Improv Is Easy!

(Then why is it so hard?)

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Journey On: Unleash Your Inner Hero

I saw this show (featuring improviser Amanda Miller!) last night, and it was indeed an amazing journey.

The premise is this: an audience volunteer goes on a hero’s journey a la Joseph Campbell, aided by a group of performers. Other than a loose idea of what sort of world where this is taking place (fantasy, western, modern, futuristic), nothing is prepared. It’s quite mind-blowing, especially when the protagonist is just a regular person and not a performer of any kind - it’s sort of like an actor’s nightmare for them.

I’ll start with why I’m posting this on my improv tumblr and not my personal tumblr, and if this show sounds intriguing to you, please donate to their fundraiser page or better yet, see it for yourself!

What I loved, mostly, was that they really are improvising around this protagonist. And I don’t see a lot of actual improvisation anymore, at least where absolutely anything can happen. There’s a lot of predestination in improv, actually. Where we know what’s coming or we see where they’re going and then they do it and it can feel very paint-by-numbers.

“Wait,” someone says, “but isn’t that game? Isn’t that the pattern?”

And while I love patterns, I say no. I think it’s playing the game to your own tune (to mix metaphors), or instead of painting by the numbers, show us your own depiction of a tree or Abe Lincoln or whatever the picture is supposed to be.

It’s not in what you do. It’s in how you do it.

I’m digressing.

Journey On starts with a blank world, and it goes wherever the protagonist wants, or if they can’t decide, whichever gifts they choose to take from the performers. It makes me think of the ultimate video game where, instead of being limited to what the programmer created, you’re only limited by your collective imagination.

And I wish improv was like that more often.

A show limited only by our collective imagination. That’s what it’s about, right? But if so, why does it so regularly fall short of the mark? How are we limiting ourselves? Is it not listening? Not making choices? Bogging things down in the details? The answers are legion.

If you read this blog, odds are you see a lot of improv shows. If you’re in NYC, it’d be nice to see a show that comes from a very different perspective, and see improvisers (and one non-improviser!) create something that actually matters to everyone watching.

This one show has opened my eyes to a lot, and I’m confident it’s made me a better improviser; it might do the same for you.

Journey On at The Secret Theatre, 44-02 23rd Street, LIC

Thursday June 7 at 7 p.m.

Friday June 8 at 7 p.m.

Saturday June 9 at 7 p.m.

Sunday June 10 at 4 p.m.

They only have 9 days left for the fundraiser and the show runs until the 10th. If you have $5 to spare, please donate (and you can get free standby tickets if you do so!).

Fundraiser page

www.PlayingWithReality.org

Journey On Facebook Event

Filed under Journey On Playing With Reality Improv Joseph Campbell Hero Myth

102 notes

Tips for success - From Mick Napier in the latest Annoyance Newsletter

upstairsgallery:

Normally Mick Napier writes about whatever thing is on his mind in his missive to the annoyance community (past examples: toys, vulgar language, racism.) But this time he decided to drop some serious knowledge on folks:

In these newsletters, I rarely write about improvisation, because it’s little fun to “measure the magic”, but here goes:

Next week is Second City’s general auditions. Over 500 people will be auditioning in 4 days. I will run a great many of these auditions, along with my friend Matthew Hovde. It’s one of the scariest auditions in the world, and it got me thinking about people I’ve known, and what it really takes to make it in comedy in the United States through this particular journey… improvisation. I think I know a couple of things. I thought I’d share some thoughts about what to DO in this often confusing world… This is real, not joke…

