Hey everyone
Here is the set list for Friday's show:
Rap Battle
Intro - Ben Mc
Rappers - Ben Ma, Hisham, Travis, Martin, Mitch, May
Cliff welcome and suggestion spiel
Freeze
Intro - Cliff
Players - Ben, Lucy, Matt M, Alex, Victor, Cliff, Fatima
1234 Status (aka Pecking Order)
Intro - Victor
Players - Rick, Colin, Katie, Carrie
Sentences
Intro - Carrie
Players - Travis, Veronica, Martin or Herman
Pan Right
Intro - Lucy
Players - Ben, Steve, Carrie, Fiona
Good Bad and Ugly
Intro - Steve
Players - Katie (Good), Martin (Bad), Carson (Ugly)
Cat and Dog (Assuming we've written it)
Martin and Ben Mc
Questions
Intro - Alex
Players - Herman, Sandra, Katy, Alex, Ben Ma, May, Steve, Victor, Fatima, Hisham
Letter
Intro - Fatima
Players - Matt, Herman, Sandra, Carrie. Dramatic readings by Mitch.
Happy Gothic Song
Cliff and Colin
Oscar
Intro - Fiona
Players - Lucy, Colin, Martin
Moving People
Intro - Colin
Players - Cliff and Ben
I've tallied everyone's participation amount, as well (by amount of games, including introducing a game):
Katie - 2 (1234 and GBU)
Colin - 3 (1234, Oscar and Int. Moving People)
Ben Ma - 2 (Rap and Questions)
Carson* - 1 (GBU)
Victor - 3 (Freeze, Int. 1234 and Questions)
Hisham - 2 (Rap and Questions)
Fiona - 2 (Pan Right and Int. Oscar)
Herman - 2 (Questions and Letter)
Carrie - 4 (1234, Int. Sentences, Pan Right and Letter)
Sandra - 2 (Questions and Letter)
Fatima - 3 (Freeze, Questions, Int. Letter)
Lucy - 3 (Freeze, Int. Pan Right and Oscar)
Steve - 3 (Pan Right, Int. GBU and Questions)
Veronica* - 1 (Sentences)
May - 2 (Rap and Questions)
Travis - 2 (Rap and Sentence)
Ben Mc - 4 (Int. Rap, Freeze, Pan Right, Moving People)
Mitch - 2 (Rap and Dramatic Letter Reading)
Martin - 4 (Rap, Sentence, GBU and Oscar)
Cliff - 3 (Int. Freeze, Freeze and Moving People)
To my knowledge, the following people have not paid their $5 yet:
Matt M - 2 (Freeze and Letter)
Alex - 3 (Freeze, Int. Questions and Questions)
Rick* - 1 (1234)
Katy*1 (Questions)
Those names marked with an asterisk are only in one game. I'd like to have everyone in at least 2 games. I will see what I can do.
If you are unsatisfied with your games, email me and I will see what I can do. Also, I may be switching up the set list, to ensure that people are matched well or games are balanced. I'll have the final, final, final setlist on Thursday, and the finalfinalfinalfinalfinal set list on Friday.
Remember, we're meeting at 7 on Thursday in front of BSB, and at 6 on Friday at Quarters.
Thanks for enduring the long, drawn out process of setlist development gang.
See y'all Thursday,
Cliff
PS - Keep your fingers crossed for the MSU Awards ceremony tomorrow.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Monday, March 9, 2009
2009/2010 Improv Team Exec
Hey improvisers
Here they are, your 2009/2010 Improv Team Executive:
Martin Capdevila, President
Colin Murphy, President
Ben McCutchen, Promotions Officer
Katie Jensen, Promotions Officer
Michael Herman, Social Representative
Carrie Rudolph, Social Representative
Congratulations!
(Great session this evening guys. Make sure to remember Matt's point about allowing scenes to progress, rather than entering with an endpoint in mind.)
See you all next week.
Yours most humbly,
Cliff
Here they are, your 2009/2010 Improv Team Executive:
Martin Capdevila, President
Colin Murphy, President
Ben McCutchen, Promotions Officer
Katie Jensen, Promotions Officer
Michael Herman, Social Representative
Carrie Rudolph, Social Representative
Congratulations!
(Great session this evening guys. Make sure to remember Matt's point about allowing scenes to progress, rather than entering with an endpoint in mind.)
See you all next week.
Yours most humbly,
Cliff
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Paradigm Shift
Hey improvisers
I've been thinking about our session on Monday. It was fantastic, for a multitude of different reasons.
Introducing the concept of 'not Blocking' was wonderful. As soon as people in scenes started accepting every offer that was made, the scenes flowed together almost unbelievably well. Characters were interesting and engaging, sequences turned into stories that felt compelling and complete. (Colin said it best when he commented that the Magician scene felt like it lasted a long time, but that he didn't want it to end.) Most importantly, however, everyone seemed to really be enjoying themselves in every scene. To quote Carson, "It's fun to say 'yes' to everything."
I may be going out on a limb here, but it seems to me as though people enjoyed themselves more because the pressure of having to be 'clever' and 'original' was entirely alleviated. People could go into scenes and say 'yes' to everything and not have to worry about the progression of the scene. When everyone accepts ideas from everyone else, things come together very naturally.
Take the Magician scene, again. (I keep thinking back to this scene, as it was one of the most beautifully composed scenes I've ever seen.) A simple premise, Matt is teaching Diana how to perform magic. She inadvertently warps to a different planet. Matt calls the Minister of Magic (me) for help, who instructs them to find the surliest guy on the planet (Martin) who will help them get back to Earth. They find him, and he shows them to the portal in his backyard, all the while offering pie. When they return, Matt repays Martin by offering to teach him magic.
