07/26 notes
Zac Oyama is a genius
a space to think
a space to think...
Latest posts
The audience
I rarely jot down thoughts related to work. Half my blog is nonsense: snippets related to comedy and performing. Writing, outside of the context of work, is a safe-haven. Recently, though, I've been thinking a lot about AI. Not just because it's related to work, but because of its relationship to art, and artists. I've always been worried it'll replace us - that writers, producers, even comedians…
A tactic for solving hard problems
Sometimes we put a lot of pressure on ourselves to solve a difficult problem. Inevitably, we hit a wall. When that happens, try to define and understand the wall. Why are you struggling so much with it? Decompose it. Only then can you figure out the right next step. Or, the right reframing. I feel like most people try so often to skip this step, and it inevitably leads to wasted time.
Bookstores
Sometimes I lose momentum Sometimes I just want to scroll All it takes is a visit to a bookshop For me to remember Just how much I need to cover And as the afternoon ebbs past I too, feel How little life I have left to do it
Chronic pain
So strange to have known pain for a decade And, for it to, overnight, disappear Gone - lost - I can barely remember how it felt Any attempt to remember (it was a pinch? a...sear?) Leads me back to what I feel, right now The body wants to settle in the now To celebrate what it feels To move - and immediately, enjoy Even in pain, the pain was all it could think of What a joy, now, for it to be free
Unbearable improv
"We're going to play a personal favorite game of mine to warm-up, ok?" "It's called key-lime-pie! To play, one of you pretends to be a key, another, a lime, and the last one a pie, and you do a scene together! Any questions?? Allllright, let's get 3 people on-stage!" "It's called fuck, marry, kajangle! It's a two person game where one person starts a marriage scene, and you play out the first…
My very personal improv toolbox
All the things that I've used to make good improv: Straight man tactics: Status - Play high, play low, switch, switch back. Context - Events, events, events (what's something that's happened that relevant? what about something that's coming up? what happened between you two?), relationship, environment. The straight man should always also have a game. What do you want out of the absurd character?…
Dashes
Dashes for refinement of an idea: The period means stop - for a moment. "Most writing classes or courses in school and college focus on expository writing - giving information, explaining. "It can be these things, but first of all - and in the end, too - it is an art... The dash almost always introduces a short phrase. Rare (but not uncommon) to see someone successfully tack a long phrase on with…
11/24 notes
Conan's improv ability States of denial are funny Steve Martin is hilarious Ladies and gents - Billy Crystal More Steve Martin Towards the end, playing a great redneck character The influence of a single word to create a bit Conner O'Malley, who I've probably noted twice - just brilliant Old CH (Ben Schwartz is also just amazing) Ben, Jean-Ralphio, radical yes and Character work - old people…
Bazeball
I'm trying to get into baseball but can't really take it seriously. Maybe it's just The Comeback - a miniseries I'm watching - but there are just such characters in the sport: Pedro Martínez intentionally sending 2 Yankees batters to the ambulance - and is proud of it. Grady Little saying shit like "I was never into analytics. It's like when I'm at the beach with my wife, and a lady in a bikini is…