These are all pulled directly from CHALLENGING IMPROV... (the book), so if you're looking for more context, by all means get that.  I'm sure Johnny the Huckster is schlepping it on one of these pages.

1. First real… IMPROV HACK! “IMPROV IS MESSY!” 

LIFE is messy. YOU are probably messy.  This book is IMPROV... it will likely NOT be a nice, clean text-booky experience for ALL audiences. I am messy. I seek not to offend, but, for better or worse, I will try not to filter or censor for the sake of literary propriety. Messy! 

2. “RESPECT THE GAG!” No shame in Artifice.

“187” is a quite popular “GAG” Improv game that goes over really well in bars. After a few beers, just the number “187” is somehow funny, and the closing pun or punchline is just gravy. If we start turning up our noses at low humor now... it’s a looong book. 

3. “Don’t just talk about it... DO IT!”

Challenging Improv is a very PHYSICAL brand of improv, but this HACK is more about the philosophy of SHOWING rather than TELLING. 

4. “DIALOGUE IS THE FACADE OF THE ACTION!” 

Not sure where I picked up this little quip, but I said it thousands of times to teach that HOW you say something is the true meaning, not the words. For us, let’s just say that HOW this book is written will be far more “instructional” than any of the actual words. 

5. “CROSS THE THRESHOLD!” 

Insanely useful for getting kids (and adults) out of their head space and into the space you want them to be. The more “ritualized,” the better. Be creative. Have fun. Cross the threshold. 

6. A lot of what they are doing here is “REINCORPORATION!”

…or CALLBACKS.  Callbacks can be very entertaining in Performance Improv, but the underlying skill is PAYING ATTENTION and using what you see and hear in the PAST to move FORWARD.  Again... great in Improv AND great in WORK and LIFE! 

7. Most of this stuff is called “ASSOCIATIONS!”

Taking words or concepts and associating them with other possible meanings or circumstances. The most common associations are probably PUNS... also the most annoying, so... YAY for that!  Either way... Improv SKILLS in action. You are already becoming a better Improvisor and person. YAY for that! 

8. My math woes remind me that this would be an excellent place to introduce another MAJOR REPEATING CONCEPT in this here book. “YAY FOR FAILING!” 

This is pretty much a staple of ALL IMPROV, AND it is one of those concepts that makes IMPROV such a wonderful LIFE philosophy. Failing means you are trying new things... simple as that. If you aren’t FAILING, you aren’t TRYING. Failing is not just something NOT to be afraid of... it is something to be CELEBRATED! “YAY FOR FAILING!”

9. There they are... Clockwise... “TRY, TRUST, TRAIN, AND TRUTH.” 

Like I said, I’ve been teaching for a good long time, and these posters were done when the very latest in artistic technology was Yellow Poster-Board and Flair Pens.  They came out right after Cave Drawings went out of style, and I jumped all over it... though I was known to have some pretty cool Cave Drawings in some of my earlier classes. These are the ultimate IMPROV HACKS, and the best place to start in making WORK and LIFE more BEAUTIFUL! 

10. “WHAT IS YOUR INTENT?”

We hear soooooo much about “Growth Mindsets,” which made the person who came up with that buzzword a ton of money, but the concept has been around forever and EVERY kindergarten teacher teaches it daily. Unfortunately, that’s about the last time it is taught.  In CHALLENGING IMPROV it is simply “GETTING FROM HERE TO THERE!” (The INTENT to get better.)  Kids (and YOU) need to realize that you CAN and SHOULD get better, even (perhaps ESPECIALLY) if it is only a LITTLE better. Sometimes that’s all it might take to kickstart a project or scene, and sometimes it’s all it takes to kickstart a kid.  I had lots of visual games to show kids how easy it was to go from NOTHING to SOMETHING.  How it was even pretty easy to go from SOMETHING to SOMETHING GOOD, but it was always just plain HARD to get from SOMETHING GOOD to SOMETHING GREAT.  That was easily the shortest distance gained but the hardest to achieve.  Seeing this represented visually seemed to make a huge difference (Like with a yardstick and some tape, or a stack of blocks... OR A HUMAN PYRAMID... NOW WE’RE TALKIN’!) 

