David Razowsky - Part 3 - 2/15/07
JF: How would you like to see improv change in Los Angeles?
DR: I would like there to be more acting in the improvisation and less fucking around. I remember when Andy Dick did something at Improv Olympic back in 86 or 87. He was up on stage and I was looking at him like ‘What the fuck are you doing? I don’t know what the fuck you’re doing up there.’ I felt like he was disrespecting the stage. He was just taking advantage of me sitting in the audience watching him. Andy has since found his own voice. We’re all happy for him. But as far as what I would like to see change, better acting. That’s it. Better acting. Connections. No hot-dogging.
JF: How do you think Second City has changed over the years? And do you think it’s become more open to improv, or putting up improv?
DR: Oh my God. The last show I did at Second City was the thirty fifth anniversary show. It was a retrospective. We looked through every scene in the thirty five year history. Now we’re at forty seven.
I left. The next show was called ‘Pinata Full of Bees,’ which was Adam McKay, Scott Adsit, Jon Glaser, Rachel Datch, Jenna Jovolitz, Scott Orman. That show suddenly had the sensibility of a long-form improvisational show. Those people all came from IO. Suddenly, you weren’t shackled to a button at the end of a scene. One scene moves into another scene, moves into another scene. There’s a fluidity that the shows there have now that they didn’t have before. There’s also callbacks. They’re demanding more of their audience. We watch more TV and movies now than before. There’s a sophistication level that wasn’t there before. They want to see a character come back. They want to see an arc. They want to be surprised. Audiences don’t always want to be surprised, but they want to be surprised in a way like ‘Oh, I forgot about that character.’ In that way, the material is smarter. Well, comedy has changed.
One of the things I rail against is men and women not getting along scenes. I don’t need to see that anymore. What do I want to see now? I want to see a scene about immigration that makes me feel like ‘Oh my God, I need to learn more about what’s going on in the world just to get that joke.’ See in L.A. people don’t even know who the fucking mayor is. They only know who the Governor is is because he’s a famous actor. That’s the only reason. In Chicago, there’s a sensibility of knowing who the governor is, knowing who the Lieutenant Governor is, knowing who the mayor is, knowing who the alderman is. People are smarter now. There’s more of a global reaction to Kofi Anan.
I believe that Second City has changed in the way that long-form now is the basis for a lot of what we do. Because Improv Olympic is developing such great actors, really great directors, smart people, and we’re demanding that from our students now. I’m demanding it. I’ve got a bully pulpit so I’m able to get up there and go ‘How the fuck did this bastard get elected a second time?’ I had a student come up to me the other day and say ‘I know you’re really against Bush. I voted for him twice.’ I’m like ‘Jenny, no! You didn’t. No! Why?’ It turns out that she wasn’t aware of the facts. You’ve got to be aware of the what’s going on in the world. [inaudible] The audiences are smarter, or they’re feeling like they have to be citizens of the world.
JF: So, do you think that’s maybe how IO and Second City have helped each other out?
DR: Absolutely. They help each other out. I know there’s a competition there, a healthy competition, more in Chicago than out here. There’s not really a competition in L.A. I think part of the reason for that is that I’m good friends with James Grace, who’s the Artistic Director over there. I was his first coach on his IO team. Farley was on that team. Pat Finn was on that team. So, there’s no competition here, but there’s competition in Chicago.
JF: In your opinion, what makes a good improv team?
DR: People supporting each other. People taking care of each other. I’m so tired of with people arguing. I’m tired with people being negative. I’m tired of looking at a scene where the people are yelling at each other at the top of the scene. I’m thinking ‘Why are you together?’ The husband and wife are yelling at each other at the top of the scene. Why are you together? I don’t want to see you.
I think in a good ensemble they like each other. Their characters like each other. They’re willing to challenge each other. They’re confident in who they are as individuals and who they are as a group. It doesn’t matter what level of sophistication your at, if you’re confident and you challenge each other without getting personal, then the only mistake you make in improvisation is casting. That’s it. If everybody likes each other and gets along, then your show is going to be great.
