Hey Blakelock gang
Thanks for inviting me to join you this afternoon. I had a great time. You're all a swell bunch of improvisers. Here's a summary of what we did, and a few tips for each exercise:
Clap Focus
Everyone stands in a circle. You point and clap at the person you want to send the energy to. Simple enough!
Tips:
- Make eye contact!
- Be direct with your points and claps
Circuits
Everyone raises an arm. One by one, each person points at someone else, saying an item under a certain category. This afternoon, we did a 'Countries of the World' circuit, an 'Actors' circuit, and a 'Things you can eat' circuit. When the circuits are established, we mask them all together, and we try to keep them all going at the same time. It gets crazy!
Tips:
- Make eye contact!
- If someone doesn't hear your offer, keep saying it until they recognize it.
- Acknowledge that you have received an offer with a quick nod, or some kind of physical acceptance. (Lots of people make big excited eyes.)
Boom Sha Lack Lack
Everyone loves a good improvised rap. Everyone sings the refrain, and we go around the circle, rhyming with the last word of each lines. For example, "Boom Sha Lack Lack Boom! I walked outside, and sat on the lawn! Boom Sha Lack Lack Boom! I got tired so I started to yawn!" Keep it going until you run out of rhymes, and then start a new one.
Tips:
- Be loud and be proud!
- Try to think of a bunch of rhymes ahead of time, in case your choice is pilfered. I go down the alphabet in my head. For 'At' rhymes, I'll think "At, Bat, Brat, Cat, Drat, Ex-pat, Frat, Fat, Flat" etc.
Zulu
Several improvisers stand in a row on the stage. They are given a category, and they must say things in that category until someone repeats an idea, or they hesitate. We played a version today in which screw-ups mean you get to die in a fantastic fashion.
Tips:
- If you screw up, screw up spectacularly! Admit your defeat, and wish those remaining the best of luck.
Rant
You all played this game beautifully. Everyone has a chance to talk about a certain subject. Normally it's a good idea to pick lighthearted subjects. Certainly you could talk about heavier subjects, but leave that choice until you're more experienced improvisers.
Tips:
- Whatever you begin talking about, that's your 'deal'. When it's your turn to talk again, keep on the same deal you established. If you begin by talking about your obsession with cats, keep talking about that subject when the focus comes back to you. Makes things consistent for the audience, and it makes you look bloody brilliant!
- The first few times you play this game, pick a character that is close to yourself. When you get more experienced, feel free to make big choices with your characters and opinions.
Yes And
The fundamental idea of improv is 'Yes, And'. You say 'Yes' to an idea, and then you add a little information to the scene. Pretty straightforward, and it makes for exceptional improv. We played a few simple scenes in which every person had to say 'Yes, and' at the beginning of each sentence. As you all saw, it got pretty crazy. Wasn't it exciting, too, though?
Tips:
- Sometimes you may hesitate, because the scene may be taking you in a bit of a weird, or unanticipated direction. That's okay! Let the scene go where it wants! It's a collaborative thing, and it's beautiful.
Who, What, Where
We did a couple of exercises that focus on the Who, the What and the Where of the scene. These elements are collectively called the 'platform'. If you have a strong, well-established platform, you can get a better, longer lasting scene. If you ever feel as though your scene is falling flat, it may be as a result of a poorly defined platform. Take a second, and see if you can think about your Who, your What, and your Where.
Tips:
- Try to get your platform established in the first few lines of your scene. If you do it early, you have more time to explore what can happen on your platform!
- Don't feel as though you need to personally get each part of the platform out. Remember, improv is collaborative! Your scene partner can add something. If you come out guns a-blazin' and say everything in the first line, that's fine, but it's what we call a 'Heavy offer'. Heavy offers are okay, but they can prevent truly collaborative improv from happening.
Other general tips
Mime a gun and a phone properly, as if you were actually holding them. Don't do those silly finger-based placeholders. If you can add 'ON THIS MOON BASE' to the end of your 'Where' establishing statement, you probably haven't defined your Where well enough. Avoid making cancer jokes.
