Monday 20 April 2015

Short Improv Quips #2

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. 

Monday 13 April 2015

Short Improv Quips

If you NEVER take spatula, it's not over done

If you have been doing improv for a few years you have probably heard someone yell out the suggestion spatula when asked for an object. A lot of improvisers have decided that they won’t take this because they hear it so much. Problem is that if we never take it then it’s not over used. The reason the audience is giving us spatula is because it sounds funny and they are trying to help us out. They figure that if the suggestion is funny we will have an easier time. It’s similar to why they always yell bathroom when asked for a room in the house. They want us to succeed and want to help us do it.

What we need to attempt to do is show them that no matter what we take from them we can turn it into something wonderful. When this happens they will feel that the pressure isn’t on them to help us and will give us a wider range of suggestions. They will also feel more at ease and can just enjoy the show.

If you are the last one to get the joke, you are doing it right.

Being completely in the moment and not planning where the scene will go will put you in this Zen like state. Everything will be flowing and all the work you have done up to that point will help everything run smoothly. You’ll be making educated improv decisions quickly and efficiently. You’ll be feeling good just like those nights you are in the bar with friends and you've had the perfect amount to drink and the conversation is flowing and everything feels so wonderful. Without a filter or worrying about what to say you can be just there in the present and enjoying every moment. This opens up the possibility to speak freely and have natural things flow out of you. When this is going on magic happens. This is the improv state we are all striving for. You will literally be the last to get the joke.

Of course this all comes crashing down the second you say “Oh my goodness, I’m in that Zen like thingy!” As soon as you acknowledge you’re in that state it all comes to an end. It will snap you out of it the second you notice that it’s there. 

Self doubt can either hold you back or help push and drive you forward! 

We are flaky artists that have massive highs and lows. We doubt ourselves and the decisions we make.  We doubt every step of the journey we have set out on in life. These doubts will do one of two things to us. 
  1.   It will make us work harder to get what we want and push us forward to success. During this we will be anxious and scared the entire time but it will make us move forward.
  2.  The other option is that it scares us into a hole where we stay and never jump off the cliff. It all boils down to fight or flight.

We are all scared and worried that we aren’t making the right choices. Its part of what we do in order to get better. We have to take chances and really put ourselves out there to grow. We are our own worst enemy and are way harder on ourselves than anyone else will be. Realize we are pretty great. Now get out there and be scared and happy

The love of it makes you tired and happy.

I’m sure we have all done a show where we were WAY beyond tired and hungry, had a day that kicked the sh*t out of us, felt ill to the point that we can’t hear or feel anything? Well why is it we do this? It’s pretty obvious isn’t it? We love this thing. We spend nights up sitting in the bar talking about the show until the ugly lights come on only to get up early the next morning and do it all again. Feeling passion for something seems to be rare for most. We work so hard and are exhausted all the time but wouldn’t change a thing. Getting better at our art form is what we want more than anything in the world even if it means risking our health.

I am now in my 30’s and have changed my view on this a little. I want to be able to do this for as long as I am physically able to. So I have started to take care of myself better. Eating right and drinking lots of water. I even started physical exercise. I am trying to find a balance between happiness and my health. I still never miss a show, workshop or night at the pub. I am just trying to be healthier going into all of it. 

You listen better with your ears, than you do with your mouth

A great improviser once said: “Your ears are the only one of your eyes, and mouth you can’t actually close or shut off.” We sometimes spend so much time talking that we don’t even hear someone right in front of us. This can happen for a couple reasons. Perhaps we are a newer improviser and our nerves get the better of us and we can’t turn off our mouth. Perhaps we feel that we need to be filling the dead air because we haven’t felt how wonderful and powerful the silence can be. We feel we need to come up with all the ideas and make all the offers because if we don’t then no one else will. It could also just be that we are an egotistical asshole. Whatever the reason, if we were to stop, take a breath and take some time to listen you will find out so much and actually realize that all the answers are in our partners.

We don’t ever have to come up with clever ideas or be the funniest person on the stage. Our partners are there and equally invested in the scene. Bounce things back and forth between the two of you and let the scene be whatever it needs to be in that moment between those two people. It will be much more rewarding than one person driving the crap out of the scene and doing all the work and talking. 

An amazing improv show doesn't necessarily translate to video all that well. 

How many times have you recorded a show that was AMAZING on the night it was recorded only to have lost all its magic when you go back and watch it later? I think part of this could be that you don’t have the audience’s energy being captured. The back and forth between the audience and improvisers is such a huge part of live theatre. Without it you definitely lose some of the power that the show generated. Another thing is that most little improv theatres or cafes improv is performed in can be dark and noisy. This makes it hard to get great footage.

On the other side of it, I have been involved in improv shows that were set up for filming. What ended up happening was the audience was way behind cameras and everything was super bright. I like the closeness and intimacy of us and the audience with nothing in the way. Some like to hide in the darkness and just watch the show. Also when you film and polish improv it takes away some of its beauty. Its beauty partly comes from its imperfections and rough edges. The audience there in that moment gets to discover the show along with the improvisers as it goes along. For some reason this just can’t be captured on film. Perhaps as technology and fun new ways to film come around we will get there. 

Without an audience it's a workshop 

Work hard and play even harder. Workshops are called WORK shops because this is the time when you should be fine tuning your craft. You and your director can really break down your skills and see what you need to work on as an individual or ensemble to help you grow. You will hopefully be pushed farther then you feel comfortable in these sessions. A director’s job is to push you to a failure point to show you where you are at and what you can work on. There is always more to learn. Your director will be way harder on you then any audience so once you get there you can’t help but be better.

So now that the work is done, you need to get up and do a show in play mode. This is time to test the newly found skills. You should no longer be working. It is important to only play to the skill set you have at that time. Keith Johnstone says it best, “If you are a bad improviser but know how to say yes and then go out there and be a bad improviser saying yes and. If you go out and try to be a good improviser you will fail.”