Monster Baby: A Curious Romp Through The Worlds Of Mindfulness And Improvisation

What’s spirituality got to do with it anyway? Ted and Lisa take on the thorny task of exploring the realms of spirit and what they have to do with mindfulness and improv. Lisa starts by explaining the Double Bounce Theory and why her coffee and exercise routine might play out in the episode (2:50). Ted [more…] The post Monster Baby #27 Speaking of Spirituality or Why Lisa Might Be Going to Hell appeared first on Anima Learning.

Ted and Lisa get curious about curiosity in Monster Baby Episode #26! They laugh their way through the opening challenge of a few Line-at-a-Time Limericks (1:48) and then enter their topic in earnest around the five-minute mark (5:29). They ask whether curiosity is fundamental to effective improv even though most teachers don’t talk about it [more…] The post Monster Baby #26 Isn’t That Curious? appeared first on Anima Learning.

In Episode #25, Ted and Lisa dive into the paradoxical wisdom in the Improv maxim “Be Average.” They start with a chat about the San Francisco production of Hamilton and time they each spent with Moms (1:53) before introducing the subject of the day (6:48). They explore the value of just mucking about and the need [more…] The post Monster Baby #25 Be Average appeared first on Anima Learning.

Time to get present, y’all! Celebrating the one-year anniversary of the first Monster Baby podcast, Ted and Lisa offer Episode #24, a deep dive into presence and its role in our lives. A new warm-up creates some crazy acronyms (1:14) before the co-hosts check in about their prior commitment to try a gratitude practice (5:48). [more…] The post Monster Baby #24: Get Presence appeared first on Anima Learning.

Episode #23 finds Ted and Lisa taking on an attitude of gratitude. A humorous warm-up (1:46) gets the ball rolling before the co-hosts start to clarify how gratitude differs from simply acknowledging what we like (6:18). They touch on gratitude’s relationship to vulnerability (12:34) and whether we can ever offer enough thanks for some of [more…] The post Monster Baby #23: Attitude of Gratitude appeared first on Anima Learning.

In Episode #22, Ted and Lisa share a conversational cup of courage. A brief and playful check-in (1:59) leads to defining what they mean by courage (4:27) and together, they wonder if Lisa’s courageous to do improv (8:52). Ted considers the last time he felt particularly courageous (11:51) and Lisa shares some stories about dating [more…] The post Monster Baby #22: A Cup of Courage appeared first on Anima Learning.

Ted and Lisa welcome special guest (and Jeopardy contestant-to-be) Troy Steinmetz for a conversation about the wisdom of puzzles. They enter a warm-up game midstream to consider different kinds of puzzles (3:47) before Troy gets the group talking about flow and ideal challenge levels (13:37). Lisa introduces the notion of “futzing about” and puzzling for [more…] The post Monster Baby #21: Puzzle Nuzzle appeared first on Anima Learning.

For their first podcast of 2017, Lisa and Ted venture into the world of adventure. They demonstrate an adventurous improv game of “What Comes Next?” (1:43), define what they mean by adventure (6:59), and describe why a Keith Johnstone quote (10:07 ) and an exercise called “The Quest” (13:08) get them jazzed about the topic. [more…] The post Monster Baby #20: Adventure Time! appeared first on Anima Learning.

In the inaugural Monster Baby Mailbag episode, Ted and Lisa (and Lisa’s cats) take questions from a few loyal listeners. They wonder whether Monster Baby friendships are different from other connections (3:49), explore the tension between discovery and invention in both improv and mindfulness (15:32), celebrate an adventurous attitude for choices both large and small (25:28), and marvel [more…] The post Monster Baby #19: The Monster Baby Mailbag! appeared first on Anima Learning.

What is harmony and what the heck makes it so delicious, both literally and metaphorically? Ted and Lisa start with a modified round of “Three Things!” (2:34) and then explain what made them chose today’s topic (7:08). Ted shares his impressions of Lisa’s erstwhile musical improv group, Lombard Street Experiment (12:06) and the pair considers [more…] The post Monster Baby #18: Harmony appeared first on Anima Learning.

