Hey gang
Here are the notes I took during the Orchard Park teaser workshop. I will do my best to write eloquently!
- Definitely bring people forward. As a result of there being less distance between you and your audience, they'll feel more engaged, and they'll have a better time. You'll have a better time. Improv is a warm-and-fuzzy, up-close sort of thing.
- Trent's Moo activity was enjoyable. I'm certain it would become decreasingly effective as the average age of people in the audience increases, but it worked well for this group. Watch your time, though. Try not to go for too long.
- Try to avoid being negative about your audience having never played Bus Stop. With regards to art forms, Improv is still pretty new. As a result, lots of people have no idea what goes into an Improv performance. Instead of saying "Oh, I can't believe you've never played Bus Stop!", say "You've never played Bus Stop! Oh, you're in for a real treat then." It'll get the audience enthused about playing, even though they're not entirely certain what they'll be playing.
- Aia, you reassured the audience nicely, telling them it's okay to take risks and whatnot. I think we should implement, as Mr Disyak mentioned, a brief overview of certain expectations for Improv (including, though not limited to, saying 'Yes', being enthusiastic, etc). Hopefully, we can run an overview like that will get students enthused without getting them into their heads. We'll have to keep it simple and straightforward.
- Elizabeth, try doing a different character. Not to say she isn't wonderful, but we've seen Margaret a few times now. Challenge yourself! If you're stuck for a character for whatever reason, mirror your scene partner. Take their character and do it better than they are. We're going to work on that for a bit this afternoon.
- Brandon, you did a shy, nervous character during Bus Stop. He was a lot of fun to watch. If your deal was 'Being nervous and giddy', then you nailed it.
- Kicking down doors is the foundation of good Improv.
- Let's try to avoid Bieber references. Brandon is becoming a better improviser each day. I would hate for his Improv career to be forever instantly associated with Justin Bieber. On the other hand, try saying that someone else looks like Justin Bieber. Perhaps Graeme?
- Go and get your volunteers! When you're developing your set list, note how many audience members you'll need for each game. Then you can send some people out to pick people to participate. Brandon and Callum, you did an excellent job of simply walking up to people and offering your hand. That was classy. Erin and Aia, I recall you following suit, which was similarly classy.
- I loved that you all repeated your volunteer's names. That was excellent. Extremely classy.
- During Bus Stop, if your volunteers are apprehensive, just 'That's so true' them. The audience will be entertained just for the sheer novelty of seeing their students on stage.
- Callum, you played one of my favourite games, which is to ask "Wait, do you mean Definition 1 or Definition 2?" Very funny.
- Sahaj, you started to make a game out of the word Swell, which was good, though I think you may have hammered it in a little too much too early. Try peppering games like these into scenes throughout your performance. This game reminds me of Karin's 'The Walmart' game from the Alexander's teaser workshop. They're both interesting little tidbits of extra information you can add to your scenes that give them an extra layer of quality. Does that make sense? Maybe it doesn't.
- Elizabeth, if you're lisping, keep your lisp up. Don't abandon the lisp - If it's your deal, then you can only do it bigger and harder.
- Brandon, your deal of being happy was excellent. No matter what your scene partner did, it made you happier and more excited. It was fantastic to watch.
- Trent, good on you for encouraging everyone to give another round of applause to the volunteers. Very classy.
- When you're illustrating an example of 'what not to do', always use hypothetical examples. You'll keep the audience from feeling like they've done something wrong, when really, they haven't. They may have done something that is often ill-advised, but as you know, there are very few, if any, hard-and-fast rules for Improvisation. This example reminds me of an art project I was doing in Grade 4. We had to make drawings of flowers, and one of the EAs in my classroom held up my drawing as an example of 'what not do to.' She announced it to the entire class! Honestly, what kind of a person does that? Who the hell tells a child that their drawing is wrong? Apparently, the experience stuck with me, as it's many years later and I still vividly remember it. What a terrible, inconsiderate woman. Anyway, yeah. Don't do that.
- Try to get your volunteers and then explain the game that you'll be playing. Volunteers will go with you if you ask them to, and more often than not they'll be genuinely delighted when they find out what they'll be doing.
- For Helping Hands, try to only have 2 or 3 groups on stage at once. Otherwise, it looks sloppy and confusing.
- Stop asking for Non-geographical locations from the audience. Have them remember things rather than create things. Plus, I'm certain that a good percentage, if not a majority percentage of the class had no idea what a non-geographical location is.
