A few weeks ago my position was eliminated at Liberty Mutual. Honestly, I'd been building toward something new for a while. The elimination just removed the last reason to wait. So here's what I'm doing. And I'm going to do it with the garage door open. I've spent the last couple of years quietly developing a...

Last night I attended a "Developing Characters in Improv: Bringing Characters to Life on Stage” class from Queen City Improv’s Rick Reebenacker. I enjoyed this class so much. As a former animator and now improvisor I see a lot of overlap in the two fields. I mean, they are both acting.  Rick led us through some...

I made a guide about mailing physical things to friends. No one likes bills or junk mail. But this is the kind of mail that makes you smile when you open your mailbox. Why this matters to me: I've been using (and thinking a lot about) paper for ages. Notebooks. Zines. The tactile practice of making small things and...

I spoke with a friend who described this truly interesting thing he's doing for his work. It involves AI. After he finished describing it and the real value it's creating he wondered out loud... How many buffalo did I just kill? Another friend I spoke to recently said a similar thing. He feels he needs to use AI or...

Craig Clevenger’s Mother Howl is the oddest and most interesting novel I’ve read in a long time. Some very grim subject matter for sure. But so well written and what a ride. Highly recommended. 

Make a choice. Double down on it. Triple down on it. - David Chevalier

No scene is ever about the words being spoken. -Del Close

Yesterday I ran a retrospective workshop for a group of folks at work. We used the constellations activity, which is a really interesting format. In my experience it helps people think hard about “group think” and “group mind”. The former generally being not very effective, the latter being amazing when channeled...

I’ve been thinking, creating, and piloting workshops that combine some elements of Complexity Science and Improvisation. You could call this Applied Improv, where facilitators take the mindset and tactics of Improv and help leaders, teams, and organizations communicate, collaborate, and explore creativity.  But by...

He stood crouched, ready. His armor was sparring gear, from head to toe. As well as his knowingly false bravado beneath it all. He yelled “I am the night creature”! His opponent stood ten feet away. Shirtless, shoeless and in a pair of shorts. He was already a black belt. “I’ll just use my left leg, and I’ll still beat...

He said to me “remind me to remember that” and chuckled to himself. Then he took the lit cigarette out of his mouth with his right hand. With his left, he put an unlit cigarette in his mouth and lit it with a lighter. He placed the lighter on the floor next to him. Next, he took the second lit cigarette out of his mouth...

We had our first meeting/practice of the new improv group yesterday. We’re currently calling ourselves Noodle and Prance. One of our members volunteered the name as it’s the name of their cats. We all thought that was funny, so here we are.  Over the last couple years, I’ve been taking classes, going to jams, and...

Knife, Hawk, Spaghetti is an improv game usually used for warming up the performers in practice or before a show. You would likely never see this game during an actual improv show, as it’s a game to get performers minds and bodies warmed up, and doesn’t play well on a stage.  It’s one of my favorites as it forces you to...

I’m about to wrap up a level 301 Improv class with Stranger than Fiction. Our class culminates in a student showcase. Our class opens the show for the main cast. There’s 11 of us in class and we’re performing the Monoscene format. Come see us in Portsmouth on Friday August 15th, 2025!The Monoscene is just as it sounds....

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