Yes, And. - The Improv Rule That Can Change Your Life.

Did you ever wish you were a little braver, a little sillier, and a lot more present? 

On this episode, Fletch is joined in the studio by Isaac Gross and Tara Rico from ModPlayers Improv for a conversation about adventure, creativity, and the fine art of being silly. Together they talk about saying yes, and, taking risks, creating characters, and finding freedom in laughter when life doesn’t follow a script.

We break down the four pillars of improv and along the way, talk about adults forgetting how to be silly, the social utility of humor in tense topics, and the way improv trains you to notice offers and make cleaner choices. 

Adventure shows up as a mindset: take a step, accept it, and keep moving until the next decision arrives—on stage, on a 12-hour walk, or in everyday life. What’s one place in your life where you’re ready to say “yes, and”?
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Guest Information
Isaac Gross - teaches sixth grade by day and has been performing with the ModPlayers Improv troupe for the past three years. When he’s not on stage, he can usually be found bird watching, playing guitar, or hanging out with friends — often combining all three in some delightfully chaotic way.

Tara Rico -  loves being on stage almost as much as she loves encouraging others to step into the spotlight. She serves as the inaugural Poet Laureate for the city of Manteca, CA. Founder of MasImprov and the coach of ModPlayers Improv troupe in Modesto, CA. Tara is also the founder and director of Poeticas Institute, a nonprofit dedicated to literacy in the Central Valley. Tara runs a local writing group, open mic, and hosts “I Quit. This Poscast.” Originally a high school English and theater teacher, Tara has been performing around the Central Valley for over 5 years. She’s been published by Tuleburg Press and was the headlining comedienne for the Central Valley Gender Health and Wellness Center’s Queens and Comedy show of 2024.  When she’s not running late for meetings she enjoys being outside with her loved ones! 

Resources and Links
Episode 34: Why You Need More Nonsense In Your Life with Corey Strauss
ModPlayers Improv Troupe
MasImprov209

Music used in this episode:
- Monkeys Spinning Monkeys, Life of Riley and Carefree by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100449
Artist: http://incompetech.com/
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Transcript

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SPEAKER_00 0:02

Is this a family-friendly podcast?

SPEAKER_01 0:06

You can do whatever you want.

SPEAKER_00 0:07

Okay. I see I see laughter.

SPEAKER_01 0:09

I wonder what is going to come out of her mouth now. As like an Today on the Mango Times podcast, I am joined by two of my favorite friends from Improv. And you have no idea what we're gonna say. But the truth is, neither do we. And that's the adventure of improv. Stay tuned for the Mango Times Podcast. Welcome to the Mango Times Podcast. This is Fletch, and I'm the writer and editor for everything you read and listen to here on the Mango Times. On this podcast, we're going to discuss anything and everything that we experience together here on this crazy planet. So join me as I talk about different aspects of culture, from great movies to great music, to everything we love to binge watch online together. And I'll do my best to entertain you as I share my perspective on life as a husband, dad, and grandfather to a big loud family. So sit back as I grab a cup of coffee and my favorite dog and quietly make some noise. Hey, this is Fletch, and I want to welcome you to episode 45 of the Mango Times podcast. We're gonna have a

Welcome to Episode 45

SPEAKER_01 1:29

fun episode today. We're gonna be talking about the adventure of improv, more on that in a minute. But just a little touch base as to where we are. A few of you have wrote in and asked about the 12-hour walk I took just before my birthday this year. I'm going to be reporting on that in a future episode and what that was about. There's not a lot, it's not a full episode, it's just gonna be an update. Some have asked about the adventure books. The October 15th deadline came and went. We had all of our entries in. I just need to get out on the porch with Pop and uh have him pick the name out of a hat, and then we will connect that book with the winner. But thanks for everyone who participated and sent in their request for the book contest. A few of you have written in some people you think I should interview for my midlife adventure series next year. And I'm super excited about that. So thanks for for doing that. I'll I'll have a little plug for that a little bit later in the show where I'd like you to uh consider anybody you think who's who's making a midlife adventure switch, career change, life change, big change, anything like that. Or small change. I'll take small changes too. And I can't say thank you enough to every one of you who has been sharing this podcast with friends and others. I've had people write in and say, This is the first time I've ever heard your podcast. I love it. So thank you so much for that. So a while back, I talked with Corey Strauss. That episode was about a little nonsense is okay. It was one of the points of the Fletch Festo, and I'll put a link to it in the show notes. But we laughed about the power of nonsense, and I think today's conversation just proves that point. That sometimes the best adventures, the best stories come when you stop trying to control the script and you just say yes to whatever happens next. But without any further banter or fluff, as my listener Jason often likes to remind me of my history of podcasting, I will stop the fluff discussion and we will get into the topic for this episode. So, yes, the pipe is lit, the coffee's been poured, champ's at my side, and I'm back in the studio with a couple of my favorite partners in chaos, Isaac and Tara. I'm only going to use first names to protect the innocent. They are from the Mod Players Improv Troop that I perform with in Modesto, California. Now, you've heard me talk a lot this year about adventure, riding motorcycles across the Northwest, walking for 12 hours, and then just sitting on the porch with Pop talking about adventure books. But what I have found out is that sometimes the greatest adventures have happened this year when I have no idea what is going to happen next. And so today we are talking about the adventure of improv, about saying yes and about taking risks, about just being silly and finding absolute chaos and joy in the unknown. Now, I think for a lot of you that sounds scary as hell, but I'm gonna talk a little bit about how that's that fear of performing, that fear of not knowing what's coming next is just another form of adventure. So we're gonna dig into how being different goofy characters helps us get out of our own head. We're gonna talk about why being ridiculous is actually really good for your soul, and what improv teaches all of us about showing up in real life. So pull up a chair, tighten up your seatbelt if you're in the car, put in your earbuds, if you've got a pipe, go ahead and light it and join us for a conversation full of laughter, some honesty, a few callbacks that we probably didn't plan to do. And just a brief reminder, I did put on the explicit content for this one. If you listen to this with kids, which I don't know why you would, uh you just might want to realize that when it goes comes to improv, anything can be said. And maybe on this episode there's some things you're gonna want to listen to before you listen to it with your kids, and then have the conversation, people, about why it's okay to laugh about silly, sometimes adult topics. That's really what I would say is have the conversation. So without any further chatter or fluff, let's head into