After a world-changing, head-spinning Election Day outcome, Lisa and Ted turn to each other to process their emotional turmoil. Lisa relays the experience of her first post-result class at Stanford and asks, “How can we play or teach when we’re in the face of a devastating loss?” (2:28) They discuss how mindful sharing offers one [more…] The post Monster Baby #17: Post-Election Reflections appeared first on Anima Learning.

  Lisa and Ted continue their conversation with teacher and mentor, Patricia Ryan Madson, drama teacher and author of the acclaimed Improv Wisdom. In this segment, Patricia explained how she first learned to say “Yes, and” from impro master Ketih Johnstone (1:09) and how one can approach improv games from multiple angles (5:06). The three [more…] The post Monster Baby #16: A Conversation with Patricia Ryan Madson (Part 2) appeared first on Anima Learning.

  Lisa and Ted welcome their teacher and mentor, Patricia Ryan Madson, drama teacher and author of the acclaimed Improv Wisdom, for a two-part Monster Baby conversation. They explore how mindfulness and improv first joined together in Patricia’s work (3:21) and how the Stanford Improvisors first came into being, both as a learning/performance group and [more…] The post Monster Baby #15: A Conversation with Patricia Ryan Madson (Part 1) appeared first on Anima Learning.

What happens when you talk about silence? In this episode, Lisa and Ted offer a short check-in (1:43) and get some questionable advice from their respective tea bags (5:21). They first focus on how silence can affect improv experience (9:31) and then turn their attention to the empty spaces of art and music (21:20). They discuss how some experience [more…] The post Monster Baby #14: Silence, Please appeared first on Anima Learning.

A recent loss gets Ted and Lisa reflecting on how best to relate to change. They start with a playful word-at-a-time school announcement (1:45) and some early reflections on change in general (3:54). From there, they consider what improv has to say about change (7:15) and when it might make sense to resist some shifts [more…] The post Monster Baby #13: Ch-ch-ch-changes appeared first on Anima Learning.

Lisa and Ted return from their most recent retreat to share a few meta-level insights. After a storytelling warm-up game (1:27) and a check-in about Ted’s trip to Europe (7:51), the duo introduce the perspective of the Observer in meditation and improv (19:25). They consider fellow improvisor Ben Johnson’s approach (25:23) and recognize that sometimes [more…] The post Monster Baby #12: Meta-tation: This is a Subtitle appeared first on Anima Learning.

With Ted finally back from a month in Europe, he and Lisa explore the ramifications of her recently directed run of “Bechdel Test” improv shows.* After a playful warm-up game of Finish the Word (3:23), Lisa and Ted recount their performer and audience perspectives on the show’s portrayal of stories about women (16:12). Eventally, they [more…] The post Monster Baby #11: Passing the Bechdel Test: On Gender in Improv and Facing Old Demons appeared first on Anima Learning.

Finally back from a month-long hiatus, Lisa and Ted get into their different preferences around chaos and order. They open with a ribald riff on unicorns and rainbow prisms (really, see 2:34) and then explain what happened with the delay between podcast episodes (5:45). Together, Ted and Lisa try to determine what makes for a healthy [more…] The post Monster Baby #10: Chaos Theory appeared first on Anima Learning.

Toward the end of their recently concluded Mindful Play, Playful Mind retreat, Ted and Lisa sit down for an interview with David Treadwell, a writer from Brunswick, Maine. Ted and Lisa get into why they offer such retreats (2:46), what the weekend usually covers (6:03), and how improv skills can lead to a better life (9:03). [more…] The post Monster Baby #9: The Monster Baby Retreat–An Interview appeared first on Anima Learning.

Responding to their first ever Monster Baby listener letter, Ted and Lisa explore the healing powers of mindfulness and improvisation. They warm up with a rousing game of 3 Things! (1:38) and then start digging into their topic (6:25), noting that healing can be like rinsing the bad or filling in the good (11:45). They [more…] The post Monster Baby #8: How About Healing? appeared first on Anima Learning.