What can radio talent learn from the masters of comic improv? A lot, it turns out.
In one of the most enjoyable conversations from hivio 2013, the radio ideas festival, I talked with Gary Kramer, Artistic Director of the National Comedy Theatre in New York and San Diego.
Over the past two decades, the NCT has presented almost 7000 performances. As a performer, Gary has appeared throughout the country, as well as internationally in places such as Iraq, Egypt, Germany, Greece, Italy, Turkey and Spain. In addition to NCT, Gary has directed and performed with ComedySportz in Santa Barbara and has been a member of the sketch and improv groups Rough Cut and Wits End.
Here’s just a sampling of what I discussed with Gary:
What is improv? And why should people behind radio mics care?
What are the most important rules of improv that radio talent should pay attention to?
As a radio listener, when do on-air talents improv well, and when do they fail to?
What radio talents do it well, and when do they fall short (Hey, Howard Stern, Gary is talking about you!)
And don’t miss some audience participation improv exercises in this video! The hivio audience was not only trend-setting, it was also funny! Who knew?
Click on this link to watch the video. Or click the image below:
Prefer audio? Try this:
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