We’re excited to introduce you to Russ Gooberman. He’s an improv guru, AI futurist and polymath. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Russ below.
Russ , we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?
In my family, resilience is in the blood. My grandparents (Walter & Etta Riegler) met in a displaced person’s (DP) camp after both were liberated from concentration camps in the aftermath of WWII. They married in the DP camp – my grandmother wearing a re-purposed parachute as a wedding dress. They then emigrated to New York with no language and no money. And spent the next decades working every instant and simultaneously raising two daughters.
When I examine my own life, my struggles seem very meager in comparison.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I’m a veteran of longform improvisation and physical comedy. My sketches, music videos and commercials have accrued over 200 million YouTube views.
I’m currently on the faculty at Burbank’s LA Connection (https://laconnectioncomedy.com/), a theater with a 45 year history of short form improv in LA. I performs on two of the longest running genre teams in Los Angeles – Drunkards & Dragons (https://drunkardsimprov.com/), and LA’s Harry Potter team — The Show That Shall Not Be Named (https://harrypotterimprov.com/).
I’ve run corporate improv workshops to enhance managerial active listening skills at several companies including Verizon. I’m also a teacher with the National Improv Network and a two-time Webby Award winning writer.
Harry Potter Live (The Show That Shall Not Be Named) has run kids’ improv workshops and games for children’s birthday parties and events.
I’ve spent the last decade honing his skills with IO and Second City legends including Jeff Michalski, Jane Morris, Dave Razowsky, Jaime Moyer and Kent Skov.
My improv coaching focuses on the deep-tissue listening needed to be present in scenes and how to combine deconstruction of an abstract with dynamic space work and physical presence.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
The 400 year old’s perspective: When feeling overwhelmed, it can be helpful to zoom out from our immediate stresses and realize that on a longer timeline, there will always be peaks and valleys. To quote Bill Hicks – “Sometimes you just have to enjoy the ride.”
Food is the best medicine. Loosely quoting Hippocrates here, “Let thy food be thy medicine…” Even if you’re on a budget, don’t skimp on good quality food. Not everything needs to be made of alfalfa sprouts, but most chronic disease can be fixed by diet. Mark Bittman is a good reading source to get started.
Get to know yourself in depth. Read some psychology texts. I’d recommend Eric Berne’s “What do we say after we say hello?” Or Jung’s work on the subconscious. It can be hard to move forward if you’re sabotaging yourself, unbeknownst to you.
As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?
A learned clown teacher, once shared an out of print book with me called ‘The Death and Resurrection Show.” It draws a line between indigenous shaman and modern performers.
The ancient shaman had three traditional roles in her tribe: healing, divination (fortune telling) and entertainment.
For someone who grew up obsessed with preventative medicine, tribal masks and stand up comedy – this text helped to connect some seemingly disparate dots for me.
More recently, I came across Keli Semelsberger’s Improv Shaman, which draws some important connections between group theater, group mind, and transcending typical human experience.
I’m currently reading Jerzy Grotowski’s ‘Towards a Poor Theater,’ which investigates the purpose of live performance in an era dominated by mass media — though written in the 60s, it could not be more relevant today.
Contact Info:
- Website: russgooberman.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/russgooberman/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/russgooberman/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@RussGooberman/
- Other: Drunkards and Dragons – drunkardsimprov.com
The Show That Shall Not Be Named – harrypotterimprov.com
Image Credits
If You’re Wasian by SmileSquad The Show that Shall Not Be Named (Harry Potter Live) Drunkards and Dragons at the Orange County Improv Festival