- Keep an eye on students who haven't participated yet and try to incorporate them into games, or try to interact with them in some way.
- Sawing wood is always hilarious.
- Avoid the guys/girls rift. Seriously, Improv is a cooperative effort between many people. Students shouldn't leave the workshop feeling as though one gender is superior to another in Improv. We all know that isn't true.
~
There you have it. Bonus points to Brandon, who appears to be a star player, based on what I've written.
Great stuff gang! See you in...thirty minutes!
Cheers,
Cliff
Monday, January 17, 2011
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Robert Bateman Improv Team - Notes and Thoughts
Hey gang
I figured it would be beneficial to post the notes I made from your teaser at Alexander's. So, here's what I thought of.
- Keep the energy up in Sweep. Remember your active stances. Seriously, go into it like you're getting off the bench at a basketball game.
- Don't worry about establishing your connection to the theme right away. Take some time to establish your Deal, you object/emotion/visceral. Once your scene partner and everybody else knows your deal (for example, you're the guy that's going to saw in response to everything, or you're the girl who is going to become happier in response to everything), then we can see them in different situations (which again relate to the theme). We can see happy girl in a whole bunch of different scenes. It'll be easy for everyone playing, as they'll know that no matter what happens, happy girl will only become happier. When the game has played itself out (i.e. you've died, are in jail or have gone to the moon), sweep.
- Just ask for a colour next time. The concept of 'theme' seemed to elude everybody.
- Pick people to participate before explaining the game. Just walk out to someone and ask 'Could you help me out on stage for this next game?' Then explain everything. People will be less likely to turn you down, and you'll have more interesting/genuine performances on stage.
- Play games with audience involvement first. Get them up and engaged. Perhaps keep Sweep for the end, if at all. You'll forge a better connection with everyone. I'm reminded of the ol' improv adage, "show, don't tell". So, show them!
- Get closer to the audience. If you're uncertain of yourself, you'll naturally retreat upstage. Don't do that. Keep the power.
- To reiterate, don't worry about making the connection right away in Sweep. Get your Deals established, and then make the connection. Everyone will think you're brilliant. AND YOU WILL BE BRILLIANT.
- Don't ask everyone if they want an example. Always give them an example. Just jump right into it.
- For Bus Stop, make sure that you have Bateman people interspersed between other people. It will get the students out of their heads, since they know they'll be on stage with someone experienced.
- For Bus Stop, watch yourselves in scenes to ensure that you're not dragging things out. If the energy starts to wane, edit yourselves. Get out of the scene and let someone else try. More than likely the energy died because you didn't establish your deal well enough, or play it hard enough.
- Allow your scene partners to play their deal. Don't drop yours to focus on theirs, but don't force your own ideas regardless of theirs. Marry your contributions and you'll find yourself in a completely new (and much more interesting) scene. Did that make sense? How couldn't it have, I explained it so clearly.
- Instead of saying "We need 6 people", just go get 6 people. There's 6 of you on stage anyway. Easy enough.
- Play with your scene partners. Mess them up playfully! Show the audience that you're familiar with your material and each other. If your scene partner is making fun of your (playfully), then let them. Roll with the punches. This moment is a great opportunity to show the audience how charming you are.
- Physical disincentives for repeating prop scenes? I'm not so certain I like that. Try implementing referees who will keep an eye out for repeats. Don't punish people, just call them on their error and move on. If you're doling out a physical punishment for certain actions, you'll just get everyone in their head trying to avoid those actions.
- Have the students get into the game of props earlier on. I really liked when you swapped yourselves out for other students. Eventually, you'll have a stage filled with students who are all playing and enjoying the game together. You can side-coach, but the focus should be on the students.
- If you find a game in a scene, or a joke that you'd like to keep playing, play it! The audience will revel in delight upon hearing a joke brought up again. If you're the person who always adds the definite article in front of nouns (e.g. 'The Walmart' or 'The Muffin'), then do that a few more times. You can't play a game like this indefinitely. Try bringing it up no more than three times.
- Campfires will likely only be funny to Bateman people. That doesn't mean you shouldn't do it, just recognize that we'll be laughing at it, while no one else will have any idea why. Same for sawing wood in a scene while saying "Just sawing some wood."
- Keep an eye on the time for props. Perhaps a maximum of 7 minutes? Play more rounds with different people, rather than one long round with the same people.
Really, really good teaser, gang. You set 'em up on Monday and knocked 'em down on Wednesday. I have no doubt that you'll do it again on Friday with Orchard Park.
