Play! Play! Play!

[Gnome]

Happy Birthday! / experimental vs commercially successful improv

Happy Birthday! It's my Birthday! Happy Birthday!

222.....4...4
....2....4...4
222.....4444
2.............4
.222.........4 (this was more difficult than it should have been)

I went to see ImprovAsylum tonight. I've been hearing from most people that I meet that IB is more experimental and IA is more commercially successful. Most of my improv contacts are all artsy fartsy like me so they've been talking crap about IA - "well, have you ever seen a show?" "No, they cost $20!" Tonight I decided to see for myself. I sort of regret never seeing a Dad's Garage show while I was in Atlanta for the same reason. But if you've never been to a $20 improv show it really gets you curious what makes it twice as good as the $10 show across town.

It wasn't twice as good - but it was very enjoyable - it had a talented cast - and I got to see another group's perspective.

It is my understanding that most improv cities have their two main camps - the "placate the audience and do exactly what they want" and the "we're going to do good work and stretch ourselves and hopefully the audience will enjoy it". These are extreme generalizations, but there seems to be a line. If you think about it "experimental" and "commercially successful" are two concepts that can be quite difficult to exist together. I prefer experimental - but you need to be commercially successful enough to keep the theatre open - that kinda works like a checks and balances of improv.

I think that I could definitely learn something at IA. They have a lot to teach as far as professionalism and stage presence and actual performance value. One thing that I'm not very good at (mostly on purpose) is giving the audience the easy joke. If I think that it is predictacle, I try to avoid it. But you know what - sometimes hitting the predictable joke is the right thing to do - and I should be comfortable playing on both sides of the line. Sometimes you gotta be a child molesting priest, sometimes you gotta be a crotchety old man saying, "back in my day." I don't like to do it - but I should be able to pull it out every now and then when the time is right.

I don't think that I'd want to perform at IA though - at least not as my only performance outlet and at least not for an extended period of time. The people there were very talented and they made me laugh - I just felt that I would be too limited were I performing under those situations. I could have it pegged completely wrong though. I'm sure that if I stick around I'll end up taking some classes there and that might change my perspective.

One of my friends in Phoenix told me (paraphrased): "I'm glad that the Jester'Z exist. Because a lot of people want 'Who's Line Is It Anyway.' And that demand should be met. The fact that Jester'Z fulfills that need means that we don't have to address it."

I am Mr. Artsy Fartsy. I want to go play where there are no rules or limits. I want to fly when I improvise. To return to the womb. To transcent physics.

It can be difficult to transcend physics with Ben and JLo . . . but not impossible.

 

[Gnome]

Jander / Aggressive Improv

A lot of improvisers have their unique style. When you play with them you learn how they field different offers and how to play with them well. Sometimes you'll get off the stage and say to yourself "that scene would never happen without [player x] on stage." One of the most unique improvisers I’ve ever played with is my friend Jander. Jander breaks newbies.

Jander’s improv is not audience oriented. He doesn’t perform well under pressure and plays a lot of animals, aliens, inanimate objects, concepts, and feelings. He enjoys giving a voice to that which can not speak for itself. Beginners can’t play with him. That is why I love to watch scenes that he does with them. The looks of confused shock are priceless.

He’s got his shit down. If you’re able to ride his craziness to the edge and back wonderful things will prevail – and you’ll both have a ton of fun in the process. I can’t even handle him in large quantities – but he brings something really fun to scenes and pushes your limits. Deep down he wants nothing more than to romp around with you like puppies.

My friend recently threw down the proverbial gauntlet. He said he liked playing with me because I challenge him and he knows I can usually take care of myself on stage. Sounds to me like it is time for a little “how far can I push you out of your comfort zone” challenge between the two of us! And of course, one must leave their own comfort zone if they’re to push on the other. I don’t know if anything major will come of it – but I’m getting really excited about the proposal of completely hosing my scene partner from time to time . . . just during rehearsal for now.

I think that having a malicious/challenging intent upon a background of respect and play could produce some beauty – or possibly some crap – but I think that it is a good thing for everyone’s personal growth to give aggressive improv a try.

I hope that I’m not about to lose all my friends.

 

[Gnome]

Crappy Rehearsal

Yay for crappy rehearsals! They remind us that we should strive to better ourselves and . . . well - no - I'm just rationalizing at this point.

I came in tired. check
I came in with a lot on my mind. check
I came in expecting more than 4 people (including director). check
I came in expecting sketch (we did improv). check

But this really should not have been enough to throw me so badly.

We were doing work on sponteniety (such as my spontaneous spelling) and getting out of your head - yet I was doing the worst scenework / was the least playful I've been in months. I also brought down the group since I was in 2/3rds of the scenes throwing my poopy energy around.

