Creating Sudden Death Improv

It has been a long time since I have written a new post, partially because I have been a busy duder and partially because I haven’t known what else to write about. I assumed that if I started writing something would come to me and here it is. I did post something a little while ago but deleted it before anyone read it. It was a vent on my part rather then useful information. I may repost it in the future. The rollercoaster ride of taking over the theatre, casting 20+ people, logos, websites, tweeting, painting, cleaning, and creating a show has been a crazy ride. (None of this would have been possible without all the support around me. I hope you know who you are and know I am talking to you.)

It wasn’t until I was in Victoria that someone said to me, “Wow, you are basing your whole success and business on a show format that you haven’t even created yet! That’s ballsy.” I hadn’t really thought about that until it was said to me. I sure started freaking out after that. The name Sudden Death Improv came to me in Seattle when I was there for the Improv Festival in June 2011. (Thanks Trenton Shine of The Unscriptables for helping the inspiration) We cast the performers the last weekend of September and immediately threw up Vamprov for the month of October. This wasn’t too hard because it’s a format we have done before that uses short form games that pits humans against Vampires. Once Vamprov was up we were working on our scene work in workshop. I know the cast members were all wondering when they’d find out what Sudden Death Improv was going to be. The format came in a moment of being half asleep, half awake, and lying in bed stressed out of my mind. That was December 2011.

We started working the format seriously right after the idea for it came about. I was lucky and got to try it out on table23 during our Wednesday shows in December. I did it 3 times in its super early stage in front of an audience. It seemed to have a great feel. The improvisers loved playing it and the audience enjoyed it big time. I knew at this time it had elements missing. It was fun but nothing was on the line or important to keep you invested. With table23 we had great success because open scenes are where we feel most comfortable. I knew with newer improvisers this would be tricky to make it consistent and successful. So I went into the Xmas holidays still pretty unsure of what we were gonna do. I set the grand reopening for January 27^th/12. I attempted to take 2 weeks away from the theatre at this time. During these two weeks I surrounded myself with family and enjoyed the holiday season. It was great but it turned into the longest 2 weeks of my life HAHA. My OCD mind was in overdrive repeating all the things that needed to get done in a very short amount of time. I was losing sleep and a looked like a worried mess. Once we got back in there the work around the space started to come together. It was a relief to see things move along so quickly. Walls got painted, sets built, and LOTS of stuff got sold or thrown out.

Through lots of discussion and workshopping Sudden Death really started to take shape its elements of short form games squished between open scenes. You have 2 improvisers who will do an open scene not knowing what their suggestion is. Before the scene happens, the 3 remaining improvisers perform an improv game given to them by the host. The first 2 watch the game and then perform a scene inspired by it. They do the scene based only on what they see their 3 teammates do. After the scene they try guess the suggestion. (Thanks Richard Wiens for that one!) If they get it right they get a point. If they get it wrong the host gets a point. A very simple format to watch but a very hard format to explain. We have been attempting a few different ways and scripts to introduce the show. What we are finding works best is explaining it as it happens. The audience seems to be able to follow it more easily.

When we performed it the first weekend the scenes were too short (my bad) and there were no points being awarded yet. So it was game then scene, game then scene, etc. It was so fast paced that the night blew by like crazy and didn’t have that “thing” it needed yet. Once the point system between the host and improvisers was added the audience became more invested. We have had a couple audiences jump out of their seats when the improvisers have won the night. This is only week 6 at this point. We continue to tweak it and work it, all while doing scene work over and over. I love the openness and freedom of the open scenes and goofy element of the games. It has potential to grow and morph as we grow as a company and get more seasoned. I am really excited to be 10 years in the future and remembering how far we have come and yet I am soaking up and enjoying the hell out of right now. Maybe soon I can catch up on my sleep…………….Maybe!

What is my dream achievement in Improv?

I filled out a fun questionnaire for an upcoming show I’m involved in, and this was the last question on the list. A Del Close award? (Yes that would be a HUGE honor but that wasn't it) I didn’t think very long about it before an answer came to me. My only dream is that I can still be performing when I am so old that I need a walker to get around. I had the honor of meeting and taking a workshop with Charna Halpern during the Vancouver Improv Festival this year. She warned us improvisers to stop going to super loud concerts and to protect our ears. She wears hearing aids and said that she can’t really listen like she needs to when performing on stage. She rarely does shows nowadays because of it. In a weird way, in her saying this I felt my mortality for the first time in my life. Not my life passing by, but my improv mortality rather.

I had another improviser (Aaron Merke) ask me if I could get in shape to do some crazy physical improv and I laughed and laughed. I’m not athletic and to say I’m too tall and awkward is an understatement. Now I know we are not professional athletes training for a marathon but I realize that if I do plan on performing I need to take care of myself. That or die young from a drug overdose. (Seems to happen way too much to some very talented performers) If you use the analogy of a flame; I definitely want to burn strong for a long time. Not flare up and burn out super fast. I’m sure you other improvisers out there will agree sometimes it’s hard to look after ourselves when we are doing a ton of shows. Especially if you are like me and work a full time day job on top of running a theatre. This kind of inspires me to start working some physical stuff into our warm ups……WOW what a great idea. I have thought for years that if you could get fit from performing improv I’d be the Incredible Hulk of the improv stage. LOL. Unfortunately this isn’t the case. We often eat crap food much too late and have a beer now and then (or 12). So that’s something I am going to start working towards because I NEVER miss a warm up. Incorporating simple work out routines into the warm up could definitely help. I promise no shake weights.

