#patrick mccartney

Tilray® Receives Approval from U.S. Government to Import a Medical Cannabis Study Drug for a Clinical Trial at the University of California San Diego Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research

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U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration approves import of a pharmaceutical-grade medical cannabis product produced by Tilray into the United States for a clinical trial focused on Essential Tremor NANAIMO, B.C. – Tilray Inc. (NASDAQ:TLRY) today announced that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has granted approval to import a cannabinoid study drug into the United States…

A new series of monthly posts on the art of teaching improv, written by members of the teaching staff of The People’s Improv Theater.  

Hear more from Patrick on this week’s episode of The PITcast, available on iTunes!

And don’t miss a chance to see Patrick perform live with McCann and McCartney at NYC Improv Fest, Saturday, March 19th at 6pm at The PIT Loft!

When I was a younger improviser I was constantly beating myself up. I was only as good as my last show and it was all very much about me, myself and I. The first few years my only default question was set at “how did I do?” not what “how did we do?” It was the very common, tired, old, self-obsessed performer/ actor/ comedian thing. After shows in bed at night sleep would be held back by thoughts like “That was great when I did that. I can’t believe they didn’t get it.” or “ I can’t believe I made that joke instead of this way funnier joke I’m thinking of right now!” and, the always popular (we all have it) “ THAT GUY got more laughs then me??? Fuck THAT GUY!” The days of wine and roses were filled with the former but it is only now that I have learned to smell the latter.

Improv is terrifying. Making stuff up out of nothing is as scary as it gets. Doing it in front of people that have paid to see you do it well that could be considered torture in some countries. So why do I do it? At first I was like you in that when I saw a really good group play together at the top of their intelligence I thought almost immediately that not only that I wanted to do it but that I could do it. Of course, those groups make it look so easy. Over time, they have developed a great respect for an art form that takes training and practice. 

After taking classes with some great teachers and working with some great players I still struggled with the occasional very-human-but-unfortunately-not-very-helpful-for-a-performer feeling of being stuck in my head. That’s when I decided to ACT fearless to me. “Pretend like I just didn’t give a fuck” was the technical term. I was that guy for a long time that seemed fearless. I was the guy that would take off all his clothes, say the awkward thing, revel in the audience squirming in their seats while I told them they were bovine, spineless creatures that lived in a country that was lying to them and they were lying to themselves etc. etc. etc. These are the things I did to get out of my head and find my voice in the beginning. 

Now I’m not saying any of it was a completely awful thing. In fact from what I see we could use a little more of that in the grind them out scene of comedy today. What did happen though is I got BURNT out. It’s one of the many things I try and pass along to my student’s. If you make it all about yourself and what you really want to say you will burn out. If you think this improv thing is in anyway all about you, you will burn out. Worse, you’ll blame the art form and its “limitations” when in fact the art form is limitless. 

Improv is about the other people up there with you. That’s the key to getting out of your head. Making the other person look good. Finding the game together and playing it. Exploring and heightening with your scene partner. Listening, behaving, initiating. Always be teachable. These are the things that I constantly remind myself of and improv is more exciting to me than it was when I first did it 20 years ago.

I’m not saying don’t have a strong point of view. I’m not saying you shouldn’t pat yourself on the back once in a while. I’m not saying that you won’t be the narcissistic actor/actress cliché sometimes I’m saying you don’t have to be. You have a choice. You want more edge in your improv comedy, trust me, you’ll meet like-minded individuals and you all can create your own thing. Until then, the way things are these days, an improviser can do six different shows with six different groups in five different days. It’s more important than ever to be easy to work with not by kissing ass but by bringing an openness and joy to every group that lets you play with them. Just be grateful that, hey look there’s another person on stage with you that’s totally willing to make stuff up. That’s all you have to do to get out of your head.