#improvsiation

[lovepoemsforjaehyun]

Jae!!!! This is something right here!!! His improvisation song for Everyday April!!

Video credits: 뽀르떼 @ YouTube

[improvoctopus-blog]

Kurt Vonnegut's Rules Of Writing (And Improv. Kinda.)

I generally try to avoid mentioning Billy Merritt by name. He's like Beetlejuice, in that if you say his name three times he shows up at your house and gives away all your Zagnut bars to passing vermin. That having been said, a few years back he pointed out the following set of rules for writing from Kurt Vonnegut while coaching Sentimental Lady as bits of wisdom that need be adapted only slightly to apply to long form improv:

Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted.

Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.

Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.

Every sentence must do one of two things—reveal character or advance the action.

Start as close to the end as possible.

Be a Sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them—in order that the reader may see what they are made of.

Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia.

Give your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible. To hell with suspense. Readers should have such complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches eat the last few pages.

I quote rules 3, 6, and 7 liberally when I teach. Rule 6 (Be a sadist, for those of you who can't be bothered to scroll upwards) in particular has been something of a driving force for me personally in scenes, as evidently I'm just an asshole looking for an outlet. It dovetails nicely with the emotional heightening nonsense I'm always going on about, and I enjoy watching scenes where characters are forced to deal with something that pushes them out of their comfort zone.

[improvcomedyshows]

This is an improvised Irish Drinking Song about farting in an elevator. Performed live on stage at the Times Square Arts Center in NYC by Eight is NEVER Enough.  Featuring Laurice Fattal, Patrick Reidy and Walt Frasier (piano)