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What Form should you do?

First of all thanks for all the replies about NY Indie workshops. Alissa Crist is handling the whole deal, I have formally declared her awesome! The first workshop is Saturday 12-3, More details to come.

So Alissa asked what the workshop would cover, beside me yammering about how wrong Delaney is, something came up in one of my LA workshops that I think is important for Indie groups to consider.

This is a discussion I have about once a week:

What form are you doing for your shows?

We tend to do a Montage.

Okay, what is that?

A series of scenes that hopefully have callbacks near the end.

Hopefully?

Yeah, sometimes we run out of time, or, our first scenes go too long.

Sounds like you are just doing linear scenes with no purpose.

We don't want to do that, but what can you do with just 10-12 minutes? You always say we should be doing Harolds, that's easy to say, but when your out in the real gritty would of Indie improv shows, it doesn't work that way. You only have so much time, some of the spaces are tiny to play in, we don't always have our full group with us.

You should always be doing Harolds.

Did you even hear what I said?

This is how I should answer:

Every show you do as a group is important, don't waste it just doing scenes. Sure scenework is important, the base of all long form, but, it's not long form. You need to not look at your time onstage as a series of scenes, but a complete piece. Don't go up there with the thought that we just need to pull this off, you have to have purpose. If you don't then you're not ready to perform.

What can we do?

Go back to the Harold.

The Harold can be taken apart to fit any situation.

A truncated Harold without group games in one location can be done in 12 minutes.

You have 12 people on stage, do a 4 person per scene Harold.

You have 3 people? do a 1 person per scene Harold.

Your performance space is tiny, do a Harold in the Dark, or a Radio Harold, an Inanimate Object Harold, or a Tableau Harold.

Your performance space is the set of some play. Use it. French Scene Harold [A Harold in a Monoscene]

You have to do a thousand Harolds in order to become seamless. You want to get to the point where you create form without thinking about form. Doing the Harold doesn't mean it has to be stagnate. Find new ways to do it, and use these shows to find those new ways.

New York Improvisers!

Looking to set up a few independent workshops in NY while I'm there, Saturday, 6/22, 12-3pm, that would be one date, another could be added.

I need someone who can set up the location, get the word out to the local NYers, bring me snacks, and be my friend.

You would take the workshop for free as payment.

Please message me if interested.

This does not apply to Will Hines, I will never be "Friends" with him.

Sincerly,

improvnonsense

What Do We Do About "That Guy"

I added a new page to the left-hand margin of this blog to answer one of the most common categories of questions people send to this blog.

http://improvnonsense.tumblr.com/thatguy

improvdanceparty-blog

Great words by Wilt Hindes!

markdavidchristenson

1. Accept the invitation with grace and enthusiasm. You were requested to be here as our guest.

2. Come to work and not to please or get our approval.

3. Enter with certainty. Don’t give up your power as soon as the door opens.

4. Play on a level playing field. We’re all figuring it out....

What makes a good group.

I've been lucky enough to be on some great Improv teams in my day. The Swarm, The Stepfathers, and The Smokes to name a few. Obviously the secret is to name your group starting with "The" followed by the letter S.

There are many types of groups and teams you can play with for many different reasons. I'm in 3 groups right now for three different reasons.

The Smokes: This is my home team, the one I do once a week, feel tight with, this team best expresses my philosophy. I can step onstage with this group and immediately get in the groove.

Toledo Rep: This group works on one form, the one act play. We work together to get better at it, it works a particular muscle, and we are committed to bettering the form.

The Handymen: This is about friends playing. We have a good time playing together, so we do. We would enjoy grilling meat and drinking just as much as performing.

There is no one "thing" that will make your group great, it is a series of things. Here are some of the things that made the "S" teams good.

1. Know what you want to do. Have a plan, short term and long term. Just saying you want to kick ass doesn't help a team. If everybody is on board right from the start you eliminate a lot of wasted time talking about "The Direction of the Team".

2. Teams don't have to be BEST FRIENDS. Sure you should bond over a drink, or dinner, but don't force it. There are times when best friends can get in the way of getting better.

3. Don't give each other notes. This is huge as far as trust is concerned. The moment one person tells another what they did wrong, is the moment the team should dissolve. If you start to feel judged on a team, how can you allow yourself to put yourself out there.

4. I feel you can note the show, and how you did. You have to talk about the show, communication builds. So talk about what note you gave yourself, talk about what was great about the show, and what you could of done to make it even better.

5. No one person is the group. Even if you put the group together, practice at your house, and organize the practices. Be a team player, not a puppeteer. You might be surprised how much farther the group goes.

6. Think great things about your teammates. To get past judgment you need to believe that no matter what you scene partner says, it's awesome. This will make everyone better. Don't expect great things, already know that it's great and match it.

