Twice a month Extra-Strength News will be featuring “Performer Profiles,” where we ask notable improvisers from around the country 20 questions to get their thoughts and insights about improv and shed some light on how their brains work. You can also check our Improviser’s Glossary for explanations of some terms and concepts.
First up we have Extra-Strength’s own John Conroy, who can regularly be seen at the iO West Theatre in Los Angeles making audiences laugh, funny people dance, and bartenders solvent.
When did you start improvising?
I took my first class in 2001 after I saw a Groundlings show and it changed my life. Scott Gimple later pushed me into the iO training program to learn long-form, and now I’m a devoted disciple of Del Close.
What do you like about long-form versus short-form improv?
I’m actually not a huge fan of short-form. I guess it sometimes gets to the funny faster, but there’s so much more you can do with long-form. Long-form is more challenging and pushes me as a performer, and the reward is sweeter. I’m a writer by trade so I prefer character arcs to punch lines.
What do you do to warm up?
Music is a big part of my life (I’m a DJ as well) so I blast rock, hip hop or dance music in the car so I arrive at the theatre already pumped up. I’m not an advocate of warming up with the teams I play with. It’s important to connect beforehand, but you can do that by simply checking-in, getting into the same headspace in the bar or green room. People tend to invest way too much time in warming up. Save the energy for the stage. I’m usually mentally and physically wrecked after an hour of Extra-Strength so I can’t really afford to expel any energy beforehand. I don’t ever need to Zip Zap Zop again, seriously.
What’s your favorite character(s) you’ve played to date?
Playing The Cryptkeeper as a tax accountant in the first Extra-Strength show reset the bar for me. I loved playing Mario (the video game character) as an arsonist. I also loved the saucy dragon full of terrible puns I played opposite Brian O’Connell’s Lancelot, and not just because we brought the house down when he kissed me. I played a cat on a hot tin roof (literally) in a Tennessee Williams-inspired scene with Rohan Will Answer; that was fun too. Basically anything that lets me climb on scenery, or, apparently, non-humans.
What shows/performers do you like to watch?
I go through periods like when I play an album to death, I’ll fixate on one person for a couple weeks and study them. It started with performers I admire who have similar styles of play to me, like Irene White and Tim Jennings, and Eric Hunicutt is brilliant. Then it was people who seem to pull their performances from a different place, like Brian O’Connell, Zabeth Russell, Dave Park and Jill Alexander. I’ll watch Craig Cackowski or Bob Dassie do ANYTHING. If I end up with just a quarter of their ability I’ll consider myself beyond awesome. As for shows, obviously Beer Shark Mice is the most-ut. I gravitate toward shows that mess with improv conventions, like Opening Night (musical) and Lusty Horde (sci-fi). I think we fixate too literally on strict Harolds and so forth – Del intended for the forms to be malleable and conform to the players, not the other way around. So I like watching shows that step outside the box.
What do you see as your greatest strength/weakness as an improviser?
I mostly get by on my looks and charm and humility. But seriously… this is tricky because they’ve morphed as I’ve grown as a performer. I really listen to what’s going on, whether I’m in the scene or on the sidelines, and am always looking for ways to tee up my costars to look awesome. I think my ability to identify and fix whatever the overall piece is lacking – pacing, energy, tone, depth – is better than average. That’s my writer’s mentality. The most common criticism I’ve heard is that I’m sometimes too subtle for my own good. I like playing with nuance, but I’ve had to learn how to act in a way that still makes it super clear to the people I’m on stage with what’s going on with my character. Just because the audience “gets it” doesn’t mean the person I’m acting with does, because he or she has a brain full of ideas and distractions just like I do.
Has being an improviser had any impact on your career?
Definitely. Being a writer, as well as a PR and marketing guy and a DJ – being comfortable on stage and “winging it” liberates my mind and does wonders for my confidence, whether I’m brainstorming, writing dialogue or just plain communicating with people. I’m also a better bullshit artist, which is a valuable skill for a publicist.
What advice would you offer someone who’s new to improv?
The biggest hurdle you have to get over is to trust your instincts. Learning how to improvise is kind of like driving stick. Eventually you realize “hey, I just did that without thinking about it and I didn’t stall out.” Once you have the tools and the training it’s about developing confidence so it becomes second nature. The only way you’re going to do that is to perform as much as you can. Learning how audiences respond has taught me to be more immediate and present in scenes. Whenever your mind totally blanks, the easiest thing to do is simply say how you feel about your partner. Learn to get comfortable with silence too. So many people get on stage and suffer diarrhea of the mouth. Some of the funniest scenes I’ve ever seen have been silent. Use your body language and discover things about your environment and it can inform the piece, your character and your relationship with your scene partner more than dialogue.
There’s a lot of “rules” to improv – which one(s) do you think is most important for a successful scene/show? Which one(s) do you see broken the most?