11. “THEATRE (including Improv) IS THE MOST COLLABORATIVE ARTFORM!”

I just can’t stress that enough. Every time I use the word “I” in relation to the THEATRE, I am really talking about dozens if not hundreds of other people who have contributed to the success of “MY” approach... for EVERY SHOW! I really did have a very successful career as a theatre educator, designer, and director, but ONLY because I was given the TRUST, SUPPORT, and COLLABORATIVE energy of so many administrators, colleagues, families, and KIDS. If “I” accomplished anything in that time, it was simply somehow EARNING that TRUST, SUPPORT, and COLLABORATION. 

12. “PRACTICALITY!”

Some words about “EVERYTHING AT YOUR DISPOSAL.” Much of this beat comes more from my Technical Theatre curriculum than anything I taught in ACTING classes. In my Tech classes, I teach that every production has 3 primary elements of PRACTICALITY... TIME (how much do you have?) BUDGET (How much do you have?) SKILLS (How many do you have?) These are a great start to your list of EVERYTHING AT YOUR DISPOSAL, and, for the sake of this here book, I would add PASSION and PEOPLE. We can ANALYZE our WORK and LIFE to find different INTERPRETATIONS of our IDEAS, then draw on INSPIRATIONS to COMMUNICATE those IDEAS to others by DOING the WORK of a theatrical artist, which is CREATING THE REALITY that others’ experience. 

13. “SUPERSTITIONS ARE A THING!”

The theatre is full of weird superstitions... so are sports and all sorts of other “Really putting yourself out there” activities. Don’t just poo-poo them. Superstitions are often rooted in real crap that can go horribly wrong, like “Cautionary tales.” ...Don’t break mirrors. Don’t walk under ladders. Black cats are creepy, and you DO NOT SAY THE NAME OF THE SCOTTISH PLAY IN A THEATER! 

14. “PEOPLE ONLY EXPERIENCE WHAT THEY SEE AND HEAR... ACTING!”

We are ALL actors.  Our intentions and ideas mean nothing unless we express them, and HOW we express them will often be just as or more “communicative” than the actual ideas or intentions.  As a director and designer, I have to be an ACTOR in the sense that I use my voice and body in the most engaging way possible to achieve the CONNECTIONS I needed with kids and colleagues.  I hope I am never disingenuous, but I also strive to be as “big” or as “intense” as I can be to get my IDEAS across. Your IDEAS are often perceived as only as big as the ACTING you display in COMMUNICATING them.  ACTING! 

15. “IF YOU BUILD A PLAYGROUND... THEY WILL PLAY!”

This was always a goal when I was designing and one of the first tips I would give when teaching theatrical design.  Imagine all the WORK and LIFE applications of this simple HACK... Imagine setting the goal of creating playgrounds out of all your projects involving other people. Always thinking of their enjoyment and “fun.”  What would that look like? 

16. “PAY ATTENTION!” 

All of your experiences are like FREE OFFERS to ACCEPT and REINCORPORATE into your life at a later point. 

17. “TRIAGE!” 

Know your CHASE... Cut to the CHASE!

One of the best lessons I learned in a Directing class is that when seeking resources for any given project you will use only a tiny fraction of what might be relevant and available.  It is often better to think more about what to discard than what to keep. TRIAGE!  You can get what you want faster by taking a shovel to huge chunks of stuff, rather than sifting through every grain. Knowing what you DON’T want is at least as important as knowing what you DO want. TRIAGE

18. “SPONTANEITY and ASSOCIATIONS!” 

They’re FREE!  These can be a tremendous tool for all sorts of tasks. GAMES like this build the skills of CONNECTION and CONVERSATION. How did you do? Your College of Choice depends on this!

19. “CHIVALRY!”

Let go of the wheel. Let the other player in the scene (or your LIFE) drive for a bit.

