Hold on Loosely with Bill Corbett of MST3K a great conversation with hilarious and poetic playwright and comic actor Bill Corbett (Rifftrax, Mystery Science Theatre 3000) about elements of improv, playwrighting and comedy that all relate to tummeling and succeeding in working in flow and creating social engagement.
The core elements of improv that seemed most important: •yes, and (not denying the reality anyones presenting. This isn’t about dealing with trolls but meeting people generally where they are and adding something to it) •being present •commitment •risk •surprise
Deb related the element of surprise in the business world to 3Ms decision to capitalize on the accident or “failure” in the creation of Post-its. In tech, Kevin related it to people hacking on an existing product and the ability in the software world to change products quickly. In fear
We also had a pretty in-depth discussion of comedy, it’s evolution into snark, how it’s done on twitter and what Bill sees trending on twitter as a growing return to an approach to more direct humour.
Links from this week: Attention has not been democratized (danah boyd) Trust means being vulnerable to someone (Ben Laurie on Ed Felton) Baratunde’s twitcom Geek sincerity http://tummelvision.tv/2010/03/02/hold-on-loosely-ep-7-w-bill-corbett-of-mst3k/