JF: What does the term yesand mean to you?
DR: It means accepting whatever comes your way and being courageous enough to say whatever you want to say after that’s connected to that, knowing that it will be accepted by your partner.
JF: In your opinion, what makes a good initiation? And do you find there’s a pattern to how you initiate typically?
DR: Oh yes, my pattern is always be emotionally connected to your partner the moment that you hit the stage. Check in with your partner. The moment that you see them what does their body language tell you? And how do you feel about what their body language is telling you? A good initiation, the top of the scene, is looking at your partner and assuming that they are at the end of a profound statement, and respond to that statement. Do you understand what I mean?
JF: Um, kind of.
DR: Ok, so you have a look on your face that has one eyebrow up, one eyebrow down. You never intended that. It’s just the way you look. I’m going to assume that you said something based upon how you look. I’m going to start in the middle.
What I teach my students is I don’t give a fuck about who gets the who, the what, the where out at the beginning of the scene. The minute you talk about the who, the what, the where you’re going to continue talking about the who, the what, the where. Then you’ve got to invent a way to connect emotionally to your partner. If you start emotionally connected to your partner and be aware of your where through activities, your where will come out.
JF: Do you find there’s a difference between how you initiate in a two person show, like you’re doing now with Carrie Clifford, and maybe a faster show with seven or eight person show?
DR: Absolutely. What I will do in say a five person group scene is I will turn to the first person I see and I will react to her, then I will turn to somebody and say ‘Can you believe what Tina just said!? That is just wonderful! That is a wonderful thing to say!’ Tina being the character’s name. Everybody from that point can say ‘I fucking hate Tina. Fuck that cunt. I don’t like her,’ or ‘I agree.’
JF: What do you feel the difference is in how you approach a two person show, on the whole, as opposed to a larger cast show? Do you play slower with the two person show?
DR: I play slow all the time. My new thing is I’m not in a hurry. The audience is sitting there. They’re watching. I can be up there and be compelling by saying nothing. If I’m interested, I’ll be interesting. The way I look at a two person show is I have one person to focus on, that’s it. With a larger cast scene, my approach will be I’ll be a party to initiating something between two people, and I’ll be aware that I have to exit that scene so the audience can get to know the relationship between these two people. I’ll be off stage listening and come in with information later on that I heard from their relationship.
JF: How do you get into character?
DR: My first step onstage informs the way that my body moves. If I find that my first step onstage is a heavy step, my next step is going to be a heavy step. I move up from my feet. I always begin my scene with ‘How did I step?’ I let that move out from my feet to my ankles to my knees and I adjust my body accordingly. I am always aware of how my feet have hit the stage. With every character I look toward ‘What is the energy of this? How does this character turn to the right? And how do they take that step to the right?’ Just follow through on that.
JF: So are you basically a blank slate when you walk on stage?
DR: I’m a blank slate before I walk onstage. The moment I hit the stage I’m suddenly being informed.
JF: Do you have any characters that you tend to redo?
DR: When I walk offstage, I think to myself ‘What kind of characters did I play? Were they high status or low status?’ If I played high status this week, did I play it last week? If I did, I’d better shake it up, because I’m getting in a rut. I think one of the problems improvisers have is they walk offstage. They go to a bar and they drink. What we do is we go offstage. There’s a little green room. We sit in there and we go through each scene that we did. I have to connect with what it is that I did, because I’m not doing that scene again. I’ve got to challenge myself with the characters I do.
JF: What does the term ‘the game of the scene’ mean to you, and how much of a role does it play in your improv?
DR: A lot. The game of the scene is the rules of engagement that two people perform. It’s the understanding that we are living in the same universe. Each scene is its own universe. Each universe has the accepted rules of behavior in that particular universe. The first thing that somebody says I’m thinking ‘Alright, how does this work? Ok, how can I create a game with this scene.’ By now it’s just rote. It’s just natural now. What’s important for an improviser is to remember what a pattern is. When a pattern ends and when a pattern begins, or when a piece of a pattern begins and when a piece of the pattern ends. And how can I repeat that. I tend to get kind of esoteric about this stuff. If you don’t understand please tell me. Unfortunately, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about this shit.