This scene had a sophisticated and developed storyline that flowed together beautifully. A problem was created, the intensity was raised, and it everything came together in the end. This scene also boasted the most wonderful reincorporation I've ever heard of, the reintroduction of Matt as a magic teacher at the end. I burst into applause when Matt said "well, here, let me show you the wand and magic cloak".
Upon reflection of my own understanding, I realize that we've been approaching things backwards. We started with Association exercises, compelling people to run with their first idea. We should have started with Blocking. Now that people have seen that accepting everything leads to brilliant scenes, I'm sure that people will be more willing, excited even, to accept their first idea.
This notion is what we will be working on in the coming weeks. Accepting ideas from everyone, and accepting ideas from yourself as well. We'll also work on different ways to accept ideas (too many people were simply saying 'yes') and different ways to add more to scenes ('Yes, and' and 'Yes, but'). We'll add in character development (which should come naturally if people are willing to accept wild character choices) and we'll work on storylines (Breaking the routine, reincorporation of previous ideas). It will also be interesting to try out our old favourites (Alphabet, Pan Right, Slideshow) with this new angle.
Monday night was one of the most rewarding sessions I've experienced so far. I am extremely excited to see where we go from here, and I hope you all are as well.
Thank you all for a wonderful experience!
Screw the parabola,
Cliff
PS - Colin suggested that we write 'Magician' into a sketch. I'm game if y'all are.
I've been thinking about our session on Monday. It was fantastic, for a multitude of different reasons.
Introducing the concept of 'not Blocking' was wonderful. As soon as people in scenes started accepting every offer that was made, the scenes flowed together almost unbelievably well. Characters were interesting and engaging, sequences turned into stories that felt compelling and complete. (Colin said it best when he commented that the Magician scene felt like it lasted a long time, but that he didn't want it to end.) Most importantly, however, everyone seemed to really be enjoying themselves in every scene. To quote Carson, "It's fun to say 'yes' to everything."
I may be going out on a limb here, but it seems to me as though people enjoyed themselves more because the pressure of having to be 'clever' and 'original' was entirely alleviated. People could go into scenes and say 'yes' to everything and not have to worry about the progression of the scene. When everyone accepts ideas from everyone else, things come together very naturally.
Take the Magician scene, again. (I keep thinking back to this scene, as it was one of the most beautifully composed scenes I've ever seen.) A simple premise, Matt is teaching Diana how to perform magic. She inadvertently warps to a different planet. Matt calls the Minister of Magic (me) for help, who instructs them to find the surliest guy on the planet (Martin) who will help them get back to Earth. They find him, and he shows them to the portal in his backyard, all the while offering pie. When they return, Matt repays Martin by offering to teach him magic.
This scene had a sophisticated and developed storyline that flowed together beautifully. A problem was created, the intensity was raised, and it everything came together in the end. This scene also boasted the most wonderful reincorporation I've ever heard of, the reintroduction of Matt as a magic teacher at the end. I burst into applause when Matt said "well, here, let me show you the wand and magic cloak".
Upon reflection of my own understanding, I realize that we've been approaching things backwards. We started with Association exercises, compelling people to run with their first idea. We should have started with Blocking. Now that people have seen that accepting everything leads to brilliant scenes, I'm sure that people will be more willing, excited even, to accept their first idea.
This notion is what we will be working on in the coming weeks. Accepting ideas from everyone, and accepting ideas from yourself as well. We'll also work on different ways to accept ideas (too many people were simply saying 'yes') and different ways to add more to scenes ('Yes, and' and 'Yes, but'). We'll add in character development (which should come naturally if people are willing to accept wild character choices) and we'll work on storylines (Breaking the routine, reincorporation of previous ideas). It will also be interesting to try out our old favourites (Alphabet, Pan Right, Slideshow) with this new angle.
Monday night was one of the most rewarding sessions I've experienced so far. I am extremely excited to see where we go from here, and I hope you all are as well.
Thank you all for a wonderful experience!
Screw the parabola,
Cliff
PS - Colin suggested that we write 'Magician' into a sketch. I'm game if y'all are.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Summary of Games for January 19th, 2009
Hey improvisers
Wonderful session tonight. You were all really adept at the Status games we worked on. It was really entertaining to watch.
Seriously, though, try to identify if your friends play high-status or low-status. It’s interesting, at the very least. Once you begin to identify the hidden status motivations in every line (and believe me, no line is free from status motivations), you’ll have a hard time stopping.
Anyway, on to the summary.
Tug-of-War
Everyone partners up, and plays a mimed game of tug-of-war. In reality, there are winners and losers all the time. It’s unreasonable to expect that a scene will proceed without a discernable winner or loser. It is fun to be the winner, but it’s just as fun to be the loser.
Try being what your partner wants you to be. If you perceive them as wanting to win, try giving in. If they want to lose, pull harder. Unless you’re willing to be manipulated and changed while performing, then you’d probably do better working alone.
Sometimes, too, it’s fun to play to what the audience wants. In the round of Bronwyn vs. Martin, Herman and Hisham, it was pretty obvious that everyone wanted Bronwyn to win. When she did, she was met with uproarious applause. It’s always a good idea to stay where the audience expects things to go, even if it wouldn’t normally happen in real life.
Again, the best way to evaluate if a scene was a success is whether or not you had fun with it. If you enjoyed yourself, then the audience will have a good time too. The audience can sense when you’re struggling, or not having a good time. Have fun with everything. Nothing’s of consequence in Improv, so why not try losing?