LISTEN. So many improvisers think it’s all about them and how clever they are. That really turns me off. I try to make every scene I’m in about my partner. Which isn’t to say I won’t grab dominant energy and run with it, it just means that I focus on my partner and try to react honestly to everything they say and do. As a player (or audience) there’s nothing more frustrating than somebody who isn’t listening and contradicts something that’s already in the ether. It’s inadvertent, but it’s still a denial, and that sucks.
There’s a lot of important stuff. You’ve got to commit 110% to every scene and respect your audience. They’re there to see you, and an audience of 2 deserves the same show as an audience of 200. As a rule of thumb you cannot edit anything fast enough. If somebody in the scene felt like it still had potential, well, they should have demonstrated that quicker. But better to edit and bring it back than to not edit and let a scene languish. If you feel it stalling, allow yourself the freedom to discover the reality in the scene and that’s where you’ll find the comedy. I also wish people weren’t so afraid of drama. Most people think improv is about being as funny as you can, but really it’s about being as entertaining as you can, and entertaining doesn’t always equal funny.
What inspires you and/or informs your improv?
Life. Everything I’ve ever experienced. I think a solid understanding of human nature is crucial for any successful improviser. That’s more important than knowing pop culture references. References can work and be really funny, but they grow tiresome super fast so if that’s your schtick, well, good luck.
What do you look for in a coach or teacher?
I respond best to hard-asses. Not assholes, hard-asses – there’s a huge difference. I don’t need to be coddled or told I’m great. The coach’s job is to make you better, not to be a cheerleader. The teachers I’ve really loved and respect, like Miles Stroth and James Grace… “easy” is not the first word that comes to mind. By far the most formidable and influential teacher I’ve ever had was Shulie Cowen. I wanted to commit to memory and incorporate everything she uttered. When I coach teams… well let’s just say my style is in line with what I respond to as a performer.
What’s the worst scene you’ve ever done (or seen)?
It wasn’t one I was in, but I vividly recall a scene in a student show where the players played these stereotypical Asians – for no clear reason – and it just went from bad to worse to mortifying. Cheesy accents, dry cleaners, eating cats… it was just awful. What made it worse was that the performers didn’t seem to think anything was wrong with what they just did. You can’t be a good improviser or comedian if you lack self-awareness. I recall another show where one of the performers had a hole in the crotch of his jeans and was going commando. It’s hard enough for audiences to have to watch a bunch of students take a one-way trip to Crazy Town without also having to literally look at nuts.
Have you ever been embarrassed by anything you’ve done on stage?
There’ve been times when I’ve been disappointed by where a scene or show went, but I don’t embarrass easily. I have a VERY dark sense of humor and I like to explore dicey subjects. But they have to be played really smartly. When you enter the realms of racism or religion or homophobia or genocide or incest you have to handle it at the top of your intelligence. I like to comment on or demonstrate why I think something is wrong, but you run the risk of appearing to advocate what you’re actually trying to criticize, or simply looking like a dick. If you’re gonna to go there, make sure you know the point you’re trying to make, and be sure you make it. Similarly I also don’t like seeing stereotypes. Please give me some depth. If you’re playing a surfer or a gang member or a gay guy or a zealot, make them three-dimensional.
Do you have any “no fly zones?”
Not really. I mean, the first word in an improviser’s vocabulary is “yes” right? I personally don’t have many limits so pretty much anything is fair game. That said, I don’t like having to do sex scenes on stage. I’m not a prude, I’ll make out with anybody in a heartbeat (and have). But I don’t want to simulate actual sex with you in front of an audience. No one needs to see that. In general I’m not a fan of going blue; it’s the lowest common denominator. But it happens to the best of us sometimes. One of my teammates once noted that for 2 months straight I fucked a corpse in every show. I guess I had some issues to work out (laughs).
Do you ever get stage fright?
No. I get anxious beforehand (especially before Extra-Strength) but it’s more like an energy surge. If the day comes when I don’t feel anything before a show then it’s probably time to retire.
High or Low status?
Whatever the scene calls for. I do have an affinity for playing characters that are the opposite of their station in life, like the janitor who’s the smartest guy in the room or the king who is a fool.
Straight or Absurd?
Whatever the scene calls for, but I trend toward playing the straight man. That said, the best straight man ever was Abbot in “Who’s on First” and he was actually the absurd one.
Preferred Opening?
I used to hate Organic Openings but then I figured out how to do them correctly and now I love them. The only Opening I don’t like is Monologue because most people don’t know how to play with them – or deliver them – properly.
Favorite Improv Form?
Deconstruction. Understanding that form has made me better at all the others.
Favorite Line You’ve Ever Said?
“But there’s no cure for Polaroids!”
[...] Theatre in Los Angeles. She’s also one of our theatre’s most awesome improv teachers (so sayeth Conroy, though he’s hardly alone in that opinion). Her numerous film and television credits include Curb [...]
[...] Alexander is a long-time friend of EXTRA-STRENGTH. Conroy DJed her wedding, and both he and O’Connell called her out in their Performer Profiles as someone who they look to as a [...]