Hello improvisers!

There are TWO new episodes this week. I've started a new series, this time on metacognition (came out on Monday, YouTube and Podcast - more below). And just this morning dropped the first extended monthly episode on the podcast, about having teammates.

More about each episode below.

Comment on these things? Share your thoughts? Find others? There are comments on all the articles for every episode (linked with them in every newsletter).

Understanding your Teammates Better

How well do you ACTUALLY know your teammates? Think about the best improv team you've ever seen. [waiting. got it? good.] This is the kinda team where every scene felt really easy to watch. All those players seemed to know when to step in, or when to hold back, and what each person on that team needed. They were connected and somehow all of them seemed to be in each other's brains.

That team had something going on offstage that most improv training doesn't get into all that often, if at all. Those teammates actually knew each other's brains. They understood how each person's brain worked, how each person communicates when they're comfortable, what they look like when they're struggling, and what kind of support actually helps versus what just adds more pressure.

They can throw a signal to their teammate to take over the scene at something they are just weirdly excellent at. And they know when not to do that, too.

Most improv training focuses on what happens inside the scene. Agreement, listening, heightening, support moves. All of that matters. And all of it gets easier when you know who you're doing it with.

This week's special-length podcast-only episode is about that offstage part. It goes well beyond just go hang out and get coffee after practice group more often, which isn't the answer for this. At all.

Our goal is to play with anyone. If you can improvise with anyone, you win. This is part of that goal! The better we understand each other and communicate well, we get closer to that goal.

The burden thing

For a lot of autistic people, and other types of brain or conditions (ADHD, CPTSD, depression, etc) a specific belief gets wired in pretty early for a lot of us: that our presence in any space requires extra effort from the people around us. That we're harder to be around. That the way we communicate, the way we process, the way we exist socially costs other people something. Just for having a wiring difference, really.

That belief starts with real experiences early on in life, which is why it's difficult. Getting signals from classrooms, friendships, and relationships that something about us is more work for everyone else. And once that pattern is established early enough, it sticks around. We carry it everywhere, whether we realize it or not and it's very hard for anyone to talk us out of it because the evidence keeps showing up.

This is what a video I saw recently was all about, and that video inspired this special episode that looks at the problem through the improv lens.

You can find more in the episode, such as:

• Where this shows up in improv
• The problem with evidence
• What we alternative neurotypes bring to a team
• The difficulty of the communication gap
• What you can do as a teammate
• And a couple of inclusion exercises

This is a special extended episode of Your Improv Brain on inclusion in the improv community. These episodes help neurodivergent improvisers understand themselves and help non-neurodivergent improvisers work better with their teammates and students.

Again. This episode is NOT just for neurodivergent improvisers.

Which we ALL need to do to get better at improv, because if you improvise with or teach more than 5 people, you're improvising with or teaching one of us.

Listen to the Episode

Find the episode and full article on this page here, or get "Your Improv Brain" wherever you download podcasts:

Metacognition and Improv

"Get out of your head" is advice that almost every improviser has heard at some point. It makes sense as a goal, but it skips over something we probably think about quite a bit: what is that brain of ours actually doing when we're in a scene.

During the 2026 Winter Olympics, freestyle skier Eileen Gu gave an interview that got a lot of attention on the interwebs. A reporter asked whether she thinks before she speaks. Instead of just laughing (it was actually a much more involved question that that), Eileen gave a really detailed and excellent answer about how she monitors her own thinking and has developed that as a deliberate skill.

What she was describing is metacognition, which means thinking about your thinking. And it's something I do a helluva lot about improv (not sure if you can tell with the whole... improv brain show n stuff).

What's happening in your brain during a scene

When you're improvising, part of your brain is doing the scene. It's listening, responding, building out the base reality with your scene partner. But another part can be watching and monitoring, and that part is usually running commentary. Especially if you're learning how to improvise.

Things like: "this scene is going well" or "I have no idea where this is going" or "I should have said something different back there" or for many... "uh, what's the game?"

That second channel is the one people mean when they say "get out of your head." The advice is about turning it off. The problem is that when you hear "stop monitoring," you start monitoring whether you're monitoring. That's the brainception layer that makes things feel worse. And can potentially make improv even harder.

You can read the full article about metacognition in improv here:

​https://improvupdate.com/metacognition-and-improv-how-to-use-your-monitoring-brain-in-a-scene/​

This is PART ONE of a four part series on metacognition. You can enjoy each episode on its own, or the full series.

This episode includes an exercise you can do with a scene partner, and another one you can do for solo practice.

Watch or Listen to the Metacognition Episode

You can find this week's episode, which is the start of a new series on metacognition, here

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My next Guide later this month

The next improv guide and workbook is coming soon. I'm just finishing the hand drawn illustrations (!!) first. It'll be 22-25 pages long, and all about our brains on receiving notes. That link has some episode I've released in the past if you're interested.

Until then, check these out

$5.00 Exercises to Ruin You Six exercises (for scene partners or solo practice) to practice your biggest challenges. These include examples,... Read more Get it now!

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$5.00 Vocal Basics for Improv - With Exercises! This 13 page guide is designed to help you find new aspects and abilities in your voice as an improviser. It contains an... Read more Get it now!

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Have fun doing improv or listening to music

I listened to this song for hours on a loop while working on the new Guide. Do YOU do that, ever? Single song on loop people in the house? Anyway, check out Sweet Release by Common Saints here.