Introduction to Guests: Tara and Isaac

SPEAKER_01 5:51

the studio with Isaac and Tara. Alright, so I'm welcome in the studio by two of my favorite improv uh performing friends. I'm here with well let you introduce yourselves. So first, Tara.

SPEAKER_00 6:05

Hello, I'm Tara Rico. Thanks, Fletch, for having me on. I'm really excited. This is my first guest appearance on a podcast.

SPEAKER_01 6:15

Wow.

SPEAKER_00 6:16

Do you want me to say more about myself? No, I'll get back to you more on that.

SPEAKER_01 6:19

I just wanted the name. What about Isaac?

SPEAKER_03 6:22

Uh hi, everyone. My name is Isaac, and I'm excited to be here as well. Yeah, happy to talk about improv.

SPEAKER_01 6:30

All right, cool.

Tara’s Journey Back To Improv

SPEAKER_01 6:31

So can each of you share maybe a little bit about yourselves and how you got involved in uh in uh improv? And I'll start with you, Tara.

SPEAKER_00 6:39

Yes. Yes, thank you. So I was so formal. Yes. Thank you. I'm uh very professional.

SPEAKER_01 6:47

Very NPR.

SPEAKER_00 6:48

Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 6:49

Hey, so um tell me.

SPEAKER_00 6:50

Thanks, Fletch. Well, uh, my theatrical journey began in high school and really enjoyed it, but I was still very shy until we came upon improv games. And it really just I really just came to life doing improv. I had always been a bit of a weird kid, loner, nerd, just kind of had a hard time finding myself. So I really got to come alive there and moved away from it. I I became a teacher, an English teacher, so I could teach theater so that I could play improv. But in all those, it took that took you know a long time to get there. So I I had stopped doing improv for fun or at all until I started teaching. And then I had to kind of go from being an English teacher to being a theater teacher, which takes time sometimes. And so eventually I did become a theater teacher and got to incorporate it into the classroom again and started doing improv at the tail end of my divorce, just again, trying to find myself again as an adult. And sure enough, it was like the thing for me all over again. It was like finding a long-lost love and like riding a bike. I just jumped in and then I moved to Northern California from Southern California and was looking for an improv community, and I couldn't find one. So I decided to start one at the Missiline Gallery, what was the Miscellane Gallery and what now is now this Danislos something? Downtown Modesto Gallery downtown. Yeah, they moved and renamed. But yeah, and then I met you guys, and here we are.

SPEAKER_01 8:24

So what did you start? What's the name of your improv group you started?

SPEAKER_00 8:26

Yes, MAS Improv 209.

SPEAKER_01 8:29

And for our non-Spanish speakers, that means more.

SPEAKER_00 8:32

MAS means more, and it's an acronym for Make a Scene.

SPEAKER_01 8:38

Isaac, did you know it was about Make Improv? I did not know about it. That's brand new to me. Yeah. Make a scene improv. Moss Improv. All right, Isaac, how'd you get

Isaac’s Path Into Improv

SPEAKER_01 8:48

started?

SPEAKER_03 8:48

So I grew up, you know, watching comedy and SNL and all these things, and always loved comedy. But I really wasn't a performer other than like in church, like playing music and that kind of thing. And I was happened to be living in Korea, and I had some friends there, and one of my friends, she moved to Australia. She didn't know anybody, and so to get to know some people, she joined a local improv group, and she really enjoyed it. And she messaged me and she said, Hey, Isaac, you know, I think you would really love this. So if you ever get a chance, you know, try some improv.

SPEAKER_01 9:29

So when you came in, were you just did you try like an Aussie accent? Were you like, hey, good day, mates. I hear you do improv.

