Last night (August 7, 2019) in New York City, following a weekend of more mass shootings in Dayton and El Paso, Times Square had a false alarm that demonstrated just how adrenalized our society has become. I posted the following on Facebook after the incident, both to share the story and to process the event [more…]
Monster Baby #51 Insights On- and Off-Stage: A Conversation with Joe Bill, Part 2
The conversation with Joe Bill goes wider and deeper. When legendary improvisor Joe Bill arrived in San Francisco to teach and perform, Ted and Lisa seized the opportunity and wrangled up a whirring, stirring conversation about improv, psychology, surviving childhood—and a whole lot more. Listen in for Part 2 of their Monster Baby cup of [more…]
Monster Baby #50 A Buddhist Atheist: A Conversation with Joe Bill, Part 1
Joe Bill’s an improv luminary with a brilliant mind that careens joyfully between gutter-level explicitness and spiritual truth—oh wait, are they different? When Joe came to San Francisco to teach and perform, Ted and Lisa cranked up the podcast for a two-part conversation that runs the gamut. Part 1 of the conversation starts with the [more…]
Monster Baby #30: Handling Heartbreak: A True Story
Coping with a wounded heart can be tough, but mindfulness and improvisation principles and practices can help. In this episode, Ted and Lisa process Ted’s meteoric rise-and-fall romantic connection (2:33), preparing with a little levity in an opening game of Three Things (6:28). Ted recounts the good times and the stunning news of reversal (9:56) [more…]
Monster Baby #27 Speaking of Spirituality or Why Lisa Might Be Going to Hell
What’s spirituality got to do with it anyway? Ted and Lisa take on the thorny task of exploring the realms of spirit and what they have to do with mindfulness and improv. Lisa starts by explaining the Double Bounce Theory and why her coffee and exercise routine might play out in the episode (2:50). Ted [more…]
Monster Baby #15: A Conversation with Patricia Ryan Madson (Part 1)
Lisa and Ted welcome their teacher and mentor, Patricia Ryan Madson, drama teacher and author of the acclaimed Improv Wisdom, for a two-part Monster Baby conversation. They explore how mindfulness and improv first joined together in Patricia’s work (3:21) and how the Stanford Improvisors first came into being, both as a learning/performance group and [more…]
Monster Baby #9: The Monster Baby Retreat–An Interview
Toward the end of their recently concluded Mindful Play, Playful Mind retreat, Ted and Lisa sit down for an interview with David Treadwell, a writer from Brunswick, Maine. Ted and Lisa get into why they offer such retreats (2:46), what the weekend usually covers (6:03), and how improv skills can lead to a better life (9:03). [more…]
Why I’m Not Looking Forward to the Future Anymore
It may seem sacrilege, but the title is true. I’ve stopped looking forward to the future. That said, fear not. I haven’t become a pessimist or a Donnie Downer. My internal curmudgeon knows how to flex his muscles, but he hasn’t yet commandeered my internal rudder. Generosity and gratitude still captain the ship. It’s just that [more…]
Peace or Privilege? The Paradox of Mindfulness and Social Change
When I consider mindfulness and social change, two contrasting impulses arise within me. One voice suggests coming to peace with what is. That voice recognizes that the problem may not be “out there” so much as it is within me. That I need to develop a quiet, a stillness, a readiness, a clarity of intention before I [more…]
Improvisation as Spiritual Practice: A Deepening Path
Want to explore all this in person? Join our Mindful Play, Playful Mind retreat in Santa Cruz this June 11-15! This fall, I had the immense pleasure of spending four days in the woods outside Montreal with a most beautiful crew of applied improvisors. We laughed, we danced, we played, we performed, we ate amazing [more…]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- …
- 6
- Next Page »
