tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29645640443776959112012-01-05T14:18:14.181-05:00Where Improv, Story, and Real Life MeetKat Koppetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09804707423747517892noreply@blogger.comBlogger221100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964564044377695911.post-23682549333082167192012-01-05T12:22:00.003-05:002012-01-05T12:30:15.409-05:00

Dion Flynn, Brenny Rabine, Melissa Delany Del Valle and Geoff Tarson From our current Kopco newsletter, where you can also get recommendations for great books and talks, and a coupon for free presentation coaching, we offer you these thoughts on gifts great leaders give. During the holiday season, giving gifts becomes a major task and preoccupation. For improvisers giving gifts is an

Kat Koppetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09804707423747517892noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964564044377695911.post-562472723163540352011-11-20T08:01:00.003-05:002011-12-08T09:28:39.705-05:00

Jay Roderick and Kat Koppett, overseen by Cathy Salit at CiBC You know the old saw about the difference between contributing and committing? It goes: The chicken contributes to breakfast. The pig is committed. Improvisers commit to collaboration. They live and die by it. Our mantra is "Make your partner look good." This means: Focus on your partner, not yourself. Delight them. No matter what

Kat Koppetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09804707423747517892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964564044377695911.post-82229616701181954302011-06-29T14:29:00.003-04:002011-07-21T16:24:17.123-04:00

At the Applied Improvisation Network's (appliedimprov.net) 2011 annual conference in Baltimore this month, a bunch of us got together to explore the nuts and bolts of choosing, running and debriefing improv activities in organizational settings. "We want a Top -10 Tips list," one of the participants commented. Perhaps I should already have had such a thing, nicely designed and laminated, but

Kat Koppetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09804707423747517892noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964564044377695911.post-2448812530235108872011-05-16T11:21:00.001-04:002011-07-21T16:01:25.696-04:00

It is hardly news that it takes a lot of back-room planning, prep, attention and support from many many people to make the stars of the show shine. But this truth bears itself so nakedly at a circus that it is breathtaking. The support is so literal. At any given time, while an astonishing performer performs an astonishing feat, there are stage hands, announcers, musicians and other -

Kat Koppetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09804707423747517892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964564044377695911.post-82939470692378156372011-05-10T10:39:00.001-04:002011-07-21T16:02:29.700-04:00

The circus was in town this weekend, and I spent possibly the best Mother's Day ever accompanying my 7-year-old to her first circus experience. Her palpable delight ranks as the highlight. Here was a close second: For years, my colleagues and I have been talking about the improviser's creed to "Celebrate Failure". The idea that failure is an integral part of doing anything new or creative, e.g.

Kat Koppetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09804707423747517892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964564044377695911.post-5264076663153637002011-05-06T17:04:00.002-04:002011-07-21T16:04:02.251-04:00

A few months ago - okay about a year ago - I contacted the publisher of my 2001 book, Training to Imagine and suggested that perhaps it was time for a revised, updated edition. He enthusiastically (and to be honest, slightly surprisingly) agreed, adding that in addition to a print edition, we should discuss creating an e-book, videos and other supporting materials. So, I dove into the project. It

Kat Koppetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09804707423747517892noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964564044377695911.post-59640809417171624292011-04-11T13:53:00.003-04:002011-07-21T16:05:28.600-04:00

Best-selling author of "Tribes" and many other books, Seth Godin, entitled his blog post today, "How to Fail" (http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2011/04). He discusses the pitfalls of working too hard to avoid "failure" and offers some tips on setting yourself up to fail - which of course also allows you the opportunity to succeed at doing something big and worthwhile. Improvisers, too,

Kat Koppetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09804707423747517892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964564044377695911.post-74583058954169172492011-04-05T11:53:00.004-04:002011-07-21T16:06:31.482-04:00

One of the things that it takes to create within such pressure and limitations is faith. And creative faith can take a number of forms: The faith that SOMETHING will happen. The faith that mistakes are all right. The faith that others will help you. The faith that somehow you will be able to offer help back. While reflecting on our process, I was reminded of Elizabeth Gilbert's TED talk on Genius

Kat Koppetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09804707423747517892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964564044377695911.post-73683220338989740452011-03-31T13:58:00.003-04:002011-07-21T16:08:13.382-04:00

During last November's TEDxAlbany event, I was privileged to hear a talk by Casey and Corey Wright entitled, "Winning With One Hand Tied Behind Your Back". In it, the brothers share examples of people turning supposed weaknesses (e.g. having one arm, not having money) into advantages. They encouraged us to look again at our limitations and see how we could turn them to our advantages. Great stuff

Kat Koppetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09804707423747517892noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964564044377695911.post-53930399187664028582011-03-28T11:17:00.005-04:002011-07-21T16:09:36.063-04:00

wThis past weekend, I had the great privilege and pleasure of participating in the Capital District/Berkshire 24-Hour Theatre Festival. A co-production of WAM Theatre, The Mop & Bucket Company, and the Arts Center of the Capital Region, the project brought together 5 directors, 5 playwrights, 21 actors and a cadre of technical and support staff to produce a completely original evening of theatre

Kat Koppetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09804707423747517892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964564044377695911.post-68409538840875190082010-06-06T16:19:00.002-04:002010-06-08T15:14:37.947-04:00

Actors practice a slew of skills that can be usefully applied to our everyday "performances". Of course, those skills include how to use their voices and bodies effectively. They also include listening and responding, understanding objectives and how to vary one's tactics to achieve them. . Actors learn to take risks, be vulnerable, adapt their behavior to the context and to walk in others'

