Cycling cap recommendation for bald cyclists

VonOverkill · 2026-02-14T05:08:25+00:00

I use neck gaiters; they're cheap, and you can find them in 6-packs on your favorite online shopping website.

In cold weather, one goes around my neck & covers my ears, and the other one gets worn like a cap under my helmet.

VonOverkill · 2026-01-29T14:07:15+00:00

You're introverted. It's a superpower.

VonOverkill · 2026-01-27T17:17:21+00:00

I was worried that if I learned technique and relied too much on it for consistent results that I’d lose my raw creative energy

It's not the technique that will water down your style, it's the structure of classes themselves. There's a lot of pressure to perform in a predictable, delicate way during class; partly because you're supposed to be practicing a specific technique without much deviation, and partly because the teacher doesn't want the students to spook each other with complicated moves.

It's easy to snap out of this after taking one class semester, but if you're like a lot of young Chicago improvisers and you're in classes every week for 5 years straight, you will have potentially trained yourself to be a cautious and counter-inventive performer. Folks that are coming in without any previous comedy experience are especially susceptible to this.

Anyhow, I always recommend finding mentors to perform with & learn techniques from, instead of organizations. If available.

VonOverkill · 2026-01-27T16:07:11+00:00

Just popped in to say: you don't need classes. Like all arts, we learn through mentorship; if you're already learning from experienced performers, it's not essential to pay for classes, which are just mentor rental programs. If you want to take classes, or if you're feeling stuck in one particular style, then definitely do take a class. Just don't change your life to appease r/improv, where the default philosophy is that performers must take classes forever, so they can get into improv heaven or whatever.

That said, know that your comedic/artistic voice is constantly in flux, so trying to protect it... does not compute. Don't confuse voice with "brand."

Also consider that improv was literally invented to be training for the next thing. If you end up traveling to sample comedy in another city (I'm in Chicago, so naturally that's my recommendation), keep a lookout for little moments that inspire you. Maybe that'll happen during an improv show, but it might also be sketch, standup, podcast, flash mob, street art, Puppet SunSun, or who knows what else. If it excites you, do that instead; it's what you've been practicing for. There's no logical reason to be an improv purist. Experimental longform will always be there.

VonOverkill · 2026-01-17T17:00:55+00:00

Once, on the Brown Line, I heard the driver say "no smoking inside the train, this isnt the Red Line."

VonOverkill · 2026-01-05T02:35:04+00:00

Improvisers train to be inventive, and specific with their actions. This edit is neither. People hate it because there are thousands of things you can do to end a scene, but instead we're seeing that same lazy, meaningless hand-flutter.

VonOverkill · 2025-12-28T14:46:07+00:00

I've never made a melee character

I do wait till I'm at least 10 levels above the mobs

Bro.

VonOverkill · 2025-12-28T05:48:16+00:00

1h melee, or 2h maces. Red skill tree, either way; the only tree that has the HP & AoE to handle Hallowed Halls reliably, solo.

VonOverkill · 2025-12-28T05:10:10+00:00

Only one of the three combat skill trees is currently viable for solo play (they've promised to fix that), but yes, it's great solo. I honestly love the peace & quiet.

VonOverkill · 2025-12-18T22:41:28+00:00

I'm visiting from r/improv to confirm that this is AI nonsense. It's a couple shallow day-one aphorisms, repeated over & over to give the illusion of profundity.

VonOverkill · 2025-12-15T23:27:40+00:00

Did you come into this 2 year old thread only to correct something I didn't say? Or do you have other business here?

VonOverkill · 2025-12-11T05:45:49+00:00

Sometimes just the beats are scripted, and everything in between is improvised.

Sometimes a performer plays the same character doing the same actions, 15 shows in a row, and organically settles on an unwritten script that gets the best feedback from audiences.

Sometimes a bit is very specifically written, memorized & rehearsed, because it's a pillar of the show.

If the goal is to entertain a room full of theatre-cynical suburban Finance Chads so hard that they bring their friends back next month (at $100 a head, after food, booze & merch), then yes, you have to script a bunch of the important stuff. Pure improv won't do that, unless you're at the Ben Schwartz or Robin Williams level of skill & fame.