Director Man said the purpose was to push us out of our comfort zone. It was successful in that. Too bad I didn't rise to meet the new challenge very well.

I accept tonight's work as one of those things that require you to get into your head to learn - then when you get back out of it you'll do it subconsciencely. That is frequently how I work. I sucked ass in Phoenix because I was learning so much - but now the stuff that I actively learned is automatic.

Or perhaps I just wasn't present and got nothing out of the workshop? Perhaps that was the point? Eh?

Tomorrow is another day. Show at IB. T-minus 3 days till unemployment.

 

[Gnome]

I hunger. Banishing characters / actions

In the past week of improv I think I've eaten like 10 things that people don't normally eat. (the tastiest was a golfball) To qualify this - I do improv almost daily.

Eating seems to have become my fall-back "random" thing to do for the week - and for whatever reason I'm falling back to my fall-back quite often. I'm not eating out of fear - and I'm eating in the moment - but it simply is happening too often.

I usually react to such observations by banishing the character / action for a few weeks. Goodby Mr. Eat-Random-Things. I'll see you in a few weeks!

*mimes chopping down a tree*

Fuck.

 

[Gnome]

The Tribe / Empty Set / UMass Comedy Festival / Employment

Twas in a slump for about a week. These things happen. The last few days I've been rockin' out anew.

Also in the news, I've been asked to join The Tribe! The Tribe is kinda groovy in that it is a performance group with several sub-ensembles that form, disband, and reform on a somewhat regular basis. I've been "plugged into" a subensemble called "Villalobos." I don't know anything except that it is a longform show, and it might be a soap-opera / comedia type show (same characters week after week?). This officially makes my schedule crazy.

I'm really doubting if I can continue being a part of Empty Set beyond this weekend's show. I really should have a good talk with the director before he reads this. I enjoy Empty Set . . . but at this point it conflicts with improv twice/week. And in all truth - I am a lazy bitch that isn't willing to put in the time outside of rehearsals to develop / memorize scripts. I sort of feel an obligation to stick around for reasons I won't go into.

This weekend is the UMass Comedy Festival. I'm really looking forward to it. Some cool people that I don't see very often will be there and I think they've got some pretty high-caliber(sp?) instructors coming out. Drunken characterwork is always fun! I believe that both GI and Empty Set have half-hour slots.

Job scenario: They renewed my contract! I'm working on a pretty kickass project which has a lot of importance and visibility (unlike my last two contracts with them). I also had two interviews last week for full-time employment - I may have a full-time job by the end of the week. I also passed the ISO 9001 Internal Auditing class - that is a major boost to my resume. Yay!

That's all for now. After a week off of IRC, I've got a lot of journals to read!

 

[Gnome]

Experimentation

I don't understand why improvisors would not want to try something new. I want to try everything. A duo show, solo show, interpretive dance, improv in the public, multimedia, just friggin' everytime I hear about a new show concept I want to try it.

If I give it a try and don't like it - fine - I'll put it on the back-burner for a while. I might return to it, or I might not, but I'll always have the lessons learned from the project.

What I don't understand is the improvisor that isn't willing to give a project an honest effort. This isn't a "I'm right, you're wrong" rant, it is more of a curiosity. It is a concept that I simply can't wrap my mind around - and in all truth - jumping into the mind of a player like this could do nothing but improve my relationships with scene partners. "Why do you improvise if you're not willing to take risks?" The player that inspired this post posts to IRC and knows my handle so he/she'll undoubtedly read this post at some point. As stated, I hold no contempt and still plan to commit 100% with you and every other player I share the stage with.

I will make you perfect.

 

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Resolution / UMass

As expected / hoped for, the person that inspired my last post PMed me. I was glad to get their perspective and learn a little more about the situation. It seems that they were more concerned with the lack of preparation for the format, than with the format itself. We open in 13 days and have yet to do a full run-through. I can understand why this would worry someone, but I'm not concerned. Not that it matters terribly since they have left the ensemble.
--
UMass Comedy Jam was awesome last weekend. WPI and UMass Amherst have been getting together like twice/year for these sorts of events and they're always a blast. Poetry Dudes friggin' stole the show - was sweet. Met a group called Bossley that came in from Chicago and taught workshops and a guy named Shockwave from NYC. Nothing earth-shattering, but it was a new voice saying the same things in different ways which is always good. I also really enjoyed working with a bunch of people that I didn't know. Armed with my trusty Ben and a handfull of strangers, I was able run full-stride into the great improv unknown.

Empty set and GI went well. We just did an improvised musical. I got to play an old fish-market owner who was feuding with the shrimp market guy, and I played an ant. [Side note: I love singing as a non-human ].