SPEAKER_03 9:36

Did you try that? Bingo, I mate, baby. So that always stuck in the back of my mind. And when I moved to Modesto, I was, you know, just looking left and right for any kind of social activity just to get to know people and and make friends. And I happened to see Prospect Theater had some classes from for improv. And so I j I joined that, and that's yeah, that's how I found it. And I I really love it. It's I think it's kind of helped me, I was thinking about it today, kind of this phase of life of like honoring my creativity and like really pushing myself.

SPEAKER_01 10:15

Do you guys remember your first scene? And how painful, awkward, or great was it? Like in a show or no, just in improv in general.

SPEAKER_03 10:24

I well, I can remember the very first thing I did. We were in the actual theater at prospect, and our teacher then, Richard, he invited us all in the middle, and I forget the name of the game, but it's a song game. But basically, someone just starts singing in the they go in the middle of the circle and they start singing a song, and then you're supposed to go in and tap them out and start singing a song that was inspired by their song, and on it goes. So I'm like, great. I'm never done improv and already I have to sing in front of other people. This is awesome. Yeah, this is great. What a what a way. And like I like a lot of people, I listened to a lot of music and I could not think of one song whatsoever. But finally, the Jackson 5 ABC 123 popped into my head, and so I had something, and I think I followed up with some Paul Simon after that. But yeah, that was my first scene. I was just like, oh, it was thrown into the deep end as far as I was concerned.

SPEAKER_01 11:31

Do you remember your first scene?

SPEAKER_00 11:33

I remember one that like really impacted me. It was in high school, and we were playing the freeze game where you start a scene with someone, and then someone yells freeze, and you take someone's spot, and you take their position, and the last thing that they said, and you start a brand new scene. And so I was doing this with my friend Veronda, and we naturally started acting out a church scene that went into like the Holy Spirit and like her on the floor shaking, and we were like, Jesus. And you know, I I was very religious at the time, and if I had done that at church, it would have been bad to make fun of the spirit.

SPEAKER_01 12:21

I've never heard of this story.

SPEAKER_00 12:25

I haven't shared it, and I don't know if I've ever shared it, but it stuck with me. And I remember thinking, like, wow, I can be silly. I just kind of went with an instinct, an impulse, an instinct, or an impulse, and my friend backed me up, and there was no shame, there was no repercussion, it was a funny scene, and that was it. It wasn't hurtful to anyone.

SPEAKER_01 12:47

Great. That's great. That's what you brought in religion to our first discussion.

SPEAKER_00 12:51

Sorry, I didn't mean to.

SPEAKER_01 12:52

My first scene was I always I bring this up because my very first scene was I came to Prospect and we played the what are you doing game where someone's doing something, and they're doing something very obvious, like digging a hole. And then you come up and say, What are you doing? And they make up a new behavior for you to do that's not digging a hole. So I'd never been. And this is like, come on up, just get in line. And so I go up and the guy's digging a hole, and I said, What are you doing? And he said, I'm getting a vasectomy. And so I like laid down on the ground and put my legs up and pretended I was getting a vasectomy. That was my very first improv scene. There you go. And then the next week we played it again, and someone different did the same line to me, not knowing. And I said, Well, I've had two vasectomies. I there's really no more surgery I can get in this area. We've done both of them, so I'm done. I'm done with vasectomy jokes. So that was my very first one. So, what terrified you or thrilled you the most about improv? Either one of you?

SPEAKER_00 13:51

I have always been a performer, also. I grew up dancing, but I was always very shy and not like a classically cute child. So there were there were a lot of girls that I danced with who were like skinny and had their hair perfect. And this is like 1996, so clueless had just come out, where like being a cool, well-dressed skinny girl was like a big deal, and I was not those things. So I danced and I loved dancing, but I really held back a lot. And so realizing that I could be on stage and again be myself and then get people to laugh just became such an addiction. I love being on stage, making people laugh, or just telling a story and knowing that people are coming along for the ride. It it's that's a real thrill and a high for me.

SPEAKER_01 14:49

What do you think, Isaac? Same same stuff? Or I mean, was it clueless, really? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:55

Alicia Silverstone, just me.

SPEAKER_03 14:58

Isaac got a little dog. I mean, it's there's certainly it's not like I've never been afraid of it or anything, but I can't think of a particular thing there. What kind of I guess maybe it's yeah, maybe they're tied together. Like not like a you know, a fear of heights kind of fear, but a fear of like, what if I'm not as funny as I think I am? What if it's just crickets, you know? Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 15:26

And there's some there's some performers that base their whole act on that.

SPEAKER_03 15:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 15:30

Like they just let it go. Yeah. I mean, I think of like Norm McDonald. Norm McDonald, where he'll just say thing, and they just they they seemingly are bombing, but they're successful because he just keeps leaning into the awkward.

SPEAKER_03 15:43

He doesn't care. I think for me the thrill is probably letting go of like making the joke or the funny thing, and and when you like work with your team and you produce something that you couldn't have imagined that you know, you couldn't have said, Oh, yeah, we will be on a cruise liner making uh condoms, you know, whatever.