 
  1. It doesn’t matter which school of improvisation you go into first or at the same time or whatever. There are sound reasons for any order or any degree of simultaneity.        
  2. Don’t be seduced by being on a team. It seems like it’s enough and you are going along just fine. It’s not really enough, and it’s not a mark of evolution, it just seems like it is.  
  3. Character work isn’t bad, particularly if you want to do sketch comedy. Don’t listen to false affirmation that character work or broader acting has a lack of integrity, it is just different. And that’s just true. Character range is a skill set that is not attained by continuously denouncing character range. It’s not something you can magically turn on at, say, a Second City audition. Believe you me.       
  4. Write. For absolutely no fucking reason, write.       
  5. Make it o.k. with yourself that you admit that you would want to be on the mainstage or on a house team or in an Annoyance show or on television or SNL. It really is o.k. Just don’t be an asshole about it. You won’t be, anyway. It really is o.k.       
  6. Do solo work. Find a way to feature yourself.      
  7. One person shows are fucking boring. Find a reason they’re not. Do that.      
  8. Don’t wait for stuff. It not only drains your power, but actually has you be perceived as less powerful. You will have plenty of time to wait with great stakes for absolutely nothing when you move to Los Angeles. DO things here. Get a group. Create videos, write even more.      
  9. Here’s two boring things: Headshots. Resumes. And don’t lie. This has happened: “We put this guy (someone holds up headshot) in the ‘yes’ pile. Anybody remember him? No? O.K.” (headshot goes in ‘maybe’ or ‘no’ pile) Because his headshot didn’t look like him, and his photo ironically worked against him. Look like your headshot, that is what they are for. Look like your headshot. Don’t lie on your resume. Man, you will get caught and you will look like an asshole. And even if you don’t get caught, you are that kind of person.     
  10. Talent is everything. Just kidding. How you are to work with is as important. Your character shows up everywhere. Whether you are at S.C. or Playground or Ale House or a class or Corcoran’s or I.O. or Skybox or Annoyance or in the middle of the ocean:

       a. everything counts.
       b. everyone hears about everything.
       c. everyone talks about everyone all the time.

    Your behavior could affect whether you work here or there for the bad or the good.       
  11. Take a break occasionally. From it all. For perspective, sanity, life. You and what you bring to the stage will benefit from your actual life experience. My own life has been a series of wonderful hobbies.    
  12. Study acting. You won’t, but you ought to. You won’t because you think you are SO fucking funny, and don’t need it. But you do. You really do. I tell people that, and they say “yeah, yeah, but what do I need to DO to get an edge?” I say it. No one does it. It’s such an easy edge.

Twelve, just like the 12 points of the Scout Law.

Oh well, all of this is true. So there. And that, is as simple, as that.

-Mick Napier, Founder and Artistic Director

Fantastic stuff. Please Tumblr, show me that you post quotes from people who aren’t involved in UCB? This dude is the best.

Filed under Improv Mick Napier

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amyamyamyaimee asked: Are you out of questions yet? I can't remember how many questions I've asked. Should I think of more?

Yes, please!

I have a few questions left, but a lot of them are kind of hard to answer so I keep putting them off. (Please be patient! I can only do one a day at best.)

Also, the fact that I post answers via the screenshot method probably doesn’t entice new people to ask, since there’s not that little link at the end of the post.

I’m answering this one the old-fashioned way (and hoping it doesn’t screw up, which is what made me switch in the first place), so we can get that li’l link.

Yeah! Questions! It’s like free coaching!

1,181 notes

It doesn’t have to look good, it just has to look CREATIVE.

spent some time drawing with a little girl today. She gets it. (via gingerhaze)

(I’ve been feeling this way about improv lately. -K)

5 notes

amyamyamyaimee asked: What makes a good improv team name? Nothing! 99% of all names are good ones (the 1% are puns). (It’s weird, even though I say that and haven’t been involved in a team name discussion in… five years?, I’m SUPER picky about them.) Here’s some fun stuff on team names, of which there are many - just look at the NY Improv Teams and prepare to have your mind blown. Methods of Choosing Names… Everyone throws around a bunch of ideas and you debate it forever. Pick the one everyone hates the least. Choose some line or specific from your first practice. More complicated versions of the above. Someone suggests something absolutely perfect and everyone is like, “OK.” Styles of Names… The _____ (The Shoves, The Stepfathers, The Regulars) Proper name (Dillinger, DeCoster, Monkeydick) One Word (Mother, Creep, Monkeydick) Misc. (Surfing, Very Good Kiss, Death by Roo Roo) All-Time Best Name… Optimist International and Ice-Nine (tie) Remember: the name is a reflection of the team, not the other way around. If your team is good, its name is good! Even if it’s something like Monkeydick.
amyamyamyaimee asked:

What makes a good improv team name?

Nothing! 99% of all names are good ones (the 1% are puns).