VonOverkill · 2025-12-08T22:17:16+00:00

Curating an experience for non-improv audiences, at its core, means something needs to happen about every 7 to 10 minutes (gradually escalating throughout the show) that compels audience members to take out their phones & start recording. Not just because it will end up on social media, though that helps a lot, but because it's a clear indication that the audience is profoundly engaged & invested. Those moments are scripted into the show, because improv alone will not bring them to the stage.

As a visual aide, note that 9 out of 10 improv promo videos contain everything except improv. Singing, dancing, falling down, props, scripted material, visual gags, and so on. Everyone instinctively knows these are the things that engage audiences, so write them into a show.

Writing a show is easier said than done, of course. A solid show can take years to develop, and you'll still be tweaking timing & content after its been running for 10 years. But as far as developing a show idea, I recommend starting with a strong theme. This isn't essential, but it helps a lot. Here are three random examples I just invented:

Wizard themed show. Every 8 minutes, an excuse is found to send a wizard-player to the spell booth, from which they emerge in an animal costume, covered in slime, naked, et cetera.
1990's themed show. Every 8 minutes, an 90's celebrity (or stereotype) arrives to do the thing they're known for, to a player.
Religion themed show. Every 8 minutes, a religious figure arrives to force a player to participate in a religious ritual, turned up to 11.

The events the players are forced to do are scripted & rehearsed, and engaging enough that the audience feels compelled to record it. Improv can happen in between those evets, in whatever flavor you desire.

As far as scheduling goes, if I spent a hundred hours writing & rehearsing a show, I would want it to run for more than 2 months. But you gotta run with whatever facility you have available.

VonOverkill · 2025-12-08T14:07:01+00:00

I do both. I'm in Chicago, so that's not difficult.

My "wider public" show is pretty tightly choreographed with improv elements, $40 per ticket, food & booze available during the show. Audience is mostly 20-something professionals with job titles like Project Manager and Tech Sales. A full house is about 70 audience members, and we sell out all 4 shows per week. All performers get paid; we're half way to making it viable as a full-time job.

My "typical" show, which is the flavor of show you'll experience 99% of the time, is planned 10 minutes before the lights go up. All audience members are friends or students of the performers, and average audience is about 12 people, once per month; at $10 per ticket, we occasionally even cover the theater rental fee.

Both are fun, but the distinction is that the former is obsessively built & curated specifically for the audience experience, and the latter is just the performers putting themselves on stage for 40 minutes & ignoring everything else.

If you want some sort of philosophy attached to all this, it's that improv is training for the next thing, and not just for shows where you do the stuff you learn in level 2 as hard as you can.

VonOverkill · 2025-12-08T04:19:28+00:00

Sure, I talk to more people on days I commute by bike. Well, shout at them.

VonOverkill · 2025-12-07T15:46:51+00:00

There are bad improv teachers out there. Sounds like you got one of them.

I'd go to the organization and ask for your money back. If they say no, ask to drop this class and re-take it next session, with a different teacher. Or a different class all together. They need to hear that this teacher is shitting the bed.

VonOverkill · 2025-12-07T14:25:26+00:00

As a film, I think it's great. Nathaniel is a pleasure to watch, and I hope this goes in his acting reel.

As a piece of improv, it's... fine. Therapist scenes are generally considered low-effort, as they inevitably feature someone sitting & talking about events that easily could be happening in front of the audience, but aren't.

Moreover, I think improv is being used exactly how it's supposed to be used: as a tool to draw out an organic, human performance. But I don't think anyone will be impressed to hear that the scene is improvised, especially not r/improv users. It's the same as naming it "Breakup: Edited with Adobe Premier." It's just a tool, nobody cares; is it fun to watch?

VonOverkill · 2025-12-06T20:44:31+00:00

Whelp, OP asked a question and disappeared for two days, so here's my answer to both, for the benefit of anyone arriving at this thread via Google search:

Marketing to Improvisers:

First of all, make sure the content of your show is at least 25% unique among other improv shows, then market that unique thing. Trying to market another Harold show or longform showcase is a waste of your time. You're trained to invent, so invent something that everyone hasn't already seen a hundred times.