JF: Oh, I’ve been doing it three years and I’ve spent a lot of time during those three years thinking about it. So, although I haven’t been doing it as long as you have, I’ve probably spent too much time thinking about it as well.
DR: Absolutely. What I love about it, what I love about teaching is I say to my students regularly ‘Can you fucking believe this stuff!? Can you believe how deep this is!? Because it has to do with your psyche. It’s got to do with who you are. This is changing your life because you have to think differently and get the fuck out of your head. And go ‘Oh, there’s a pattern here? Oh, ok.’’ I teach six classes. Four of them are grad students from our conservatory, and two are called advanced improv. It’s with people in the conservatory. It’s basically whatever the fuck I want to teach that day. If I see an apple falling from a tree, we’ll do scenes about gravity. Whatever I feel like doing. So, I’m always coming up with new exercises and it blows me away with how profound this shit is.
JF: How do you balance playing the game and being real and going moment to moment? Is it ever difficult for you to do that?
DR: No, it may sound weird, but nothing’s difficult now. And nothing’s difficult anymore for one reason: I walked offstage one night and I thought ‘That was a good show. I don’t feel badly about it. Why do I feel that way?’ Then it occurred to me, I don’t care. I suddenly don’t care anymore.
JF: How long did that take?
DR: I don’t know, at least five years. Everybody gets to that point on their own. What happens at that moment is you remove self. The moment that self is gone your ego’s gone. When your ego’s gone, you get to play and there are many psychic ramifications of whatever it is you do onstage. Once self is gone, and this is why that book ‘Buddhism Plain and Simple’ is so important, you become awakened. You’re enlightened. I’ve had scenes where I was me and I was totally awake and connected to everything, and that’s because I wasn’t holding onto self. I don’t mean to get Buddhist, but the shit is plain and simply Buddhism. That’s it.
JF: In your opinion, what makes a good coach or teacher?
DR: Patience. Patience, lack of ego and someone who’s in the trenches with you. They know when to give you a note that’s harsh, and is able to give a harsh note without making it personal. Knowing how to give a note and treating each actor differently in terms of how to give that note.
JF: Was it ever difficult for you to be that patient or to get to the place where you thought you were a good director or teacher?
DR: My frustration lies when people don’t listen to my notes and I have to give them the same note again. My impatience comes from that. Listen to me, because I’m really, really trying to help you here. I’m a patient director and teacher, because if I become impatient with the actors I’m just impatient with myself.
Really the important thing is listening, listening to every fucking thing that goes on up there and missing nothing. My slogan is ‘Everything matters.’ Every move you make onstage matters. If you’re missing out on those moments, point it out to the student, because they have to know that the world is opening up and that everything is material.
JF: How has improv changed your life and changed your personality if at all?
DR: It’s changed me tremendously. It’s given me permission to talk to people. It’s made me very curious about the world. That was one of Del’s things, just be curious about the world. Al Gore was on Terry Gross’s show ‘Fresh Air,’ and she asked what he thought about George W. Bush. He said ‘[Bush is] incurious about the world. He’s not curious about people.’ For me, I’m curious about everybody. It’s taught me how to listen to people. It’s taught me how to talk to people. It’s emboldened me to ask questions and make assumptions, and to have a point of view about people. It’s taught me how to talk to women and put my arms around men and not feel like they may think that I’m hitting on them. I’ve gotten more intimate with people in a non-physical way.
