Robert Bateman Improv Team - Friday, February 18th

Hey gang

Here's a quick summary of some of the things we tried on Friday. Essentially, I wanted to provide you with a few strategies for group scenes that will make them more successful. (In this case, group scenes involve more than two people.)

In general, it is best to keep the idea of 'dynamics' in mind when thinking about group scenes. For our purposes, the term 'dynamics' will refer to the interactions happening between two people, groups, or ideas. In a two-person scene, there is only one dynamic to follow: the dynamic between the two people on stage. Even if person one shouts 'I am eating papayas!' and person two begins to mime assembling a model airplane, there is only one dynamic to follow (however weird this example may be). The audience can follow along no matter what you throw at them. (Remember, in the situation with papayas and airplanes, it's far more important that you do something than what you do).

In a group scene, there are naturally more dynamics to follow as there are simply more people on stage. In this situation, though, which dynamic does the audience follow? More than likely, one improviser will either become dominant, controlling the entire progression of the scene, or be ignored entirely. This trend occurs because there are too many dynamics present. Basically, there's too much going on. Improvisers will become confused and worse yet, the audience will become confused. Recall the example I gave during practice: Who are you going to pay attention to? The dynamic between the strawberry picker and the prisoner, the dragon and the barbeque dad, the barbeque dad and the strawberry picker? In any of those situations, something will be lost. So, what do you do?

You can mirror each other!

Mirroring, as you recall, refers to the act of becoming the exact same character as somebody else. You take on their physical traits, their voice, their actions and their perspective. It is important to try to mimic everything that the other person does. The minute you do something that differentiates your character from theirs, you've stopped mirroring and you've create a schism that the audience will detect.

When you are mirroring, if somebody says a line, you say that line back heightened a little bit. If one of you says 'It's a beautiful day today', then the other person could say 'This is the most gorgeous day I've seen all week'. Strangely enough, even though you're basically saying the exact same thing, the very fact that you have heightened it a touch makes the audience think things are moving forward.

Bear in mind that while mirroring, you will have to add things to the conversation as well. You can't merely wait for the first person to say and do everything. It will make you all look like much better improvisers if you can give and take freely. Take turns leading and following. If one of you begins a train of thought, then let somebody else begin a train of thought.

"Why does this technique work?" You may be thinking. "Isn't there still a new dynamic to follow for each additional character on stage?" I'm glad you asked that question, hypothetical other person! There certainly is a new dynamic between a new character and each character on stage, but if they're mirroring, then it's the same dynamic! Instead of having to watch the dynamic between the prisoner and the barbeque dad, the dragon and the strawberry picker, the prisoner and the dragon, etc, you're watching the dynamic between the waiter and the waiter, the waiter and the waiter, the waiter and the waiter, and so on. It's easier to follow because the audience understands exactly what is going on.

Furthermore, (and this is pretty dang cool) you can show how good of an improviser you are by creating the same character four times over. Could you imagine? A whole stage of unique people, doing the same brilliant character? All the agreement and heightening would be a joy to watch. You'll know exactly what you're doing ("I'm just copying what the first person did, and adding a little to each line they're saying") and the audience will think that you're brilliant.

Alliances

Four people sit around a table. The lights go down, they laugh comfortably, and the lights go up. The first three people to speak have an 'alliance' (they will mirror each other throughout the scene). The final person to speak gets to be the wildcard. They don't have to mirror, and they can basically say what they want, though in general it will likely work if they say something different than the people with the alliance.

This type of mirroring exercise works on the same principles as the scenes in which everybody mirrors each other. There is still only one dynamic to follow. (In this case, it is alliance and wildcard, alliance and wildcard, alliance and wildcard). I could see there being another dynamic between the members of the alliance, but if everybody in the alliance is mirroring each other, then there shouldn't be a new dynamic there.

Summary

If you're uncertain what to do in a scene, try mirroring the other person. That action will create the game of the scene for you. If you mirror and heighten, mirror and heighten, the audience will be delighted. If you find yourself in a group scene, mirror one of the other players. It will make your groups scenes much more cohesive and far more entertaining for the audience. You'll look mad professional, too. What a better way to show your support for your teammates than by saying "That character is so awesome that I'm going to do it too. I am going to heighten it with you and make it even more awesome."

Keep up the great stuff, gang!

Cheers,

Cliff