Valentine’s day is just around the corner and I wanted to give my secret admirers a heads up on the things I like:

• Sushi.
  
• Chocolate.
  
• Chocolate truffles.
  
• Chocolate with caramel.
  
• Mint and chocolate.
  
• Roses, any color.
  
• Lilies.
  
• Let’s just say any kind of flowers.
  
• A bottle of Donna Karan Cashmere Mist.
  
• Down comforters.
  
• Cashmere, like anything in cashmere (socks, scarves, tops...I’m a small).
  
• Chai tea latte.
  
• Massages done by a professional.
  
• Italian food.
  
• Fruit.
  

I’m not the biggest fan of

• Hallmark valentine’s day cards. It’s way cooler if you make your own card.
  
• Dark chocolate, though I will accept this. Especially if hazelnuts are involved.
  
• A ticket to a comedy show. (I do comedy. I see comedy all the time. Learn about me dude.)
  
• Liquor/Beer. It’s fun to have a drink every now and then but I’m not a big drinker.
  
• Ice cream. I’m more of a Yogurtland, with lots of fruit toppings, lady.
  
• Lotion.
  
• Balloons. They just deflate and create a mess.
  
• Sweatpants. I seriously got this as a gift from a boyfriend once.
  

If a man is into me and asks me out on a date, that’s gift enough. Not to be cheesy, but this doesn't happen much. So that would be really cool too.

Or be completely different and donate. As long it's for something cool.

“Look at those people. They’re dancing and they mean it. They’re friends with you and they mean it. These people mean everything they say and I’m lucky enough to be with them.” - a friend’s words I’ve paraphrased (cuz I was happy and tired and it was loud) at the UCB 2012 NYE party

Being a part of the growing UCB community in 2004 was pretty dirty. No really. The classes were in a super dirty room in NY with cockroaches and grossness. The people, however, were awesome. No one in my class had the ambition to be an actor. It was actually rare to find an actor in an improv class at that time. Most of the people in my class were lawyers or really shy and wanted to get better at public speaking. I did it because it was fun and I love making people laugh.

As the years went by and Anthony King became the artist director, the community exploded. I kept hearing about Armando Diaz and his eventé class and took that class with him while still studying at UCB. Then Armando opened up a new theater called The Magnet Theater. There were so many people that were trickling into the community, and when Magnet opened their doors, some of the “old school” improvisors started coming back to the stage (or at least becoming prominent on stage again).

I became spoiled by 2 NYE parties and Christmas parties and Harold nights. UCB and Magnet improvisors floated easily between the two theaters, plus they were only a few blocks away from each other.

I noticed of the strength and support of the community when I was hit by a car and thrown through a store window. (I feel like I tell this story every 2 minutes, please go here to read more about it or watch my music video.) My first visitor was my supervisor from work. My second visitor was one of my improv coaches/directors. She came alone, came back several times, went to my house, and gave me a couch to lay on because my other one had to be trashed. My next visitors was a couple more improvisors, then a couple more, then a group, then a couple more. Some brought gifts, all of them supported me just by being there and saying “you can do this!” “you’re so strong!” “I can’t believe you didn’t die!” The ER nurse said she had never seen so many visitors come through. After I was released from the hospital, improvisor friends continued to visit me at my apartment. I then learned that the night after the accident, they sent around a bucket after a show for donations to pay for cab rides to my doctor appointments.

My heart fills up every time I think of it, every time I see someone who visited me, who took the time to help out, who came up to me after and said “I know I didn’t visit because hospitals scare the crap out of me, but I’m really glad you’re ok.” These people are amazing. I may not still talk to all of them (or remember exactly who came to visit due to my concussion) but they all have a very special place in my heart. I knew I had friends at these theater, but I never really knew how much we really did mean to each other.

Now that I’m in L.A., it’s such a gift when N.Y. folks move out here and I run into them. And the L.A. improvisors from both UCB and iO West are so loving and filled with joy. It’s like they have smacked me in the head and said, “This is improv! It’s fun! Chill the eff out!” It’s another healthy, supportive community. I’ve been to a potluck improv party and SOOOO many indie shows, it’s awesome.

I’m grateful for all of you, even when I’m grumpy. Just tap me and remind me how awesome we are.

My first exposure to improv was not conventional at all. I didn’t take a class. I didn’t do theater improv sports. Nada. I was a cheerleader.

I started doing cheerleading when I was in 4th grade. I actually wanted to be a dancer, but this was the closest I could get without paying for dance classes. I ended up becoming a hard core cheerleader who did a lot of dance choreography for cheer routines.

After I graduated high school, I worked as a cheer instructor (& was head dance instructor) for CWCC (Central Wisconsin Cheerleading Camps) during the summer for 3 years. The camps were typically 3 days long and on the last day we awarded Spirit Sticks. These Spirit Sticks were given to the most spirited teams. We awarded these Spirit Sticks via improv sketches. We would come up with loose sketch ideas, improvise them, and incorporate the winning team’s name at the very end of the sketch/improv scene.

I ended up getting really good at these improvised sketches in my first year of teaching the camps and within my second and third year I started creating premises and ideas for new improv/sketch scenes.

I will never ever forget....

We had this one HUGH camp. There were at least 300 cheerleaders at this camp. The high school was gigantic and the gym had balcony seating. On awards night, the gym was packed with friends and family. We had an awesome time with each team performing their cheer routines and the instructors performing our stunts and then finally handing out the Spirit Sticks. Overall, it was a great show. It seemed no different than any other show to me until I was saying goodbye to the audience and this woman came up to me. She was beat red, wiping tears from her face, and grabbed my hand saying, “You are the funniest person I have ever seen. Thank you so much. Please keep doing this.” I thanked her and gave her a big hug. I, on the other hand was floored. What did I do? I know I’m funny but how can I do more of this? I didn’t even know it was the beginning of my long term improv career.