20. “WORDS WILL ALWAYS FAIL YOU!” 

Couch proof.  Okay, I do remember at least one of the lost tips, and the second part was “ACTIONS ALWAYS SUCCEED!”  The key was the whole DOING thing.  CHALLENGING IMPROV would wind up being VERY PHYSICAL, and we built off this tip year after year. 

21. “USE YOU!” 

If you are older than dirt and still think of the eighties as NEW music. OWN THAT. You are the product of EVERYTHING that has influenced you. USE YOU!  Even the Eighties YOU. 

22. “FIND THE BEAT!”

There is a BEAT and RHYTHM to every interaction... listen for it, then put yourself into it fully... both verbally and physically.  Just listening to music, all kinds of different music, can give you a primer for all the possible interactions you may have with all sorts of different people.  Let the pleasure of listening to music be the homework for a better WORK and LIFE experience.  FIND THE BEAT! ...in everything you do. 

23. “BIGGER! FASTER! FUNNIER!” 

Great to shout when rehearsals get dull... or maybe when WORK or LIFE get dull. I shouted it a lot... even in tragedies. This all came from Sketch Comedy. Again... most of my teaching sensibilities came from Comedy Corner. A college education... well worth the tuition... except for all those pesky classes. 

24. “IF THEY CAN’T HEAR IT OR SEE IT, YOU DIDN’T INTEND TO DO IT!” 

Don’t get me wrong... the intentions are absolutely key, but no one ever SEES or HEARS those.  If you don’t match your ACTIONS and WORDS to your intentions, those great intentions will be useless.  Writing dialogue forces you to pay attention to your words, which can help so much when you actually have to use your words to communicate IDEAS to others. 

25. “MAKE OFFERS OF YOUR PASSIONS. NEVER TURN UP YOUR NOSE TO OTHERS’ PASSIONS! ACCEPT. YES, AND...” 

26. “MUSCLE MEMORY!”

I was also going into my third year as a PAPERBOY, and at this point, I had started riding my entire route (about five miles) on a UNICYCLE. I had started by doing a few blocks and lurching from side to side as I threw for the porches with a bag full of two hundred newspapers, but I slowly got the balance and strength to ride the whole route with confidence.  Eventually, I could cut through dirt and rock alleys and hop up and down short, outdoor stairways.  Most importantly, I noticed that I was doing something that I could never have done even a few months before.  My body was changing, not because I was consciously willing it to change, but because of simple repetition.  I was experiencing my first rush of MUSCLE MEMORY.  That concept AND practice would become a mainstay of my Improv teaching AND my WORK and LIFE.  MUSCLE MEMORY! 

27. “GET ON YOUR MEYERHOLD CYCLES AND RIDE!”

One of many ridiculous shouts I employed when teaching any aspect of Meyerhold’s Cycles (Otkas, Posyl, Stoika, and Tormos). Just focusing on “STOIKA” here.
... When I jumped in any sport, I was seeking what Vsevolod Meyerhold called STOIKA, or the STANCE.  That momentary pause or BEAT between one movement and the next.  Meyerhold spoke of it in relation to MUSIC and DANCE. In MUSIC it is the anacrusis, the moment before the “Drop” you absolutely know is coming because of the preceding build up... but there has to be that moment of stillness or emptiness BEFORE that drop.  In DANCE... Oh, beautiful DANCE... he called it the moment when a dancer leaps into the air and reaches their apex... then that beautiful BEAT, that pause... before gravity takes hold and sends them down again.  I used to describe it to my classes as the moment when the blade of a pendulum (Like in that horror movie with the guy who played “Egghead” in the old Batman TV show) reaches the end of one swing before beginning the next swing in the opposite direction.  That moment is both connected and fully separated... sheer beauty in physics.  RIDE THAT CYCLE! 

28. “TRUST THAT IMPULSE!”

