“So, one of the greatest things that my students can do is not follow my direction. I love it. ‘Wow! you just came up with another way for me to teach this!’”
David Razowsky is the improviser’s improviser.
He’s also exceptionally good at cognitively reframing: turning the negative into the positive - a no-doubt valuable asset for one who has dedicated their life to performing completely unscripted.
Balls to the wall, no safety net, improvisational acting.
The kind of performing that, when it goes disastrously wrong, can make for great YouTube content; ‘oh my god, this person is dying on stage’ kind of stuff…
Having held the Artistic Director position at the prestigious Second City Centre, Los Angeles and performed alongside the likes of Steve Carell, Stephen Colbert, Jeff Garlin and Amy Sedaris, this is a man who knows a thing or two about The Art of Winging It.
The ability to improvise Is something I’ve personally held a lifelong fascination for, no doubt inspired by the Golden Era Hip Hop I grew up listening to; Big L, Tupac, Biggie, Method Man – rappers from an era when the ability to freestyle was tantamount to the size of your reputation and your record contract.
As a podcast host; the ability to be fully engaged with my guest whilst steering toward (or away!) from certain topics is one of the most challenging aspects of the game.
That balancing act between being in the moment and being in control – or as David would likely suggest; relinquishing control.
David is a master of this dance. He’s considered a bit of a maverick, in the improvisation world, as his ‘present awareness’ improvisation method, really demands that practitioners forget all of their preconceptions about why, how and what improvisation is and completely drop their ego. As you can imagine; this has not been positively received by all members of the performing arts community…
“A major revelation I had is that everybody’s opinion of me is none of my business and that was just one of those great things (to learn): ‘Oh… Oh, I don’t care what you think! It’s not my business! I don’t spend any time thinking about you.’”
Show notes
- David’s website: https://www.davidrazowsky.com/
- Old town ale house: best Dive Bar in Chicago – the drinking hole where David and fellow Second City teachers and students would hang out after class: http://www.theoldtownalehouse.com/
- California Summer arts festival, care of California State University, whom David works with: https://www.calstate.edu/SummerArts/Festival/Pages/default.aspx
- The book about meditation David mentions: https://www.amazon.com/Buddhism-Not-What-You-Think/dp/0060730579
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