Wednesday 23 April 2014

Expectations


I have recently been focusing on the concept of “expectations” when I am hosting a show. There are certain expectations I try to be aware of during each performance. “Lowered expectations”, for example, is when we set up the idea of failure so that the payoff is greater when we succeed. If we were to start a scene or game by claiming that “this will be the best game you have ever seen”, it will never live up to its potential or expectation. Keith Johnstone talks about lowered expectations in workshops. He often tells students they are about to do a really hard exercise that they should expect to fail at, and the result is that they then are able to just experience the exercise rather than worry about the outcome. This idea was taught to me a long time ago, but is starting to play more of a role while I am hosting or playing in a show. I also think it goes way beyond just setting each game up to give it the best chance to succeed. I believe I practiced this subconsciously, but have now started to actually focus on expectation and give it more weight.

There is a certain amount of expectation that an audience will enter a show with. Some audience members have never seen improv and others are improv connoisseurs, so we should be aware that they all come into the venue with some sort of expectation or pre-existing idea of what it is they will experience. I am still getting responses from hesitant audience members that they have a fear they will get pulled up on stage and forced to look stupid. Whether you do that in your show or not, you should set up what you will be doing during the show right off the top so that they can either breathe easy or sit in anticipation of being volunteered. (We do not usually involve audience beyond giving suggestions or stories at our space unless it is a private event). This can all be done with a good introduction to the format or show delivered to the audience by the host. We strive to get the audience’s energy to be relaxed and excited at the start of each of our shows. Once the show is explained and set up, we can move on to the next few steps.

Expectation and marketing are closely related; audience members will be disappointed by shows that are marketed as something they are not. For instance, I remember being incredibly excited to see a show a few years back that was advertised as: “The most hardcore improv group you have ever seen. We commit so hard it could kill us!” Unfortunately, it was just like any other improv show and did not deliver what it had promised. Promoting a show as it actually is will help set up a good audience expectation. Let them know what they are about to see and be clear. I am still learning the best way to market an improv show so it reaches the most people and looks appealing, and this constantly changes with trends and developing social media. However, the point remains that an audience will respond positively to a show that meets the expectation set by your marketing campaign, and then more intimately by the host/set up of the show.

Once you have your audience’s attention and the show is on its way, there are all kinds of ways to play with expectations. Something I have been doing recently is setting up a certain improviser to succeed as the show goes on. I read their dynamic and their energy to play with them so that at some point they can have their big moment. I tease them a little and give them a harder time so that as the host I look like the bad guy. Subsequently, the audience decides that they are the underdog and feel a personal connection with the performer and ultimately crave the payoff of the underdog blowing the show out of the water in the end. I have spoken with my improvisers about this concept, and they are aware that the razzing has a purpose for the show dynamic. This is a layer of expectation on top of the overall show that takes practice and hyper-awareness of audience expectation and the players’ energy. As a host I have also experimented with having the audience cheer and give me applause when I “mess up” or fumble over my words. This sets a great tone for the show as well as the audience realizes not only that the show is truly improvised, but that all the performers including the host are human and, therefore, relatable. By encouraging the audience to applaud “failure” as well as “success”, you are setting the precedent that both are positive and enjoyable and shattering the assumption that there is a “right” and “wrong” way to perform the show.

A show format we did recently took the concept of applauding or positively accepting failure to another level. The improvisers were partnered up randomly and asked personal questions about each other. At the start of the show, I asked each pair how well they thought they knew each other. This set up the expectation that the group that knew each other the most should win. At almost every show, the pair that seemed to know each other the least was actually the team that came out on top. This was very rewarding for the audience because the underdog story played out for the whole show. The audience really supported the team that had the biggest obstacles to climb.

Let me define some terms for a moment; when I refer to “winning” or “losing” a show, it is not the classic definition that we use in everyday conversation. If a show is set up like a competition then yes, someone is technically winning and losing, but this does not mean that one performer was necessarily “better” than the others. Even in a show that is not set up as a competition, the audience will undoubtedly cheer on a specific player because some improvisers will naturally exude an energy that makes the audience want them to win. On the other side of the coin, other improvisers make amazing antagonists that the audience would love to see “lose” to the favored player.

I think every improviser should be setting themselves up for success in each show they are involved in. This means exploring the roles of the “winner” and the “loser”. If you play the “heel” well—to use a wrestling analogy—then play that so someone else can play “face”. Both of these types of improvisers “win” in the end if the audience’s expectations and hopes for the show are fulfilled. This all needs to be in a healthy environment but can be a fun exploration of how you perform and are viewed by an audience; once you become more aware of the roles you naturally fall into, it can be a great deal of fun to learn to play the opposite role successfully.  A host should try to be aware of whose side the audience is on and help build that dynamic throughout the show. The audience may even be routing for the host to “win” the show, which is another fun dynamic to develop.

People laugh when they are surprised in a show, and expectations can be a great way to set up surprises for an audience. Through use of effective marketing, hosting, and playing, expectation becomes a diverse and ever-changing way to create quality shows to which your audience can’t help but feel personally connected.

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