The armor we wear to get us through life, the little defense mechanisms, the buffers between us and others--physical, mental, emotional--has no place on the stage. The best thing you can bring to the stage is your willingness to be open, accepting and vulnerable.

I believe to be vulnerable, to be the that frail, fucked up human being that you are, is one of the hardest things to do. It is also the greatest thing you can do.

Yes, you will do bits.
Yes, you will be silly.
Yes, you will do crazy characters and be in wacky situations.

But underneath it all, you have to be YOU, the unarmored you, with all your joys and pains, triumphs and tragedies.

I've never been trapped in an elevator, but I've been scared shitless.
I've never been left at the altar, but I've had my heart broken.
I've never been a Shark asking a Dolphin to the Sea Prom, but I've been afraid of rejection.

We do a lot of wacky shit on stage, but if you bring your own life and experiences, your own truth, the audience will hook into that and be engaged. The audience can relate. They've felt what you felt. That honest interaction between performers on the stage, no matter how crazy the scene, is what matters. People, not premise, matters.

There are improvisors who are "themselves" on stage but they never let you in; they're open to an extent, but only on their own terms. Truth in comedy and truth in art comes from your heart and your soul. And if you never let yourself be vulnerable, we'll never see the real you. The you that is a poet and a genius and a motherfuckin' rockstar. And that is who we all want to see.