Tag Archives: rick andrews

Spotlight On: Improv Utopia East

Posted by Bill Binder on June 24, 2014

improvutopiaeast[1]If you’ve been part of the network for a while, you know it’s no secret that Nick Armstrong is one of my very dear friends and partners on the site. I’ve known him since our iO Level 1 class over ten years ago and I was fortunate enough to have had a very tiny hand in the first Improv Utopia in 2011. Since then, Camp has grown into a very active and supportive community year round, not just during those few days near the Pacific Ocean together. This year, Nick is taking Improv Utopia to the east for the first time. I hope the many new campers join the great Improv Utopia community this fall. I got a chance to ask Nick a few questions about the camp.

Before we talk about East Camp, some of our readers aren’t familiar with Camp Improv Utopia. How is it different than other improv camps? Why did you decide to start one?

Well it all started about six years ago as an idea. We had heard of improv camps before, there was Camprov in the East that we (John Abbott, Jessica Young, Brian O’Connell and myself) wanted to go to badly but never got a chance to attend before it closed. So we wanted to start a place out West that was a summer camp for adult improvisors first and secondly a place to unite improvisors from all over the country. We saw the improv community growing nationwide, so we wanted to create a place to help it along the way. A place to share knowledge, make life long friendships and build the improv community like never before.

We also wanted Improv Utopia to be intimate. We’ve always believed in quality over quantity. We want every camper to get a chance to really know each other by the end of the weekend and we also want our campers to get focused training from our instructors. One thing we really believe in is free-time. We want improvisors to have a chance to unwind, throw axes, shoot archery, canoe and just hang out together.

Four years in, why did you decide to expand to the East Coast? And why Pennsylvania?

We expanded out East to further our mission to unite the improv community. We felt what we created out West was such a positive “yes and” environment that we wanted to offer it out East. So we felt it was the right time to do that.

I take picking camps very seriously and after a long search, Camp Netimus in Pennsylvania was the one that caught my attention and had everything we wanted in a camp. It’s 400 acres of pure awesomeness and suitable for adults!

DSC3092[1]East coast improvisors have very different challenges than west coast improvisors. You definitely have some folks who cross the country, but how are you going to customize East Camp to the challenges of the east coast performers?

We will be doing an Improv Summit at camp and having East Coast and West Coast improv experts on our panel to discuss the challenges we face in improv. I feel that by sharing knowledge with each other we can all come together and face those challenges, answer questions and start a discussion.

We are also bringing master instructors from the West that East Coast improvisors usually don’t get the chance to take like Craig Cackowski (Dasariski/iO), Jill Bernard (HUGE/ComedySportz) and Paul Vaillancourt (iO/Beer Shark Mice).

The instructor list is available on your website, but what went into the choice of instructors this year?

We always choose instructors that we love and respect and think have added something to the improv community beyond just teaching. They are master instructors and are respected by our staff and the improv community at large. We also pick instructors who want to be there and be a camper too. Our instructors hang out, jam and perform with the campers.

One of the frequently mentioned advantages of the West Camp has been the balance of class time with free time to explore improv on a performer’s own. Talk about that and how it will work in the east?

We want Improv Utopia to be an experience. Improv workshops are a part of IU East for sure, but we also wanted camp to be a place where an improvisor can relax, do camp activities and hang out with other improvisors. Sure it’s nice to take a workshop with Jill Bernard, but wouldn’t it be just as fun to canoe with her too? Or play a round of basketball with Craig Cackowski?

For those who have been to West Camp, what new opportunities will be available at East Camp?

It’s a different camp! I know that sounds obvious but it’s more of a traditional summer camp then out West. We have a lake, horses, canoes and more. We don’t have that out West. Also we are inviting some East Coast master instructors like Will Luera (ImprovBoston) and Rick Andrews (Magnet Theater) that the West folks may have not had the opportunity to take before.

What are your long term goals with Improv Utopia?

Improv Utopia is a 501(c)3 Non-profit and our profits go back to the improv community. We hope to keep raising money to support festivals, theaters and provide scholarships to communities. We’ve done a lot already, but our long-term goal is to help raise more money to give back and also unite the improv community from the East Coast to the West Coast. We have always believed that together we are all better. A nationwide improv ensemble.

There are still a few spots left for camp this year.

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

Interview with Rick Andrews – Joining the NIN Team!

Posted by Nick Armstrong on March 13, 2014

As you’ve probably heard by last weeks announcement Rick Andrews from The Magnet Theater in New York will be joining the NIN team. He joins Bill and I to help us develop the site and reach out to even more improvisors. We are extremely happy to have Rick on board. Here is an interview I did with Rick so you can get to know him a little better:

N: Rick, tell us about yourself. What theater do you call home and why?

