{"id":17609,"date":"2023-09-27T09:40:31","date_gmt":"2023-09-27T14:40:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pvfa.tamu.edu\/?p=17609"},"modified":"2023-09-27T09:44:19","modified_gmt":"2023-09-27T14:44:19","slug":"the-art-of-improv-actor-and-comedian-joel-mccrary-leads-workshop-on-friday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pvfa.tamu.edu\/news\/2023\/09\/27\/the-art-of-improv-actor-and-comedian-joel-mccrary-leads-workshop-on-friday\/","title":{"rendered":"Teaching The Art Of Improv: Actor Joel McCrary Leads Workshop For Students On Friday"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The event is open to students and sponsored by the Texas A&M School of Performance, Visualization and Fine Arts<\/a> and its Performance Studies<\/a> program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cImprov allows you to free up your imagination,\u201d Quackenbush said. \u201cIt 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 \u2018Yes\u2019 to your partner\u2019s ideas. This is an integral life skill that students can take away.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Los Angeles-based McCrary\u2019s roles include Prime Minister Motaz in \u201cThe Princess Diaries\u201d movies, and in TV shows including \u201cKickin\u2019 It,\u201d \u201cMalcolm in the Middle\u201d and \u201cSeinfeld.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A love of acting and improv comedy developed as a child, McCrary said. He would stay up past his bedtime to watch showings of \u201cThe Carol Burnett Show.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI would have to sneak down and hide behind the couch because my parents would always watch it,\u201d he recalled. \u201cSo, I would peek around and watch it and try not to laugh, so they wouldn\u2019t hear me and know that I was back there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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 \u201cHappy Days\u201d after finding out \u201cThe Fonz\u201d was a Shakespearean-trained actor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI remember watching actors go off script and do different things, and I was always drawn to that moment for whatever reason,\u201d McCrary said. \u201cI don\u2019t know what it is within me that was drawn to that, but I didn\u2019t know that they were improvising. I started discovering I wanted to be an actor; I wanted to be a performer; I wanted to entertain.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI went out there and had just a great time,\u201d he said. \u201cSo, I realized: \u2018Maybe I can do this. I kind of love this.\u2019 And the next night I couldn\u2019t 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\u2019m doing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI really do believe in the benefits of improv for pretty much any walk of life,\u201d McCrary said. \u201cOne of the major fears that people have is getting up in front of people and speaking \u2014 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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 \u201cart of cooperation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy goal is to show that improv is not as daunting or as scary as people think it is,\u201d he said. \u201cReally, 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is a supportive technique,\u201d Simms said. \u201cAs 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.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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 …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":251,"featured_media":17611,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[58,144],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nTeaching The Art Of Improv: Actor Joel McCrary Leads Workshop For Students On Friday - Texas A&M University College of Performance, Visualization & Fine Arts<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The event is open to students and sponsored by the School of Performance, Visualization and Fine Arts and its Performance Studies program.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pvfa.tamu.edu\/news\/2023\/09\/27\/the-art-of-improv-actor-and-comedian-joel-mccrary-leads-workshop-on-friday\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Teaching The Art Of Improv: Actor Joel McCrary Leads Workshop For Students On Friday\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The event is open to students and sponsored by the School of Performance, Visualization and Fine Arts and its Performance Studies program.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/pvfa.tamu.edu\/news\/2023\/09\/27\/the-art-of-improv-actor-and-comedian-joel-mccrary-leads-workshop-on-friday\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Texas A&M University College of Performance, Visualization & Fine Arts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/tamupvfa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-09-27T14:40:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-09-27T14:44:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/pvfa.tamu.edu\/app\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Joel-McCrary-background.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"robclark\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@tamupvfa\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@tamupvfa\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"robclark\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pvfa.tamu.edu\/news\/2023\/09\/27\/the-art-of-improv-actor-and-comedian-joel-mccrary-leads-workshop-on-friday\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pvfa.tamu.edu\/news\/2023\/09\/27\/the-art-of-improv-actor-and-comedian-joel-mccrary-leads-workshop-on-friday\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"robclark\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pvfa.tamu.edu\/#\/schema\/person\/9f6f92d18d5bc0deccbeb90ae781afb8\"},\"headline\":\"Teaching The Art Of Improv: Actor Joel McCrary Leads Workshop For Students On Friday\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-09-27T14:40:31+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-09-27T14:44:19+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pvfa.tamu.edu\/news\/2023\/09\/27\/the-art-of-improv-actor-and-comedian-joel-mccrary-leads-workshop-on-friday\/\"},\"wordCount\":782,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pvfa.tamu.edu\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"News\",\"Performance and Visual Studies\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pvfa.tamu.edu\/news\/2023\/09\/27\/the-art-of-improv-actor-and-comedian-joel-mccrary-leads-workshop-on-friday\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pvfa.tamu.edu\/news\/2023\/09\/27\/the-art-of-improv-actor-and-comedian-joel-mccrary-leads-workshop-on-friday\/\",\"name\":\"Teaching The Art Of Improv: Actor Joel McCrary Leads Workshop For Students On Friday - 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