Jacob & Jake talk Improv & Steem . The Beginnings

The Ghost of Del told me "You're power is in your capacity to wonder." I'm only now embracing it.

We met up in the Delmar Loop at a local coffee shop surrounded by hipsters and college students. We had planned on meeting at noon, and in he walked as the bell tolled. He asked if I needed anything before ordering a coffee, unloading his layers, and sitting across from me in a blazing red wool shirt. This would be the first of several meetings with The Reckoning's Jake Schneider. I wanted to know more about Improv and he agreed to share his time and what he called his, "empty cup of improv experience." His beard and hair is disheveled and he smells like a campfire. At first glance you'd think he was a bum, but then he straightens up to looks you in the eye, and you know he carries a secret.

"I can not stay long. I have to be at work in a couple of hours. But I'm happy to help. What is it you wanted to know?"

I had some questions about Improv and he agreed to meet with me. Improv has gained popularity in America over the years. Especially do to the efforts of the UCB based in New York and LA. Their members are famous and they are a marketing machine. Emma Stone recently gave interviews where she talked about improvising lines on set. Improv Clubs and classes are beginning to be a regular on College Campus. But much like cryptocurrencies, people still don't know much about Improv. So I asked him, What is Improv?

"What is improv? Good question. I don't know. Maybe Improv is taking nothing and turning it into something with everything in between. Maybe it is creativity through spontaneity. Maybe it the act of listening and agreement. I don't know. I can tell you it is magic and empowers all that embrace it."

OK, let's back it up then. When did you start improv?

"Long story short, I been doing it my whole life, I just didn't know it. But the conventional answer is we had some improv classes in college. Then when I moved to Chicago a buddy suggested I go see a show called The Armando Diaz and Hootenanny Experience at iO, which at the time was still called the Improv Olympic Theater. I was hooked and signed up for class. My buddy went on to study at Julliard while I stayed in Chicago nearly 15 years to learn from and play with as many improv theaters as time and money could afford. Chicago is then and still is the Mecca for all things Improv."

What was it about that show that appealed to you?

"By the time I saw that show I was burnt out on Theater. I went to a great school, but it closed me off from the rest of the world. By the time I graduated I felt like I had just escaped a time capsule, and when I saw that improv show in me, I felt an inspiration to return to the stage. It was something new and something familiar. It was a calling from the future and an echo from the past. That was my experience. But I also watched the audience, it was a full house of mixed personalities, old and young. Something about that upstairs theater felt like being in the basement of an underground speakeasy full of shared secrets. The show itself, I do not remember. My brain is swiss cheese. But I remember how I felt, I felt I could stay and watch that show all night. And in some ways, for 15 years, I did."

This was at iO Chicago?

"Yes. iO Chicago used to be called Improv Olympic. It changed it's name to avoid being sued by the IOC, International Olympic Committee. Apparently they were suing everyone with 'Olympic' in their name and Charna just caught in the cross hairs."

Charna?

"Charna."

Who is Charna?

He took a sip of coffee, looked out the window. He smiled, but seemed sad.

"Charna is the founder and owner of iO. She started it in 1981. And has since built an Improv Empire that has launched, supported, and continues to support thousands of Artists."

You looked sad just now.

"She is the reason I am here. She is the reason most of us are here. Without her there would be no Longform Improv in the United States, there would be no UCB, no Improv Shop, no Del Close icon."

Who is Del Close?

"He's our Satoshi Nakamoto. Surrounded in myth and reality. I got to know him better when I was house sitting for Charna one winter. His magic wand was in her living room. Me and a buddy found a way to smoke ganja out of it. Then we found old tapes of his classes and his Death Party."

Death Party?

"He's dead bro. Passed away in March of 1999 surrounded by friends at Illinois Masonic Hospital. Had a chocolate martini in one hand, and a dream come true in the other. He wasn't the same in the twilight of his day, but he and Charna are the reason Improv itself stands on it's own as an Entertainment Art today. I am not the one to give the stories away. I did not know him personally, but his ashes were always in a box above the bar and his ghost at times would show up late at night. I used bartend, and one night he knocked over a bottle of Jameson and said, “Your power is in your capacity to wonder.” I’m only now embracing it. Nobody will believe me, so don't put that in your story."

OK. Let's get back on topic. So you started at iO and stayed there for 15 years?

"iO is my home. Always will be. And The Reckoning is my family. I took classes, worked, and did some shows for The Second City, Annoyance, Comedy Sportz, The Playground, Improvised Shakespeare, cup of coffee with Mission Improvable and I don't know how many Barprov shows. I taught, I still teach, but I never tried hard enough to climb the ladder. That's on me. But one day I looked around and The Reckoning was mostly in Los Angeles so I packed up and moved there for a year. Got back in with Comedy Sportz, discovered The Actors Gang, and continued teaching myself Screenwriting. Then a few months in South Dakota, where I first found Steemit. Then back here in St Louis for family family. You ever seen Happy Gilmore? I coach some improv teams that play in town at The Improv Shop and over Google Hangouts. Improv Shop does great work. Besides that, just been devoting more time to Steemit, @Steemtrail, trading, and learning how to empower improvisers with crypto. There is a future there and a lot of similarities between the communities. Both are relatively unknown the to the greater public. But both offer humanity positive opportunities for give and take, for sharing. Good improv means we listen and discover together. Steemit works when real people share. What time is it?"

Let me ask you more about that. What do you see in the future for improv and steem?

"Gotta go! Sorry I gotta catch the metro for-"

Improv?

"Dayjob. Let me know when you want to meet up again?"

You don't do improv full time?

"I'm no gatekeeper. Just sharing my empty cup."

I have no idea what he meant by that. He finished his coffee, shook my hand, and held my gaze like he had more to say. Then he turned and headed out. Someone stopped him at the door. I could not make out what they were saying, but they obviously knew each other and were sharing some pleasant memory. Then he was gone and the room was quiet, as if something had happened, but now was over and done. This was only the beginning...