Muprov Musings: Exceptionally Average Improv
Muprov Musings: Exceptionally Average Improv, is a podcast that teaches Long-form, Narrative, Theatrical, Improvisation, or as we call it: Muprov. The hosts, Hal Munger and Julian Bernado are experienced and innovative Muprovisors, who are excited to spread the word about their favorite ways of doing their favorite activity. On the show they provided practice plans that you can use for your ensemble, teach fun formats, and chat with guests who bring a wide variety of perspectives! Intro Music By Sebastian Blue Hochman
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Why Mu?
1) Mu is the greek root of words like muse and music. Ancient poets would invoke the Muses before telling an Epic story. Like an Epic, our shows are long and follow a continuous narrative.
2) Mu is a statistical symbol that represents the population average. We come from a lineage of students of Patricia Ryan Madson, who teaches the improv maxim: Be Average.
3) Mu is an important word in Zen Buddhism, meaning nothing or no. While most improv centers Yes, we believe that sometimes the best was to say Yes is to say No. Our practice involves emptying our minds to that we can be present and react our stage partner.
A NEW PLAY
Our 90-minute improvised stage play, The set, costumes, props, music, lights, and sound are all created on the spot!
Episodes
Monday Oct 09, 2023
Monday Oct 09, 2023
Hero's Journey 07 might be our best episode yet! Anna Wang joins the podcasts to talk about how to understand narrative and make narrative choices. We start to make our way through a Giga-story spine in this episode... to find out what happens next tune in again next Monday! Apologies for the audio quality! We have a campus mic now so future guests should sound crisp and clear :)
Monday Oct 02, 2023
Monday Oct 02, 2023
Hal and Julian talk about villains, when to bring them into the narrative and how to play them! They also explain the ideas of the Hero's ordeal and the Improvisor's ordeal and how you can combine them!
Into and Outro music by Sebastian Hochman: https://open.spotify.com/track/1iktOn8ElJkhGSRXI7Afy7?si=b45514d69dc146e9
Monday Sep 25, 2023
Monday Sep 25, 2023
Daania Tahir joins the podcast to talk about Tests and Allies, otherwise known as the fun zone! This is the most short-formy part of your hero's journey so expect lots of fun! Julian's mic broke right before this episode so his audio is a little off but it will be back up and running by the next episode!
Monday Sep 18, 2023
Monday Sep 18, 2023
Kaelyn Ong joins the pod for the fourth episode of our hero's journey series to talk physical improv, show texture, and threshold crossing. We throw in a little call to adventure too!
Sunday Sep 10, 2023
Sunday Sep 10, 2023
Hal and Julian talk about setting up your protagonist's worldview in their ordinary world!
Monday Sep 04, 2023
Monday Sep 04, 2023
For Episode 5 we are joined by talented Musical Improvisor Sebastian Blue to talk underscoring and genre. Get the information you need to add a musical improviser to your group and prepare them for the Hero's Journey, as well as the basics of how we approach genre!
See Me Now: https://open.spotify.com/track/1iktOn8ElJkhGSRXI7Afy7?si=f89cc2703cc94e81
Last Five Years Run: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gP4CVxxVJA4
Monday Aug 28, 2023
Monday Aug 28, 2023
This is our first format episode for The Hero's Journey improv format. This overview episode will explain the basics of the format and give you a general idea of what your Heros' Journey show might look like!
Show Example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlGln8Yit-4
Monday Aug 21, 2023
Monday Aug 21, 2023
Patricia Ryan Madson, author of Improv Wisdom and founder of the Stanford Improvisers is interviewed about her 5th Maxim: Be Average. What a treat!
Improv Wisdom:
https://www.improvwisdom.com/index.html
Music: https://open.spotify.com/album/0r4m4JQTjnnDfxSYllht9W?si=ZYxb5qprS9icazolVZke7g
A New Play Night 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2qDjmWah6g&t=2s
A New Play Night 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5lApi_65io&t=48s
Monday Aug 14, 2023
Monday Aug 14, 2023
Cohosts Hal and Julian welcome guest Simran Tandon for a debate about Yes vs No in improv. Tune in to hear their thoughts and pick which side you fall on!
Links:
The making of A New Play: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=861yDZ1jwwk
Simps333: https://www.youtube.com/@SImps333
Intro music: https://open.spotify.com/album/0r4m4JQTjnnDfxSYllht9W?si=SdYY-B6fQCCX-hPDEJm9oQ
Sunday Aug 06, 2023
Sunday Aug 06, 2023
Cohosts Hal and Julian introduce themselves in the first-ever episode. Tune in to learn about the maxim "Just Show Up" and also to get the definition of this thing that we are calling Muprov!
Links:
The making of A New Play: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=861yDZ1jwwk
Simps333: https://www.youtube.com/@SImps333