The Improv Life Ep.4 with Mike Ransom – Fernando’s Improv Blog Podcast

Ep.4 of The Improv Life with Mike Ransom

Welcome to Episode Four of the Improv Life! 

My wonderful guest was Mike Ransom! A dude I’ve known for a very long time! Damn, I’ve actually known Mike for over 10 years, and I have a great deal of respect and admiration for him. 

I’m a huge fan of Mike. I’ve been watching this guy crush it on the improv stage for years, bringing the audience to tears with his outrageous characters and spot-on choices. At first glance, you might think this guy is just naturally funny and goofy – which is partly true – but there is a lot of thought and intelligence in his improv. Mike thinks deeply about what he’s doing and why he’s doing it. If the audience laughs, it’s in response to Mike’s deep focus and attention for what he’s doing on stage. As an improv philosophy discussion, this has been my favorite discussion yet. 

I feel like Mike and I got closer in this interview. He opened himself up to me in a very honest and vulnerable way, and I’m glad that happened. Mike is a super talented, wonderful guy, and I hope this dude performs forever. As a friend and an improviser, three cheers to Mike! Thanks for doing the interview, brother! 

Here’s What Mike Ransom and I Talked About 

• The long history we have in the Orange County Scene

• How his long running team Instant Improv makes it work 

• How respect and shared history leads to friendships and future partnerships 

• How Mike, Improv Collective co-founder Jeff Ambas, and OC Improv OG Ryan Keel started improv at Marina High School with help from no one 

• How Mike was a huge fan of Improv Shimprov, and then years later, found himself as a member of the team, and how he transitioned to playing their style 

• Mike and I get deep on improv philosophy, how to add to a scene, the power of gifts, Mike’s Method for playing characters, and why people break  

• How Mike and Instant Improv are transitioning to this new world of Zoom Shows

• How Mike adapted to being an improv coach and teacher 

Links 

You can follow Instant Improv on Facebook and Instagram.

They do a show every Thursday at 7pm on Facebook Live. Their content is family friendly, so bring the whole family! You can watch their latest episode here. 

The Improv Collective is also on Facebook, and they are also doing live shows. 

Follow them here to stay on top of their latest announcements. 

My improv conversation about Mike made me think about some improv philosophy blog posts y’all might enjoy 

How To Unpack & Prove Gifts: Specs Friday 03/15/19 Drop-In – When I was a drop-in teacher for Spectacles Improv Engine, I would write a blog post for every lesson. Here I wax poetic on my philosophy for gifts. 

How To Make & Play Big Characters – Specs Drop-In Class 03/08/19 – My mantra and philosophy for playing characters.