What is harmony and what the heck makes it so delicious, both literally and metaphorically? Ted and Lisa start with a modified round of “Three Things!” (2:34) and then explain what made them chose today’s topic (7:08). Ted shares his impressions of Lisa’s erstwhile musical improv group, Lombard Street Experiment (12:06) and the pair considers [more…]
Monster Baby #17: Post-Election Reflections
After a world-changing, head-spinning Election Day outcome, Lisa and Ted turn to each other to process their emotional turmoil. Lisa relays the experience of her first post-result class at Stanford and asks, “How can we play or teach when we’re in the face of a devastating loss?” (2:28) They discuss how mindful sharing offers one [more…]
Monster Baby #16 A Conversation with Patricia Ryan Madson (Part 2)
Lisa and Ted continue their conversation with teacher and mentor, Patricia Ryan Madson, drama teacher and author of the acclaimed Improv Wisdom. In this segment, Patricia explained how she first learned to say “Yes, and” from impro master Ketih Johnstone (1:09) and how one can approach improv games from multiple angles (5:06). The three [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 #14 Silence, Please
What happens when you talk about silence? In this episode, Lisa and Ted offer a short check-in (1:43) and get some questionable advice from their respective tea bags (5:21). They first focus on how silence can affect improv experience (9:31) and then turn their attention to the empty spaces of art and music (21:20). They discuss how some experience [more…]
Monster Baby #13 Ch-ch-ch-changes
A recent loss gets Ted and Lisa reflecting on how best to relate to change. They start with a playful word-at-a-time school announcement (1:45) and some early reflections on change in general (3:54). From there, they consider what improv has to say about change (7:15) and when it might make sense to resist some shifts [more…]
Monster Baby #12: Meta-tation: This is a Subtitle
Lisa and Ted return from their most recent retreat to share a few meta-level insights. After a storytelling warm-up game (1:27) and a check-in about Ted’s trip to Europe (7:51), the duo introduce the perspective of the Observer in meditation and improv (19:25). They consider fellow improvisor Ben Johnson’s approach (25:23) and recognize that sometimes [more…]
Monster Baby #11: Passing the Bechdel Test: On Gender in Improv and Facing Old Demons
With Ted finally back from a month in Europe, he and Lisa explore the ramifications of her recently directed run of “Bechdel Test” improv shows.* After a playful warm-up game of Finish the Word (3:23), Lisa and Ted recount their performer and audience perspectives on the show’s portrayal of stories about women (16:12). Eventally, they [more…]
Thanks, Harry Potter College (or 10 Reasons to be Thankful for the 2016 Applied Improvisation Network Conference)
Turns out, Hogwarts does have magic to share. Though I didn’t speak with any ghostly portraits or pick up any dark arts spells in my time at Keble College, an Oxford University branch used as a model for the famed wizarding school, I did have a blast at the 2016 Applied Improvisation Network Conference. For [more…]
Monster Baby #10: Chaos Theory
Finally back from a month-long hiatus, Lisa and Ted get into their different preferences around chaos and order. They open with a ribald riff on unicorns and rainbow prisms (really, see 2:34) and then explain what happened with the delay between podcast episodes (5:45). Together, Ted and Lisa try to determine what makes for a healthy [more…]
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