Status Exercises
Group Interactions – Saying ‘Hello’
Everyone walks around and says ‘Hello.’ At first, it was a little awkward, and people were making huge attempts at being friendly and ‘interesting.’ I had to stop a few people and tell them to just say ‘Hello.’ Things calmed down after, but everything was a little bit weird, still. The group became much more interesting when certain people were told to sustain eye contact (high-status), and certain people to break eye contact and then rapidly look back (low-status).
The comments were essentially bang on. The people instructed to hold eye contact felt powerful, dominant, forceful, and intrusive. Someone commented that they felt like a sexual predator. (Maybe because they weren’t used to holding eye contact?) The people instructed to break eye contact felt awkward, timid, quiet, and weak. All the comments given were exactly what you would expect from high-status people and low-status people. The group became more interesting because everyone suddenly understood their role.
Try watching people on the street. See if you can identify who is high-status and who is low-status just from their walk. High-status people will probably be moving very directly, overtaking slower walkers, etc. You may also notice people stepping around them. Low-status people will probably keep their eyes to the ground, and when confronted with someone who appears higher status, they will move around. It’s funny to watch two people with similarly high or low status walk towards each other. More often than not, they’ll do that awkward dance around each other, as neither person knows who should step away.
As a summary:
High-status
- Direct
- Good posture
- Openness
- Sustained eye-contact
- Confident
Low-status
- Indirect
- Slouching
- Taking up as little space as possible
- Indirect and quick eye-contact
Remember, there is a difference between class and status. You can have a high-class character playing low-status (like the King in ‘Start the Revolution Without Me’). You can also have a low-class character who plays high-status (like Mike’s hobo who confidently pulled gum off the bench and ate it.)
The Seesaw
This concept was introduced when we added speech to the scenes that were being played. Status is your relationships to other people. Your speech and the manner in which you conduct yourself communicate status. Whether or not you’re consciously aware of it, everything you do communicates some form of status.
There are two ways to raise your status. You can either raise your own status (“I can speak 10 different languages”), or you can lower everyone else’s (“You can’t speak 10 different languages”).
Similarly, there are two ways to lower your status. You can lower your own (“I wish I could speak 10 different languages”), or you can raise everyone else’s (“You can speak 10 different languages? That’s amazing!”).
There’s also raising and lowering your status by proxy. For example, if someone comments on your hat, and how great it is, then you’ll probably feel a boost in status. They’re not complimenting you per se; it’s your hat that’s actually getting the compliment. But you feel the boost regardless.
If you’re following celebrities, and something tragic happens to one of your favourites, then you might feel your status lowered. If something awesome happens to them, you might feel great. I’m reminded of Kelly on ‘The Office.’ Her sun rises and sets on celebrities. Remember in season 3, when Jim returns, and Kelly confronts him claiming she has so much to tell him about? And then she references Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes’ baby Suri, and Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s baby Shiloh? That made her day. Did I spell Shiloh right?
Anyway.
Sometimes you can tell who people are simply from observing their status interactions. For example, in Fatima and Lucy’s scene, someone said that they were wives of rich husbands in an office building. No one had to think too hard about it, it was just so.
Also, when Herman created his entire living room from naught, he barely hesitated. He didn’t think about anything in the room, because it was just there.
(When creating environments, try just walking around and toying with things. You don’t really need to create anything, cos it’s all there already.)
I’m not sure if that made sense.
As a summary:
Raise your status by exemplifying yourself. Raise your status by lowering others. Lower your status by raising others. Lower your status by insulting yourself.
1, 2, 3, 4: Tell me that you love me more!
4 people are given either a number 1, 2, 3 or 4. Player 4 enters the scene and establishes the environment. Player 3 enters and is higher status than player 4. Player 2 enters and is higher status still. Player 1 enters and is the highest status of all. Players then leave in reverse order: 1, then 2, then 3. Player 4 then concludes the scene.
This game was a joy to watch. Everyone’s scenes were interesting and hilarious. Watching player 4 scramble to make sure that everyone’s needs were met was hilarious. Watching player 1 abuse his power was awesome. (And I say ‘his’ not to be exclusive, but because all the player 1s were male: Mike, Colin and Justin. So there.)
Let’s break it down scene by scene.
Dentist’s Office
First off, what a wonderful suggestion: The break room at a Dentist’s office. Brilliant.
Artevan’s introduction was great. A casual stride in, picking out something to eat, and calmly sitting down. Then Bronwyn came in and stole his thunder, playing down his lunch. Katie came in and began commanding everyone. At this point, Artevan was already cowering in the corner. When Mike came in, all hell broke loose. He was easily the highest status Dentist I think I’ve ever seen, or ever will see. It would be interesting to put a superordinate goal in the scene for everyone to work towards.
Lipstick Conference
Again, what a brilliant suggestion. A conference at a firm for Lipstick. Absolutely wild.
This scene was easily one of the most entertaining ones I have ever seen. Martin scrambling around to get chairs for everyone. Rick sitting in lipstick and then blaming it on Martin. Matt and Colin’s displeasure at there only being 12 types of lipstick. Matt’s explosion as soon as Colin left. Everything about the scene clicked. Congratulations, guys.
Camelot
Again, an awesome suggestion!
Lower energy than the one before, but still really well executed. Ben was great as number 4. Kaylan and Harjot were great at passing orders along the line. Justin was excellent at being commanding. Apparently, Lancelot is the bad guy in Camelot. Who knew?
I would really like to try performing this game in front of an audience. Even if we don’t explain the premise, or the status choices, it would be very, very entertaining to watch.