SPEAKER_00 16:13

I don't know. You know, the condom factory.

SPEAKER_03 16:16

Yeah, typical cruise liner activities. Yeah. It's how you pay for your trip.

SPEAKER_01 16:21

Well, it's the competition among decks.

SPEAKER_03 16:24

And also protection on the cruise. That's a lot of stuff happening on the cruise. But yeah, so you know, like whatever your joke is, it's not gonna be as funny as if I play along with this person and we're both helping each other, we're gonna create something that I wouldn't have predicted.

SPEAKER_01 16:44

Yeah. So maybe this is a good time to describe just exactly what improv is. I mean, uh, we're we're basing it on the idea that people know what we're talking about. Who how would you describe improv? What would you say it is?

SPEAKER_00 16:55

Well, improv and impromptu speeches are two things I teach, and I basically say it's uh it's something you make up. An impromptu speech, you don't know what you're gonna talk about, you get a subject, you get a little bit of time to think about it, and then you gotta talk about it. And then in theater, improv, same concept. You don't know what storyline you're gonna get, but you get an idea and then you gotta create a story.

SPEAKER_01 17:22

So where do the ideas come from in improv? Typically. I mean we we could talk about our show specifically. Where do we get our ideas?

SPEAKER_03 17:29

Sometimes it's from audience suggestions, sometimes it's from our own heads, and sometimes we have a theme going into the show. So it it varies, I think.

SPEAKER_01 17:40

Yeah. Yeah. So, you know, a lot of this is we always talk about we're making it up on the spot. I love what Tara's been saying the last couple months is that we are underground. This is the only time you're ever going to see this show because we're making it up. Now we can try and duplicate it and do the same show again tomorrow night, but it's never gonna be the same because everybody's always bringing something different to scenework. Did you know one of the easiest ways to support the Mango Times podcast is by leaving me a review at Apple Podcasts? If you go down in your show notes, there'll be a link and you can send a review just like this listener from last month. It says, Fletch is great, five stars. Well, thank you. I couldn't agree more. I have long appreciated Fletch's

Break #1 - Help the Show

SPEAKER_01 18:30

perspective. His work on the Homeschooling in Real Life podcast gave me lots of encouragement in homeschooling and beyond. These conversations are like a great time with a friend on the porch. And as always, the production value is top-notch. Hey, thanks for the great review. You know it doesn't take a lot of time, and it means a lot to me, and I'd like to thank this listener for taking just a few minutes to leave a review at Apple Podcasts. And if you want to leave one, again, down in your show notes, follow the link to the Apple Podcasts, and you can leave me a review as

Improv Vs Scripted Theater

SPEAKER_01 19:03

well. I really appreciate it.

SPEAKER_00 19:07

I wanted to say too, another way I describe it is kind of like playing house. Like when you did as a kid. You just kind of fall into these characters and the dialogue gets going. And improv is kind of the same. It's like playing house on stage with other people who agree to the the uh situation that you're constructing.

SPEAKER_01 19:27

Yeah, whatever world you've created. Yeah. So if you and I are husband and wife and we're talking, it would be weird if suddenly I said, I'm an alien. I mean, I'm sticking to the truth of the story. Unless I do say I'm an alien, and then we turn it. Now we're an alien code.

SPEAKER_00 19:42

Why didn't why didn't you tell me that before we were married? You didn't give me all the pieces of the information.

SPEAKER_01 19:48

Yeah. So this idea of being silly in improv, I mean, that's what we do constantly is just be silly. When's the last time you made a total fool of yourself? And it just felt awesome.

The Four Pillars Of Improv

SPEAKER_01 19:58

Those are two different things.

SPEAKER_00 20:00

You know what? I when I first started doing improv with you guys on that autumn harvest show when I was like three different characters. It was only like my second or third show with you guys, and I was a dad, and then I just made the decision to die. And I just went, and I made this weird, horrible sound, keeling over is an old man dying, and I felt very silly and making that noise, and I didn't plan to die, but it just came naturally. And hearing the audience erupt and you know, holding my chest, trying not to show that I am laughing too, yeah, felt so good. And I I live for that moment.

SPEAKER_01 20:47

I think when you Isaac and I played a we played a scene where it was a rom-com, and the audience decided that we were going to be the lovers in the rom-com. So we became gay lovers. And at some point we did a montage of everything lovers would do like on an afternoon together. So we intertwined our arms and had ice cream. We went and got tattoos, and then I immediately turned the chair around and lifted up my shirt so I could get a back tattoo.

unknown 21:21

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_01 21:22

That was so dang rid. I mean, I just felt like I was making

Finding Characters And Voices

SPEAKER_01 21:27

a fool of myself. But the offers that I kept giving, just kind of hoping that Isaac would come along with me, like, hey, it was also like train jokes.

