halphillips:

chrysilla:

Its weird being nervous about an improv show, compared to other shows I’ve done.  There are no lines or music or fight choreography memorized for me to repeat in my head over and over again.  So far I like this better.

Hopefully I am nervous enough to put on a good show, without actually exploding.  Because I’d feel bad about some Magnet intern having to clean bits of me up off the stage.

Break a leg!

Remember that everybody gets nervous.  You’re supposed to.  And you just go do it anyway.  I’m not one to throw Del Close quotations around, but the one I really like is “fuck your fear”, because it implies that your fear is THERE.  He’s not saying you should get rid of your fear.  Your fear is a presence, and it’s scary and it’s strong and it makes you want to run away, but you turn to it and you say, “fuck off”.  And you improvise anyway.  And that’s why improvisers are the REAL heroes.  Fuck firemen.

I’d always interpreted this advice as have sex with your fear — i.e. if you (as a performer) are scared of something in an improv scene, it’s a good sign that you should jump on top of it and start humping.