If I had a nickel for every time a young performer started to do something on stage that was spontaneous and brilliant and “thoughtless,” then stopped because they “thought” it was WRONG... when it was SOOOOO right and “in the moment,” but now sadly lost.  THAT was MUSCLE MEMORY and ART at work, then “Corrected” because they just couldn’t TRUST doing something that they hadn’t “planned” on doing.  IMPULSES are almost always artistic, and they are almost always right, because your artistic brain has experienced it enough to make it MUSCLE MEMORY.  TRUST YOUR IMPULSES! 

29. “Respect for the process, preparation, and shared responsibilities of the class!”

That’s what the rubric said, but Johnny usually just yelled... “It’s all about the other guy!”  “The other guy is ALWAYS RIGHT!”  “Everything you need is right in your scene partners eyes!” There was a lot of yelling.  Especially about ENSEMBLE. 

30. “TUMBLEWEED!” Mini HACK. 

No doubt about it... this is the “ULTIMATE” improvisor... and I will fully admit that I have only had the one like this.  Imagine thinking selflessly from the AGE OF FIFTEEN... on stage and off.  This kid very literally played a TUMBLEWEED in a gunfight scene, and when I figured out what he was doing, my jaw dropped.  That was the moment when I knew that Improv was for REAL. So much more than just “Stuff to do on a stage.”  This was “Stuff that can make WORK and LIFE better, fun, and BEAUTIFUL.”

Thank you, TUMBLEWEED! 

31. “DON’T FILTER!”

Everybody needs an unfiltered outlet.  Improv can be that... so can ART!  As a teacher, I attended increasingly more “inservices” about SEL (Social Emotional Learning).  It was fairly clear that kids were not doing so well in that regard, and the common culprit was Screens and Social Media and increased Social and Parental Pressure and the like, but I do wonder if maybe the biggest culprit is a very real Cancel Culture that prohibits kids from processing ANY less than savory thoughts in ANY way.  We come down so hard on the slightest suggestion of “deviant” thoughts from kids who barely know what “Deviance” is.  I would very much like to believe that I am NOT Violent, Sexist, Nihilistic, or even Fascist, and I wonder if one of the reasons that I am not much of any of those things NOW is because I processed the initial feelings through that now troubling ART... THEN.  Had my Spanish Teacher, Mr. Bruce, who I now think of as a brilliant mentor, had slightly better eyesight, I might be a very different and not necessarily “better” person today. 

32. “Embrace the contradictions! EMBRACE THE CONTRADICTIONS! EM-BRACE THE CON-TRA-DICTIONS!”

Dude... it’s a simple rule. Just embrace the darn CONTRADICTIONS and move on with your life!  But sometimes it’s not that easy to follow a simple rule... that too is a CONTRADICTION. Sometimes you have to take a moment and think about the thing and figure out how you want to go forward.  Especially if that thing is as important as your SPIRIT ART.  Yes, the easier path is to embrace and move forward, but if a feeling lingers for too long... you have to look at that.  For me, I noticed that when I was happy and feeling accepted and valued at my school, I had no problem giving my heart and soul AND especially my ART to that place, but, as we succumbed to a more modern METRIC driven world, I felt that value and acceptance slip away... I felt like I was expected to just DO MY JOB... just a JOB.  I really struggled to see my Sales and Marketing (JOB) ART as something I could VALUE.  Without that internal value... losing ones’ SPIRIT ART... That can be a truly crushing blow. This BOOK is ABOUT freeing your ART to embrace EVERY ASPECT of your LIFE, including WORK... Let’s see you get out of that CONTRADICTION, smart guy.  I will try... read on. For now, we are still in the middle of a GAME! 

33. “FOLLOW THE LEADER! THERE IS NO LEADER!”

Here’s the GAME within the game... Improvisers often practice “Flocking.”  Yeah, like the birds.  There are various exercises that help PLAYERS to SENSE when someone else is “LEADING” and when THEY are the “LEADER.”  FLOCKING is essential in ALL the games that involve INSTANT group decisions.  The applications to WORK and LIFE are pretty overt with this one, but just imagine if ANY of our world leaders tried exercises like that.  Conjure up an image of those spear-like, seamlessly shifting ensembles in the air.  Would a world run by geese be any worse than the one we’re currently living in? 