Also, on Friday, I would like to have you try playing Sweep in front of the rest of the Bateman team. I'll set it up like C.I.G would, and you can try it once or twice. It'll be good practice and good exposure.
Great stuff, gang!
Cheers,
Cliff
I figured it would be beneficial to post the notes I made from your teaser at Alexander's. So, here's what I thought of.
- Keep the energy up in Sweep. Remember your active stances. Seriously, go into it like you're getting off the bench at a basketball game.
- Don't worry about establishing your connection to the theme right away. Take some time to establish your Deal, you object/emotion/visceral. Once your scene partner and everybody else knows your deal (for example, you're the guy that's going to saw in response to everything, or you're the girl who is going to become happier in response to everything), then we can see them in different situations (which again relate to the theme). We can see happy girl in a whole bunch of different scenes. It'll be easy for everyone playing, as they'll know that no matter what happens, happy girl will only become happier. When the game has played itself out (i.e. you've died, are in jail or have gone to the moon), sweep.
- Just ask for a colour next time. The concept of 'theme' seemed to elude everybody.
- Pick people to participate before explaining the game. Just walk out to someone and ask 'Could you help me out on stage for this next game?' Then explain everything. People will be less likely to turn you down, and you'll have more interesting/genuine performances on stage.
- Play games with audience involvement first. Get them up and engaged. Perhaps keep Sweep for the end, if at all. You'll forge a better connection with everyone. I'm reminded of the ol' improv adage, "show, don't tell". So, show them!
- Get closer to the audience. If you're uncertain of yourself, you'll naturally retreat upstage. Don't do that. Keep the power.
- To reiterate, don't worry about making the connection right away in Sweep. Get your Deals established, and then make the connection. Everyone will think you're brilliant. AND YOU WILL BE BRILLIANT.
- Don't ask everyone if they want an example. Always give them an example. Just jump right into it.
- For Bus Stop, make sure that you have Bateman people interspersed between other people. It will get the students out of their heads, since they know they'll be on stage with someone experienced.
- For Bus Stop, watch yourselves in scenes to ensure that you're not dragging things out. If the energy starts to wane, edit yourselves. Get out of the scene and let someone else try. More than likely the energy died because you didn't establish your deal well enough, or play it hard enough.
- Allow your scene partners to play their deal. Don't drop yours to focus on theirs, but don't force your own ideas regardless of theirs. Marry your contributions and you'll find yourself in a completely new (and much more interesting) scene. Did that make sense? How couldn't it have, I explained it so clearly.
- Instead of saying "We need 6 people", just go get 6 people. There's 6 of you on stage anyway. Easy enough.
- Play with your scene partners. Mess them up playfully! Show the audience that you're familiar with your material and each other. If your scene partner is making fun of your (playfully), then let them. Roll with the punches. This moment is a great opportunity to show the audience how charming you are.
- Physical disincentives for repeating prop scenes? I'm not so certain I like that. Try implementing referees who will keep an eye out for repeats. Don't punish people, just call them on their error and move on. If you're doling out a physical punishment for certain actions, you'll just get everyone in their head trying to avoid those actions.
- Have the students get into the game of props earlier on. I really liked when you swapped yourselves out for other students. Eventually, you'll have a stage filled with students who are all playing and enjoying the game together. You can side-coach, but the focus should be on the students.
- If you find a game in a scene, or a joke that you'd like to keep playing, play it! The audience will revel in delight upon hearing a joke brought up again. If you're the person who always adds the definite article in front of nouns (e.g. 'The Walmart' or 'The Muffin'), then do that a few more times. You can't play a game like this indefinitely. Try bringing it up no more than three times.
- Campfires will likely only be funny to Bateman people. That doesn't mean you shouldn't do it, just recognize that we'll be laughing at it, while no one else will have any idea why. Same for sawing wood in a scene while saying "Just sawing some wood."
- Keep an eye on the time for props. Perhaps a maximum of 7 minutes? Play more rounds with different people, rather than one long round with the same people.
Really, really good teaser, gang. You set 'em up on Monday and knocked 'em down on Wednesday. I have no doubt that you'll do it again on Friday with Orchard Park.
Also, on Friday, I would like to have you try playing Sweep in front of the rest of the Bateman team. I'll set it up like C.I.G would, and you can try it once or twice. It'll be good practice and good exposure.
Great stuff, gang!
Cheers,
Cliff
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