I’m only 31 and I am already starting to notice changes with how my body performs. I know that adjustments will have to be made as I continue to age. I will adapt and change and grow I’m sure. I also look forward to some of the challenges that are sure to come as my body decides what I can and can not do anymore. This is a bit scary because something I say all the time is “Let your body do the improvising.” What does the future hold for me? How will I perform when my body can’t? Will people pay to see an old man sitting in a chair on stage for an hour? I’m not sure. Asking myself these questions makes me think to the image of a Buddhist Monk riding a donkey backwards. We must always be moving forward, present in the moment and paying respect to the journey we have taken. (Thank you for telling me about that image Randy Dixon)

I truly love directing and know that I will be a bitter old man scaring new improvisers until they close the casket door on me, but it is performing that keeps me alive. I joke all the time that I will out live all the Vegans and Vegetarians because all the preservatives in the food I eat preserve me. I joke that I’ll out live em all, and to be honest I plan to. The theatre that is killing me is also keeping me alive. There is a balance created that can not be broken. It’s this balance that will allow me to live FOREVER! Well maybe not but I love the romance of it. I guess I better start taking care of myself now so there isn’t any reason I can’t do this for 100 years.

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Bunny, Bunny!

It's all about the experience. Taking as much understanding or knowledge from the exercise or game that you can. If you ran 500 miles and made it all the way to the end, you would feel so great for making it and for accomplishing that goal. But really it's at the 250 mark that you are truly going to learn the most about yourself and your body. It's about the journey not the out come. It's exactly the same with warm up games and exercises.

Why do we do warm up games? I’ve asked this question multiple times to groups of improvisers and usually get the answers: “To get our minds ready. “To relax and loosen up.” Or my favorite “I don’t need to warm up.” Something that doesn’t get the weight it deserves is the actual exercise itself. The people who slaved away coming up with these silly games did so out of necessity. They saw something people weren’t doing or struggling with and created a game to help solve the problem. They all have very valuable lessons in them. All of them are improv stripped down to its very basic form. Even the most silly and weird game, has things to be taken and applied to our scene work. Bunny, Bunny for example is a super silly zany game. (I have wanted to use the word zany for awhile.) This game has a whole lot of potential to look stupid. If the group is playing and a couple people in the group aren’t playing it like it’s the best game ever they end up making the whole group look and feel uncomfortable. Anyone who says improv is a way to look cool in front of people is doing it for the wrong reason. If the entire group is having fun, being present, ready and enjoying themselves then it stops looking silly and actually looks like a well orchestrated exercise in rhythm and movement. This is the same as unsupportive improvisers in a group.  If they are trying to look cool while doing improv they will only hurt the group around them by half assing everything they do. If they are reserved and holding back (creating rules) they end up hurting the whole group dynamic putting others in their heads. You are only as strong as your weakest link. If you feel that everyone is as invested as you then you will push yourself farther.

There are a million reasons we play games like Bunny, Bunny. Another reason is making good offers. This goes way further in its simplifying of an offer then just saying who, where, and what. It’s takes it to its core of how to make a good offer to your partner. Being clear to whom you are making the offer to. The surer of yourself you are the more clear your offer will be. By also taking the time to ensure your partner across the circle is ready for the offer and the more patient and calm you are in letting this happen the easier a great offer can be passed. Breathing, focus, connection, relaxation, trust and willingness to go all in makes this game work. These are also the things that make for great improv scenes. So not only are you doing this to get into this state of being or trance, you are also familiarizing yourself with how that state of being feels in practicing it. All of this work translates to how you will improvise. If you have a bad habits in these games and are aware of them, you can start to work on them and hopefully then improve your improv. You’ll start to catch yourself hesitating or not trusting people in your group. If you do then bang that stuff out in the warm up exercises. That’s what they are there for.

One more thing I’ll touch on is having fun. We as adults are not aloud to play. This is instilled in us as we grow up, get jobs and buy houses. Well this is something we improvisers get to do. We get to play and have fun. It takes a lot to shake off the rules we follow in our daily lives but if we feel safe and are surrounded by fun, positive caring people we will be able to play freely and have fun. It’s the same at any job you do. Time flies when you are having fun. You also actually get more work done when the mood is light. So if you find yourself about to do a warm up game or exercise and you say to yourself “I don’t wanna play that game.” Ask yourself why? What if you just said yes? Who knows what awesomeness will come out of saying yes and challenging yourself. Jumping in head first and trusting that it is for a reason. Then really watching and evaluating yourself to see where your bad habits lie. Just start saying yes and going in with everything you got and your scene work will drastically improve. 