Glasses and Governors
This game was used as a way of demonstrating status switches. It’s fun to watch someone go from very high-status to very low-status in the blink of an eye. (Or rather, in the putting on of glasses).
It’s a tough scene to do, too, because it’s very trying, and can be very embarrassing. I don’t think it was for anyone this time, but it could happen…
I believe that’s it for me, for now. Once again, a fantastic session tonight guys. I enjoyed everything you were doing. I hope you had fun, too, cos it certainly looked like you were.
Next week, we’ll work on incorporating Status into the games we’re familiar with. We’ll also build our setlist for the Matthews show later in the evening.
Take care gang. Great work again. You should all be proud. I am.
Cheers,
Cliff
PS - Sorry for the long post. There was a lot to write about. :)
Wonderful session tonight. You were all really adept at the Status games we worked on. It was really entertaining to watch.
Seriously, though, try to identify if your friends play high-status or low-status. It’s interesting, at the very least. Once you begin to identify the hidden status motivations in every line (and believe me, no line is free from status motivations), you’ll have a hard time stopping.
Anyway, on to the summary.
Tug-of-War
Everyone partners up, and plays a mimed game of tug-of-war. In reality, there are winners and losers all the time. It’s unreasonable to expect that a scene will proceed without a discernable winner or loser. It is fun to be the winner, but it’s just as fun to be the loser.
Try being what your partner wants you to be. If you perceive them as wanting to win, try giving in. If they want to lose, pull harder. Unless you’re willing to be manipulated and changed while performing, then you’d probably do better working alone.
Sometimes, too, it’s fun to play to what the audience wants. In the round of Bronwyn vs. Martin, Herman and Hisham, it was pretty obvious that everyone wanted Bronwyn to win. When she did, she was met with uproarious applause. It’s always a good idea to stay where the audience expects things to go, even if it wouldn’t normally happen in real life.
Again, the best way to evaluate if a scene was a success is whether or not you had fun with it. If you enjoyed yourself, then the audience will have a good time too. The audience can sense when you’re struggling, or not having a good time. Have fun with everything. Nothing’s of consequence in Improv, so why not try losing?
Status Exercises
Group Interactions – Saying ‘Hello’
Everyone walks around and says ‘Hello.’ At first, it was a little awkward, and people were making huge attempts at being friendly and ‘interesting.’ I had to stop a few people and tell them to just say ‘Hello.’ Things calmed down after, but everything was a little bit weird, still. The group became much more interesting when certain people were told to sustain eye contact (high-status), and certain people to break eye contact and then rapidly look back (low-status).
The comments were essentially bang on. The people instructed to hold eye contact felt powerful, dominant, forceful, and intrusive. Someone commented that they felt like a sexual predator. (Maybe because they weren’t used to holding eye contact?) The people instructed to break eye contact felt awkward, timid, quiet, and weak. All the comments given were exactly what you would expect from high-status people and low-status people. The group became more interesting because everyone suddenly understood their role.
Try watching people on the street. See if you can identify who is high-status and who is low-status just from their walk. High-status people will probably be moving very directly, overtaking slower walkers, etc. You may also notice people stepping around them. Low-status people will probably keep their eyes to the ground, and when confronted with someone who appears higher status, they will move around. It’s funny to watch two people with similarly high or low status walk towards each other. More often than not, they’ll do that awkward dance around each other, as neither person knows who should step away.
As a summary:
High-status
- Direct
- Good posture
- Openness
- Sustained eye-contact
- Confident
Low-status
- Indirect
- Slouching
- Taking up as little space as possible
- Indirect and quick eye-contact
Remember, there is a difference between class and status. You can have a high-class character playing low-status (like the King in ‘Start the Revolution Without Me’). You can also have a low-class character who plays high-status (like Mike’s hobo who confidently pulled gum off the bench and ate it.)
The Seesaw
This concept was introduced when we added speech to the scenes that were being played. Status is your relationships to other people. Your speech and the manner in which you conduct yourself communicate status. Whether or not you’re consciously aware of it, everything you do communicates some form of status.
There are two ways to raise your status. You can either raise your own status (“I can speak 10 different languages”), or you can lower everyone else’s (“You can’t speak 10 different languages”).
Similarly, there are two ways to lower your status. You can lower your own (“I wish I could speak 10 different languages”), or you can raise everyone else’s (“You can speak 10 different languages? That’s amazing!”).
There’s also raising and lowering your status by proxy. For example, if someone comments on your hat, and how great it is, then you’ll probably feel a boost in status. They’re not complimenting you per se; it’s your hat that’s actually getting the compliment. But you feel the boost regardless.
If you’re following celebrities, and something tragic happens to one of your favourites, then you might feel your status lowered. If something awesome happens to them, you might feel great. I’m reminded of Kelly on ‘The Office.’ Her sun rises and sets on celebrities. Remember in season 3, when Jim returns, and Kelly confronts him claiming she has so much to tell him about? And then she references Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes’ baby Suri, and Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s baby Shiloh? That made her day. Did I spell Shiloh right?
Anyway.
Sometimes you can tell who people are simply from observing their status interactions. For example, in Fatima and Lucy’s scene, someone said that they were wives of rich husbands in an office building. No one had to think too hard about it, it was just so.
Also, when Herman created his entire living room from naught, he barely hesitated. He didn’t think about anything in the room, because it was just there.
(When creating environments, try just walking around and toying with things. You don’t really need to create anything, cos it’s all there already.)
I’m not sure if that made sense.
