I met my friend Yoanna Wei while taking a Level 0 (yes, they exist) improv class at the People's Improv Theater in NYC. She's been going strong and hard since the class and really quite involved at the PIT and the improv scene. She sat down over tacos to talk to me about it.
Svetlana: Yoanna, how long have you been doing improv?
Yoanna: Since September 2011. A year and a half.
S: We met through that PIT (People’s Improv Theater) class,
Level 0, but you were doing improv before that, right?
Y: Before Level 0 I was doing jams at the PIT, not much
formal instruction. Then I was at a jam and they were giving away a free Level
0 so I put my name in the pot and won it.
S: Awesome. And then your improv career just took off,
right!?
Y: Sure. I just finished Level 3 at the PIT so I’m not there
yet. There are 5 levels at the PIT and I
just started taking level 1 at UCB (Upright Citizen’s Brigade).
S: What’s the difference bw UCB and the PIT? I’ve heard that
UCB is more hardcore.
Y: Well, UCB classes are accredited, and it’s more like a
school type environment—they are more stringent about their requirements. To
move from 201 to 301 you have to get approval from a teacher. At PIT there
aren’t those kinds of requirements. And yes, UCB is competitive, but it’s also
like family—when I go to jams there I don’t feel like people are stepping on each
other—they’re nice about it. UCB produces a lot of up and coming comedians like
Kate McKinnon who is on Saturday Night Live and she’s from UCB so, if you wanna
go big, you definitely want to start at UCB. But at the same time, PIT also
produced good comedic actors like Kristin Shaw, she’s on Bob’s Burger, and she
was on a house team at the PIT.
S: So, what made you want to try improv?
Y: I started doing improv with a student group on campus,
and we were doing short form improv and I was intrigued to see what long form
improve was like. I really liked improv and have always wanted to be in
theater, and so improv is a form of theater in my mind.
S: Did you do drama in high school? Where did you get the
acting bug?
Y: My sister is a math major in college. She enjoys it. Both
my parents were originally in medical school. They don’t have any artistic
things going on. I guess they watch TV…I don’t want to say they don’t have
artistic pursuits…I mean a lot of it was when I was little I always preferred
to read novels, and sort of gravitated towards that. When I was in high school
I did theater tech and got a chance to see student actors practicing, and that
is when I knew I wanted to do theater. In my last semester of undergrad, I was
in a play and I just knew it was something I wanted to do. It was a student
written play called Finding the Light.
S: It is so interesting to me when people say “I just knew,”
when you feel so drawn to something.
Another thing—when we were talking about creativity and your parents,
and you know, when someone says that they write, or they sculpt, or whatever,
if one does not do that, it doesn’t mean they’re not creative. There is
something special about practicing creativity with other people.
Y: Mhhm. In creativity, you are literally creating something
with somebody else with no preplanning.
S: Which can be pretty scary if you think about it! And it’s
fun.
Y: Yes. I love the spontaneity of improv. Part of the reason
for that is I am lazy and don’t like memorizing lines and also, if a director
does not give you a part you have nothing to say, but in improv, you are your
own director.
S: You can always have something to say. I feel like there
is something vitally important about creating something of your own.
Y: Yeah, I get it. A
lot about creating something is expressing your emotions and yourself and
finding out about yourself.
S: Yes, like “I didn’t even know this was in me!” When I did
my first play in college, I wasn’t every really drawn to it, but when I was
finally on stage acting it out, I was like “I LOVE THIS.” We all have this
creative impulse. Such self growth happens through creativity. Yes and it!
Y: Yes Tina Fey said that—you can apply a lot of improv rules
to life. It helps in saying yes to more.
S: How did the improv team you’re with now form?
Y: That is sort of an odd situation. All three of us knew
that we were the only three Asian people who hang out at the PIT so one night
all three of us were sitting at the bar and Sean was like, “You guys want to
start a team?” And yeah, that’s how it happened. But we aren’t racially exclusive. We want to
include other people and are looking for new members.
S: How long has XOXO been a team and how did you guys get
your name?
Y: Since July/August, so half a year now. We got our name while standing outside the
PIT one night before a show and Sean (again) saw XOXO on a poster and said, “That
should be our team name.” And that’s how it happened.
S: Ahhh. So what are the other rules of improv?
Y: “Yes and” is the huge one—then, you know, take your
partner’s offers, support your partner’s moves…all other rules stem from “Yes,
and.” Just go with what’s happening and
add your own information…because literally you are creating something out of
thin air. Also, a lot of acting rules apply to improv: be vulnerable, show your
emotions, let your partner affect you, be
real, be honest. All those really help what happens on stage.
S: Another thing I like about improv is that when watching
it, a lot of it is fantastical and exaggerated, but a lot also humorously
reflects the awkward interactions in day to day life, and that makes me feel
less alone! People are laughing at it,
and so am I! I’m not the only one that that’s happened to! It’s a great
reminder to do that in real life. To embrace our weirdness, our quirks…
Y: Yeah, definitely.
The audience usually laughs when some form of truth is arrived at in the scene.
S: Ohhh I like that!
Y: Nate
Starkey taught me that. He teaches level 4 and 5 at the PIT and he’s on the
Big Black Car house team. I’ve observed
many shows and I’ve found that to be very true. They recognize the realness.
S: The audience recognizes themselves in that truth and so
laughs—an instant community of knowing is created.
Y: Yes. Art imitates life. So if you’re being real on stage,
it is organically funny.
S: Not trying too hard.
Y: Yeah, trying to be
funny is another improv no no. You don’t want to be jokey. You want to really
be honest.
S: Good distinction. When I was taking my class I would try
to do that sometimes, and it would feel off, inauthentic. Just doing the improv
is enough. Being there and responding.
S: So, have you met any famous people at the PIT?
S: That’s neat. I don’t even know who they are. Hyper links
above to their bios! Yoanna, did you do any acting in college besides improve?
Y: Yes, I was in a few plays with a group of Columbia med
school students called the Bard Hall Players—I was in the chorus of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the
Forum, in the winter production of A
Midsummer Night’s Dream, I played Robin Starling and I was an extra in Rumors. It was fun. Theater is
definitely one of the best experiences I’ve had. I wish I did more plays in
college.
S: Me too.
S: One thing with theater is you can become close to the
people you are doing it with. It’s like you are bringing something into the
world with them. Almost like childbirth—the
play is practiced, gestates, grows—until it’s ready to come out. Is that one of
the things you really enjoy about it? Why do you think you enjoy acting and improve
so much?
Y: A lot of it is gut feeling. When you’re doing improv on
stage you just feel so liberated—like “Oh man, I am creating something right
here.” And also, acting is like being as human as possible. You are living life
in a way that no other profession can give you. You are creating characters.
You are experiencing these emotions. It’s like you’re living simultaneously in
many parallel universes. And you get to experience more of life that way.
S: I think that’s right. You’re experiencing more. I feel like it’s similar with reading, but in
acting, you are actually embodying who these characters are, so it’s different—it
comes alive. It is so exciting. It
expands your awareness and experience so much.
S: Who are your favorite improvisers/comedians?
Y: Ashley Ward is very funny. She taught level 1 and 3 at
the PIT and she’s in Big Black Car (a PIT house team). Brigid Boyle—she is on The
Baldwins (another PIT improv team) and she is very funny. I really like the
house team Birds too. Very good improvisers.
S: Thanks so much for your time and willingness to share
your passion Yoanna!
