Robert Bateman Improv Team - September 24th, 2010

Hello improvisers

I am sincerely, truly, honestly humbled at the sheer amount of people who came out for Improv. It was absolutely wonderful to see so many people creating and working together. I do not have experience coaching such a large group of people, but I will do my best to make sure each meeting is worthwhile to everyone. Hey, let's hear it for learning together.

Daggers

Hopefully, everybody has a good idea of how daggers works. Our version of daggers turned into something different with the addition of the angry cat, the bowling ball and the balloon. When playing a game like this, keep in mind how you would actually throw and catch these objects. I loved walking around, watching as people collapsed on the ground from the bowling ball, or reeled back in terror while struggling with the angry cat. It was simply wonderful to watch.

Daggers helps to reinforce Observation and Acceptance of ideas and offers while simultaneously working on Object Permanence (Not permeance, as I said several times. Permeance isn't even a word.) Plus, it's fun as heck. Heck, say I!

Red Ball

Red Ball works similarly to Daggers, except all objects are the same weight and size. The difference lies in the colour, and therein lies the new trick. In this game, it's imperative to make direct eye contact before throwing a ball. Otherwise you end up with several people, all of whom claim to have the same colour ball! (Now, if something like this were to happen on stage, you would roll with it. A scene won't be derailed by the simple addition of a ball.)

So, Observation absolutely comes into play in this game.

Narration Game

I really should get a better name for this game. Apparently, the 'Harold' style of Improv got its name from someone assigning a completely arbitrary name, which ended up sticking. So, that being said, I'm going to start calling this game Steven.

Steven

This game is used to highlight a wide variety of different Improv concepts. There's listening, acceptance, making decisions, team-building, and a whole host of other ideas. It's a pretty wild experience, too. I believe our groups were:

2 - Helicopter
3 - Armchair
7 - Dragon

Sometimes I have groups of 5 make Tanks, or the whole group create a working Assembly Line, but that didn't come up on Friday.

I really have to hand it to everyone who played Steven. It was a blast to watch, primarily because you all got into the game so quickly and so enthusiastically.

Now, you may be asking yourself what the purpose of the game was. I unfortunately don't have much of a solid answer outside of 'It's fun'. However, that's not the entire truth. Though it was a fun game, it really stressed the importance of going along with ideas and making rapid, strong decisions for the purpose of achieving a group goal. (For example, using seven people, create a dragon in under 10 seconds). I've been stressed support from the beginning. You know how you support your teammates? By making big decisions right at the beginning of a scene. If people didn't know what to do when making a dragon, you bet they felt supported when somebody stepped up and started creating.

(That concept does seem a little contradictory, doesn't it? "Cliff, you've been telling us to be supportive and to share the spotlight! How the heck does making strong decisions support my team?" We will talk about that more in the coming weeks. Wink.)

Tug of War


If you feel as though your partner wants to win, then by george let them. If you feel as though your partner is giving in, then give an extra pull to seal the deal. Allowing your partner to win makes the whole scene more real, more truthful. And besides, it's more entertaining to watch.

Lauren vs. Team Super Strong

Now, that being said, there is nothing wrong with giving the audience what they want. If you have to lose to let that happen, so be it. The audience should be your priority. You can trust them. They're never wrong.

7 Things

This game was fantastic. I did not plan for the person speaking to be in the center, or for the person speaking to do a circle of high-fives after completing their 7 Things. But it happened! And it was AMAZING. Damn, what energy! What excitement! What support! Nobody panicked and froze and the results were incredible.

Caitlin (I hope I'm spelling your name right, I don't have my Cards in front of me), I must apologize for putting you on the spot with my analysis of your list. That was inappropriate of me. I should have prompted you to continue going, rather than changing your subject. That was a poor decision on my part, and I apologize. I'll apologize in person on Monday. 

Anyway.

Thinking back, I'm reminded of...somebody's 7 Things List, in which 'Talha' came up three times. That would be hilarious! A scene with three Talhas encountering each other for the first time? Dang, that would be so great to watch. 7 Things is a great game for encouraging truthful brainstorming, as once people work through their initial two 'Clever/Original' thoughts, they start listing things that would actually be in the environment. Sometimes, they get through things that are actually in the environment, and then really weird things come up that add a whole new dimension to the scene. It's a blast, it's a great exercise in brainstorming and creating space and it's also a great exercise in adding layers.

~

I think that's it for this session. I had a blast (I'm not certain my voice had a blast, but he works for me, so I'm calling the shots). I'm hoping you all did as well.

Your homework for the weekend:
1) Reflect! Somebody posted a reflective comment on one of the other posts I made, and it was wonderful to read! (Thanks, Sparklingtree!) If you want to post your reflection, I will read it and give you feedback.
2) Find Improv videos and watch 'em. Might I suggest the search terms 'harold improv' and 'longform improv'?
3) Say hello to fellow improvisers and ask them how it's going. Use names. If you see me, say hello! If I don't remember your name immediately, then please forgive me. Although I'm good with names, it's trying to learn 50 new names in a week.
4) Forget the Gilligan's Island thing. That was some idea I had that isn't very funny. Improv doesn't work when you go for the jokes. I went for the joke, and I definitely didn't feel the response I was hoping for. And that's totally cool. I should have known better. My apologies.

Thanks again, gang. I look forward to seeing you all on Monday!

Cheers,

Cliff