(It’s weird, even though I say that and haven’t been involved in a team name discussion in… five years?, I’m SUPER picky about them.)

Here’s some fun stuff on team names, of which there are many - just look at the NY Improv Teams and prepare to have your mind blown.

Methods of Choosing Names…

  • Everyone throws around a bunch of ideas and you debate it forever.
  • Pick the one everyone hates the least.
  • Choose some line or specific from your first practice.
  • More complicated versions of the above.
  • Someone suggests something absolutely perfect and everyone is like, “OK.”

Styles of Names…

  • The _____ (The Shoves, The Stepfathers, The Regulars)
  • Proper name (Dillinger, DeCoster, Monkeydick)
  • One Word (Mother, Creep, Monkeydick)
  • Misc. (Surfing, Very Good Kiss, Death by Roo Roo)

All-Time Best Name…

  • Optimist International and Ice-Nine (tie)

Remember: the name is a reflection of the team, not the other way around. If your team is good, its name is good! Even if it’s something like Monkeydick.

Filed under Improv

5 notes

chuckgivens asked: What can you tell me about the format “Close Quarters?” Is there a specific way to attack this form? How do you work at the idea in practices? Thanks! Full disclosure: I’ve never heard of Close Quarters, and had to look it up. Have you read these? IRC thread Ryloc’s iO notes Or know of this poem, written by Close Quarters director Noah Gregoropoulos, as a way to highlight and reinforce the principles of the show? Heighten characters by engaging, think adjacent space when staging… environments are rich with sound, time collapses turning round… when throwing forward sounds as cues, a later payoff oft ensues… I hadn’t! But I’m familiar with Tracers and Retraced, which seem to be sort of spin-offs of Close Quarters, and this form has traces (LULZ!) of the macroscene and the monoscene. And if improv is clay, the form/structure is just how we shape it (or vice-versa). Really, the only way to tackle this form is to try it out in practice. Maybe share those links, talk about it with your group or coach, then g’04 it. Start small - a two-scene Close Quarters, then a three, up to the full length of the time you’d perform. My two cents, though, much of which repeats what Ryloc said above… Time, to quote the Doctor, is not linear. It’s like a big ball of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey… stuff. This show takes place within 15 minutes. So Scene 1 takes place at the same time as Scene 2 as Scene 3. Because of this, you might see the effect (me entering annoyed over something) of something before the cause (me being stuck in the bathroom for 5 minutes). It looks like this is several connected scenes, but their connection only HAS to be 1) the location and 2) the length of time during which they take place and 3) some of the characters. Note that we don’t need narrative or plot or story. Keep it simple. Don’t make it more complicated than it needs to be. This includes the location! Make it a place that works well for this form. (So I’d recommend not getting a location as a suggestion, since someone might say “The Moon!” or whatever.) That location doesn’t dictate every single relationship in the show. Like Ryloc said, “Hospitals don’t have only doctor/patient relationships.” You can start introducing plates to spin (my metaphor du jour for game or situation or main idea or whatever) at the beginning, but don’t feel the need to explain ‘em all right away. In fact, seriously, don’t worry about little things that get introduced. Focus on the scene at hand. Those little things will get played with later. Those plates will get their chance to spin. And those little things (call ‘em, what, seeds? Ideas?) don’t need to be fun or cuckoo-crazy. Mentioning there’s a freezer somewhere. Some guy walking in, asking for the bathroom, and leaving for a long time. Hearing a phone ring in another room. A delivery guy hauling in some crates into the back. A dog runs in and runs out. Someone’s banging around in the ventilation ducts. Etc. Now explore those ideas. There’s your show, I think? Lastly, Mullaney mentioned “sort of like a compressed character wheel where they were in several small scenes simultaneously.” So bear that in mind. I’m not sure what he means, but I imagine we explore different facets of a character’s personality by seeing them in different rooms/situations. G’04 it! And let us know how it goes!
chuckgivens asked:

What can you tell me about the format “Close Quarters?” Is there a specific way to attack this form? How do you work at the idea in practices? Thanks!

Full disclosure: I’ve never heard of Close Quarters, and had to look it up. Have you read these?

Or know of this poem, written by Close Quarters director Noah Gregoropoulos, as a way to highlight and reinforce the principles of the show?

