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.