Robert Bateman Improv Team - November 14th, 2011

Hey gang

Hope you're all profiting gloriously in your lives. Apologies for not posting about last week. Here's what we did last week. (I think.)

Status

Last week's practice involved a lot of status interactions. We played with the Pecking Order, and got into some rounds of 'Taking the Hat'. In general, these exercises were used to allow everyone to experience feelings of high and low status. For 'Taking the Hat', remember to throw hats at each other's feet. The game isn't about watching improvisers scramble across the room to get hats. The hats merely provide some physical reminders of status and pecking order offences. Ya dig?

Now, here's what we did today.

Association Circle 

Today, we began things with a simple Association Circle. We begin with a word, and travel around the circle associating each word with a new word, until we naturally reach the first word again. It's a simple exercise that places a focus on acceptance. What's interesting is that you can select a word that is completely obvious to you, but will seem wildly original to someone else. This game speaks well to the notion of being obvious. In improv, try to stay with the obvious choice. Things look silly and uninteresting when everyone is trying to be witty and clever. Immediately, you may think 'If I'm making the obvious choice, won't that make me uninteresting?' Not so! As I said earlier, what's obvious to you isn't obvious to everyone. Be yourself and make the choices that are obvious to you, and the audience will be thrilled. Trying to be original and witty by saying what you think the audience wants to hear isn't a great strategy. You may get a cheap laugh from a few people, but they'll leave feeling disconnected from you as a performer.

The catch, however, is that by making the obvious choices, you'll reveal who you are as a person. That's certainly an intimidating prospect. (Though, really, improv is at its best when you feel a connection to the performers.)

Theatresports

Theatresports is a style of Improv performance developed by Keith Johnstone. It's a form of competitive Improv, though everybody involved is on the same team. Improvisers are split into two teams, with three improvisers being selected as the Judges. There is also a Referee (Initially, this role will be played by me) who keeps everything moving and serves as a connection between the improvisers and the Judges.

Teams take turns challenging each other to games or scenes involving particular aspects. For example, a scene involving the audience, or a scene involving words, or a scene involving numbers, or a scene involving love/hate/other emotions, etc. Challenges can be specific, or weird or whatever. Always accept the challenge, even if it's a little weird. The audience wants to see something happen. That something is happening tends to be more important than what is happening. (And, no, 'denying challenges' doesn't count as something happening.)

After scenes are performed, the Judges award points, and teams boo or applaud in response. After two or three challenges are issued, the Judges declare a winner, and everyone celebrates. (Everyone wins because everyone plays together.) The next time a Theatresports game happens, different people may be on different teams, and there may be different Judges. Everyone will have a chance to play in different roles, and everyone will have a good time.

In the weeks to come, we'll brainstorm types of challenges and practice games that can be used to play these challenges. We'll get a nice, hefty list going, and then we can start performing for the Friday group, and then ultimately the general school population. Boom.

Great practice today, gang!

Cheers,

Cliff