Don’t miss teen slasher this year. Only 4 performances!
Jay Miller has survived a lot of Teen Slasher shows.
1. How long have you been improvising?
I’ve been improvising for just over 9 years now.
2. How did you get started?
I was introduced to improv through a high school drama teacher. When Summer rolled around, I stated looking for places to do improv outside of school. This led me to Blacktop’s Meetup page and I started attending the theater’s drop-in workshops.
3. So many people are scared to improvise, and think, “I can’t do this.” Initially, when you started, did you have to push past fear? How did you do that?
Fear and anxiousness were certainly barriers I had to push past when I started doing improv. The key ended up being trusting my teammates to support me. I learned that improv is a team sport and realizing I wasn’t alone helped tremendously. I still feel anxious sometimes, but I think that nervous energy catapults me into some very fun and interesting performances.
Jay Miller…..sexy black and white version!
4. Teen horror films always seems to have that one moment the audience rolls there eyes and says, “why would you do that?” What was a moment when you were a teen you look back on and think, “why would you do that?”
Oof. I mean, I was a teenager, so I roll my eyes at pretty much everything I did back then. One example is my incredibly angsty MySpace page. I’m glad that site crashed and burned because I never want to see that profile again.
5. What would be something someone would be surprised to know about you as a teenager?
I wasn’t a people person in the slightest. I hated being the center of attention and avoided as human contact as much as possible. That’s still mostly true, actually, except for when I’m performing.
6. If you had to be shipwrecked on a deserted island, but all your human needs—such as food and water—were taken care of, what two items would you want to have with you?
Tough one. I’d go for a sleeping bag and a tent. Might as well be able to sleep comfortably if I’m stranded!
“Did you just see that improvised show! I nearly died!”
7. What’s your favorite horror film?
You’re going to make me pick my favorite? Okay. If I have to choose, there’s a horror-comedy called Gravy (2014) that has a special place in my heart. It wasn’t a critical or box office hit but I’ve always loved it to death. If we’re strictly talking horror movies, IT (2017) is still one of my favorites. I’m a huge Stephen King fan and I think the 2017 adaption was incredible.
Honorable Mentions Treehouse (2019), Get Out (2017), Us (2019) Scream (1996), Cabin in the Woods (2011), The Thing (1982), Psycho (1960), Dude Bro Party Massacre III (2015) and countless others that we really don’t have time to list. Trust me, picking my favorite out of all of these is near impossible.
8. Why did you want to direct Teen Slasher?
Teen Slasher has always been my favorite Blacktop Show. Horror and comedy are my favorite genres, period. They’re both difficult genres to execute well but garner incredible audience reactions when done right. Doing both at the same time and succeeding? That’s been a dream of mine for a long time. Did I succeed? You’ll have to see the show and find out for yourself.
9. How many times have you been in Teen Slasher? What's been your favorite memory?
Geez. That’s really tough, considering my bogus memory. The closest estimation I can manage is that I’ve been in five or so years of teen slasher. This is our ninth year performing the show and while I wasn’t planning on performing initially, you just might see me in the Halloween night show. That would make six!
A Halloween comedy that offers a step and repeat?! We have it at Blacktop!
10. What has surprised you about directing Teen Slasher?
It surprised me how much I had to sharpen up my communication skills to direct effectively and bring my personal vision to life. I’m good at communicating in other parts of my life, improv included but directing required a new level of communication entirely. I’ve certainly grown a great deal from it.
11. You've been in five shows… So you must know, what's the secret of getting the blood off your skin and clothes? Any tips on getting blood out of clothes, hair, or skin?
Yeah, that’s always fun. Clothes require a cold soak, followed by a cold wash. No hot water. None. I can’t stress that enough. For skin and hair, you just need a few gentle washes. It might take a handful to get the reddish color out, but rest assured that you will!
12. What's one tip you would give another improviser interested in genre work?
The most basic advice I have is to learn to tell a story. Just about every genre comes down to telling a story, so understanding how narrative structure works will help you in every genre show you do. All that’s left after that is to learn the genre you want to perform by watching whatever you can to inspire you. Some genres tweak narrative structure a bit, so look for those changes and note any tropes you see popping up in those genres a lot.
In short, if you put in the time to understand the narrative structure and the specific genre you’re emulating, it’ll take you a LONG way.
13. Advice for future Teen Slasher directors?
Have a vision in mind and make sure you’re putting the performers through exercises that help them make that vision a reality. Also, make time to hear the performers’ ideas. They’re performing the show and might have insights that weren’t apparent to you. That was certainly the case for me!