My "in the moment" day continued to the afterparty where I amused the hell out of four girls from Holyoke. I'm normally very reserved around women, but I was completely rockin' out. Too bad they live like 1.5 hours away. Also, at the party, I got an invite to crash with the Bossley guys if I'm ever in Chicago. This pushes me that much closer to saying fuck it and registering for CIF.

On a sad note: I accidently left a towel, a work-shirt, and one of my favorite pairs of pants at UMass. *Sadness*

 

[Gnome]

I love gibberish!

And I'm proud of it!

Why?

Because 80% of the time, what you say simply doesn't matter.

Play! Play! Play!

 

[Gnome]

Cif

I'm registered!

Damn I'm pumped about this. I signed up for the full weekend dealio. I believe I'll be taking classes with Zack Ward, Mark Sutton (Annoyance), Matt Elwell (ComedySportz), Peter Gwinn (IO), Dave Razowsky (Second City), as well as a large group sesssion with Mick Napier.

I have had very few classes with nationally recognized improv bad-asses (two workshops with Jeff Wirth and one with Jeffrey Sweet), so I'm really looking forward to this.

I'll be crashing with Andy from Bossley when I'm in Chicago - whom apparently lives close to the theatre district and mass-transit. I love it - I just met him two weeks ago and he's letting me crash at his place - there's the improv community love for ya! I need to check to see if any of my Phoenix or Atlanta friends are going. (PIF this weekend!)

I haven't looked over the show-schedules yet, but there are a few things I definitely want to see: JoKyR & Jesster, Jill Bernard's Drum Machine, an "Organic Improv" show, a Harold, and I think I'd like to see a multi-media show just to see what people are up to. I expect that I'll be going to a lot of shows.

I'm also signed up in an all-night improv instateam.

Anyhow - I'm really excited. I may post a picture of me later so there is a greater chance of meeting IRCers.

YAY!

 

[Gnome]

Dependability / Redirecting emotion in improv

This is a confession, and "a confession tends to imply guilt."

I am not a dependable person - in most contexts. This is one of my faults, and I'm aware of it, and yet I continue to fail at addressing it. It has caused me much embarassment and caused those that trust me much concern. I NEED to work on this (note: I'm writing this at work - how much more hypocritical can I get?)

Last Friday was the final show of the school year for Empty Set and GI. Call was 6PM for a 7PM show. So I'm at work Friday and just feeling absolutely worn out. I know that I have no more productivity left in me so I leave work early (4PM) so I can drive to campus and possibly take a nap there. As I get into my car I realize that I'm worse off than I thought. I am at the point of exhaustion where it is unsafe to drive. I do a lot of cross country driving and I know when it is unsafe to drive (personally, I bounce my knee up and down violently to keep myself awake - but this strategy has a short lifespan).

Anyhow - it is only 4PM, call is 6PM, and it is a half-hour drive. No biggy - if I'm that tired I can take a nap. So there I am - in the parking lot of my employer - leaving early - needing to sleep. I don't want to sleep where I'm visible so I make the logical step to sleep in my trunk (my back seat folds down - I slept half-way in my trunk for 2 months while I was road-tripping last summer). So I'm balled up in my trunk with some crap in front of me so I can't be seen from outside the car. I then impliment every strategy I know of to prevent long sleeping (set the alarm on my cell phone, drink a lot of soda so I'll need to piss, don't use a blanket so I'll be cold, sleep in an uncomfortable position, and I figure the noise of my co-workers starting up their cars during the next hour would wake me up - well - as I'm sure the reader figured out a long time ago - I wake up at 6:20.

Call was 20 minutes ago. The show is in 40 minutes. The venue is 30-40 minutes away. As I frantically hop into the driver's seat I recall that 290 is under some hefty construction which means driving at 5-10 mph for a few miles. SHIT! To avoid 290 I decide to try a new route that I've been meaning to try. So I'm running drastically late to a sketch/improv show and I'm about to try a new route to get to the venue. Add to this that I have no way to get ahold of anyone. I only have one person's cell-phone number and they never have it on them. I was SO berating myself as I went cruising 80 mph through that 50 mph limit construction zone. I arrive at 6:58PM.

At this point I should mention something about the sketch show. It was a half hour set. It was the first of the two sets. It was a 5 person cast and the majority of the material had been developed within the last week. Some of the sketches had NEVER worked well in rehearsal. The previous night we had a rehearsal that made us all hate ourselves. It was very iffy - and I really needed to do a run through. No time for that. I don't know what the contingency plan was - but I was surprised that they hadn't changed the show order so that GI went on before Empty Set.

So there I am - with a really shakey sketch show - feeling guilty as all hell - figuring that I'd sit out for the improv show I was so scatterbrained . . . and then, somehow, both shows proceeded to rock the fuck out!

