Trio Scene from Seattle

Not sure how clear it looks but it was our first performance in the festival. I was with Caitlin from Winnipeg and Lisa from Seattle. Super fun scene to be in. Caitlin was gold. 

New Look at The Same Question

So after coming back from the Seattle International Festival of Improv, I must admit to having a little bit of an awakening when it comes to why I do improv. Not to discount the first answer, because it was, and still is a part of why I do improv (see below or click here for previous answer http://find-the-sore-thumb.blogspot.com/2011/05/why-i-do-improvise.html ). I just have a new perspective since coming back from the Festival. I met wonderful people from ALL over the world. They taught me so much in the week we were together. So why do I do improv Randy Dixon asked again. Well I do improv for the audience. Plain and simple (well until he asks me again)

            We explored the idea of improvisers being the Fools of today’s society. For those who don’t know much about the Fool you aren’t alone. When I walked in I had no idea what everyone was talking about. I got a bit lost in some of the seemingly over complicated discussion, but what I took from it was that we are able to say things and not be persecuted for it much like a fool telling the king he is an idiot and not having his head chopped off.  This is an incredible power to have. We have this for many reasons I assume. In some peoples heads improvising isn’t real acting or a real profession. The traditional fool is looked down upon for physical or status reasons. I won’t get to into it but if you look at the fool in Shakespeare’s plays http://www.foolsforhire.com/info/history.html as well as look at the definition of the fool in Tarot http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fool_(Tarot_card) and compare it to improv you’ll be like “Whoa”

            Something that I believe is important for a fool is to be trusted by who they give advice to. They need to be seen as loyal to their master. So if the audience is our master then we must find new ways to show that we can be trusted and that we are loyal to them. When we do an intro to a show or are a host we really need to connect with the audience to get them to come along with us and trust us in all that we are doing. The improvisers need to do the same. One idea for this was to never put up the fourth wall. We are gonna break it down anyway, so why ever put it up. Have the actors connect to the audience before and after the show. No more hiding back stage. We need to erase the idea that if you come to an improv show that you will be made fun of or brought up on stage and mocked. This will take time but can be done. So once we have them with us and trusting us what do we do?

            We use our power to give them advice? Perhaps, but I think what I will try and do is leave them with something to take away, a gift maybe. How do I do that? Well not positive but by commenting on and saying things that are true right now in our lives that others can relate to is a start. If we play for truth and what we know and understand this will happen. If I do a scene about being single in 2011 and play it honest using what I know about being single today others will relate to it because they are single right now. Then hopefully they leave with it in there minds enough that next time they go on Plenty O Fish they remember the scene I did. If we strive for honesty and use what we know (we should be doing this anyway as our characters are only as smart as we are) I think this will happen. The idea of the fool to me is a tool to learn, discuss and then forget. Being aware or trying to be the fool of course is the opposite of just being the fool.

            So back to the question: Why do I do improv? I do improv for the audience. I hope to give them something to leave with and not just entertain and move on. Whether I leave them with a thought or a new understanding of themselves I did my job if this happens. I literally hope to give them a part of me that they can relate to and take with them. My other answer was so selfish and perhaps part of the reason I was feeling stagnant before I went to the Festival. I do it for them. That’s it. I want to show them all of me honestly so they can relate and connect to me more easily. The more honest and present I am the more they can come along with me. So that about sums it up. Something was asked to me by a director and close friend. Why do I want to do this? Why do I want and need to give parts of me away? Well damn if I know but I’m sure you’ll hear about it.

FYI- All the above ideas came from open discussions with all the wonderful people while I was in Seattle. So I will never take credit but love to put it all down on to share. 

Self Indulgence

I had recently come into a bit of a block with the group I have been directing. Not because they were or weren’t doing something but rather because I lost direction. We have been focused heavily on transformation transitions. This was a pretty amazing exploration in connection and bordered on artsy fartsy improv. We incorporate music and silent scenes into our Harold. We usually get a suggestion and then feel inspiration from it and run as far away from it as we can. This exploration was super fulfilling and very rewarding the first 4 or 5 shows. It started to get stale though. It was as if it was losing its freeness. I was struggling to find where this stifling feeling was coming from.

I started reading, about the Harold and Del Close, and reading, and then reading some more. Something I never thought id ever say when it came to improv, but we needed structure. Not in the traditional sense like something planned but rather a goal to reach for. I find myself saying to groups. “Set goals for yourself” and here I was not doing that in our workshops. I read that Del would look for the deconstruction of a suggestion. http://www.impatient.ca/shows/harold/  He used the Harold to do this in the most complete way possible. I got a taste of this working with Randy Dixon but didn’t fully understand it until we hit this road block. The reason we weren’t feeling fulfilled after our sets was because we were being selfish (I remind this was all under my direction. The group is amazing and always jumps into everything head first. Very trusting and a pleasure to work with) we were simply purging on stage and not really allowing the audience in on where we were going. They could follow but probably not easily. Not only because they didn’t easily understand our inspiration from the suggestion (sometimes it was pretty obscure) but also because the transformations aren’t regularly used around here. They were seeing a format they weren’t used to.

When we were work shopping scenes they were great. Everything was on point.  Then we’d try another run using our transformations and it was stale again. What was missing between the scenes solo and the full length run? A goal and focus is what we lacked. In the scene work we were taking the suggestion and having it directly shape the scene. When doing a run we took a suggestion and basically left it. BAM! It hit me.

