Bill Arnett is a Chicago comedy performer and teacher who shares his love of the art of improv with equally enthusiastic students and colleagues, several of whom offered their impressions of Bill and his work and art. iO theater owner and teacher Charna Halpern says "Bill Arnett is one of the best teachers at iO. He is so brilliant at analyzing what is necessary for a scene to work and has a no holds barred approach in his teaching. Yet he is kind in his notes while always telling it like it is. He has found the right balance between critical and nurturing." He's also, according to him, exactly the guy you want to be sitting next to on the CTA when it's ripped apart by a vortex.

Bastion: First, just so you know, there is an astronomer named Bill Arnett who I think you should consider a week long life swap with. You could squint through telescopes and flunk little planets like Pluto, and he could try to teach improv to Chicago's best and brightest. Of course, that's not really a question. I'm just throwing that out there.

Bill: (As a note to the reader, while this interview was conducted mostly over email I've tried to write my answers as though I was speaking them. There are distinct differences between written and spoken English, no?)

What? Are you kidding? I'm actually familiar with this other Bill Arnett. Too bad he's not a chemist. That was my best subject in school. Could have pulled off the switch.

Bastion: What's your performing and comedy background and how did you get started in improv?

Bill: Oh wow, where do I start? I got involved with a social-activist/comedy sketch group in college (Theater Strike Force at the University of Florida). I had to join the group for class credit due to a clerical error concerning a scholarship I was supposed to get. It transitioned to improv after several years. Growing up, though, I was the kid that always wanted to do oral presentations. I did a slide show in elementary school for my state report on Nevada. It was always in my body.

Danielle Uhlarik: "I was recently placed on the Harold team coached by Bill Arnett. Everyone on the team is already name-my-baby-with-me close, but it is amazing how much better we are working together under Bill's guidance. Bill is completely dedicated to the team, and stays in frequent contact with everyone beyond rehearsals. He's the witty uncle who you want to sit next to at Thanksgiving, because his apt remarks about the family make everyone laugh at themselves. And isn't that what brings families together?"

Bastion: We've heard that improvisers are master eavesdroppers in places like CTA cars and restaurants. What are the funniest things you've overheard from strangers recently?

Bill: Hmmm.... I do enjoy eavesdropping but my favorite CTA game is pretending that if a vortex opened up and took the bus or train to some far off planet, and we had to start society all over again, who on the bus would play what role. Like casting "Lost" I guess. Who's the leader? Who's the power-hungry villain? Who's the leading lady? Does that homeless person become some type of future-seeing oracle? I usually cast myself as quirky voice of reason. Or as the guy that gets his legs ripped off by the vortex.

Bastion: What's your average weekly comedy schedule like, in terms of teaching, performing, and so on?

Bill: Weekly comedy schedule? Three shows, three classes, one and a half coaching assignments. The actual comedy of my weekly schedule is the painfully little work I get done on my other projects.

Chris Dingwall: "What I appreciated most about Bill was his refreshing and idiosyncratic perspective of improv - one that, the more I reflect on it, the more it seems right to me. Bill teaches his students 'Yes, And,'' insists on careful listening, and encourages strong character and environment choices - as all good improv teachers do. But he never taught these lessons as dogma, never insisted on a right or wrong way to listen, never discriminated between good or bad choices. After Mick Napier, we are all familiar with the notion that 'good' improv arises not from strict adherence to rules but in relation to the piece being performed, in the finer and more inscrutable interactions between players, their form, and their audience. Bill, going a step further, I think, invited his students to think of improv not only as an art form in itself, but also as the culture of improvisers that determine what's 'good,' which does not mean it's good all the time, or for everybody."

Bastion: If you hadn't discovered improv, what do you think you'd be doing with your life right now? You'd have a different job, of course, but do you think improv has shaped your character and personality as well?

Bill: Like I said I back-doored into improv. I always knew I liked being on stage but never thought it was legit. I was in school to be an electrical engineer although I should have gone with chemistry. I imagine if I had stuck with it I'd be in some corporate PR or sales department. "What do I have to do to get you to buy this hospital management software package?" or "Our competitors would have you think that Lockheed Martin is simply a defense contractor. Let's ask one of the kids in this picture playing on a Lockheed Martin Jr. Fun-Time Out Door Play-Tech Home Gym what they think." I would have been awesome.

As far as improv shaping my personality, I'd say that improv has revealed my personality.

Bastion: Do you have any part in i.O.'s corporate events? I've always wondered what kinds of developments come out of business people loosening up a bit in an improv setting and learning to give and listen a bit more.

Bill: No. And I'm kinda bitter about it. I do teach a lot of 9-to-5ers in my regular classes. For the most part they're great. (Takes a sip of water) They're actually great givers and listeners, they just lack confidence. They make good decisions but their lack of stage skills makes them look mousy. And not all business people are stuffy. Some are amazingly annoying jackasses.

Bastion: Are there lessons you feel you've learned as a teacher that you may not have learned as a student and performer?

Bill: Are there!?! It takes a long time to get good. As a teacher and coach I would get frustrated with the slow learning curve of my students. I've had to learn to be patient with them. I've tried to let them know to be patient with themselves but it doesn't get across.

Angela Manginelli: "Bill has a wonderful way of presenting the material that makes it instantly accessible no matter what your level of experience and is just entertaining as a person. The way he says things and the phrases he uses are very particular to him. Everyone I've met at iO that has had him as a teacher has nothing but good things to say about him and loved being in his class. I am no exception to that rule."

Bastion: Your i.O. blog seems to be widely read. Are you able to keep up with the questions that come in from your blog fans? What's your relationship with your readers like and do you enjoy the give and take of the blogging experience?

Bill: You mean my blog at http://blogs.iochicago.net/bill/wordpress? I've really enjoyed the whole blog experience. Keep those questions and comments coming, please! While I try to answer all of the questions I don't want to devolve into a simple question-and-answer type service. Please keep sending me questions and making comments, readers, I'm sincerely afraid of becoming irrelevant or untouchable.

Paul Bellos: "Bill reminds me of my college philosophy professor. You know he has taught this shit a thousand and one times and he is still enamored with the process - or a very good actor - or both? Bill is accessible and genuinely interested in other people. He took time to answer questions inside and outside the class. In a world of improv fundamentalists Bill teaches that the Harold is a tool rather than a dogma."

Bastion: What would you like to accomplish in the next five years?

Bill: I've got a number of projects out in the ether. A couple of screenplays, a podcast, a website, out-of-town workshops, a sketch show or two. I'm just waiting for a sign from the universe (a check) to tell me which one I should concentrate on. (billarnett.com will be up soon! Beat you to it, Astro-Bill Arnett.)

- Elizabeth McQuern