Blakelock Improv - December 6th, 2013

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