Heighten characters by engaging,
think adjacent space when staging…
environments are rich with sound,
time collapses turning round…
when throwing forward sounds as cues,
a later payoff oft ensues…

I hadn’t! But I’m familiar with Tracers and Retraced, which seem to be sort of spin-offs of Close Quarters, and this form has traces (LULZ!) of the macroscene and the monoscene. And if improv is clay, the form/structure is just how we shape it (or vice-versa).

Really, the only way to tackle this form is to try it out in practice. Maybe share those links, talk about it with your group or coach, then g’04 it. Start small - a two-scene Close Quarters, then a three, up to the full length of the time you’d perform.

My two cents, though, much of which repeats what Ryloc said above…

  • Time, to quote the Doctor, is not linear. It’s like a big ball of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey… stuff. This show takes place within 15 minutes. So Scene 1 takes place at the same time as Scene 2 as Scene 3.
  • Because of this, you might see the effect (me entering annoyed over something) of something before the cause (me being stuck in the bathroom for 5 minutes).
  • It looks like this is several connected scenes, but their connection only HAS to be 1) the location and 2) the length of time during which they take place and 3) some of the characters. Note that we don’t need narrative or plot or story.
  • Keep it simple. Don’t make it more complicated than it needs to be.
  • This includes the location! Make it a place that works well for this form. (So I’d recommend not getting a location as a suggestion, since someone might say “The Moon!” or whatever.)
  • That location doesn’t dictate every single relationship in the show. Like Ryloc said, “Hospitals don’t have only doctor/patient relationships.”
  • You can start introducing plates to spin (my metaphor du jour for game or situation or main idea or whatever) at the beginning, but don’t feel the need to explain ‘em all right away.
  • In fact, seriously, don’t worry about little things that get introduced. Focus on the scene at hand. Those little things will get played with later. Those plates will get their chance to spin.
  • And those little things (call ‘em, what, seeds? Ideas?) don’t need to be fun or cuckoo-crazy. Mentioning there’s a freezer somewhere. Some guy walking in, asking for the bathroom, and leaving for a long time. Hearing a phone ring in another room. A delivery guy hauling in some crates into the back. A dog runs in and runs out. Someone’s banging around in the ventilation ducts. Etc. Now explore those ideas. There’s your show, I think?
  • Lastly, Mullaney mentioned “sort of like a compressed character wheel where they were in several small scenes simultaneously.” So bear that in mind. I’m not sure what he means, but I imagine we explore different facets of a character’s personality by seeing them in different rooms/situations.

G’04 it! And let us know how it goes!

Filed under Improv iO Close Quarters Noah Gregoropoulos

648 notes

strangewood: “I don’t make much distinction between being a stand-up comic and acting Shakespeare – in fact, unless you’re a good comedian, you’re never going to be able to play Hamlet properly.” Ian McKellen (born May 25, 1939) And I’d say the converse (inverse?) is also true - to be a good improviser, be a good actor. Among other things.

strangewood:

“I don’t make much distinction between being a stand-up comic and acting Shakespeare – in fact, unless you’re a good comedian, you’re never going to be able to play Hamlet properly.”

Ian McKellen (born May 25, 1939)

And I’d say the converse (inverse?) is also true - to be a good improviser, be a good actor. Among other things.

(via thenycactor)

38 notes

He taught people to commit. Like: “Don’t walk out there with one hand in your pocket unless there’s somethin’ in there you’re going to bring out.” You gotta commit. You’ve gotta go out there and improvise and you’ve gotta be completely unafraid to die. You’ve got to be able to take a chance to die. And you have to die lots. You have to die all the time. You’re goin’ out there with just a whisper of an idea. The fear will make you clench up. That’s the fear of dying. When you start and the first few lines don’t grab and people are going like, “What’s this? I’m not laughing and I’m not interested,” then you just put your arms out like this and open way up and that allows your stuff to go out. Otherwise it’s just stuck inside you.

Bill Murray, speaking on Del Close. 

Read more: http://www.esquire.com/features/man-at-his-best/q-and-a/bill-murray-interview-0612#ixzz1vu97244C

(via improvisorsimprovisor)