YES, AND: AN INTERVIEW WITH AN IMPROV HISTORIAN
An interview with Barry Wexler, performer, historian, and author of Accept the Premise: Improv Comedy from Commedia dell’Arte to Corporate Retreats.
INTERVIEWER: I understand that you’re not only an improv performer but also a historian of improv.
WEXLER: Yes, and it’s not my first profession. My first job was wrestling alligators at a theme park in Florida.
INTERVIEWER: Wrestling alligators?
WEXLER: Yes, and also manatees, Burmese pythons, and, briefly, a giant squid.
INTERVIEWER: There was a giant squid at a Florida theme park?
WEXLER: Yes, and she was shop steward for the aquatic performers.
INTERVIEWER: I’m not sure giant squid can—
WEXLER: That’s a classic improv mistake.
INTERVIEWER: What is?
WEXLER: Denying the reality your scene partner has established.
INTERVIEWER: So improv is basically “Yes, and.”
WEXLER: Yes, and you don’t literally have to say “Yes, and.”
INTERVIEWER: Of course.
WEXLER: You just did.
INTERVIEWER: Let’s talk history. How far back does improv go?
WEXLER: At least to ancient Greece. Socrates was essentially an improviser.
INTERVIEWER: Socrates?
WEXLER: Yes, and Plato was the guy in the audience writing everything down and later claiming it was philosophy.
INTERVIEWER: That’s a somewhat unorthodox interpretation.
WEXLER: Yes, and Aristotle founded the first training center, the Lyceum.
INTERVIEWER: The Lyceum wasn’t an improv school.
WEXLER: You’re fighting the scene very hard.
INTERVIEWER: Most people associate modern improv with Chicago.
WEXLER: Yes, and Chicago itself began as an improv exercise. One settler said, “What if we build a city here?” Another said, “Yes, and make the winters punitive.”
INTERVIEWER: And then?
WEXLER: A third said, “Yes, and put the airport forty-seven miles from everything.”
INTERVIEWER: What actually makes someone good at improv?
WEXLER: Listening. Beginners think it’s about being funny. It’s really about hearing what the other person gives you and building on it.
INTERVIEWER: That sounds almost profound.
WEXLER: Yes, and I charge corporations four thousand dollars an hour to tell them that.
INTERVIEWER: Corporations hire you?
WEXLER: Constantly. Last month I taught senior executives at a pharmaceutical company to embrace uncertainty.
INTERVIEWER: How did that go?
WEXLER: They raised the price of insulin.
INTERVIEWER: I’m not sure that demonstrates—
WEXLER: They committed to the choice.
INTERVIEWER: Is there anything you shouldn’t agree to in improv?
WEXLER: Certainly. Improv requires judgment, boundaries, and trust. For example, if someone says, “You are the King of Belgium,” you should accept that.
INTERVIEWER: I’m not the King of Belgium.
WEXLER: Your Majesty, we talked about this.
INTERVIEWER: There is no Belgium in this scene.
WEXLER: That explains your approval rating.
INTERVIEWER: Do you ever say no?
WEXLER: No.
INTERVIEWER: You just did.
WEXLER: Yes.
INTERVIEWER: That wasn’t “Yes, and.”
WEXLER: And?
INTERVIEWER: Oh, God.
WEXLER: Now you understand the deeper level.
INTERVIEWER: I think we should finish.
WEXLER: Yes, and before we do, my new book comes out Tuesday.
INTERVIEWER: Of course it does.
WEXLER: Yes, And Then What? How Improvisation Can Transform Your Career, Your Relationships, and NATO.
INTERVIEWER: NATO?
WEXLER: Yes, and the foreword is by the giant squid.
INTERVIEWER: The one you wrestled?
WEXLER: We prefer the term “scene partner.”
INTERVIEWER: Are we done now?
WEXLER: Yes.
INTERVIEWER: Thank God.
WEXLER: And—
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Prompt. we will write a humorous/satirical column, in which a journalist interviews an expert, in this case, an improv comedy expert. Famously, improv skits always pivot on theidea, Yes, AND. So of course, we start to realize, this is the structure of the interview. i'll give some examples but I want you to write a humorous mock interview, such as for SHoUTs and muRMers 9which expects the audience to get all of its meta jokes) at Nyer. for example, "i understand that you are not only a performer, but a historian of Improv.' B; 'Yes, and it's not my first job. my first job was wrestling gators at a theme park in florida." 'wrestling gators?' B: Yes, and not only gaters, but also manatees and giant squid. (etc) that wasn't necessarily brilliantly funny, but you see the idea. go ahead !