SPEAKER_03 21:36

Oh, the train. Yeah. We had a that famous train episode. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 21:40

A train. That did shots when it went by. Yeah. It just, I was so silly. Anything that you can think of?

SPEAKER_03 21:46

Uh what came to mind is I don't even remember the show, but I think like the first time I played like a dog or something, and you're like, I think my parents are in the audience. So I'm like a grown, grown ass man on stage pretending to be a dog.

SPEAKER_00 22:05

Invited mom and dad.

SPEAKER_03 22:06

Well, this is Did you lift your leg? Did you go that way? I probably did. I probably did. So, you know, I think playing something that like that certainly checks the box.

SPEAKER_01 22:18

Do you guys think that adults grow up and forget to be silly?

SPEAKER_00 22:21

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 22:22

Yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_00 22:23

Especially and funnel funnily, is that a word? Sure it is now. Funnily enough, a lot of adults who work with kids forget. And you see, I see it in the school system. A lot of really unfun adults leading little children who just want to have

The Game Of The Scene

SPEAKER_00 22:46

fun.

SPEAKER_01 22:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:46

And it's it's sad. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 22:48

How does improv give that back?

SPEAKER_03 22:51

Well, I had always said that like improv going to improv practice or the show was kind of like the playground for adults. And so I think I mean there is like it is good to get a few lessons in, and like there are principles in improv, most famously like yes and and so just learning we live in no but kind of world, and and learning to say yes and and embrace facility gets you back in touch with being a kid. Actually, it was interesting just a few days ago, like in the mornings, I'm a teacher, and in the mornings before class, once I've done all I need to do, I open up the class early, and kids can just come in and you know, do whatever. And I'm this I have this this these two girls that come in. I had one of the girls' brothers last year, and she's just silly. And so there's all these kids in the class, and they come up to me, and I don't remember the scene at all, but she said something, and I was just yes anding her, and she just did it automatically. She had she did if I told her, Oh, you're yes and she would have said, What? You know, like I've never heard of that.

SPEAKER_01 24:09

Now you're a college professor, right, Isaac? Oh yes.

Time Travel, Tags, And Callbacks

SPEAKER_03 24:12

Yeah, you teach 12-year-olds who have already moved on to college.

SPEAKER_01 24:17

You didn't clarify that it's sixth grade. Yes. What do you guys think about laughter as a healing nature? And taking ourselves a little less serious, that laughter and the joy of laughter can bring healing.

SPEAKER_00 24:32

Definitely. I think laughter is is this a family-friendly podcast?

SPEAKER_01 24:38

You can do whatever you want.

SPEAKER_00 24:39

Okay. I think I see laughter.

SPEAKER_01 24:42

I wonder what is going to come out of her mouth now.

SPEAKER_00 24:45

As like an orgasm.

SPEAKER_01 24:47

Like that's what that's exactly where I thought she was gonna go, but I wasn't sure if it was gonna be that. Or it reminds me of taking methamphetamines in the evening, you know.

SPEAKER_00 24:58

It gives our brain that burst of dopamine, serotonin, wellness.

SPEAKER_01 25:05

I do feel like we could sell our shows a little better now. Yeah. Hey, come to improv, have an orgasm.

SPEAKER_00 25:13

You know, well, if you can't have one, have the other.

SPEAKER_01 25:17

It actually is gonna make this next question even funnier, which is how does laughter connect people in the room, especially when it's live? Please continue with your metaphor.

SPEAKER_00 25:27

Okay, laughter is disarming. We lower our filters with laughter, and it helps us to connect with people in the room in a more intimate way, because as we've talked about many times, it allows us to bring difficult topics into the conversation or to bring a new perspective in on something else. And then even when there is that maybe a misunderstanding or, you know, maybe something was said a little abrasively, we can instead of being offensive or offended and putting our walls up, we can d dig into that a little more. Well, what do you mean by that? And or, you know, just not punishing that person for saying something, rather listening and exploring it, being curious, not judgmental.

SPEAKER_01 26:17

Yeah, we listen, we don't judge. What was that?

SPEAKER_03 26:23

Anything else on laughter in groups and uh I yeah, just to back up what Tara was saying, uh, you know, I I do think, you know, obviously it's not a cure-all, but I I have had days where like I had a bad day or just a not a terrible day, but just like one of those days, and the laughter just interrupts that train of thought, and it just kind of resets you. And so yeah, I I wouldn't put too much weight on it, and it can just interrupt that pattern in in a really good way.