7. Listen.

8. Every now and then the group should go back the the basics. If you haven't done a Harold in a while do it. No group is too good for the Harold.

9. The longer a group plays together the more they become like a family. There is good and bad with that. The Good: You truly care for one another, and this makes "I Got Your Back" easier to understand. The Bad: Sometimes families can get dysfunctional, if your show feels like a bad thanksgiving day dinner... Break up the group. The truth is... it's not a family, it's just a group.

10. Remember to chew some gum or down a couple breath mints before you go onstage. No one wants to improvise with tiger breath.

Who should teach me?

On the last day of class I like to let the students ask me anything they want about Improv, the theater, taco stands, whatever.

The two questions I get the most : Which teacher should I take next? When do you teach the next leveled course so they can take me again?

Both of these question fill me with dread. I'm flattered that you want to take another class with me, and my ego wants you to only take my classes because that means I'm the best. Or, If I tell you to take another specific teacher then I am telling you they are the best at that level and the other teachers are not as good.

Truth is.. Nobody is the best.

We all teach from different perspectives. Even though at the UCB school there is a set curriculum™, the teachers add their points of view with each scene we give notes on. With each scene you start to get glimpses of that teachers Personalities/Philosophies . Sometimes it jibes perfectly with your point of view sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes you feel safe with a teacher, and with another, you feel you can't do anything right. You should go through both of those experiences.

What I feel is great about the UCB "find the Game" style of improv is that it doesn't tell you what is funny, it tells you how to get to your funny. If you go to every Improv show at the UCB theater you see vastly different kinds of comedy being played. Yet, they all subscribe the Game theory. They all started taking classes at UCB, and they found their own voice.... way to play Game.

In order for you to find your own voice, you need to hear as many voices as possible to find out what works for you, and what doesn't. Having said that, don't start trying to find your voice in 101, or 201. Then you're just being annoying. Learn what is being taught, take the notes given, and by 401 start to develop opinions. If you constantly fight what is being taught, you are wasting everybody's time.

Try to go through the core classes with different teachers, then when you get to 401 and advanced study, start seeking out and repeating with your favorite teachers, or teachers who performance style you admire and take their classes.

Coaches: This is a little different then picking a teacher.

A coach is a coach. They are there to coach you along to where you want to get to. I feel a lot of groups are trying to get coaches because of name recognition, it gives status to the group. But having a good coach doesn't make the group better. The group has to know what it wants out of the coach before the first practice. Do you need to work game, form, second beats? Help them help you.

A coach that charges more then others isn't necessarily the best coach for you. And a coach that is undercharging isn't always a worse coach.[But I would be weary, once it becomes about money they are coaching to keep you, not make you better] The best way to pick a coach is watch them play or teach a class, and see if that is the style that best fits the group. If you can, get 4 different coaches over the first month and see which one fits.

Don't be afraid to change coaches, and don't be afraid sign up with different teachers. The more you learn, from as many people as you can, the stronger you will become.

Then you will be the teacher and someone will ask you who they should take next.

Please tell them to take my class, or come to my workshops, I need the money and status.

What should you know?

"Wit is not something you just have. You have to earn it. You have to earn it every day."

I like to attribute that saying to Del Close, I don't know if he said anything like that, but I know if I say he did, people will listen.

What should you know before you go onstage? Everything. That's impossible, yes, but the motivation behind it is what you need. You must have an insatiable appetite for all knowledge. Here's the rub, it has to be usable knowledge. Knowing all about Football stats, or Real Housewives might be great for quick pop referencing, or if you're doing a parody show but it's not going to help you become a better all round player.

An improv friend of mine treats his days off as if he's going to school, he divides the day up into class sessions. He will spend an hour on science, an hour on history, literature, so on. He does this to become as well rounded as he can so that he is never at a loss on stage.

I tell my students to ingest a story a day. If it's movies, reading plays, comic books, whatever. The idea is the more stories and plots you ingest, the more familiar scenes can become. The more familiar the scenes is to you, the less you have to talk out the plot. If a scene feels "Macbeth-ian" then you now know certain characters and their motivations. It doesn't mean you're acting out Macbeth, just using that story to help with yours.

I've heard people say that there should be a check list of things all improvisers should know. If we all know the same things, it seems to me that can get boring. I think the perfect group is one that has different players that have knowledge in many different fields. It's always fun to learn new things, especially on stage. I can't tell you how many times something has come up during a show that I knew nothing about, then went home and immediately looked it up on the computer. So that the next time I would be ready.