Kat Koppetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09804707423747517892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964564044377695911.post-80262228742992745732010-06-01T13:35:00.003-04:002010-06-15T09:25:57.561-04:00

My Capital District, New York-based improvisational theater company, The Mop & Bucket Company has been playing with genres a lot recently. Sometimes, that takes the form of the classic short-form improv game, "Genre Switch", in which the actors start a scene and then periodically switch into another style - of playwright, movie director, story form - suggested by the audience. In this kind of

Kat Koppetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09804707423747517892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964564044377695911.post-20372173669889899422009-12-01T09:41:00.004-05:002009-12-01T12:34:29.538-05:00

We use improv and story a lot in workshops designed to do everything from enhance leadership potential to increase sales skills to build teams to facilitate strategic planning to solve problems and increase innovation.What is the difference between a training (teaching) session and other forms of communication? Not as much as you might think, we believe. We would offer that in any human

Kat Koppetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09804707423747517892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964564044377695911.post-33620863665732846142009-10-29T18:42:00.004-04:002009-10-29T20:34:41.718-04:00

I recently decided I'd better figure out this Twitter thing. Although I've taken to "Facebook", I haven't really be able to get my mind, or more accurately, my logistics, wrapped around Twitter. Still, a couple of respected colleagues had been using it well, and they had written about its value as a business tool."Figuring it out" quickly turned into contacting Tech Support. And when I did, I

Kat Koppetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09804707423747517892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964564044377695911.post-16878847360687628142009-10-20T09:44:00.002-04:002009-10-20T10:06:33.023-04:00

A colleague of mine, Marni Gillard, a storyteller, and teacher of storytelling skills, who is working with high school in Schenectady, recently asked the students to complete this sentence:"If I had the courage, I would tell this story...."Another colleague of mine - one of my most precious friends and mentors, Elizabeth Doty - has written a new book, which as of this week is available on Amazon.

Kat Koppetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09804707423747517892noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964564044377695911.post-20145747556122844392009-09-23T13:40:00.002-04:002009-09-23T14:10:42.946-04:00

My grandfather had a beagle named Major. My mother had given it to him as a present after her mother died, and as a 5-year-old I loved him. He and I were about the same size, and had the same level of exuberance and boundless energy.My mother was a little less enthusiastic. As far as she was concerned he was increasingly incorrigable. I remember her complaining about his hyper-activity, and

Kat Koppetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09804707423747517892noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964564044377695911.post-61682597535503923782009-08-19T10:29:00.002-04:002009-08-19T11:08:52.988-04:00

The other day I was expressing regret to a friend. After listening patiently and compassionately for as long as she could stand it, she finally said, "Look, the Past is Prologue. What are you going to do now?"One of the areas improvisers explore in order to create good stories, is structure. (See the Story Spine side-barred here.) And one of the awarenesses we seek to develop is recognizing where

Kat Koppetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09804707423747517892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964564044377695911.post-79043177185877734972009-08-06T07:21:00.003-04:002009-08-06T07:50:25.922-04:00

A couple of days ago, I got a letter in the mail from my insurance company saying that our coverage was about to lapse. It seems our agent had omitted a certain form in our application.Now, I had been having trouble with this insurance agent for a while: she had made past mistakes, didn't return phone calls, and rarely remembered our previous discussions, even if only a day or two had passed.I

Kat Koppetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09804707423747517892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964564044377695911.post-73753985990288188862009-07-20T09:38:00.005-04:002011-07-21T16:00:07.799-04:00

In improv we say "everything is an offer". What that means simply is that anything - a word, a gesture, a memory, a facial expression - is something that can be used and built with. Improvisers talk about "yes, and-ing" offers. The "yes" means, see, hear, accept what is going on. Even if it is unexpected or unattractive. The "and" means add something. Offer something back. Build. In an improv

Kat Koppetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09804707423747517892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964564044377695911.post-75681242226378717052009-05-06T08:47:00.001-04:002009-05-07T13:45:39.855-04:00

Why the "Improvisational" storyteller?Improvisers make up stuff - scenes, songs, stories, sometime full-length plays. On-the-spot, collaboratively, with virtually no pre-planning, building only with what is happening in the moment. In order to engage in this ridiculous endeavor, we have developed principles, philosophies and techniques that are useful in any situation in which human being

Kat Koppetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09804707423747517892noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964564044377695911.post-85838213924238016692009-05-05T14:24:00.000-04:002009-05-05T14:30:48.494-04:00

I was recently reminded of one of my father's favorite stories. He told it whenever an explanation seemed to be too pat, a new report too simplistic, a conversation to narrow. The more I think about storytelling itself, the more is seems important to keep the following in mind....Neils Bohr was a famous Danish physicist, instrumental in the development of Quantum Theory. One day, he was

Kat Koppetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09804707423747517892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964564044377695911.post-91426986457700638212009-05-05T14:19:00.000-04:002009-05-05T14:24:12.696-04:00

Just about ten years ago I was co-facilitating a training session for a large high-tech company in Paris. While the participants were engaged in an assignment, three or four of my co-facilitators and I found ourselves at the back of the room discussing storytelling. I shared the “Story Spine”, a structure borrowed from improvisational theatre that helps people create well-made stories. Others

Kat Koppetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09804707423747517892noreply@blogger.com0