Teaching The Art Of Improv: Actor Joel McCrary Leads Workshop For Students On Friday
Joel McCrary, a veteran actor and improv comedian, will conduct an improv workshop on Friday from 2-5 p.m. at the Black Box Theater in the Liberal Arts and Arts and Humanities building.
The event is open to students and sponsored by the Texas A&M School of Performance, Visualization and Fine Arts and its Performance Studies program.
Dr. Michelle Simms, lecturer, and Anne Quackenbush, assistant professor of practice, serve as facilitators for the workshop. Both said they want improv to be utilized as a tool for students in their everyday lives.
“Improv allows you to free up your imagination,” Quackenbush said. “It strengthens listening and responding skills, it teaches you generosity when working with a partner and the importance of teamwork. A lot of people see improv as an individual showboat sport. We emphasize being present in the space, responding to your partner and saying ‘Yes’ to your partner’s ideas. This is an integral life skill that students can take away.”
The Los Angeles-based McCrary’s roles include Prime Minister Motaz in “The Princess Diaries” movies, and in TV shows including “Kickin’ It,” “Malcolm in the Middle” and “Seinfeld.”
A love of acting and improv comedy developed as a child, McCrary said. He would stay up past his bedtime to watch showings of “The Carol Burnett Show.”
“I would have to sneak down and hide behind the couch because my parents would always watch it,” he recalled. “So, I would peek around and watch it and try not to laugh, so they wouldn’t hear me and know that I was back there.”
McCrary appreciated the work of Tim Conway, who often utilized improvisation in sketches to the point of making Burnett and Harvey Korman break character in laughter. McCrary said he also looked up to Henry Winkler of “Happy Days” after finding out “The Fonz” was a Shakespearean-trained actor.
“I remember watching actors go off script and do different things, and I was always drawn to that moment for whatever reason,” McCrary said. “I don’t know what it is within me that was drawn to that, but I didn’t know that they were improvising. I started discovering I wanted to be an actor; I wanted to be a performer; I wanted to entertain.”
The path to becoming an actor, writer and director all started with improv. McCrary started working for a company of actors performing street shows at Disney World’s EPCOT Center in Orlando. One evening McCrary and his castmates were invited to perform with an improv group for an impromptu show in downtown Orlando.
“I went out there and had just a great time,” he said. “So, I realized: ‘Maybe I can do this. I kind of love this.’ And the next night I couldn’t wait to go out there. But the next night was terrible, I did an awful job. I was thinking the first night I did OK, so I can do this. I just needed to learn more of what I’m doing.”
In 1990, McCrary was a founding member of the SAK Theater Comedy Lab, where he and other comedians performed theatresports competitive improv shows. He moved to Los Angeles in 1995 to further his acting career.
“I really do believe in the benefits of improv for pretty much any walk of life,” McCrary said. “One of the major fears that people have is getting up in front of people and speaking — that is such a common thing. And improv, when it is done right and taught in the right way, it is such a great way to build confidence for people.”
During the workshop, McCrary said he plans to introduce improv for beginners and hopes participants learn the skill of listening. He believes improv is the “art of cooperation.”
“My goal is to show that improv is not as daunting or as scary as people think it is,” he said. “Really, it is working with other people and relying on the people that you are working with. It is more about making the person that you are working with look good, rather than about yourself.”
Simms said she hopes to see participants create and learn something new, as they will be exposed to different improv styles and techniques. Students will also be able to network, explore improv research and build character, she said.
“It is a supportive technique,” Simms said. “As students are learning about themselves and the very scary part of going out into the world as an independent being, these techniques with improv can help support that growth, and being OK with that freedom.”