SPEAKER_01 26:57

Last week we were at we were at practice and we played an elimination game where if you laughed, you got kicked out. So Tara was out like the very first I didn't even get one word in out. She's out laughing. And then I think I was out next, and then we just sat on the sidelines laughing like two ridiculous hyenas at everything that Isaac and Lori, and I I forget who else was in, but oh my god, I was laughing so hard, and it was so therapeutic just to let out, like you're saying, you know, you're letting all your serotonin. I'm not uh I don't know if it was orgasmic. Oh, dopamine and serotonin. Yeah, I felt felt good to just laugh on the sidelines there. Hey, do you have a topic that you'd

Break #2 : Be A Guest

SPEAKER_01 27:45

like me to cover at the Mango Times? Would you like to hear your own voice on the Mango Times? Or would you like to join the Mango Times community? You can do all of that by heading over to the MangoTimes.com. Hit the Let's Connect button where you can send me an email, you can send me a voicemail, or you can send me ideas for upcoming shows. Or maybe you want to be a guest and you want to be interviewed on the Mango Times, send me a message. I'd love to find out if we could have you on this show. Head over to the MangoTimes.com and hit the Let's Connect button. Let's uh let's break down this difference between a scripted play and improv. So if people are are thinking about,

Favorite Comedians And Influences

SPEAKER_01 28:30

you know, what we do here. In in a scripted play, there are rules, right? So a writer writes the dialogue and you stick to that dialogue. Matter of fact, if you want to change the dialogue, you it's proper to ask the writer, hey, can I say it this way instead of that way? Because the writer created this and it was what they created. Improv, it's not that there's no rules, it's just that we're not going off a script. Right? So the basic rules we follow. Let's just share what some of those are.

SPEAKER_00 29:05

Yeah. Four pillars of improv.

SPEAKER_01 29:08

Go ahead. Go just run to the pillars there.

SPEAKER_00 29:11

Number first pillar, we say yes.

SPEAKER_01 29:13

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 29:14

I mean we agree with what information we're given about the scene. We say yes. The second pillar, we say yes and.

SPEAKER_02 29:22

Yep.

SPEAKER_00 29:23

Meaning that we add a piece of information to the scene. So it's not just all on our partner to build the information. Let's see. I believe number three is something like commit. You're com you commit to the character, you commit to the emotion, you commit to the the truth of the scene, or to at least carrying it as far as it can go. Yeah. And then the last one would be that there are no mistakes. Yeah. That everything can be everything's a gift. Everything is a gift. Everything is an offer.

SPEAKER_01 29:56

So those four pillars, I mean, just to give us an example, when we walk into To a scene, if someone says the three of us are on a raft, we

Wrap-Up And Monthly Show Info

SPEAKER_01 30:05

can start a scene, and whatever starts that scene, the other two immediately agree to it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 30:17

I suppose that if there's a similarity, it's that you are all co-writers and you're all co-editors and co-producers of this show. It's just the creative process is happening on stage rather rather than behind the scenes.

SPEAKER_01 30:34

Where do you guys find your characters?

SPEAKER_00 30:37

My first improvised characters were reenactments of my parents in therapy. There you go. Well. But I yeah, I remember sitting on the couch with a therapist at like the age of 16 or 17, and me and my dad would be there, and the I'd say, you know, my dad doesn't listen to me. And she'd say, Well, give an example of a conversation you would have. And so that's when I started acting. My parents, and I often lean to them and lean into them when I'm acting. My dad was this grump, is, is dad. No, just kidding.

Closing Credits And Disclaimer

SPEAKER_00 31:21

This kind of hot-headed, kind of fly off the handle Portuguese man. And my mom was this sweet kindergarten teacher who also had a bit of a wild side. So wow.

SPEAKER_01 31:37

Yeah. That's some good character work right there. Hey, uh, we were doing cut and paste today at school, but boy, it got hot, so I just took off my top. Yeah, the kindergartner. Yeah. Hot kindergartner teacher. Oh, do you draw somewhere from characters or is it in the moment?

SPEAKER_03 31:56

It's usually in the moment. I think most of my stuff, it's just like, you know, because you're yes, Andy, that you surprise yourself. Like, oh man, I didn't know I could do that. Yeah. That's awesome. It's a fun feeling.

unknown 32:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 32:08

I didn't realize like just how. Like going back to the beginning, like what you said, Tara, just about just like getting to be silly. You know, just be like, this is absurd. What we're doing now is absurd. We have just created the craziest damn world I've ever seen. And there's just shit happening right and left. And then someone comes in just crazy. And you go, wow, we just took it a little crazier. And I just love that it can be so silly.

SPEAKER_00 32:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 32:38

I didn't know that I could be that silly. So I I love that.

SPEAKER_03 32:43

Hey, tell me about the joy of the game. So in improv, you're trying to find the game of the scene. So it could it could really be really simple, but you know, it once you find that game, you just kind of stick on the game.

SPEAKER_00 32:59

I would say it's kind of when you all we all hit like a syncopated flow. The story is going a certain way. We're listening, we're taking turns. We've agreed on a on kind of like a singular storyline. So finding the game is like finding that syncopation. Is that a word?

SPEAKER_01 33:18

Sure. I'm yeah. I feel like anything you so far we've got uh funnily syncopationally syncopation. And we worked orgasm in.

SPEAKER_00 33:28

And orgasm. Orgasm's a real world word. And a real thing. Have you seen these guys who don't think female orgasms are real? I get out of town.

SPEAKER_01 33:39

I don't I I feel like we I don't even know how to prove this. I don't know the science involved, but I'm willing to do the research. I think I'm down. There would be an example of how the game started.