As a summary:
Raise your status by exemplifying yourself. Raise your status by lowering others. Lower your status by raising others. Lower your status by insulting yourself.
1, 2, 3, 4: Tell me that you love me more!
4 people are given either a number 1, 2, 3 or 4. Player 4 enters the scene and establishes the environment. Player 3 enters and is higher status than player 4. Player 2 enters and is higher status still. Player 1 enters and is the highest status of all. Players then leave in reverse order: 1, then 2, then 3. Player 4 then concludes the scene.
This game was a joy to watch. Everyone’s scenes were interesting and hilarious. Watching player 4 scramble to make sure that everyone’s needs were met was hilarious. Watching player 1 abuse his power was awesome. (And I say ‘his’ not to be exclusive, but because all the player 1s were male: Mike, Colin and Justin. So there.)
Let’s break it down scene by scene.
Dentist’s Office
First off, what a wonderful suggestion: The break room at a Dentist’s office. Brilliant.
Artevan’s introduction was great. A casual stride in, picking out something to eat, and calmly sitting down. Then Bronwyn came in and stole his thunder, playing down his lunch. Katie came in and began commanding everyone. At this point, Artevan was already cowering in the corner. When Mike came in, all hell broke loose. He was easily the highest status Dentist I think I’ve ever seen, or ever will see. It would be interesting to put a superordinate goal in the scene for everyone to work towards.
Lipstick Conference
Again, what a brilliant suggestion. A conference at a firm for Lipstick. Absolutely wild.
This scene was easily one of the most entertaining ones I have ever seen. Martin scrambling around to get chairs for everyone. Rick sitting in lipstick and then blaming it on Martin. Matt and Colin’s displeasure at there only being 12 types of lipstick. Matt’s explosion as soon as Colin left. Everything about the scene clicked. Congratulations, guys.
Camelot
Again, an awesome suggestion!
Lower energy than the one before, but still really well executed. Ben was great as number 4. Kaylan and Harjot were great at passing orders along the line. Justin was excellent at being commanding. Apparently, Lancelot is the bad guy in Camelot. Who knew?
I would really like to try performing this game in front of an audience. Even if we don’t explain the premise, or the status choices, it would be very, very entertaining to watch.
Glasses and Governors
This game was used as a way of demonstrating status switches. It’s fun to watch someone go from very high-status to very low-status in the blink of an eye. (Or rather, in the putting on of glasses).
It’s a tough scene to do, too, because it’s very trying, and can be very embarrassing. I don’t think it was for anyone this time, but it could happen…
I believe that’s it for me, for now. Once again, a fantastic session tonight guys. I enjoyed everything you were doing. I hope you had fun, too, cos it certainly looked like you were.
Next week, we’ll work on incorporating Status into the games we’re familiar with. We’ll also build our setlist for the Matthews show later in the evening.
Take care gang. Great work again. You should all be proud. I am.
Cheers,
Cliff
PS - Sorry for the long post. There was a lot to write about. :)
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Mo' Letters, Mo' Money
Hey improvisers
Here are the letters written at Whidden on Tuesday. The first one is by Herman and Carrie, and the second by May and Travis. Kudos guys! And thanks again to Mitch for typing/performing dramatic reinactments.
~
January 1, Nineteen-Dickety-Two
Dearest Martha,
I can’t live without you. Please get off my lawn. You have no idea how much I long to get with you. When I see you on the lawn I am overcome with emotions for you. Or I please let me know how much I can help you in any way at all. Get me a Tyranasourus Rex for my birthday.
Sincerely, Your Sugar Puss
Horace
~
November, 1st 2020
Today I wanted to go to the store. Unfortunately when the cashier told me I could not get my Cheerios, it stung like hell. I then decided to go to the complaints department where they told me that I had no reason to complain. Afterwards, I decided that I would telephone the complaints to the one person that I knew would care: Superman. Of course, he came right to my house and lended me the Cheerios. I was overcome with happiness, and then I said farewell.
Sincerely Thomas
~
Wonderful. See y'all on Monday!
Cheers,
Cliff
Here are the letters written at Whidden on Tuesday. The first one is by Herman and Carrie, and the second by May and Travis. Kudos guys! And thanks again to Mitch for typing/performing dramatic reinactments.
~
January 1, Nineteen-Dickety-Two
Dearest Martha,
I can’t live without you. Please get off my lawn. You have no idea how much I long to get with you. When I see you on the lawn I am overcome with emotions for you. Or I please let me know how much I can help you in any way at all. Get me a Tyranasourus Rex for my birthday.
Sincerely, Your Sugar Puss
Horace
~
November, 1st 2020
Today I wanted to go to the store. Unfortunately when the cashier told me I could not get my Cheerios, it stung like hell. I then decided to go to the complaints department where they told me that I had no reason to complain. Afterwards, I decided that I would telephone the complaints to the one person that I knew would care: Superman. Of course, he came right to my house and lended me the Cheerios. I was overcome with happiness, and then I said farewell.
Sincerely Thomas
~
Wonderful. See y'all on Monday!
Cheers,
Cliff
Monday, January 12, 2009
January 12th, 2009: Summary, and Theatresports
Hey improvisers
First off, an apology.
I let my own excitement for Theatresports come before the current position of the group. We had a really large group today, which was wonderful, but with it came a lot of new people. Rather than tailoring the session to the new performers, I chose to go full-force with Theatresports. My decision was fueled by my own excitement, and by our session tomorrow evening.
And so, I apologize for forcing Theatresports on everyone.
For what it's worth, I thought everyone did splendidly. The enthusiasm was wonderful. I look forward to trying it again when everyone is more familiar with the games.