I’m very blessed, Josh. I’m very blessed. I feel like every day I have somebody come up to me and tells me how I’ve changed their life, and it makes me cry. It just breaks me down and makes me cry. It’s given me purpose. I’ve created my own life out here. No one I know does what it is that I do. No one. No one. No one has the opportunity to change other people’s lives, and no one that I know appreciates it as much as I appreciate what it is my students give to me and what the artform gives to me and what the art gives to me. I am an artist, and that’s what it gave me. It gave me purpose. I’m also lucky in that I am very supported by all the other teachers. They look up to me. I am able to say ‘I don’t know,’ and not feel like I have to know everything. I feel more connected, and I think that’s what improvisation is about. Again, I go back to this! It’s about feeling connected, not feeling alone in the world, knowing that you make an offer and somebody has to accept it. You get up onstage and somebody has to say yes! You can take advantage of people without the risk of a Sexually Transmitted Disease.
JF: [laughs] That’s the best part.
DR: Yeah! What other occupation can you think of where you get to take advantage of people and don’t get charged for statutory rape of stalking? This is it! Then you walk offstage and the woman… There’s a woman named Isabella Hoffman, who’s a wonderful actress. I remember when she was on Main stage. She came to visit us. She had done a lot of TV shows and she’s a beautiful woman. I looked at her and thought ‘I want to kiss her. I want to kiss her. She’s beautiful.’ Sure enough, I worked it out, it’s always good to have a want, Josh, I worked it out so we would be able to have this really lovely kiss. This was in 1994 or 93. I saw her for the first time since then a month and a half ago. I said ‘Isabella Hoffman, I’m David Razowsky. I kissed you onstage. We had a wonderful passionate kiss.’ She said ‘I don’t remember.’
JF: What?
DR: I didn’t go ‘Aw.’ I went ‘Yea!’ Because that means we were both acting.
JF: That’s good, I guess.
DR: It is. I didn’t need for her to say ‘I remember it and I’ve dwelled on it for many years.’ All I thought ‘I was acting. You were acting. I didn’t see anything in it other than we’re acting.’ The fact that there’s no ramifications of anything that happens on stage, as long as it’s good touch and not bad touch, then you win. I get to flirt with women, and they have to take it! Ha, ha! We win.
JF: Do you have anything that you would like to say to the improv community that we didn’t get out in the interview?
DR: Take care of each other. Be nice to each other. Start out the scene liking each other, because the moment the audience sees that you like each other there’s something at stake and what’s at stake is the relationship. It’s simple.
DR: I would like there to be more acting in the improvisation and less fucking around. I remember when Andy Dick did something at Improv Olympic back in 86 or 87. He was up on stage and I was looking at him like ‘What the fuck are you doing? I don’t know what the fuck you’re doing up there.’ I felt like he was disrespecting the stage. He was just taking advantage of me sitting in the audience watching him. Andy has since found his own voice. We’re all happy for him. But as far as what I would like to see change, better acting. That’s it. Better acting. Connections. No hot-dogging.
JF: How do you think Second City has changed over the years? And do you think it’s become more open to improv, or putting up improv?
DR: Oh my God. The last show I did at Second City was the thirty fifth anniversary show. It was a retrospective. We looked through every scene in the thirty five year history. Now we’re at forty seven.
I left. The next show was called ‘Pinata Full of Bees,’ which was Adam McKay, Scott Adsit, Jon Glaser, Rachel Datch, Jenna Jovolitz, Scott Orman. That show suddenly had the sensibility of a long-form improvisational show. Those people all came from IO. Suddenly, you weren’t shackled to a button at the end of a scene. One scene moves into another scene, moves into another scene. There’s a fluidity that the shows there have now that they didn’t have before. There’s also callbacks. They’re demanding more of their audience. We watch more TV and movies now than before. There’s a sophistication level that wasn’t there before. They want to see a character come back. They want to see an arc. They want to be surprised. Audiences don’t always want to be surprised, but they want to be surprised in a way like ‘Oh, I forgot about that character.’ In that way, the material is smarter. Well, comedy has changed.
One of the things I rail against is men and women not getting along scenes. I don’t need to see that anymore. What do I want to see now? I want to see a scene about immigration that makes me feel like ‘Oh my God, I need to learn more about what’s going on in the world just to get that joke.’ See in L.A. people don’t even know who the fucking mayor is. They only know who the Governor is is because he’s a famous actor. That’s the only reason. In Chicago, there’s a sensibility of knowing who the governor is, knowing who the Lieutenant Governor is, knowing who the mayor is, knowing who the alderman is. People are smarter now. There’s more of a global reaction to Kofi Anan.
