Detroit Creativity Project offers a free 10-week class in improvisational theater to Detroit middle and high school students. Our mission is to empower and inspire young people through improvisation — an art form that helps students build confidence and develop a creative and collaborative approach to their lives. Our flagship program The Improv Project has trained over 600 students to improvise since 2012. Your support will allow us to expand the program next year. Our goal: to teach over 500 students to improvise in 2015.

Here’s how you can help: The charity with the greatest number of donations (not dollars) between October 21 and October 28 wins a bonus of $2500! That would allow us to add one new school to the program and pay for half of the program in another school.

And your donations will help us compete for the grand prize of $30,000, going to the charity that raises the most dollars by October 30.

Like you, we believe that learning to improvise can be life changing. We are seeing how The Improv Project is changing our students’ lives in large and small ways. Please join us by supporting our campaign in the Rise Detroit Challenge. https://www.crowdrise.com/TDCP-RiseDetroit.

Nick Armstrong

Nick is Camp Director and Founder of Improv Utopia an improv retreat for adults in California and Pennsylvania. He is also one of the founding members of the National Improv Network and performer at iO West’s critically acclaimed Harold Team King Ten as well as member of The Sunday Company at The Groundlings. He has also taught improv workshops around the country.

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