R: Hey earth people!  I’m an instructor and performer at The Magnet Theater in New York City, NY.  I started doing improv at Improv Boston, then continued in Saint Louis.  I moved to NY about 4 years ago and quickly fell in love with the Magnet.  I love the attention and care put into the training program and all of the students.  I believe that improv is something that anyone can do and do well, and The Magnet really creates an environment that allows all to succeed and grow.  I also believe that good improvisation can take all kinds of shapes, speeds, and sizes, and I love that I get to explore that at Magnet, to see great work of different styles and approaches.

N: You’re a teacher of improv. What is it you like about teaching improv?

R: Teaching Improv is the my favorite thing to do in the entire world.  Improv gives people genuine confidence; it puts them in situations where they follow their gut and the ensemble supports that choice and they see their choices born into wonderful scenes.  People learn to really trust themselves and others and the change I’ve seen in students who dove into improv in just the short time I’ve been in New York is very staggering and humbling.  People very rarely get to play, and improv lets us play while also fostering excellent listening, teamwork, etc. It makes people better people, which sounds culty and insane, but it’s true.

On a personal level, Improv is the thing I love most, and getting to share that love with others and see them fall in love with it is very fulfilling.

N: Who are your improv heroes?

R: Oh man!  Armando, Tj and Dave, Cackowski, Jill Bernard, Will Luera, Joe Bill and Mark Sutton, …these days the people who inspire me are the people I’m insanely lucky to work with on a daily basis at Magnet.  Too many to name…

N: Do you have an improv philosophy? If so, what is it?

R: There are a lot of ways to do an excellent improv scene.  A compelling relationship will feel different than an odd or interesting character, which will feel different than a well heightened game, etc.  I view these styles as techniques to achieve different but compatible goals.  I’d never coach a group to play an Armando, for example, without talking and thinking about game.  But I’d also never coach a group to do Monoscene without thinking about character.  Improv is improv, but different styles and methods allow us to play shows and scenes that manipulate reality and comedy to varying affects.

Uniting all of these, though, is what I call the dynamic in the scene.  It is the sub-atomic level of all improvisation.  The core of any improv scene, regardless of style, is the two people being affected, most often by each other.  Everything else in the improv scene is super invisible and make believe, except for how the people are being affected.  The people will always feel more palpable and real, the audience will always inherently invest in their active behavior above all else, and it is where the moment-to-moment truth in comedy comes from in a scene.  Every reaction is another chance for an honest response.

A relationship is not compelling if the people are not actually affecting each other; a character is no fun if he/she doesn’t affect anyone.  A game and pattern is meaningless without anyone being affected by it, etc.  Good improvisation in any style follows these ideas and usually leads you back to being affected; The audience doesn’t want a sketch you wrote in your head 2 seconds ago.  They are compelled and moved to laughter and other emotions by the shared journey and the truths and humor discovered on the way.

N: You’re joining the National Improv Network as a team member. What are you most excited about joining the team?

R: The growth of improv over the last decade or two has been amazing, and the capabilities of the National Improv Network to help further connect the community are really fascinating to me.  Our art form is a transient one.  If someone in New York makes some interested musical innovation, someone in LA can hear it on a record, online, etc.  They can experience those ideas.  But for improvisation, we need to connect to each other, we need to travel and see what else is going on to get that outside inspiration.  The freer the exchange of ideas, the better, and I think NIN is a wonderful tool for that.

N: What drew you to join the team at NIN?< R: I'm a user of the site and a big fan of the goals and aims.  I have faith in improv not only as a useful tool to develop comedy but also as a wonderful artform and pursuit itself, and I also believe in collaboration over competition as a way to achieve those means.  I think NIN embodies all of that, and so it's a no brainer to help be a part of it! N: You travel to a bunch of festivals, where do you see improv in five years from now?

R: The change and growth I’ve seen in New York and beyond in the last few years has been amazing.  You still get the same commitment and love in improv by folks who are pursuing and interested in comedy as an art and career.  But I’ve been seeing so many more “regular people” who want to try improv for other reasons, to work on public speaking, feel more confident, meet people, or simply to be playful and have fun.  Improv is becoming a thing that adults just do as a part of being an adult.  In my head, I liken it maybe to where yoga has gone?  From a more niche thing to something that a large part of the population participates in.  I think improv is immensely rewarding to do and enhances people’s lives in so many ways; I see that continuing to spread.
-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 and teacher at iO West. He has also taught workshops around the country. We are always looking for better ways to serve the community. Drop us a line and let us know what you want! To e-mail nick e-mail nick@nationalimprovnetwork.com. For more information visit: http://www.nickarmstrong.com or http://www.improvutopia.com