Just a Ramble

The music plays softly. Pockets tapped for your wallet and phone, wallet and phone, wallet and phone. You’ve literally stood in this spot a hundred times. You know where the creak in the floor waits. The water bottle in your hand acts like a tent peg to the ground. There to calm the movement wanting to escape from within you. Twisting the lid on and off to the rhythm of the song playing creates a moment of tranquility.  Deliberately rock back and forth on the loose board to soothe and quiet the voices bouncing off each side or your head. Let the day go as you stand there. Check your nose, fly, shirt, and give yourself one last shake. Did you lock your truck? Yes of course you did. You always check the handle. Eye contact, establish eye contact. These five minutes hang like an eternity in the air. Breathe even, deep, calm breaths, in and out. Zoom in on what’s being said behind the thin flat. It’s your time to enter. Your name is called. Tap for wallet and phone, wallet and phone. As the audience calls out with cheers, a hush fills your body and mind. Take one last breath before you step through the curtain. The music plays loud. Step out into the quiet light and onto the stage as ready as you’ll ever be. 

Tattoo The Audience

I am always looking at other activities and art forms and comparing them to improv. For example one of my favorites to compare to Improv is Martial Arts, more specifically Kung Fu. There is a great book called Zen in The Martial Arts By: Joe Hyams that is an easy read and has lots of quotes and lessons from Bruce Lee that you can’t help but apply to what we do. I have been chatting with my tattoo artist recently about what she does http://blackrabbittattoostudio.com/  and it started to resonate something in me. She definitely leaves her client with something when the session is done. I am not trying to be clever but rather just find it very fun to see where similarities lie as well as what I can take from other art forms. So let’s get at er then.

           
         We talked about the fact that tattooing is very intimate and very physical. A tattoo artist must be comfortable around their clients also not be shy to touch them. Some people that come in to get inked come with cliché ideas and get butterflies and tribal. These people may only get one tattoo as there wasn’t much meaning behind it, or they may get a whole bunch because it’s really addictive. Then there are people who come in with meaningful ideas and stories to tell about why they chose the design they chose. A tattoo artist must be someone people will open up to. I know my longest session was 5 hours. There is not much to do but talk. I have experienced tattoo artists that were not personable and I swore I’d never go back to them and never did. Connecting and sharing should be part of the process. You come in to have this person take a part of you and literally put it on your body. So in the end you leave and that artist has permanently left a reminder of that time together on your body. That’s something that no matter how much time passes will be there and when you look at it you will be taken back to the time you got it.

           

What my goal is with improv is to leave the audience with something that reminds them of the experience we all had together during the show. The people who come to get a generic un-meaningful tattoo are perhaps like those that come to see a short form show where they can drink and just laugh for a bit and go home. They won’t invest fully in the show or the experience of getting a tattoo. If they laugh they are fulfilled. They probably attend that show or get that tattoo because their friends are doing the same. We don’t have the advantage tattoos do. First off we can’t actually leave something on our audience’s body that will be there for the rest of their life. (Permanent stamps at the door?) People coming for a tattoo at least have an idea what they are walking in to when they come through the door because tattoos are becoming quite widely known and accepted. Also we don’t really have that ability to make the same kind of intimate physical contact with each person in the audience. So what I’d like to do mentally a tattoo does physically.

           

I want to try and touch someone in a personal way that will stay with them for as long as possible. Most people get that first tattoo because it means something to them. They are doing the same when giving a suggestion that means something to them. We as improvisers need to take that suggestion and honor it as best we can by giving them what they want. We need to play that suggestion and hopefully relate to not only that audience member but as many others as possible. This concept of leaving them with something at the end of the show has ummmm stuck with me. I think I apply this a lot in my workshops and shows. I want people to leave feeling better then when they got there. I want them to walk more confidently after the workshop is done much like a tough guy with his first tattoo. When they first walk in they may be a bit tentative. Also they may be a bit intimidated by my “passion”. Once you get past all the built up expectations and open yourself up you realize how awesome the experience can be. You can really be present and take so much away from both getting a tattoo and learning this awesome thing called improv. I know walking in to get my first tattoo I was scared to death about how much it was gonna hurt. People walk into their first workshop worked up and scared about how embarrassed they’ll be. Some audiences walk in scared they will get called up and made fun of. If we do our job and connect with them this should help relieve all this anxious energy and put everyone at ease.

 If nothing else the image of us tattooing our audience with ideas and a group mind seem like a good way to describe what I am trying to do. Some people will just come watch the show and leave happy because they had a good time. Some may come and really be brought in to what we are doing and if we do our job they may really connect and have a piece of that show stay with them. Just the other day I was outside the theatre and a woman came up to me and said “Hey, Too Tall Tim.” I had no idea what she was talking about until she explained that like 7 years prior she had seen me in an improvised Christmas Carol and remembered that instead of me being Tiny Tim I was Too Tall Tim. That blew me away. She said she had seen me around town and always said to whoever she was with, “There is Too Tall Tim.” That is incredible when you think about how long ago that was. So by being conscious and aware of this power we will definitely have a great tool in the old belt.