Michaela Watkins's Improv Advice: 'Shoot the f***ing deer!'

Actor Michaela Watkins talks to Sam Jones about getting past fear on stage and her advice to improv students.

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[nabeelsherazi]

It’s interesting, I feel like this advice runs opposite to Adam Key’s advice on Off Camera where he says (paraphrasing) stop trying to move the plot forward, step backwards and let the details of the world fill in. But I’ll also say, with most dueling advice, it’s not that they contradict, it’s that the masters know when either one applies, and they both apply, but at different times. Just gotta get that experience.

[fabioaraujo]

Great metaphor for any challenge in life.

[JasonFarrTubes]

"Jump off the diving board" is an analogy I also came to because it does feel like being at the edge of the diving board, too afraid to jump. I used the real-life example of how my cousin taught me to do flips off the diving board. He said he went to the edge and just said, "F--- it, " and jumped. That did the trick and it will in improv, too. You can't drown on a stage, so just say, "F--- it, " and jump.