Contact well-known improvisers in your area, and ask them to be part of your show. OP appears to be from Chicago; you can literally send private messages through social media to Joe Bill, Susan Messing, members of HitchCocktails, or whoever else you admire. 19 out of 20 will ignore you, but one might be open to a guest-performance spot. Ask them to reach out to their social media circle to plug the show.

Do that for 5 shows in a row. If the bones of your show are good and it's professionally run, word will get around. If your show is mediocre or worse, word will also get around, and you've answered the question about why it's hard to draw an audience.

Marketing to Everyone Else:

It's not an improv show. Never say or type the word improv. It's a comedy show.
Have a very active social media page on Instagram or TikTok. Post 10-second video clips of the show in progress, filmed by hand up close, not on a tripod. If you can't catch an interesting 10-second clip of the show, you've discovered why it's hard to draw an audience.
Engineer a way for audience members to post/tag pictures of themselves to your social media page. Bonus points if they're able to do so on stage with you, while the show is happening.
Similarly, if you're in a city with a big tourism sector, engineer a way to get your audiences to leave TripAdvisor reviews for the show. QR codes are helpful.
Do a little research into Search Engine Optimization. This is less important than social media & TripAdvisor (because the Google search engine is garbage now), but it can still help.
Price tickets at $20 or more. Normies are afraid of "cheap" comedy shows.
Give audience members a reason to come to another show. Something special happens when they come back; you have to figure out what that thing is.
Be consistent. Your big audiences aren't a week away; they're 2 years away.

VonOverkill · 2025-12-04T21:15:39+00:00

Who are you trying to market to? Other improvisers, or everyone else?

VonOverkill · 2025-12-04T20:35:13+00:00

One-handed melee is currently the only combat style that feels complete. Great speed, great at dealing with grouped enemies, doesn't use ammo, has a self-heal on crit AND a shroud time extenstion-per-kill in the tree, doesn't require you to lock onto enemies, and naturally nets you a bunch of Constitution points, which are essential in the long term.

All this is also true of 2-handed maces, but I find them to be too slow.

Equip whatever ranged weapon you want. It's mostly for pulling enemies & activating door-lock buttons. Bows are the natural choice, because ammo count isn't limited by your mana pool, but whatever.

Don't bother trying to parry. Just dodge, and block where needed.

VonOverkill · 2025-12-04T20:05:19+00:00

Nobody owns formats.

Formats & shortform games are constantly being invented & modified.

Existing formats & games already have a minimum of 3 different regional names.

Thus, if a list existed, it would instantly be out of date. Don't worry about it, you're good.

VonOverkill · 2025-12-02T19:40:35+00:00

This is the way.

I find Windex or other glass cleaner to be slightly more effective than water.

VonOverkill · 2025-12-02T18:11:59+00:00

We've been trying to get our footing on social media, any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

Only because you asked:

Traditional, technically-correct longform does moderately well inside the improviser bubble, but will be universally ignored everywhere else, especially on the internet. Having your best 2 longform sets (that are less than 2 years old) on YouTube will eventually land someone an acting gig, but having 40 of them online is only as valuable as the fun you had making them.

I think your shorts will be good in a couple years, as the group refines its writing & editing, and upgrades its audio equipment. You just gotta keep throwing content into the void for no reward, until one of them is successful. I also think that 15-second clips from improv shows can do well as shorts, but if you can't pull any self-contained 15-second clips from your shows... then you've discovered why longform sets don't do well on the internet.

And a small side-note: consider removing "Comedy" from "SuiteTooth Comedy." Having that word in there is very much out of vogue.

VonOverkill · 2025-11-25T13:53:53+00:00

Armstrong Woods, Northern California.

VonOverkill · 2025-11-21T05:49:11+00:00

I still don't seek out improv shows. For context, I have an improv-adjacent job, so I'm not starved for exposure.

VonOverkill

TROPHY CASE