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…]
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…]
Monster Baby #8: How About Healing?
Responding to their first ever Monster Baby listener letter, Ted and Lisa explore the healing powers of mindfulness and improvisation. They warm up with a rousing game of 3 Things! (1:38) and then start digging into their topic (6:25), noting that healing can be like rinsing the bad or filling in the good (11:45). They [more…]
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