Last year, Ryan Hill basically stumbled into watching the 42 Hour Improv Marathon, and it changed his life. Yesterday, I talked with him about what happened, and how it’s affected him over the past year.
Roy: How did you find out about the Marathon last year?
Ryan: I had been hanging at the Hideout Coffee Shop telecommuting like three days a week. My office was downtown, so I had free parking a couple blocks away, but I only went into the office two days a week. The other three days I was usually at the Hideout.
Late one afternoon my friend Thedward Blevins walked in. I’ve known him for 15 years, but I hadn’t seen him in a while.
“What are you doing here?,” I said.
“Going to improv class,” he replied.
Thedward? Doing improv? Seriously? I think that was a couple weeks before the marathon. Thedward took me to a Threefer, it was Local Genius Society, Secret Senate, and Two to Beam Up. Thedward had also introduced me to Andy Crouch in the Coffee Shop.
Roy: So what did you know about improv before the Marathon?
Ryan: I didn’t know much about improv before that Threefer show. I loved “Whose Line?” like the rest of the world, but I had seen some comedy sports that I thought was pretty bad at the time.
I was amazed by that Threefer and wanted to see more. I had met someone in Secret Senate at a party and was surprised to see them on stage.
The next weekend I was looking for something to do (I had just quit a five year World of Warcraft career and was astounded at all my new free time) and Thedward mentioned the Marathon.
Roy: How long were you planning on staying?
Ryan: I thought I’d go to an hour or two that Friday and then maybe come back on Saturday if I felt like it.
Roy: How much of the Marathon did you wind up seeing?
Ryan: It’s a little sketchy. I’m actually looking at last years program/ticket right now. It’s been on my bedside table all year and I’ve been carrying it around lately because I want to have it with me during my hour this year.
I believe it was ten hours, but eventually they just stamped my program through to the end because I’d spent enough. I saw the first hour and have a very clear memory of Jason Vines and Andy Crouch using a bench as a canoe. I think the last show I watched was the “Live Nude Improv” preview.
Boy that was quite the introduction to improv.
Roy: How soon afterwards did you sign up for classes?
Ryan: I had a VERY clear moment during the marathon. I can’t remember exactly when, but it was a shot of fear up through my gut when I had the thought, “I bet I could do this. I have to do this,” and I knew I was going to. I signed up the next week I think. My level one class started June 25th. Andy Crouch was teaching and Lisa Jackson (another 2011 marathon player) was the TA. Cat Drago was also in the class. We just this last Sunday had our last Level 6 student show.
Roy: What impact has that chance encounter had on you in the past year?
Ryan: It’s really so hard to say without it sounding like overblown hyperbole, and it’s hard to cover all the ways in which improv has changed my life. I suspected that I might have a brave and talented performer inside me somewhere for many years. I had little flashes of it from time to time. Improv has brought that person to the surface.
I am astounded at what I’ve accomplished in the last year.
I completed the entire Hideout curriculum. I’ve taken at least 10 electives, and several workshops including the Parallelogramophonograph narrative intensive. I’ve watched a colossal amount of improv. I was cast and performed in the Hideout’s student show, “After School Improv.” I’m currently in three performing troupes including the Seven Eight Sevens, a fast, comedy-centered troupe, In Our Prime, a very grounded, narrative troupe, and Apocalypse, a genre troupe. After School Improv is performing in the Out of Bounds Festival, and In Our Prime has been invited to both the Hawaii Improvaganzaa Festival and the Oklahoma City improv festival.
However, that’s just the “material” stuff, the things I’m so lucky to be able to do. The truly astounding part is the internal changes. I am a far, far more confident and joyful person. I have scads of wonderful new friends who are amazing collaborators that support me and my ideas completely. I feel like I’m surrounded by a loving family in the Austin improv community. (Oh yes, and there’s improv love, that happened too. Count me surprised, but happy.)
But I’m still not getting to the best stuff. Improv has increased my sense of what is possible. It has increased my awareness of myself and others. I honestly feel it has made me a better person.
See what I mean?
Overblown hyperbole, but every bit is true.
Ryan emailed me to follow up with this:
A small addition:
This year I have successfully played with, or been taught or directed by every 2011 marathon player except, of course, Tim Redmond, because I don’t get to Australia very often. Andy Crouch: Levels 1-3 and some electives. Lisa Jackson: TA for Levels 1-5. Jordan Maxwell directed me in Buffy the Vampire Slayer which had Peter Rogers in the cast. Karen Dewitt was also in After School Improv, which Jason Vines directed, and FINALLY, two weeks ago I took an elective from Troy Miller.
I also forgot to mention winning my first Maestro. Wow. What a year.
He then emailed me AGAIN to say:
What I would love for people to hear in reading this is:
THIS COULD BE YOU.
If you’re not an improviser right now, in a short year you could be
performing regularly.
I think I might be done emailing you about this now, but I can’t make
any guarantees.
I’m not going to promise the same life-changing experience for everyone, but the Marathon starts this Friday. Just sayin’