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Benjamin Ragheb lives in New York City. He performs comedy with Fat Penguin and Zuleyka.
He is the developer of FatWatch and MetroCost.
Bigger posts appear on his blog; smaller posts appear on Twitter.
So, this happened on Twitter yesterday:
caitorade At the UCB Training center right now, an improviser is interviewing to become part of a practice group. Let’s push back against this, agree?
benzado If that group wants to do it that way, it’s up to them. And if it catches on, that probably means it works. But I doubt it will.
katespencer Interviewing?!
WinstonNoel Listen, I wrote that guy’s rec letter. Back off.
timothydunn Hey listen. My improv might not be very strong, but I’m very proficient in Excel.
jpurnell wow, that’s what it’s come to?
patbaer I dislike it when half a practice group no shows because they’re not committed, but this seems extreme.
adambozarth This makes me really sad. Unless this practice group offers 40k/year with health and dental insurance.
mikescollins What ever happened to the improv days of just making prospects strip naked and circling whats wrong with their bodies in marker?!
ruby_sneakers unbelievable.
DStoley are they still accepting applications?
I think those of us who are already “plugged in” take for granted how hard it is for someone new to the scene to get a group together. If I want to, I’m spoiled for choice, but it took some time to get here. Most of the people I started practicing with were not classmates. You would likely never have heard of me if I hadn’t been a regular at Improdome. I never would have been a regular if I didn’t used to live so close to the PIT; I had a day job.
If “interviewing” isn’t acceptable, what’s the right way to do it? Sitting in for a practice is great, if you can afford to spend the time and money. What’s wrong with wanting to talk to the person first, to get an idea if you get along or not?
I know it’s just Twitter, where the goal is to fit as much snark as you can in 140 characters or fewer. But it’s unfair pass judgment on interviewing, or any idea, if you don’t have a better idea to offer.
Back in my day, people walked uphill ten miles each way to go to practice group. We paid our coaches in chickens and...
Usually the fault for a bad metaphor lies with the writer. Anyway, the...Caitlin posted...
I…don’t follow what you’re saying at all. But maybe I am bad at metaphors. So…because people are having trouble...
I think everyone has made some excellent points today. Not one word was wasted! Just think if this discussion had...
aren’t as lucky as you were. Rather than being swept...wonderful hurricane of activity,...
Scollins’s addition to the convo below…
This entire thread is both fascinating and paranoia inducing to the almost-level-one student. *hides behind camera*
I really like the way the school has 201 practice sessions now. But I didn’t really go through the new school system. I...
I wasn’t going to post again but it’s Friday and slow at work and something about this gets me. I totally hear what you...
Anyone interested in a group venture to create a match.com type site...improv team...
I knew about practice groups when I first started out. You practiced with your class in between classes. That’s what it...
weren’t funny. Just unfair.
I am currently holding interviews for Twitter followers. Please be advised you need to be able to handle AT LEAST 125...
I’ve been in New York for over a year now and probably as a result of my shyness and two inconveniently timed vacations...
The weird little misconceptions my peers and I had back then seem laughable and quaint. But there’s
still think mine’s
I stand by my statement. If you are just taking classes and are trying to get into the practice group momentum, then you...
I suspect lots of new students simply don’t know the norms. I think interviewing people is silly, but I’m sure it’s not...
Yeah, I don’t really see what you could learn from an interview that you couldn’t learn from having someone sitting in...
I think the implication is that the way teams generally get together (meeting in class, at jam sessions, around the...
Because an interview - by its nature - involves judgment. Not the “comfort-level” judgment involved with seeing