I believe that Second City has changed in the way that long-form now is the basis for a lot of what we do. Because Improv Olympic is developing such great actors, really great directors, smart people, and we’re demanding that from our students now. I’m demanding it. I’ve got a bully pulpit so I’m able to get up there and go ‘How the fuck did this bastard get elected a second time?’ I had a student come up to me the other day and say ‘I know you’re really against Bush. I voted for him twice.’ I’m like ‘Jenny, no! You didn’t. No! Why?’ It turns out that she wasn’t aware of the facts. You’ve got to be aware of the what’s going on in the world. [inaudible] The audiences are smarter, or they’re feeling like they have to be citizens of the world.
JF: So, do you think that’s maybe how IO and Second City have helped each other out?
DR: Absolutely. They help each other out. I know there’s a competition there, a healthy competition, more in Chicago than out here. There’s not really a competition in L.A. I think part of the reason for that is that I’m good friends with James Grace, who’s the Artistic Director over there. I was his first coach on his IO team. Farley was on that team. Pat Finn was on that team. So, there’s no competition here, but there’s competition in Chicago.
JF: In your opinion, what makes a good improv team?
DR: People supporting each other. People taking care of each other. I’m so tired of with people arguing. I’m tired with people being negative. I’m tired of looking at a scene where the people are yelling at each other at the top of the scene. I’m thinking ‘Why are you together?’ The husband and wife are yelling at each other at the top of the scene. Why are you together? I don’t want to see you.
I think in a good ensemble they like each other. Their characters like each other. They’re willing to challenge each other. They’re confident in who they are as individuals and who they are as a group. It doesn’t matter what level of sophistication your at, if you’re confident and you challenge each other without getting personal, then the only mistake you make in improvisation is casting. That’s it. If everybody likes each other and gets along, then your show is going to be great.
JF: What does the term yesand mean to you?
DR: It means accepting whatever comes your way and being courageous enough to say whatever you want to say after that’s connected to that, knowing that it will be accepted by your partner.
JF: In your opinion, what makes a good initiation? And do you find there’s a pattern to how you initiate typically?
DR: Oh yes, my pattern is always be emotionally connected to your partner the moment that you hit the stage. Check in with your partner. The moment that you see them what does their body language tell you? And how do you feel about what their body language is telling you? A good initiation, the top of the scene, is looking at your partner and assuming that they are at the end of a profound statement, and respond to that statement. Do you understand what I mean?
JF: Um, kind of.
DR: Ok, so you have a look on your face that has one eyebrow up, one eyebrow down. You never intended that. It’s just the way you look. I’m going to assume that you said something based upon how you look. I’m going to start in the middle.
What I teach my students is I don’t give a fuck about who gets the who, the what, the where out at the beginning of the scene. The minute you talk about the who, the what, the where you’re going to continue talking about the who, the what, the where. Then you’ve got to invent a way to connect emotionally to your partner. If you start emotionally connected to your partner and be aware of your where through activities, your where will come out.
JF: Do you find there’s a difference between how you initiate in a two person show, like you’re doing now with Carrie Clifford, and maybe a faster show with seven or eight person show?
DR: Absolutely. What I will do in say a five person group scene is I will turn to the first person I see and I will react to her, then I will turn to somebody and say ‘Can you believe what Tina just said!? That is just wonderful! That is a wonderful thing to say!’ Tina being the character’s name. Everybody from that point can say ‘I fucking hate Tina. Fuck that cunt. I don’t like her,’ or ‘I agree.’
JF: What do you feel the difference is in how you approach a two person show, on the whole, as opposed to a larger cast show? Do you play slower with the two person show?