To become a smarter, better improviser, you have to discipline yourself off stage as well as on. If you spend the whole night watching hours of sports, or competitive cooking shows.[which I do] make sure to take some time aside to watch a movie you've not seen,[not Goonies, again], watch nature and animal docs. Read about history, and human behavior.

But for god sake, don't be a dick about it.

Finding the Truth

When I have students that are having trouble with finding the "Game" of the scene, it tends to be because they do not see the unusual. They're so busy "Yes Anding" that they go right past what the scene should be about.

The answer is simple, you must enter all your scenes in a constant state of: Would I really say and or do that in real life?

The moment something happens in a scene that doesn't jibe with the world you know, you call it out. You may have something that could be the game of scene. If you listen truthfully, you will hear the unusual.

The funny thing is, in real life we see and hear unusual things all the time, but we don't necessarily call it out. We tweet about how much of a dick that guy was at Starbucks, but we don't always confront them in real life. In improv we get to be brave.

But what if the scene is in the middle ages, or there are super heros, or aliens? The truth still exists in these scenes, you are just accepting some things are different, but real life still goes on.

When I was a young punk bartender down in Florida, before I got into the 'Improv Lifestyle". I worked at a big restaurant on the water, with multiple bars. The bar I was working one night was out on the docks by the water, no tv's, just Jimmy Buffet, conch fritters, and rum. The rest of the bartenders and busboys decided to prank me by telling me the tv news had just announced that they had contacted alien life. They all came out throughout the night and kept the ruse up, adding a little info each time. I BELIEVED IT!

During the night I went through shock, denial, then acceptance. Once I accepted this the rest of the night went by uneventful, my whole world didn't come crashing down, all the other realities in my life didn't change, it just had aliens in it now.

At the end of the night they all told me, had big laugh, I was so angry that I punched one of the guys in the stomach, almost got fired, didn't. Went out with everybody afterwards had a great time drinking, doing blow, and talking about what if aliens did live among us. Good Times! [I had a problem back then]

Every scene that you ever do has to have truth in it. You have to have something to hold on to so that when things do go crazy, you have somewhere to go. When I accepted that aliens existed, I went back to work. I served drinks and worried about not getting enough tips.

And

I no longer do the Blow.

Top 10 Improv notes of 2012

I gave a lot of notes this year, but these are some that I 've been empathizing a little more the others. One note is not more important then any other so they are not listed in order of importance.

Quit improvising AT the scene, Improvise with who is on stage with you.

Everything you do on stage has a justification, a motive, a reasoning. That justification will get you to your next part of the scene. [Even crazy people justify, that's why they have manifestos.]

Every hero has a weakness, [Superman/Kryptonite] every villain has a human side[Darth Vader/ "Luke,you are my son"]. It keeps us interested in the story.

When somebody says something to your character onstage that should effect you, be effected. One way is to move to the another part of the stage, or sit down/stand up, sounds silly but it clues the audience in the something has happened.

Improvise as if your dad is in the back row and clueless as to what's going on. Teach an audience as the show goes on. The first time you run across stage in a sweep edit, dad wants to know "what the hell that was all about", the third time, dad knows it's an editing device.

I can't do anything with you as a teacher until you fully state who you are and where you are in the scene. This has become epidemic. This year, I've never seen so scenes clueless as to who they are to each other.

Would you really do that? Then why are you doing it now?

You are not more important then the Improvisation that you are doing. Don't let me see you improv.

You want to do good improv? Be a good person.

Know that everything I tell you, the opposite is also true. So get used to that Zenny McZen Ying Yang bullshit.

Pendulum Notes.

First off, take the note. Don't waste any of your time [or the class/practice] trying to fight the note in your head or with the teacher/ coach.

You will, at some time in your improv training, get a note you disagree with. Or a note that is the opposite of what other teachers and coaches might have given you. This is to be expected. If you disagree with the note let it slide, you don't have to act on everything said. BUT if you get the same note three or more times from different sources, you have a problem that needs fixing.

Sometimes when fixing a note we receive, we can overcompensate. For instance: One of the first notes given to me [1958] was I improvise like a stand up comedian, jokey, full if ironic detachment. [I know, ME?] This hit me hard, I didn't want to be that guy, and then I found that I overcompensated and played every scene too serious, taking whatever fun that could be had, out of the scene. The note given to me then was, lighten up, your doing comedy. Both notes were right, and both notes were about the same player.

These are called Pendulum Swing notes, you go back and forth with notes about a certain issue that seem conflicting, but in the long run, you will settle down right in the middle. [unless you fight the note]

Sometimes notes can stop a bad habit right away, but most of the time it takes time and practice. Be patient, surrender yourself to the process.

