Sometimes you just
gotta let go! This can be one of the hardest things to do when starting out
with improv. There has to be so many things in place before someone can just
let go and drop all their masks and take down their walls. It takes time,
practice, a positive environment, and a willingness to work past where they
feel comfortable. I love seeing breakthrough moments when someone just lets go
of all the rules they create for themselves. When they allow themselves to play
and be free of the weight of the world. When they feel they know the “rules”
enough to just toss them to the wind and go for broke. This is a major moment
and should be rewarded with praise. In this moment you won’t see the best scene
work or even an actor in control but it is the letting go that is important.
This can also be said for those improvisers that are out of
control completely when they start. They should be rewarded when they are able
to maintain control in a scene for the first time and really using all the
skills they have learned. These are both equally great breakthroughs.
It takes team work to
do a solo scene. WHAT!?! Let me explain. Let’s say you are all on stage
performing a long or short form show. Someone steps on stage to start a scene.
What normally happens is within 3 seconds someone else comes on to join the
scene and offer “help”. Sometimes you’ll then get more entering to “help” the
scene. Before we know it we have a stage full of improvisers all making offers,
crowding the stage. It’s not just the improvisers on the sides that cause this.
Sometimes the person who starts the scene will call out of the scene for help
by asking where a character is or they give an air of self doubt that will
instantly make someone come in. Trust is a hard thing to build in a group.
We all want to be on stage playing and having fun. We are
also all very polite and want to help out. The thing is that in order for a
solo scene to happen we have to really look at a situation and decide what the
right choice is at that moment. We need to make an educated choice bigger than
just “Does this scene need me?” Sometimes the right choice and the way to help
are to stay out of a scene. Perhaps because the improviser on stage has it all
under control. Maybe the tech has great music playing acting as a second
improviser accompanying the scene. Or maybe the improviser that started the
scene just needs faith in themselves and would benefit from being left out
there to rock a solo scene. All of these choices could still possibly be the
wrong one but it takes a good improviser to look at a scene and see the whole
picture rather than just saying to themselves “Man I have a funny idea to add
to this!”
Anyone can attempt
improv. Can anyone be good at it? This is a big question with many
different opinions. I believe that anyone who has a willingness to work at
improv, take notes and challenge themselves can get up on stage and perform.
Will they be the best at it? Well they will be the best they can be if they
apply themselves. Perhaps to some they will not be a “great” improviser. This
judgment of skill and performance is an interesting topic as well. What makes a
“good” improviser……”good”?
I believe a good improviser is one that spends time working
at their craft. Commits to the work and doesn’t get bogged down by the
challenges they face. Also they help support a healthy group dynamic and
nurture others so they can learn and be pushed in a positive way.
I think it’s all about people’s perspective. Anyone can be
an improviser. How they gauge their success is up to them. As long as they are
happy with their accomplishments then that is all that counts. Is everyone
meant to be an improviser? No. Can anyone learn the work and perform if they
are willing? Yes. Should everyone let a little improv into their lives? Yes. Can
you set personal goals and strive for them? Absolutely. Don’t let others decide
if you are successful or not. That is for you to decide.
Spending time
together off stage creates great dynamic onstage. Keith Johnstone said this
during a workshop I attended. “If you have a problem with someone or something
they did, you talk to them about it at the pub.” I know personally I have made
choices for casting new improvisers after the audition based on conversation at
the pub. It’s like the audition is the first date and the pub is the second.
They are much more themselves when they don’t think they have eyes on them.
Also it allows me to see if I want to spend hours and hours with them. Do they
jive with the rest of the group? I’ll also ask more questions to gauge where
they are as performers and where they are in their life journey.
The work we do is very intimate and really can allow us to
be open and ourselves. Really let our guard down. I feel though that when you
are working together it is hard to really get to know each other fully.
Outside of workshop can be like when you attend a staff
party and see people for the first time with their regular day clothes on.
Everyone lets their hair down a little and is much more at ease. When we are
relaxed and at ease without fear of judgment we are much more ourselves. We
should hopefully be building relationships outside of just working ones. This
is such a social art form that it would be a shame to not take advantage of it.
I've also heard you should try and have other interests besides improv. I’ll
let you know how that goes.
To improvise you
should try being controlled, alert and positive. I believe that the state
of ready is where you should be as soon as the show starts. I do a lot of ball
exercises because as soon as you walk into a circle with one, the whole group
adjusts and gets ready in case the ball gets thrown to them. This is understood
before a word is spoken. This state of ready is what you should try and maintain
to the best of your ability during a show. I do not drink or do drugs before
shows because it seems to throw off my timing and I don’t like feeling altered
while on stage. Some performers need something like a drink or other influences
to feel ready. I say to each their own on that front.
The other thing is that you should try to come into the
theatre with a clear head free of the stresses of the day. Outside influences
can easily affect a show in a negative way. You will be a much more useful member
to the team if you are in a positive state and ready to play. There are always
uncontrollable factors that can mess up your mood but we need to learn to do
our best and leave it at the door or in the green room.
Lastly being in control of yourself is very important. An
actor out of control is so dangerous to other performers. I have been hit
multiple times by out of control improvisers. This can be caused by nerves and
anxiety in newer performers. We try to have a good warm up and group connection
before each show so that we are all in the same energy walking on stage. This
can’t always be done so I usually recommend improvisers come ready or find ways
in their lives to prepare before even getting to the theatre. Everyone will
need something a little different.
Keep it simple.
We sometimes have smaller crowds at our theatre. The last thing they want is to
be punched in the face with energy and a crazy dragon scene that makes no
sense. Keep it simple and focus on the audience’s energy and play strong relationships
with simple stories that make sense. Also make an offer and see how it lands
before drowning your scene partner under crazy offer after crazy offer. Just
keep it simple.
Prepare for the worst
so you can play your best. This is from my martial arts influence. Fighters
train for months before fights. They push themselves physically and mentally to
breaking points. They prepare for battle and are ready for the worst case
scenario. Some say that all that training is so that once you step in the ring
or cage you can finally just relaxed and play. All the preparation is done and
now all the training is put to use.
As a director I try to push improvisers to a point where
they struggle. Make them work harder than they ever will in front of an
audience. Prepare them for the worst so that they know what it feels like to flounder
and to work new skills and gain more confidence in themselves. It’s great when
they realize that no one dies in improv (Not yet anyway) and that they can really
work hard and fail. Then to fail and be okay with it. Then to seek out failure
and see it as an opportunity for growth rather than linger on it and let it
affect their learning.