DR: I play slow all the time. My new thing is I’m not in a hurry. The audience is sitting there. They’re watching. I can be up there and be compelling by saying nothing. If I’m interested, I’ll be interesting. The way I look at a two person show is I have one person to focus on, that’s it. With a larger cast scene, my approach will be I’ll be a party to initiating something between two people, and I’ll be aware that I have to exit that scene so the audience can get to know the relationship between these two people. I’ll be off stage listening and come in with information later on that I heard from their relationship.
JF: How do you get into character?
DR: My first step onstage informs the way that my body moves. If I find that my first step onstage is a heavy step, my next step is going to be a heavy step. I move up from my feet. I always begin my scene with ‘How did I step?’ I let that move out from my feet to my ankles to my knees and I adjust my body accordingly. I am always aware of how my feet have hit the stage. With every character I look toward ‘What is the energy of this? How does this character turn to the right? And how do they take that step to the right?’ Just follow through on that.
JF: So are you basically a blank slate when you walk on stage?
DR: I’m a blank slate before I walk onstage. The moment I hit the stage I’m suddenly being informed.
JF: Do you have any characters that you tend to redo?
DR: When I walk offstage, I think to myself ‘What kind of characters did I play? Were they high status or low status?’ If I played high status this week, did I play it last week? If I did, I’d better shake it up, because I’m getting in a rut. I think one of the problems improvisers have is they walk offstage. They go to a bar and they drink. What we do is we go offstage. There’s a little green room. We sit in there and we go through each scene that we did. I have to connect with what it is that I did, because I’m not doing that scene again. I’ve got to challenge myself with the characters I do.
JF: What does the term ‘the game of the scene’ mean to you, and how much of a role does it play in your improv?
DR: A lot. The game of the scene is the rules of engagement that two people perform. It’s the understanding that we are living in the same universe. Each scene is its own universe. Each universe has the accepted rules of behavior in that particular universe. The first thing that somebody says I’m thinking ‘Alright, how does this work? Ok, how can I create a game with this scene.’ By now it’s just rote. It’s just natural now. What’s important for an improviser is to remember what a pattern is. When a pattern ends and when a pattern begins, or when a piece of a pattern begins and when a piece of the pattern ends. And how can I repeat that. I tend to get kind of esoteric about this stuff. If you don’t understand please tell me. Unfortunately, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about this shit.
JF: Oh, I’ve been doing it three years and I’ve spent a lot of time during those three years thinking about it. So, although I haven’t been doing it as long as you have, I’ve probably spent too much time thinking about it as well.
DR: Absolutely. What I love about it, what I love about teaching is I say to my students regularly ‘Can you fucking believe this stuff!? Can you believe how deep this is!? Because it has to do with your psyche. It’s got to do with who you are. This is changing your life because you have to think differently and get the fuck out of your head. And go ‘Oh, there’s a pattern here? Oh, ok.’’ I teach six classes. Four of them are grad students from our conservatory, and two are called advanced improv. It’s with people in the conservatory. It’s basically whatever the fuck I want to teach that day. If I see an apple falling from a tree, we’ll do scenes about gravity. Whatever I feel like doing. So, I’m always coming up with new exercises and it blows me away with how profound this shit is.
JF: How do you balance playing the game and being real and going moment to moment? Is it ever difficult for you to do that?
DR: No, it may sound weird, but nothing’s difficult now. And nothing’s difficult anymore for one reason: I walked offstage one night and I thought ‘That was a good show. I don’t feel badly about it. Why do I feel that way?’ Then it occurred to me, I don’t care. I suddenly don’t care anymore.
JF: How long did that take?
DR: I don’t know, at least five years. Everybody gets to that point on their own. What happens at that moment is you remove self. The moment that self is gone your ego’s gone. When your ego’s gone, you get to play and there are many psychic ramifications of whatever it is you do onstage. Once self is gone, and this is why that book ‘Buddhism Plain and Simple’ is so important, you become awakened. You’re enlightened. I’ve had scenes where I was me and I was totally awake and connected to everything, and that’s because I wasn’t holding onto self. I don’t mean to get Buddhist, but the shit is plain and simply Buddhism. That’s it.
JF: In your opinion, what makes a good coach or teacher?
