"I’m into improv safe words."

One of the most important skills for any performer to harness, is the ability to change direction or go with the flow when something comes up in your performance that may have been unintended. Improvisation can make you a better dancer, musician, poet, actor and storyteller as it awakens the part of your mind that is ready to try something new in a pinch. I got to interview the amazing StormMiguel, a trans, queer Chicane filmmaker, whose work includes the award-winning films "The Whistle" (2019, Producer/Director), "MAJOR!" (2015, Editor/Co-Producer) and "Vulveeta (2022, Co-producer, Editor, Actor). Currently directing "Welcome To Roswell," he is bringing improv back to Garden as a 4 hour session on September 1st, which is open to all Garden members. I hope insight into this prolific artist inspires your improvisational senses!

Until next our avatars meet,

J Mase 🪻

What makes someone "good' at Improv?

Showing up and being willing to step out of our comfort zone - even just a little. Being willing to look or sound silly. Being willing to “mess up” in front of others. Being willing to celebrate ours and others' mistakes. Playing with the intention of making our scene partners look AMAZING. Everything else is gravy.

How did you come to Improv? What did your arts and performance practice look like before that?

I was a drama nerd for a few semesters in high school a gazillion years ago and loved when we did improv. But I didn’t end up pursuing acting because I wanted to focus on my music. I am a singer/songwriter (folk, country, Americana) and always felt that I couldn’t pursue acting because it was too demanding and would mean I needed to put music on the back burner. Music sort of ended up on that back burner naturally when I got into filmmaking in 2010. [In] 2018 a friend of mine invited me to act in her mockumentary film, Vulveeta, about a group of aging riot grrrl rockers who decide to get their band back together. I had a blast acting in that film. It was fully improvised, which was scary, but the director worked with the cast for over a year to prepare us. After that, I was inspired to move forward with an idea I had for a mockumentary called “Welcome To Roswell.” While it’s scripted, I know that mockumentary is usually improvised and I decided I want to leave room for improv in the film as well. In 2021, I started taking improv classes online, so that I could be a better actor and a better director for Welcome To Roswell, which we’re hoping to film in 2025.

Can you tell a joke in two sentences or less?

Okay, I made this one up myself. Belligerent patient tells the ER doctor, “I can stitch my own damn wound.” Doc says “Fine, suture self.”

What nuance do you feel you bring to Improv?

I don’t think I bring anything new to improv, but I do feel like I have enjoyed expanding on the idea of playing from kindness, which the improv school I attended really encouraged. In improv, we are often encouraged to say the first thing that comes to mind, to trust our impulses, and to go for it. All of these things are necessary tenets of improv, but can mean that we might say or do something that we didn’t know was harmful or that we did know, but it just “came out.” We’re all conditioned in a racist, ableist, transphobic, misogynist world, and so we mess up now and then. I do believe we are responsible for our impact on others, especially if we do not share certain points of oppression with those impacted. So something I like to bring to improv is the idea of “new choice” not to be confused with an improv game called "New Choice," but as a way to pivot a scene if someone says or does something that feels like it’s edging on being racist, ableist, misogynist, transphobic, homophobic, fat phobic, etc. or even triggering to someone. It allows the players to continue on with a scene, but pivot away from the thing that could end up hurting folks. So yeah, I’m into improv safe words.

Who would benefit from coming to this 4-hour intensive?

Folks who have no improv experience and are curious. Folks who have some improv experience. Seasoned improvisers who want to play with other amazing BIPOC improvisers. Folks who have come to the shorter Garden workshops that I’ve offered and want to get into doing scenes. Basically anyone who is down for a good time, who is willing to show up and be curious about themselves and each other and make their scene partners look AMAZING.