SPEAKER_02 33:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 33:52

Right? So you're having a seemingly normal conversation, someone takes a right turn, and then someone says, Hey, I'd be willing to do the research. Now a game has started, and we could keep going down this. You know, and Isaac could say, Well, actually, I think Isaac, you should get like a white coat and a clipboard. Yes. And I feel like you could be involved.

SPEAKER_03 34:12

This is my what I'm doing for my masters. Yeah. Research for the female orgasm.

SPEAKER_00 34:18

Female orgasm.

SPEAKER_03 34:20

Is it real?

SPEAKER_00 34:20

Oh my gosh. Ask a lesbian. That should be one of the articles in there.

SPEAKER_01 34:25

Well, again, we might need to broaden our research.

SPEAKER_03 34:29

So that's part of collecting data.

SPEAKER_01 34:30

So my question's gonna be is how do you know when the game has started? Not just what is the game, but I feel anytime you're going down a normal path and then suddenly someone diverts. And I think if you've done improv enough, you know when the game started. The audience knows when the game started. Because it's typically something unexpected.

SPEAKER_03 34:53

Yeah, or unusual.

SPEAKER_01 34:55

Yeah. And do you look for that or do you allow it to naturally happen? Do you force the game? Are you a force the gamer or are you a wait for it to show up? Performer?

SPEAKER_00 35:07

I think I've done both. I try to be a wait for it because sometimes it just takes a little time to get there. But I've also barged into a scene trying to maybe spice things up or get a point out. And usually I regret those barges. So I think it's better to let it naturally evolve, but you also have to recognize when the scene needs a change or to end. And so we've we've created some strategies within our team to kind of gauge.

SPEAKER_01 35:40

I did want to talk about those because we have the the gifts of time travel when you're doing scene work. So if you look at two people stuck on a stage and they're seemingly in a a what seems like a boring conversation, hey sister, you know, blah, blah, blah. Hey, brother. Hey, that reminds me of when we were a kid. Suddenly, someone from the back line can yell flashback to them when they're kids. And that's a gift to performers, right? Because suddenly you get to totally change your your performance.

SPEAKER_00 36:08

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 36:09

That's a gift. How how much do you guys love a good callback?

SPEAKER_00 36:13

I think it's everything. I think the more you can call back, not just necessarily the one callback, but as many callbacks in po as possible and improv. And as long as it makes sense, right? And is cohesive and isn't too much. But the more callbacks, the more connections, the more it appears that this story was scripted, was intentional, was rehearsed, which I think is kind of the goal that we tell a story that is fun to watch, easy to follow.

SPEAKER_01 36:46

I think uh I love when people do a callback that wasn't related to the story. In other words, if I can sneak a callback in that just my performers know about. So if we're prepping for a show on a Friday night, and Tara says, Oh gosh, I had really bad pistachios. And she just mentions that to the four performers. We didn't tell it to the audience. If I can work pistachios into the conversation later, only to get everybody kind of giggling within a scene, I feel that can trigger other humor. Oh yeah. You know.

SPEAKER_00 37:23

It's like an inside joke.

SPEAKER_01 37:25

Oh, that's the that's the best. So Easter egg. Easter eggs are even better.

SPEAKER_00 37:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 37:30

We do callbacks to previous shows. We have made fun of the town of Salida for multiple shows.

SPEAKER_00 37:37

Yeah. Clida, Turlock, series, Oakdale.

SPEAKER_01 37:40

I made fun of Oakdale, but there was a bunch of Oakville people in the audience that night. And I just got oh wait, I'm pretty sure they pulled out their guns at the during the show. Oh, it's reflex for if you're in Oakdale.

SPEAKER_00 37:52

When you're uh Oakdalian.

SPEAKER_01 37:54

Yeah. Well, we just lost some Oakdale listeners, but that's okay.

SPEAKER_00 37:57

Hey, bud.

SPEAKER_01 37:58

It's okay. We do we've lost some Oakdale listeners, but we've gained a lot of lesbian orgasmers.

SPEAKER_00 38:04

And that's better.

SPEAKER_01 38:05

I mean let's talk about it. Yeah. All right, one last question for everybody. What has improv taught you about life?

SPEAKER_03 38:15

I think for me, it has you know, I'm not I'm a risk averse person by nature. Uh but improv has taught me, along with other life experiences, of like it's worth the risk. Take the risk, you know, whatever it might be, and put yourself out there. And and even if it doesn't like quote unquote work out, you'll still have learned something about yourself.

SPEAKER_00 38:42

Being able to say yes to people, to ideas that I didn't like, didn't agree on, didn't plan on, and build a conversation from there really helped with a lot of the anxiety that I would get around the conflict and the confrontations I found myself in. And it became a great way to connect with students.

SPEAKER_01 39:05

All right. So final questions. I said final question already. This is fast wrap-up. Favorite improv or comedian. Go.