DR: Patience. Patience, lack of ego and someone who’s in the trenches with you. They know when to give you a note that’s harsh, and is able to give a harsh note without making it personal. Knowing how to give a note and treating each actor differently in terms of how to give that note.
JF: Was it ever difficult for you to be that patient or to get to the place where you thought you were a good director or teacher?
DR: My frustration lies when people don’t listen to my notes and I have to give them the same note again. My impatience comes from that. Listen to me, because I’m really, really trying to help you here. I’m a patient director and teacher, because if I become impatient with the actors I’m just impatient with myself.
Really the important thing is listening, listening to every fucking thing that goes on up there and missing nothing. My slogan is ‘Everything matters.’ Every move you make onstage matters. If you’re missing out on those moments, point it out to the student, because they have to know that the world is opening up and that everything is material.
JF: How has improv changed your life and changed your personality if at all?
DR: It’s changed me tremendously. It’s given me permission to talk to people. It’s made me very curious about the world. That was one of Del’s things, just be curious about the world. Al Gore was on Terry Gross’s show ‘Fresh Air,’ and she asked what he thought about George W. Bush. He said ‘[Bush is] incurious about the world. He’s not curious about people.’ For me, I’m curious about everybody. It’s taught me how to listen to people. It’s taught me how to talk to people. It’s emboldened me to ask questions and make assumptions, and to have a point of view about people. It’s taught me how to talk to women and put my arms around men and not feel like they may think that I’m hitting on them. I’ve gotten more intimate with people in a non-physical way.
I’m very blessed, Josh. I’m very blessed. I feel like every day I have somebody come up to me and tells me how I’ve changed their life, and it makes me cry. It just breaks me down and makes me cry. It’s given me purpose. I’ve created my own life out here. No one I know does what it is that I do. No one. No one. No one has the opportunity to change other people’s lives, and no one that I know appreciates it as much as I appreciate what it is my students give to me and what the artform gives to me and what the art gives to me. I am an artist, and that’s what it gave me. It gave me purpose. I’m also lucky in that I am very supported by all the other teachers. They look up to me. I am able to say ‘I don’t know,’ and not feel like I have to know everything. I feel more connected, and I think that’s what improvisation is about. Again, I go back to this! It’s about feeling connected, not feeling alone in the world, knowing that you make an offer and somebody has to accept it. You get up onstage and somebody has to say yes! You can take advantage of people without the risk of a Sexually Transmitted Disease.
JF: [laughs] That’s the best part.
DR: Yeah! What other occupation can you think of where you get to take advantage of people and don’t get charged for statutory rape of stalking? This is it! Then you walk offstage and the woman… There’s a woman named Isabella Hoffman, who’s a wonderful actress. I remember when she was on Main stage. She came to visit us. She had done a lot of TV shows and she’s a beautiful woman. I looked at her and thought ‘I want to kiss her. I want to kiss her. She’s beautiful.’ Sure enough, I worked it out, it’s always good to have a want, Josh, I worked it out so we would be able to have this really lovely kiss. This was in 1994 or 93. I saw her for the first time since then a month and a half ago. I said ‘Isabella Hoffman, I’m David Razowsky. I kissed you onstage. We had a wonderful passionate kiss.’ She said ‘I don’t remember.’
JF: What?
DR: I didn’t go ‘Aw.’ I went ‘Yea!’ Because that means we were both acting.
JF: That’s good, I guess.
DR: It is. I didn’t need for her to say ‘I remember it and I’ve dwelled on it for many years.’ All I thought ‘I was acting. You were acting. I didn’t see anything in it other than we’re acting.’ The fact that there’s no ramifications of anything that happens on stage, as long as it’s good touch and not bad touch, then you win. I get to flirt with women, and they have to take it! Ha, ha! We win.
JF: Do you have anything that you would like to say to the improv community that we didn’t get out in the interview?
DR: Take care of each other. Be nice to each other. Start out the scene liking each other, because the moment the audience sees that you like each other there’s something at stake and what’s at stake is the relationship. It’s simple.
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