Meet Greg Philippi

We recently connected with Greg Philippi and have shared our conversation below.

Greg, thank you so much for taking the time to share your lessons learned with us and we’re sure your wisdom will help many. So, one question that comes up often and that we’re hoping you can shed some light on is keeping creativity alive over long stretches – how do you keep your creativity alive?

First to answer your question I think it’s helpful for me to clarify just what creativity is. For me creativity is the ability to generate new ideas, concepts, or solutions and it involves thinking outside the box and in some cases building a new box. Creativity doesn’t just apply to performing and the arts either but can be an approach to problems or tasks and it can provide results..

How do I keep my creativity alive? I merely need to stimulate my brain with an energy snack. That snack might be a thought that comes to mind because of something in life that catches my attention or a thought that springs from a photo, art, an interesting piece of music I heard or characters I saw in a film or perhaps it’s the ideas that come to mind when reading a good book. My creativity at times is stimulated by actions like exploring inside a store I’ve never been in before or even just taking a walk around the block.

I also keep my creativity alive by putting myself in the right frame of mind to create. When I do so my imagination goes to work and creativity thrives. Anything that stimulates my brain and thought processes keeps my creativity alive. Sometimes keeping my creativity alive means stepping away from a creative session and allowing an idea to bubble under and work in my subconscious. Often putting an idea in your mind at night before bed will result in creative solutions in the morning.

Think of the mind as a muscle. Stimulating that muscle strengthens it and in turn strengthens your creativity. Activities keep my creativity alive such as immersing myself in a writing, art or improv group and interacting with others.

Brainstorming sessions also keep my creativity alive because in a brainstorming session you set a problem or task and keep yourself open to any and all possible solutions no matter how unusual. I can have a brainstorming session with fellow creatives or sit at a table with network TV suits and brainstorm. In either case creativity flows and so do solutions! All this talk of creative thought. I’m going to go create something, somewhere…

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

As mom tells the story, after watching the Exorcist I turned my head 360 degrees and spit pea soup on her. She merely shrugged and served up another bowl. That led to my working in entertainment. Okay, I guess I should be serious here though I am a SAG/AFTRA actor and a bit of a comedian.

My working in entertainment may have started with my playing guitar in punk bands in NYC which led to my writing music for film and television and then working in the business side of entertainment as a film/TV and music business executive. Even when working on the business side I never stopped creating and performing whether I was creating on stage in front of an audience or behind the scenes.

Over the past twelve years I’ve been teaching improv and have performed as an improviser much longer. I have taught and performed at improv festivals, and in theaters as well as for a prestigious performing arts school plus led corporate leadership workshops for fortune 100 companies in several states. I’ve also personally coached actors, improv teams and several TED Talks speakers.

My training as an improviser includes study and performance with Second City (Los Angeles), iO Theater (Chicago & Los Angeles), Upright Citizens Brigade (Los Angeles) and Monkey Butler Comedy (Los Angeles).

Before my work in Improv, I was a network television executive, music business executive and a music supervisor for TV/Film with responsibilities that included overseeing the music budget for film/TV projects, negotiating song licenses etc. I also wrote and/or co-wrote songs and music cues for TV/Film projects. Later I ran several indie record labels including a rap label in Houston and an Americana/singer-songwriter label in Los Angeles, all the while keeping a hand in creating.

While in Florida teaching improv I also wrote scripts and sketch material for Royal Carribean Cruise Lines, Pirates of Co-Co Cay Bahamas Show. I also wrote a 90 minute script for an international corporate client with the event streaming on multiple platforms internationally from their studios in São Paulo Brazil.

My latest book is “Life Improvised: Listening Between the Lines” available on Amazon. In it I use interesting and unusual stories from my life to showcase improv concepts readers can use to improve their lives and grow as creatives whether on stage or off.

This past December my wife and I relocated from South Florida, just north of Miami in Boca Raton, to the Pacific Northwest. It’s a big change.

So, I’ve begun 2025 in a new locale, and am assessing the market place while executing a search for creative opportunities and lots and lots of warm clothing….

I’m currently writing two new books including a second improv book plus a collection of horror tales that is fiction…or is it?! Currently I write a weekly improv inspired newsletter titled The Armadillo Lab which is on Substack. You might find the newsletter interesting even if you’re not an improviser. Check out the free version or the paid version at
www.thearmadillolab.substack.com

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

This is a tricky one because my skills and areas of knowledge are totally separate from what I deem my three most important qualities in life so I’m going to answer two questions.

First, my three most important qualities in life are 1) Honesty 2) Having a positive outlook and 3) Being yourself … 1) First, there’s not enough honesty in the world. I do separate honesty from being brutally honest which is using honesty to cover cruelty. True honesty speaks for itself. When you can trust someone to be honest there is a peace about them and they’re great to do business with. 2) Having a positive outlook is helpful in every aspect of life and makes a difference in the quality of life you lead. It is not always easy to be positive either but a smile works wonders in so many situations. 3) People often try to be who they think you want them to be and they change with the crowd they’re with to fit in. It takes courage to be yourself. If you are your authentic self you’ll feel much better about yourself and in turn be able to have more fulfilling relationships with others and perform better at work.

My three most important skills are 1) How to apply improv principles to everyday life. By improv principles I mean concepts such as “yes and” that can be used to your benefit on or off stage.

Yes and, is a basic building block of Improv. It says I hear what you’re saying and I validate your opinion. It also says this is my answer based on how I feel about what you said, and I’m adding a piece of information that will move the action forward.
Using improv concepts in your everyday life will improve the quality of your life. 2) Showing others how they can get to know themselves through improv. This is basically showing others ways to get in touch with who they are and to have comfort in doing that using improv. 3) Helping others to be more aware. I’m not always the most aware person but I do work on this daily. Awareness on a spiritual and/or physical level can be useful in so many areas of life.

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?

I’d like to answer two questionstwo questions. The first being regarding collaboration and the second being regarding my ideal client.

1) Are You Looking for Folks to Collaborate with and how they can connect with you if they are reading this and want to collaborate?

I am always open to collaboration. I’m constantly creating sketch material, film scripts and seeking improvisers and/or actors, writers or film makers to work with. Perhaps even some musicians. Being in a new city (Portland Oregon) it would be great to meet others with a creative mindset. I’m especially keen to improvise with some new faces as well. Feel free to reach out via email [email protected] or look me up on social media and reach out.

2) Who is Your ideal client and what sort of characteristics would make them an ideal client for you?

My ideal client is someone who tries their best to follow my direction whether I’m coaching them for a show or presentation or whether I’m building their brand. The ideal client gives 150% to their work and of course the ideal client pays on time… My clients have run the gamut from Film/TV production companies to Ad Agencies, magazines, newspapers and artist managers to Fortune 100 corporations for my improv workshops and improv teams, troupes, several attorneys and various smaller companies. Actors prepping for auditions or building their brand have hired me for coaching and direction. I also coached a complete cast for a well financed Miami musical. Writing clients have included record labels, magazines, ad agencies, indie film makers and cruise lines.

Just a footnote but I’ve always been fascinated with those guys who write on the spot poetry for $5 using an ancient type writer. Very creative… I kept running into this one guy in New Orleans near different jazz clubs. Now that’s someone who writes for a living!

Stay creative and when you can, be a beacon lighting the way for others! See you on the big screen in the movies or in the popcorn line. It’s your choice…

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Three color images detailing improv concepts please credit to Amanda Donahue/ thescribblist.com. I have clearance to use.

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