Please rest assured that next week, we will be continuing from where we were last week, working with Spontaneity. I also want to introduce some concepts regarding Character Relationships. Oh ho ho, it'll be grand.
So, again, I am sorry. Thank you all very much for your patience, though, I really appreciate it.
~
I won't post a summary of the games we played. As far as I can remember, they included Freeze, Rap Battle, Instruction Manual, and the audience "Yes, I'll go along with that, Sounds good to me" game.
I noticed a lot of different issues with the games, but with Freeze in particular. There were many instances of blocking and cancelling. I think I'd like to try running a scene where every instance of blocking is called and altered on the spot. The result of the scene would probably be really, really interesting.
Cancelling is a concept that hasn't been brought up a whole lot. Essentially, if someone makes an offer (i.e. "Let's go to class") but someone adds something that negates it entirely (i.e. "Oh, it's been cancelled"), that's cancelling. Actually...that's a bad example. Congratulations, myself, you used the word in its definition.
Because he can do it better than I can, here's what Johnstone says on the subject:
"Cancelling dismantles whatever has been established: you light a fire and a shower of rain extinguishes it; you feed a stray dog and it's flattened by a truck. Audiences enjoy seeing their heroes thwarted, but not at the expense of having nothing happen." (Johnstone, K. Impro for Storytellers, page 118)
We'll work through some of these concepts. The only way I can get better at preventing it from happening is by pointing it out whenever it happens. So, expect a lot of that.
~
For Whidden tomorrow, there were a few games brought up that people want to play. They include: Freeze, Rap Battle, Instruction Manual, Pan Right, "Sounds Good to Me," and I think that's it. We can finalize the set when we get there.
Remember, be outside of Whidden at 830 PM. We'll finalize the set list and warm-up, and then we'll be ready to go for 9.
See y'all tomorrow, and thanks again for your patience.
Cheers,
Cliff
First off, an apology.
I let my own excitement for Theatresports come before the current position of the group. We had a really large group today, which was wonderful, but with it came a lot of new people. Rather than tailoring the session to the new performers, I chose to go full-force with Theatresports. My decision was fueled by my own excitement, and by our session tomorrow evening.
And so, I apologize for forcing Theatresports on everyone.
For what it's worth, I thought everyone did splendidly. The enthusiasm was wonderful. I look forward to trying it again when everyone is more familiar with the games.
Please rest assured that next week, we will be continuing from where we were last week, working with Spontaneity. I also want to introduce some concepts regarding Character Relationships. Oh ho ho, it'll be grand.
So, again, I am sorry. Thank you all very much for your patience, though, I really appreciate it.
~
I won't post a summary of the games we played. As far as I can remember, they included Freeze, Rap Battle, Instruction Manual, and the audience "Yes, I'll go along with that, Sounds good to me" game.
I noticed a lot of different issues with the games, but with Freeze in particular. There were many instances of blocking and cancelling. I think I'd like to try running a scene where every instance of blocking is called and altered on the spot. The result of the scene would probably be really, really interesting.
Cancelling is a concept that hasn't been brought up a whole lot. Essentially, if someone makes an offer (i.e. "Let's go to class") but someone adds something that negates it entirely (i.e. "Oh, it's been cancelled"), that's cancelling. Actually...that's a bad example. Congratulations, myself, you used the word in its definition.
Because he can do it better than I can, here's what Johnstone says on the subject:
"Cancelling dismantles whatever has been established: you light a fire and a shower of rain extinguishes it; you feed a stray dog and it's flattened by a truck. Audiences enjoy seeing their heroes thwarted, but not at the expense of having nothing happen." (Johnstone, K. Impro for Storytellers, page 118)
We'll work through some of these concepts. The only way I can get better at preventing it from happening is by pointing it out whenever it happens. So, expect a lot of that.
~
For Whidden tomorrow, there were a few games brought up that people want to play. They include: Freeze, Rap Battle, Instruction Manual, Pan Right, "Sounds Good to Me," and I think that's it. We can finalize the set when we get there.
Remember, be outside of Whidden at 830 PM. We'll finalize the set list and warm-up, and then we'll be ready to go for 9.
See y'all tomorrow, and thanks again for your patience.
Cheers,
Cliff
Monday, January 5, 2009
The Letters
Hey guys
Here are the letters from earlier this evening. They're wonderful.
Also, I posted a summary of tonight's session. It's immediately below this post.
Anyway, enjoy!
~
December 26 2096
Today I went to your mothers house and she killed her son. This scared me very much so you went to the police and told them about the murder and they laughed at me because she was already there. I decided to try therapy but I couldn’t afford it. so i got a job at a factory worker fortunately i have found a wife who loves me very much
sincerely john.
~
Dearest Nanny
Yesterday I found a letter that said that i was adopted i was shocked but i then realized that you are not my real nanny i was disappointed yet relieved because i realized that you were a perfect woman I know now that you are never real the reason that i am writing this letter to you is because i really want a dog. please give me a reply from wherever you may be.
Sincerely, Jamie
~
August 14th 1983
Yesterday I went to the park and found a squirrel named Jimmy he went about hopping through the forest i followed him because he told me to do it. I thought that he was a jaguar so i quickly ran towards the tree which he peed on. I discovered that he was a squirrel named jimmy therefore i decided to live in the tree I then decided to share him with my mother.
Sincerely Rufus.
~
Dearest Margaret
Your child was eating itself on my tooth but he suddenly forgot to look me in the face and so i realized that i couldn’t see my self inside so i thought to go downstairs and punish him because he wouldn’t listen to me. So i must have uh tooth loose I only believe that your help will assist my situation thank you very much i think so.