Sometimes a note is the polar oppisite of what another teacher has told you. Know that there must be a reason for that, find the justification. [You shouldn't do argument scenes, they tend to stall/ You should of argued in that scene, it would of called out the unusual]

Sometimes a note is given to get something out of you at that moment, but doesn't apply to the rest of your improv career. [Do that same scene, but like your an animated cartoon]

A note to the note givers: Relax with all the notes. If giving notes on a Harold takes longer then the actual Harold, you've gone too far. Know that if you wanted, you could give a note on every word uttered in a scene. Pick and choose. Decide a theme, for instance, tonight's 'note focus' will be on justifications, or "If that then what else".

Best notes given to me:

"Everything you are doing is wrong, move to New York"

"Did you really need to be a tornado?"

"Play the Horror"

What was one of the most frightening/nerve-wracking moments you ever had during a performance?

My first year as a cast member of Boiling Points on MTV was an ulcer ridden nightmare at times.

It was a hidden camera prank show were the premise was to piss people off, yet keep them around long enough to win ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS!!

In the show, I shot well over a hundred pranks [over 3 years] where I got slapped, spit on, threatened with a gun, arrested and called mean names. The whole time I used my improv skills to keep people believing that what was happening to them was real, no matter how absurd.

Off camera I hated doing the show, I hated confrontation. I kept doing it because it was a job, a good paying one at that. My wife at the time was in school and my part time bartending job and doing bits on Conan wasn't paying the bills. I could tell other performers at the UCB thought the show was horrible and mean spirited. I also realized if I wasn't doing the show, I would agree with them.

But then things began to change. The way we shot the show became a little less confrontational,[because of lawsuits] we had friends set up friends, which made the reveal so much more rewarding. The crew I worked with was great, we had each others back, we developed a camaraderie. And as far as people at the theater judging me and the show.. Fuck them. There is nothing I can do about it, they are not in my situation, and they probably didn't have the balls to do it in the first place.

But I would say after that first year of Boiling Points, there is nothing that can be thrown my way on stage that would unhinge me. In fact, I'm just grateful to be onstage and hopefully having everybody like me.

If not... Fuck Them!

I've only completed 301, but I am fascinated by the multitude of improv forms I've seen in my time at UCB, from the Harold to the Evente, to the Monoscene, to the incredible organic mayhem that occurs when the Stepfathers play. As someone who loves creating unique, personal things, I'm so interested in eventually creating a form when I'm good or experienced enough to attempt that. You've created so many beloved forms, what has that been been like in terms of process (idea, develop, test, teach)?

First thing you need to do is a thousand Harolds.

I'm not kidding about the number, that was the number told to me when I started out, I scoffed, but it was true. I did it with the Swarm, everyone on the Stepfathers has. Once you get that form into your muscle memory all other forms fall into place.

One thing I will say about developing a form, it is a lot harder to write it down and plug it into a group. Let the group play and discover what form it wants to do.

Are there really only 6 games? What are they?

That's just a saying.

There's actually only 7 games.

hi i took improv class wit u couple timez but dint get on snl so can i have my $$ back pls wat a ripoff smh

I'm so sorry, you you should be on snl by now, please call UCB for a refund.

I'm currently taking an improv class, and I'm having trouble getting comfortable with my current classmates/teacher. As a result, I feel strange and so use zany, strange characters that don't really connect very well. How can I get into a more comfortable place with my group?

Relax and embrace your uncomfortableness.

Do not treat your strange characters as a bad thing, they will come back to save you some day. It seems what you need to do now is work hard at playing it real.

A lot of times when we got into a new class we want to impress everyone with our humor. You are in a scene, there are no laughs, the class must really think I'm not funny. I'll show them funny...oh wait what was the scene about?

Try getting in your head a little, try responding as you would in every day life, as if it were happening to you for real. You may not get laughs, but you will get farther.

I notice you almost never play wealthy Southern socialites from the 1960s in your improv. Why is that?

Because wealthy Southern socialites from the 1950s are funnier.

Which improviser would you rather play with: someone who is very precise or someone who is very unpredictable? They're not necessarily mutually exclusive, but I'm interested in knowing with whom do you feel your very best.

This is a real Sophie's Choice!

I would hope that I would want to play with all kinds, and that I could make the adjustments to what my scene partner is giving me. Throughout the week I will play in different shows with different people with different approaches. My goal is to adjust to them, and, if they have the same goal we can meet in the middle.

If I am working with someone who is very precise and structured with their gameplay,[Robot] that allows me to go off a little more, knowing that they will keep me tethered to the game. This is fun because I get to do a lot of Don't Think style characters.

If I am working with an unpredictable, impulsive player[Pirate]. I enjoy The challenge of keeping the scene in reality. I get a kick out of feeding the other person for laughs.

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