Improv in NY, introduction.

This was going to be 1 entry, now its going to be at least 3. So, one of my top favorite hobbies in New York City is improv. I have taken classes at the Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB) theater and have seen shows at UCB, Magnet, and Batsu (by Faceoff unlimited). First about improv itself, Chicago probably has the biggest improv scene in the country and many improvisers in NY, both professional and amateur, hail from Chicago. The big theaters in Chicago are SecondCity and IO. In NY, the biggest one is UCB, followed by Magnet and the PIT. I will briefly say that doing improv changes your life, and I strongly recommend that anyone that has the chance to try it. It improves communication skills, public speaking, thinking on your feet, and even decision making. Anything you use in a scene, you can use in real life. One of the worst excuses I heard from people for not trying improv is that they don't think they will be "funny enough". You don't have to be "funny enough", you just have to learn to do improv. The important thing in improv is not being funny, its being well rounded, having as much life experience as possible, and embracing it. I will write about different theaters in New York in my next few entries.