~
Hey you how are you doing lately
I’ve been thinking that we should see eachother where have you gone all these years? I’ve remembered that we had a great time back then and i was wondering if you could see me and maybe we could have a child perhaps he loved me too much you know that only i could be there for you if i don’t wear anything because you know that i like your body and so i conclude that i love your body
Sincerely Mom
~
Absolutely wonderful. Thanks to Mitch for typing.
Cheers,
Cliff
Here are the letters from earlier this evening. They're wonderful.
Also, I posted a summary of tonight's session. It's immediately below this post.
Anyway, enjoy!
~
December 26 2096
Today I went to your mothers house and she killed her son. This scared me very much so you went to the police and told them about the murder and they laughed at me because she was already there. I decided to try therapy but I couldn’t afford it. so i got a job at a factory worker fortunately i have found a wife who loves me very much
sincerely john.
~
Dearest Nanny
Yesterday I found a letter that said that i was adopted i was shocked but i then realized that you are not my real nanny i was disappointed yet relieved because i realized that you were a perfect woman I know now that you are never real the reason that i am writing this letter to you is because i really want a dog. please give me a reply from wherever you may be.
Sincerely, Jamie
~
August 14th 1983
Yesterday I went to the park and found a squirrel named Jimmy he went about hopping through the forest i followed him because he told me to do it. I thought that he was a jaguar so i quickly ran towards the tree which he peed on. I discovered that he was a squirrel named jimmy therefore i decided to live in the tree I then decided to share him with my mother.
Sincerely Rufus.
~
Dearest Margaret
Your child was eating itself on my tooth but he suddenly forgot to look me in the face and so i realized that i couldn’t see my self inside so i thought to go downstairs and punish him because he wouldn’t listen to me. So i must have uh tooth loose I only believe that your help will assist my situation thank you very much i think so.
~
Hey you how are you doing lately
I’ve been thinking that we should see eachother where have you gone all these years? I’ve remembered that we had a great time back then and i was wondering if you could see me and maybe we could have a child perhaps he loved me too much you know that only i could be there for you if i don’t wear anything because you know that i like your body and so i conclude that i love your body
Sincerely Mom
~
Absolutely wonderful. Thanks to Mitch for typing.
Cheers,
Cliff
January 5th, 2009: Summary
Hey improvisers
Absolutely wonderful session this evening. And we're not even back into the complete swing of things yet. I counted three separate occasions when I found myself in tears from laughter. Absolutely wonderful.
You may have noticed that I took things back a few steps. We had done a bunch of complex games last term, which is great, but I want to try and focus on some of the more fundamental concepts (i.e. Spontaneity and Acceptance).
It may seem as though I'm being particularly picky, too. I'm trying to train myself to quickly identify less-than-preferable Improv trends (such as blocking and negativity), so that I can draw attention to them immediately after they happen. Don't forget, too, that this notion works both ways. If you notice anything strange in my own performances, then please call me on it.
You learn more from your mistakes than you do from your successes, and so, like I said at the beginning of the evening, I'm hoping we all make tons of mistakes this term. None of us should consider ourselves experts at any of these games, so why shouldn't we make a lot of mistakes?
"I'll bet Einstein blew himself up hundreds of times before he invented the lightbulb."
- Homer
From a more personal note, I'd like to learn to be the best coach I can be, and so if something is unclear, or you think that I've misunderstood the point, then please bring it up.
As well, I'm hoping that by pointing out things as they happen, we'll be able to cut down on the discussion time we have after particular scenes. Don't get me wrong, discussion and reflection are essential, but I think that we'll accomplish more by packing in as much as we can into our sessions.
Anyway, on to things.
Here are some of the things/concepts we worked on this evening.
1) Obvious is Original
Here's the poorly done 'Obvious is Original' Diagram I put on the board at the beginning. (Powered by 'Nip-O-Vision')
Absolutely wonderful session this evening. And we're not even back into the complete swing of things yet. I counted three separate occasions when I found myself in tears from laughter. Absolutely wonderful.
You may have noticed that I took things back a few steps. We had done a bunch of complex games last term, which is great, but I want to try and focus on some of the more fundamental concepts (i.e. Spontaneity and Acceptance).
It may seem as though I'm being particularly picky, too. I'm trying to train myself to quickly identify less-than-preferable Improv trends (such as blocking and negativity), so that I can draw attention to them immediately after they happen. Don't forget, too, that this notion works both ways. If you notice anything strange in my own performances, then please call me on it.
You learn more from your mistakes than you do from your successes, and so, like I said at the beginning of the evening, I'm hoping we all make tons of mistakes this term. None of us should consider ourselves experts at any of these games, so why shouldn't we make a lot of mistakes?
"I'll bet Einstein blew himself up hundreds of times before he invented the lightbulb."
- Homer
From a more personal note, I'd like to learn to be the best coach I can be, and so if something is unclear, or you think that I've misunderstood the point, then please bring it up.
As well, I'm hoping that by pointing out things as they happen, we'll be able to cut down on the discussion time we have after particular scenes. Don't get me wrong, discussion and reflection are essential, but I think that we'll accomplish more by packing in as much as we can into our sessions.
Anyway, on to things.
Here are some of the things/concepts we worked on this evening.
