Canada...America's Hat!

Canada…America’s Hat!

Hey Canada and Friends,

Just want to send out a Happy Hallowe’en message, I hope all had fun in the pumpkin patch last night.Here the festivities were a little subdued, though I managed to partake in a little costume watching at an Irish pub here in town. The highlight of the night may have been the scooter trip to the farside of Porta Maggiore for a delicious custom-made turkey burger from the gourmet no-frills van. The wrong side of the tracks yes, but tasting so right…

In other good news, Chiara is defending her thesis and then graduating next week, and we’re all pretty happy to be clearing the thesis and the attendant stress off the radar. She’s already started a job at SKY TV working in the archives. In a not unrelated development we may soon be getting satellite TV, at which point I will in all likelihood become a frequent nocturnal hockey watcher, daylight be damned.

Last week I began teaching English once a week as the madre lingua inglese substitute in an Italian high school. Kids are the same all over, only just a little more rambunctious and noisy here in Italy. It’s not too bad. It’s also imoprtant I think to have a native English speaker converse with the kids; i’m not saying their regular teachers speak poor English, but let’s just say they don’t exactly light up the classroom with clear, error-free English. On the other hand, their knowledge of grammar rules far outstrips mine. Anyway, I get to go once a week and speak slowly about hockey, music, and video games and I’m not complaining. And if I do, I do it sloooowly.

The other upshot is that I get to practice a little Italian with the kids. It helps to not just sheepishly order a coffee with a hopeful smile on my face. In the class I get to shout “Silenzio!” or “Basta!” in a commanding voice. Sometimes they quiet down, but regardless it bolsters my confidence with the language.

The tour guiding is slowing down so it’s nice to have some other things to keep me busy.

In other news I’m starting to sniff around in the mid-distant future at some grad school ideas. Something in Sustainable Urban Design Management… or at least a program that has one of those words in the title. Probably. Just preliminary sniffing, mind, but sniffing.

So that’s it really. The novelty of this place has long since worn off, but the familiarity of the routines and patterns is comforting. It’s a big big city, but I’m making my way.

Ciao a tutti

Ryan Fonzarelli

By Liesbeth Smit|2017-09-14T08:44:31+00:00November 2 2005|

“Ryan is an incredible teacher. He took a straggling group of beginners and turned us into a viable company of improvisational actors who regularly perform together – in front of actual, paying, repeat customers.”

Carrie, Brussels

“I really admire your energy, creativity and knowledge and I’ve learned a lot from your training sessions.”

Natasha, Amsterdam,

“Thank you for your positive spirit, energy and creativity. Your public speaking sessions really helped me feel more comfortable standing in front of a group of people.”

Serena, Amsterdam

“Ryan seemed to know just what to do to get the best from everyone. I would jump at the opportunity to do another workshop led by him.”

Calum, Brighton

“I especially enjoyed the clarity in all of what you were doing – I always understood what it was that you were teaching. I never felt lost. That was really awesome.”

Martin, Tampere

“Ryan is an extremely qualified, talented, and professional teacher and coach. I’d recommend Ryan’s services to anyone!”

Derek, Amsterdam,

“Ryan is the most enthusiastic, positive workshop leader I have ever had the pleasure of working with. I’ve been to several of his workshops and after each session I came away with a sense of achievement and feeling that I had learnt something new.”

Chris, London

“Working with you was an absolute blast! I’ll take your writing advice with me wherever I go.”

Marton, Budapest

“Ryan’s coaching sessions really improved my public speaking skills and made my presentations much more interesting for my audience.”

Furio S., Berlin

“I thoroughly enjoyed the workshop. I learned how beautiful authenticity is, with such little moments as sharing your breakfast. Being in the moment is so amazing to see and to feel.”

Laura, Amsterdam

“Because of you my fear of speaking or presenting in front of an audience has lessened a great deal.”

Samora, Amsterdam

“I’ve learned so much from you and thank you for giving me that nudge to get out of my comfort zone.”

Imaan, Amsterdam

“Ryan’s improv workshop is incredibly fun but also ruthlessly effective. Participants are taught to drop their inhibitions, let their imagination flow and and embrace the positive attitude at the heart of improv. They are also treated to Ryan’s personal blend of enthusiasm, wit and generosity.”

Jeremy, Brussels

“Thank you so much for passing your writing knowledge onto me. I learned a lot and had a lot of fun too.”

Larissa, Amsterdam,

“Ryan is a natural at teaching and you get the feeling he puts his heart and soul into helping others. I look forward to doing more workshops with Ryan.”

Shauna, Tunbridge Wells

“As a coach Ryan’s ability to zone in and identify the main agenda for each sessions was amazing. His coaching helped me reflect, make decisions and make positive changes in my business.”

Tracy, Dublin

“I loved loved loved your workshop. I liked the way it was structured and meaningful. Time flew unnoticed. I liked the shortness of the exercises, the surprise and fun, and the fact that you gave me so much to explore. I now can be in an empty prison cell or in a desert island and never feel alone or bored anymore. Now I can expand my world.”

Elsa, Lisbon

“The skills I learned from those two weekends, which were two of the most enjoyable weekends I’ve ever had, have been an invaluable tool I use to this day in my daily life, both at work and in personal interactions.”

Andy, Brussels

“Ryan really made the most out of the workshop. No time-wasting. He gets to the point quickly, in a clear and effective way.”

Pedro, Lisbon

“Very inspiring and useful workshop. Picked me up from where I’m at and helped me develop strategies to improve developing scenes and my performance skills.”

Anonymous, Switzerland

“Your Taking It Easy session helped me relax more into the truth of a scene and let it grow more organically instead of pushing too hard to make it funny or dramatic. I loved that you were really clear about what you wanted us to get and how the exercises played into the scene work we did later. I really got a lot from one short session.”

Andrew, Brighton

“Ryan is a great teacher, very serious (and very funny!) gives great coaching during scenes! I had a great time studying with him!!”

Alon, Tel Aviv

“I LOVED the fucking GREAT and positive energies in the workshop. They so got me going. Perhaps the highest moment during this festival was laughing in the workshop (to the dances… :)).”

Ben, Tel Aviv

“I’ve benefitted immensely from this journey which I would recommend to anyone looking to learn more about themselves in a fun, immersive way.”

Simon, Amsterdam

“Absolutely brilliant! Exceptional work!”

Anonymous, Impro Hotel

“Plenty of energy, enthusiasm, good clear guidance on how to make the scene ‘deliver results’ without killing the improviser… Ryan’s enthusiasm for improv is infectious.”

James, Brighton

Canada…America’s Hat!

How was working with Ryan?

Contact Ryan Millar

Canada…America’s Hat!

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How was working with Ryan?

Contact Ryan Millar