Vinny Guadagnino Quotes

The lifelong goal of an improviser is to listen to what the other person is saying, taking it in, and responding.

I believe that no matter what you do in life, if you learn the basics through theater, it will help you in everything else - problem solving, communication, discipline, all of that stuff.

Knowing who I am as a player and working on my deficiencies, communication is something I try to pride myself on.

At the Brooklyn Ethical Culture School, we learned to express ourselves, and I've been expressing myself ever since.

I was terribly shy and never said anything in class. Then I started getting into school plays. When you've got words to say, you've got a sort of armour.

I'm very open and never write what I'm going to say. Speeches bore everybody else. I have to freestyle. Every time, from one program to another, everything changes and I improvise.

I try to see interviewing as performance art, and just take it as it comes.

I think everyone should take an acting class. It's like therapy because you get to learn a lot about yourself if it's the right teacher. You're putting yourself up there in front of people, and it takes a lot of the intimidation of everyday away.

You know how sports teach kids teamwork and how to be strong and brave and confident? Improv was my sport. I learned how to not waffle and how to hold a conversation, how to take risks and actually be excited to fail.

Improv training allows you to get out of your head a little bit and take more risks, which is something I would like to continue to improve upon.

You have to be able to fail with the improv. You have to not care.

Taking improv has helped every other aspect of my field.

I was just very shy. I was never anxious to do talk shows, as I didn't know what to say. And I don't feel I have any inherent interest. But as I'm getting older, I feel I want to be able to share whatever I know if it means something to someone.

The word got out that I can ad-lib very well.

Some people are very good at that, communicating with the world; I'm not sure I'm suited to it.

I don't need a stage to perform. We just need something to stand on.

We have to teach girls communication skills.

I never used to speak at all. I always said Joe is the speaker of the family. I mean, I'd go to events and volunteer, but I was never a speaker.

Coach K always wanted me to talk more, even when I was in college. That's something I'm going to do as I get older.

For me, you have to do as much work as you can beforehand and, once you get on stage or set, throw it out the window because you need to be collaborative. You shouldn't have too many ideas about where it goes before you get into the room with the director and other actors.

That's what I need to work on - my charisma in front of people.

Ventriloquism kind of helped me find my voice. It's really helped me come out of my shell.

You might be thinking that some people are just naturally good at speaking up, and others just aren't - game over. Not true. Speaking up is a skill that you have to learn like any other, whether it's speaking Spanish or doing calculus or changing a tire.

When you improvise alone, you don't risk a lot, but doing an improvisation when you are two is even more difficult because you need to listen exactly to understand what is going to happen.

When there's something we weren't prepared for on the football field, you have to be able to use your mind, be creative, communicate, get lined up and get ready to do the play, get ready to execute.