SPEAKER_00 39:12

Well, I grew up with the classics, you know, Tina Faye, Will Will Will Farrell. Will Smith? Will Farrell. And Will Smith probably was a great improv improver back in the day. But I really like right now Marcelo on Saturday Night Live.

SPEAKER_02 39:29

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 39:30

I think he is killing it. I would love to share the stage with him and Pete Davidson.

SPEAKER_01 39:36

I bet Pete Davidson knows how to fight an orgasm. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 39:44

For me, I think, well, Will Farrell is hard to beat. He's that guy, you know, even just now when he goes out in public and he does like he was at a hockey game or something and he dressed up as Elf, but he was like, you know, angry and it was just hilarious, and he didn't have to do a whole lot. So I'd say Will Farrell for sure. Man, I'm blanking. See, I'm back in back to that first improv. I'm blanking on Pizza. Do you want to sing ABC? Do you want to be able to do that? I would appreciate that. That would be great. Recently also comes mine uh Kristen Wig. Oh she's brilliant. Uh oh, Fred Armison too, of course. Yeah, a lot of SNL people, but there's more there's a whole world. I'm gonna go there's a whole world out of S NL.

SPEAKER_01 40:33

I'm gonna go non-SNL.

SPEAKER_03 40:34

That's good.

SPEAKER_01 40:35

Are you ready for the master of them all?

SPEAKER_03 40:36

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 40:37

Robin Williams.

SPEAKER_03 40:38

Oh, sure.

SPEAKER_01 40:39

I mean, I don't even know why we're having a discussion without a guy that can walk out onto any stage, and if there's more than two people there, it's an audience. Yeah. He he to me is still the master of characters.

SPEAKER_00 40:53

Everything. Character to character to character.

SPEAKER_01 40:56

And just rolls. Yeah. And doesn't stop.

SPEAKER_03 40:59

Yeah. Literally, like, you know, those talk shows, they would ask him maybe one question and then that was it. Yeah. You know, and they're just a little bit more. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 41:10

All right. Well, guys, thanks for being here. Thanks for talking about improv with me. We like to have fun together. This was another version of having fun sitting in front of microphones. We should do it again.

SPEAKER_00 41:20

Yeah, I agree.

SPEAKER_01 41:21

I enjoyed it. That was fun. Maybe we should talk about topics.

SPEAKER_00 41:24

Thanks for having us. You're welcome. What kind of topics?

SPEAKER_01 41:28

Well, there's some obvious ones that I feel like we can really dive into. Yeah. Just get and do a little more research.

SPEAKER_00 41:34

It's hilarious to talk about the female orgasm with you guys.

SPEAKER_03 41:40

Yeah. It's so fun to watch him. Yes, and you know. What could go wrong?

SPEAKER_01 41:48

What could go wrong with that? What could go wrong? I don't see anything. Well, hey, thanks so much. And um thanks uh thanks for being good friends. Thank you. Thanks, Fletch. Well, I hope you liked that because for me, that was just plain fun to be with two friends in the studio. You know, a few episodes back, I talked with Corey Strauss about the beauty of nonsense. That was a little nonsense is okay. It was one of the points of the Fletch Afesto. And it was it was a show about how sometimes the most meaningful moments come out of the ridiculous. And I think today kind of proved that as well. Uh, improv gives us the permission to take risks, to fail horribly, but also to be silly on purpose. And somehow, for me, in all of that, I end up learning a little bit more about who I am. Uh so for me, this is the same kind of adventure I've been talking about all season. You know, I'm stepping out into the unknown, and I'm trusting that I'm gonna find my way. One, yes, and at a time. You know, that that 12-hour walk I went on, I would just literally go out and say, which direction, right or left? Okay, I'll go right. Yes, I'm gonna accept this decision, and I'm just gonna walk right until I get to my next decision. Do I go right or left or straight or whatever? And so it's it's that same concept of adventure. So a huge thanks to Tara and Isaac for jumping in the studio and meeting with me here, uh, making me laugh uh while I was recording. Um if you're local and you want to come see us uh perform, Mod Players Improv performs the last Friday of every month. So until next time, let's stay curious. Let's remember to stay present. Let's not be afraid to say yes and kick the nose and the butts out of your life. Just remember to say yes and and then wait for the next thing. But as always, as a listener to the Mango Times, don't forget to get out there and quietly make some noise. Thanks for listening. You have been listening to the Mango Times podcast. Everything written and produced on this is by Andy Fletcher. If you're going to use it, steal it, borrow it, or share it on the internet, please just let me know. I don't care, I just want to know where my voice is being used out on the internet. And as a bit of a disclaimer, don't forget, everything I recommend on this podcast, you should use discretion. Choose whether you should watch it, listen to it, eat it, try it, go there. But when you do, don't forget to quietly make some noise. Thanks for listening.

SPEAKER_00 44:28

I also don't like conflict or confrontation, but I find myself in it a lot.

SPEAKER_01 44:35

I disagree with that. I know I don't like confrontation. Every day I get involved, but I gosh, I do need to talk to you after the show.