Thanks again for having me! Post a comment if you have a question.
Cheers,
Cliff
Friday, December 6, 2013
Friday, October 4, 2013
Holy Trinity Improv - October 3rd
Hey gang
Here is a summary of the things we did yesterday afternoon.
Clap Focus
A lot of improv practices begin with a few rounds of Clap Focus. It's an easy enough game for everyone to get into, and it brings up everyone's focus pretty nicely. You make eye contact with someone, and then you clap in that person's direction. They then clap in another person's direction, and so on. The important thing to remember about this game is the eye contact. Make sure that you are listening and looking at everyone in the circle. The game moves fast; clapping could come from any direction. Be directed with your decisions, and confidently send the energy around the circle.
In this game, clapping is an offer. In improv, an offer is any idea or suggestion made that can add to or advance the scene. You need to be paying close attention while performing improv, as offers are made continuously, and with varying degrees of subtlety.
Yes Circle
To be honest, I don't really know what to call this game. 'Yes Circle' will work just as well as any other title, I suppose. During this game, an improviser will start by pointing at someone else. The person being pointed to has to say 'Yes', at which time the person pointing will begin to walk across the circle to their position. The person who just said 'Yes' must now point at a new person, getting permission before being allowed to move across the circle.
It's a simple enough game, though it can get a bit messy. It's important to remember not to move until you have been given permission to move. You need to know that your scene partners have noticed your offer of movement, and that they are agreeing to proceed. Again, it's a metaphor for improv in general. Make sure your offers are being heard!
This game gets trickier when you aren't allowed to speak. Offers aren't always verbal, so keep your ears and eyes open!
Coon-Jah
Ah, how do I explain this game? What a wacky time. Everyone pats their legs and chants 'Coon-Jah, Coon-Jah, Coon-Jah'. One person begins by moving their hands in front of their face and saying 'Bunny Bunny', and then directing their hands to another person and saying 'Bunny Bunny' again. The person who receives the energy also says 'Bunny Bunny, Bunny Bunny', and keeps sending the energy around the circle. It gets more confusing when the people beside 'Bunny Bunny' are asked to dance and yell 'Toki Toki, Toki Toki'. It gets wild.
How do we relate this game to improv in general? In scenes, lots of offers are being thrown around continually. You have to pay attention to lots of different things at the same time, which can be overwhelming initially, but you'll all become more accustomed to paying attention to as much as you can. So, this game helps practice listening, acceptance, and generally being silly.
Association Circles
One person says a word. The next person says the first thing that comes to mind when they hear that word. The third person says the first thing that comes to mind when they hear the second person's word. And so on.
The important thing to remember about this game is that every responses is absolutely, 100% correct. No matter what comes to mind when you're free associating, you are correct! The only way to be incorrect is to avoid saying anything at all. When you are playing this game, be grateful when people give responses. Don't think (or say!) 'Ugh, what a bad word. I'm much more clever.' Every answer is the correct one! It's a liberating philosophy, wouldn't you agree?
Yes, And
In improv, the biggest concept we reference is 'Yes, And'. We say 'Yes' to an idea, and then we add a little bit. You don't need to add a wealth of information, just a little bit will advance the scene and add more to the reality of the world you're creating. Try running scenes in which every line has to begin with the words 'Yes, And'. Take this example:
1: I am going to pick strawberries.
2: Yes, and I would like to come with you!
1: Yes, and I would love to invite you!
2: Yes, and we can tell our friends we went on a date!
1: Yes, and I can tell my friends I went out with the prettiest girl in the school!
And so on. You can honestly go in any direction with your scenes, as long as you're accepting offers by saying 'Yes', and you're adding just a little bit. In the example, I went from picking strawberries to going on a date with someone in five lines simply by saying 'Yes'. Granted, I could have taken the scene in a complete different route, but this is what happened here. There you have it!
In summary:
- Pay attention to your scene partners
- Make eye contact
- Say 'Yes' to the offers that are made
- Try to add just a little bit to the scene you're in
Next time, we'll talk more about the concept of the Platform, which will help you to create more realistic scenes with many more options to draw creativity from.