From one extreme to another. Let’s work towards what I interpreted as Del’s idea of a good Harold. Fully explore the suggestion using all aspects of the Harold to do so. So the goal you say? Take a suggestion, use it in the opening to literally shape the way the opening happens. Not just free associating from the suggestion but rather let it shape the pace, length, characters, weight, and the directness of it. We have been using Rudolph Laban’s Effort Actions http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labanotation#Effort to do character work but why not use it on the suggestion, Laban the suggestion. Look at the way the suggestion can shape characters, the scenes, the opening, the ending as well as the transitions. The suggestion should shape the entire Harold not just something for us to start from and leave. Give the whole piece purpose to the audience and allow them to easily see where you are getting your inspiration from and take them on the journey with you. Don’t just leave them in the dust and hope they catch up. This doesn’t eliminate any of the freedom we enjoy. It just gives us a purpose and something to work towards each time we step on stage.

 Don’t just masturbate on stage. Make love to the audience because at the end of the day that is what we are here for, them. 

Hyper Awareness

While I sit having a conversation in a bar I am constantly aware of things going on around me.  For example: if a cool car or truck drives by I always notice. This is just being aware of my surroundings at all times. I also notice things around with specific detail. Patterns created by lights, the way the napkins are folded or the way my beer sits on the coaster. Sometimes it’s easier than others to see all of these things. This becomes more easy if I am relaxed or in the “trance” like state. I’ve started to acknowledge times in my day to day when I find myself in a state of ready like when prepped for an improv performance. The more I practice getting there the easier it becomes.

                

            So once on stage I commit fully to each character or scene I establish. (Try my best anyway, but no one is perfect) I strive to commit as much as possible and forget that I am on stage in front of an audience. This is an incredible feeling to be in. Sometimes I am in a scene so deep that I forget which actor was with me in the scene and only remember the character they played. This kind of commitment makes for some great improv. Here’s what we have found in workshops though.

                

            We are still improvisers on stage and need to have an awareness of what’s happening around us. Not just being aware of the other actors on stage but rather a hyper awareness of everyone and everything around. We still have to be ready to give the focus away at any time. The best way I can describe it is coming out of your body and watching the scene from above. If you allow your body minus your mind to do the improvising this will become easier.

                

             No matter how deep in a scene I get, I must be ready for and able to sense movement from across the stage. Another actor should be able to simply move with no sound and grab my attention. We as people feel beats and tempos around us. If everyone is in sync and connected with all the improvisers on stage these beats can be felt easier. Once felt and tuned into everyone can flow more easily and be aware when a change is happening. A fun exercise to try this out is; have everyone in a circle with the rules, one person must always be moving but only one person can move at a time. Allow them to move from the circle once explored and use the whole stage freely. It’s amazing how someone can notice from behind them movement from others. We have developed other exercises to practice hyper awareness but just being aware of it is a big step in finding it.

                

         I think this is a great start. So don’t be scared to commit hard as hell. Have faith that if you open yourself up to being ready you will start to be hyper aware. Now go ninja improvisers HAHA.

Creating Rules

           Something I have noticed in workshops is that people are constantly creating rules for themselves. For example: When free associating an improviser will repeat a word they or the person before them has already said. This causes them to chuckle or break because they feel they have done something wrong. When I set free association up as an exercise, I never put a restriction on what can be said or that they can’t repeat a word already said. This is a rule created by them and them alone. So by creating that rule for them selves it takes them out of the game and puts them into their head. The few suggestions I do make are to relax and to breathe. Try focus on your breathing and nothing else until it’s your turn to say your word. This keeps the brain busy until it’s your turn.

Another example I have seen is when we play a game involving positions. We number off 1 to 9. So everyone automatically assumes the number 1 spot is the best place to be and gets upset if they don’t get there in the game. Who said the number 7 spot isn’t the best spot to be? We need to break down these ideas. They get programmed in us in our everyday lives. It starts at an early age so it is never easy to break this wall down. In order to feel ultimate freedom on stage though, we have to rid ourselves of these influences. Part of this is thinking in a positive way. Think of each spot as being the best spot to be in. No spot being better then the other. This is just a good life tool.

One thing I do right away is stop allowing people to apologize. We say sorry a lot as polite people. This is a nasty idea on stage. It keeps you thinking you have done something “wrong”. With a good group, any offer made is going to be a good one because the group will over accept it and it will create something amazing. I don’t know where I heard it but I have repeated this many times “Some of the most beautiful art has come from what most consider a mistake” I really believe this to be true. When we get our heads out of the way it allows us to do things we wouldn’t expect. The easiest way to show this is passing a ball around in a circle. When people do this there is tons of apologizing when the ball isn’t passed perfectly. Get them to stop saying sorry for a bad pass. There are no mistakes just a different type of pass. Someone will always go get the ball and resume the game. So getting the idea that they are not making the pass good enough translates to them feeling their offers in scenes aren’t good enough.

Something else that can happen is peers or more experienced improvisers can create rules for the newbies. If a newer improviser does something and someone who they look up to in the group breaks and laughs or mocks a choice they make it will put the newbie in there head about there decision. This will make them second guess they’re ideas or offers. This is dangerous because it can affect someone getting started out and may hurt them later in their performance. Support and trust are key parts in making the whole group feel as though they are safe and free to do anything. I strive to nip this in the bud as soon as I see it. This can make a huge shift in a group towards more positive group dynamic.

I knew that we were our own worst enemy on stage but never really saw it in this light until recently. Perhaps we as humans are so used to having rules to follow that we have a need for them to feel comfortable. If this is the case it will be something we will continue to struggle with to over come. I know I am constantly doing this work in myself. I often type or am about to say “I’m sorry” and immediately retract and replace it with something else. I do this in my day to day in hopes it will carry over to my performance. I guess I’ll keep at it and see where it takes me.