Jeff Stern LIVE! IN CONCERT! ON ICE!

Six years ago, I moved from Chicago to New York to work at Saturday Night Live. I packed up and was going through my things…I found an orange folder—a regular school folder—in a bookshelf…There were quotes written all over the front of it. Some of them were: “Greet everything with ‘Yes, and…’” “Make statements instead of putting the burden on others with questions.” “Stay in the present, as opposed to focusing on the past or future.” “The fun is always on the other side of a yes.”

Years before, I was a student at Second City, an improvisational acting school in Chicago, and took a class with artistic director Martin de Maat. These quotes were some of the rules of “improv” he gave us. When I found the folder, I realized that taking that class had completely changed my life.