HeyJaredImprov City
Practical improv advice, exercise ideas, and lots of feelings from UCB New York improvisor and teacher, Molly Thomas. New posts every Friday morning.
- Indexed issues, last 90 days
- 17
- Latest publication
- Sep 28, 2026
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- Earliest in this view
- Aug 7, 2026
Latest issues
The Handshake (opens the original)
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Recording of the Improv City post of the same name, published 9/25/26Written and Recorded by Molly ThomasProduced and Edited by Tom Levin
Repost: The Handshake (opens the original)
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I first posted this piece in May, 2024. I stand by all of it except the “recently watched You People part. At this point, I watched You People two and a half years ago.The handshake is the moment when you establish the game of the scene.I didn’t learn the term “the handshake” until I had been doing improv for a number of years. It’s not a term we necessarily use at UCB, but it’s great. It underlines that the moment is an agreement between the players, that it’s quick, and defined. In the ideal v
Exercise: Park Bench of Truth Elbow Touch Edition (opens the original)
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Yesterday, I ran Park Bench of Truth with my 201 class. In the UCB curriculum, we run this exercise once at the end of 101 and again at the end of 201. In case you’re not familiar, Park Bench of Truth is the exercise where two students sit on three chairs set next to each other. They play themselves. The focus on the exercise is to truly speak and listen to each other. It can be hard to just be onstage and Park Bench of Truth is a great reminder of how to do that. There’s value in doing the exer
8 Tips for Improvising with Women (opens the original)
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Recording of the Improv City post of the same name, published 9/18/26Written and Recorded by Molly ThomasProduced and Edited by Tom Levin
8 Tips for Improvising with Women (opens the original)
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Here are some things to help us all be better teammates to most women. These tips are mostly for men, but a good refresher for us all. Eliminate the word “actually”. It betrays how little you think of your fellow player. “That was actually a good move.” “That was actually funny.” “Actually, that’s a good note.” Used like this, the word actually is meaningless except to undercut the receiver. “That was a good move.” “That was funny.” “That’s a good note.” See how much better those actually sound?
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