34. “1st THING!”

An Improv staple... One of the building blocks of all IMPROV and especially CHALLENGING IMPROV.  I worked for years to develop the TRUST needed for students to feel SAFE going with their first impulse.  That safety led to the BUY-IN that fueled my entire career as an educator. 1st THING! 

35. “ACT ON YOUR TRUTH!” ... Don’t just comment on it.

Yes... as explained in the last BEAT... I am no longer gainfully employed.  It’s hard to outline a book about LOVING your WORK and LIFE, then walking away from that WORK a few dozen pages into the project.  Still, it allows me to TRUST in the concepts of this book... YAY FOR FAILING, EMBRACE THE CONTRADICTIONS, WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH, THE TOUGH RUN HOME TO MOMMY CRYING LIKE A LITTLE... wait.... There’s no need to repeat any of the reasons here, but the up-shot is that the CHALLENGERS OF THE IMPROV-SSIBLE and CHALLENGING IMPROV in a High School setting... that’s DONE.  Which makes way for CHALLENGING IMPROV in other settings... like... a book?

All of these CHALLENGING IMPROV HACKS are things I wrote, or more likely yelled in workshops and rehearsals. They are all in my arsenal of motivational rants... “ACT ON YOUR TRUTH” was a biggie. If I just “COMMENTED” on my 23 years of doing this particular thing in one particular place, and my ultimate decision to STOP doing that thing, that would make for a good story perhaps, but in order to ACT on my truth, I had to do something BIGGER.  This book is my attempt at a BIGGER truth.  A SHARED truth.  Twenty-three years of TRUTH.
But rather than start at the end, let’s start at the beginning... makes more narrative sense.  So... 

36. “UM... BE PRINCIPLED!”

1. Pay Attention and Master FOCUS (Head on a Swivel Surveillance of Self, Others, and the Environment, and all RIGHT NOW)

2. Trust, Respect, and Cooperation... YES! (Ego control, Fear Containment, and Total Acceptance)

3. Relationships, Hierarchy, and Status (and ENSEMBLE in the Safehouse and Making Others Look Good)

4. Commitment (To the mission, the squad, and the Stars and Stripes. This is your INTENT, Agents. TRY!)

5. Reflex Excitability (Situational Awareness, Emptiness and Play... you heard me... Play!)

6. Full Expressive Potential (Go Big or go Gray)

7. Rhythm (Beats and Separation and EVERYTHING is Reveille)

8. Offers and Aim (Motivation, Target Acquisition, Points of Focus, and EVERYTHING is an OFFER)

9. Cycles of Movement and Conversation (Otkas, Posyl, Stoika and Tormos.  Cool Words and Cold War Counterintelligence)

10. Reacting (TRUTH... Making it real and everything counts. This includes SPONTANEITY, so don’t let me catch you “Filtering”)

I just yelled all of these... a lot, so they are all CHALLENGING IMPROV HACKS. 

37. “DO IT AGAIN!”

Repetition is essential to creating MUSCLE MEMORY... it is also essential in writing databases.  I still have a few old notes... I’m working on it. 

38. “EXPRESS YOURSELF!”
I taught that the two most expressive things you have at your disposal are your eyes and your hands. If you’re not sure how you can express MORE, start with those. The BIGGER the better. Imagine what really big eyes and really big hands might look like. Try it.

39. “BE YOU!”

Or… Hey kids... What if Johnny were an actual “PROFESSIONAL” writer of TEXTBOOKS? What in the world would THAT look like? Let’s find out... 

(What follows is a very textbooky, very NOT Johnny couple pages... Very professional... NOT me.)

UN-ARTY MATH FACT TEMPLATES.  A way to engage kids who struggle with "Times Tables" with a fun, UN-Arty way to spend lots of time with MATH FACTS.

Coming soon!