1) Obvious is Original
Here's the poorly done 'Obvious is Original' Diagram I put on the board at the beginning. (Powered by 'Nip-O-Vision')
'Idea' refers to the suggestion, or where the scene seems to be heading. The 'Obvious' section is what the audience is expecting, based on the suggestion. The 'Original' section is where, more often than not, Improvisers will attempt to position themselves. Improvisers often feel a strong motivation to be 'witty', or 'original' while on stage. However, if their originality is too 'out there', then it's going to come off as dumb, or silly (and not in a good way). On the other hand, Improvisers who go with their first instinct, which is always the obvious choice, then scenes will have a more natural progression, and it'll be more pleasing to the audience.
The example I gave at the beginning of the session was the response to the question "What's for dinner?" An 'original' choice would be a response along the lines of 'Deep Fried Socks' or something. An 'obvious' choice would be something simple like 'Fish'. In these two cases, the scene can play out in a very different way. In the 'obvious' choice, the scene will play out with a focus more on the relationship between the characters, fueled by the second character's reaction to Fish for dinner. With the 'original' choice, the scene will be less about the characters, and more about the goofiness of the dinner choice. I'm not sure about you, but I would rather see a scene about characters prompted by a distaste for Fish, rather than a scene fueled by the presence of Deep Fried Socks. And there's a sentence I never thought I would write.
To summarize, in general, it's better to go for the simple, natural choice, rather than forcing a bizarre choice that could kill the scene.
We worked through this concept in a couple of the other games we played. The first one I'd like to reference is 'Writing a Letter.'
2) Writing a Letter
It's pretty easy to summarize: Two people write a letter by speaking one word at a time. It's probably best to stick to the normal confines of a letter (i.e. a date, an address, a 'Dear X' line, some sort of closing 'Sincerely, X', possibly a 'P.S' section), but there's no real requirements.
The goal of this game is to trust your very, very first instinct in the name of keeping things fast. If you stop to think, then you're probably going to get sidetracked. Just go with what comes to mind. Say words regardless of whether you think it's 'clever' or not. Chances are good that the less 'clever', and the more 'obvious' you are, the better the letter is going to be. Or at the very least, the more hilarious the letter is going to be.
Mitch is going to send me the letters real soon, and once he does, I'll post 'em up here, too. In general, I found that the faster people went, and the less they thought about their choices, the better the letters were. We'll try this game again in the future.
3) 'The Eyes'
Two people draw a picture, one line at a time. The only requirement is that they must start with 'The Eyes'. After a little while, contributors are asked to name their creation, writing one letter at a time.
I think I can speak for everyone when I say that this game was goofy. But in a good way. The drawings were pretty good. I would be interested to see what would happen if we tried it with a focus on specificity rather than speed. In the future, I'll try to stop the drawings a little before the board gets way too crowded.
I found the names to be the funniest part. I can't remember most of them, but I remember that they were all really, really unique, and I liked that. Quite frankly I don't think there's enough VilderRaces in the world.
4) One Word at a Time Storyline
Two actors tell a story one word at a time, while acting out the actions they are describing.
A few people expressed a concern with the trickiness of this game. And that's completely cool. Thinking back, I definitely could have done more to explain or clarify things.
The key here lies in not only accepting everything that is said, but in trying to advance the storyline. This is going to be difficult, given that there are two people contributing equally to the scene. What helps is not to focus so much on description, but rather on action.
For example, it would be extremely hard to act out something like "On the beach there was a lot of sand, and in the distance there was a lighthouse, and over there is a guy." However, it would be much easier to act out "We were at the beach. We trudged through the sand to the lighthouse and climbed to the top. There, we met a mysterious stanger..." The more physical you can make your choices, the better.
My error was in focusing too much on the specific choices that were being made, rather than the entire concept. In the future, we'll try to keep the scenes action-oriented, rather than drenched in descriptions.
Another factor is motivation. It's pretty easy to get lost when you're not motivated. An easy way to find a motivation in a scene is by taking on an emotion. In the scene with the Bear, the Sun and a Diamond (I think this was Carlyn's scene?), there were a few easily perceivable emotions (i.e. terror in the presence of the bear, excitement at the discovery of the diamond) that helped to direct the focus of the scene. We'll see what we can do when we try to inject an emotion into the scene at an appropriate time.
We can try this again next week, and we'll see what we get.
5) Slow-Mo Ninja Battle
Everyone is a slow-motion ninja. From the tip of your fingers to the base of your elbow is deadly poison. If you strike someone with that part of your arm, they're dead. If you get hit with that part of someone's arm, you're dead. The only way to block it is with your own arm.
This game isn't about winning. It's about letting things happen. If you're going to get hit, roll with it. If you're about to hit someone, keep the same speed. You can't accelerate to dodge someone, and you can't accelerate to hit someone.
I think this game can be used as a way to visualize prioritizing the scene over the game. Everyone wants to win the game by being the last person standing, but you can't do it at the expense of losing the credibility of the scene (or rather, the little credibility the scene has to begin with). Hell, it could be understood that everyone who plays is the winner if they stick to the rules of the game the entire time, and don't prioritize their needs over the needs of the scene.
There's probably all sorts of ways to interpret this game, but that's the way I'm doin' it.
~
I think that's about it for this week. I'm really looking forward to next week, as we'll practice some of these ideas, and we'll also work on what we want to do for our next Whimprov Session (which will be on Tuesday the 13th).
As always, if you guys have any questions, or you'd like to discuss something, fire me an email or leave a comment.
Yours in Spontaneity,
Cliff
PS - A lot of the concepts covered today come from Keith Johnstone's book 'Impro: Improvisation and the Theatre'. If you get a chance, I highly, highly recommend you check it out. I have an electronic copy if you'd like to browse. Fire me an email and thy will be done.
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