Cheers,
Cliff
Here is a summary of the things we did yesterday afternoon.
Clap Focus
A lot of improv practices begin with a few rounds of Clap Focus. It's an easy enough game for everyone to get into, and it brings up everyone's focus pretty nicely. You make eye contact with someone, and then you clap in that person's direction. They then clap in another person's direction, and so on. The important thing to remember about this game is the eye contact. Make sure that you are listening and looking at everyone in the circle. The game moves fast; clapping could come from any direction. Be directed with your decisions, and confidently send the energy around the circle.
In this game, clapping is an offer. In improv, an offer is any idea or suggestion made that can add to or advance the scene. You need to be paying close attention while performing improv, as offers are made continuously, and with varying degrees of subtlety.
Yes Circle
To be honest, I don't really know what to call this game. 'Yes Circle' will work just as well as any other title, I suppose. During this game, an improviser will start by pointing at someone else. The person being pointed to has to say 'Yes', at which time the person pointing will begin to walk across the circle to their position. The person who just said 'Yes' must now point at a new person, getting permission before being allowed to move across the circle.
It's a simple enough game, though it can get a bit messy. It's important to remember not to move until you have been given permission to move. You need to know that your scene partners have noticed your offer of movement, and that they are agreeing to proceed. Again, it's a metaphor for improv in general. Make sure your offers are being heard!
This game gets trickier when you aren't allowed to speak. Offers aren't always verbal, so keep your ears and eyes open!
Coon-Jah
Ah, how do I explain this game? What a wacky time. Everyone pats their legs and chants 'Coon-Jah, Coon-Jah, Coon-Jah'. One person begins by moving their hands in front of their face and saying 'Bunny Bunny', and then directing their hands to another person and saying 'Bunny Bunny' again. The person who receives the energy also says 'Bunny Bunny, Bunny Bunny', and keeps sending the energy around the circle. It gets more confusing when the people beside 'Bunny Bunny' are asked to dance and yell 'Toki Toki, Toki Toki'. It gets wild.
How do we relate this game to improv in general? In scenes, lots of offers are being thrown around continually. You have to pay attention to lots of different things at the same time, which can be overwhelming initially, but you'll all become more accustomed to paying attention to as much as you can. So, this game helps practice listening, acceptance, and generally being silly.
Association Circles
One person says a word. The next person says the first thing that comes to mind when they hear that word. The third person says the first thing that comes to mind when they hear the second person's word. And so on.
The important thing to remember about this game is that every responses is absolutely, 100% correct. No matter what comes to mind when you're free associating, you are correct! The only way to be incorrect is to avoid saying anything at all. When you are playing this game, be grateful when people give responses. Don't think (or say!) 'Ugh, what a bad word. I'm much more clever.' Every answer is the correct one! It's a liberating philosophy, wouldn't you agree?
Yes, And
In improv, the biggest concept we reference is 'Yes, And'. We say 'Yes' to an idea, and then we add a little bit. You don't need to add a wealth of information, just a little bit will advance the scene and add more to the reality of the world you're creating. Try running scenes in which every line has to begin with the words 'Yes, And'. Take this example:
1: I am going to pick strawberries.
2: Yes, and I would like to come with you!
1: Yes, and I would love to invite you!
2: Yes, and we can tell our friends we went on a date!
1: Yes, and I can tell my friends I went out with the prettiest girl in the school!
And so on. You can honestly go in any direction with your scenes, as long as you're accepting offers by saying 'Yes', and you're adding just a little bit. In the example, I went from picking strawberries to going on a date with someone in five lines simply by saying 'Yes'. Granted, I could have taken the scene in a complete different route, but this is what happened here. There you have it!
In summary:
- Pay attention to your scene partners
- Make eye contact
- Say 'Yes' to the offers that are made
- Try to add just a little bit to the scene you're in
Next time, we'll talk more about the concept of the Platform, which will help you to create more realistic scenes with many more options to draw creativity from.
Cheers,
Cliff
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