Personally, I transformed the crazy amount of energy I had built up within me during the half-hour drive into some beautiful work. Product placement. Karaoke. Holy crap - those sketches were exceedingly rough and sucked ass the night before and they friggin' paid off huge.

I took the energy I had from the drive, plus the energy from a good sketch show, and it propelled me to do wonderful work in improv as well. "Statue!" The director complimented me on doing one of the best sets he'd seen out of me. He also told me to never friggin' do that to him again.


I mess up like this too often. I need some negative reinforcement or I'll never learn my lesson. It worked out this time - but it might not next time. And I honestly feel like shit for breaking the trust of my partners.

 

[Gnome]

Villalobos Premier

Last night was Villalobos' premier at the Cantab.

The audience response was positive. The cast seemed to think that it went well. I felt unfulfilled. Not sure exactly why.

I'm not sure if we're failing to reach the group's goals, or if I'm failing to understand what the group's goals are. Last night was a shit example of what I was aiming for/expecting - but a good example of something else. Too bad I was so caught up on my expectations that I didn't enjoy what was right in front of me. That's not like me.

I think that I'm thinking too much. I will have to think on this . . . or something. . .

 

[Gnome]

CIF: side by side with improv badasses

I'm taking a class with Jeff Wirth at CIF.

Oh - but he's not teaching - he's participating - just like me.

Holy crap that is weird!

I'm also taking classes with Neraj, the director of The Tribe.

I'll also be meeting a bunch of yesand types randomly through the weekend and especially at Mick's masterclass.

Other cool news - I've got a business trip next Monday-Wednesday. This pertains to improv because I get to see Bassprov and I only have to pay the difference in airfare ($50) to add Chicago to the trip. Nice.

 

[Gnome]

Building a town

Last night Villalobos had our first rehearsal since our first show. We spent quite a bit of time discussing our thoughts on the first show.

Over the past week I've been trying to wrangle my response to the show into words and I think I've summed it up into two parts. Most people agreed with my assessments.

1. One dimensional characters. Not everyone's, but most people's characters are based on obsession of some sort. One is obsessed with another character, one is obsessed with conspiracy theory, mine was obsessed with NYC and bitter about being stuck in Villalobos. These are one-trick ponies. They can carry you through a one-hour show - but they can't carry you from show to show, week to week. You become a caricature, not a character. Not to say that there is anything wrong with having a few caricatures around. You just need a few deep characters in your repertoire as well or else you'll never get any stage time without stealing the scene.

Also, related to this idea of one-dimension, currently the town only has a few locations where scenes occur - and it is normally attached to one of the character's domain. The bakery, the doctor's office, and individual's house, etc. Don't these people have hobbies? Don't they just meet sometimes?

2. Relationship scenes. In our first show we had three primary plot-lines - all of them were "I want to have sex with you" plotlines. Perhaps it is just a personal pet peeve of mine, but "I want to have sex with you" and "I'm breaking up with you" scenes tend to bore me. There is nothing wrong with them individually - and last weeks' three plotlines were very different and interesting on their own merits - but they dominated the show and threaten to dominate the run. I liked the random thought I threw into an IM discussion last night, "the easiest, though not necessarily the best, way to heighten an innuendo scene is to clarify."


The director's response to this was great. We did three main things:

1. We discussed our concerns / desires for our own, and each other's characters. We were also encouraged to get hobbies and make them known. By knowing the secrets and the motivations of the other characters it makes it easier to play off of them. I slipped into a scene or two earlier where I was remodeling my house but nobody really knew what to do with it - it wasn't until we discussed it as players that I made it clear I was remodeling the house with the intent to sell it as soon as possible so I can leave. Just by putting this out in the open as a player I discovered that with each new project I undertake, I grow more attached to the house, and to villalobos. "If this, then what" I really don't want to leave Villalobos. "If that, then what" I pretend to be bitter and angry as a defense mechanism to being lonely. Holy crap! My one-dimensional character is gaining depth! Just by talking through it. Other players had similar breakthroughs with their characters.

2. We wanted to add some depth and make some discoveries about the characters - we also wanted to add some established locations to the town. To do this Paul had each character give a brief monologue about / in their favorite location in Villalobos. The other players would become objects / people within this location. The objects could speak if they chose, "Way to take care of your national bird, jackass!", and the primary character would interact with at least one other villalobos dweller while in their place of power. Eight characters, eight new locations added to the town. We also learned about the favorite places of each character.

3. Each character chose one character that they haven't worked with much and we carried out scenes in locations where neither of them had the upper hand (except in one situation where it was a very dominant character and a very passive character - we put that scene at the passive character's mother's gravesite - beautiful, empowering choice). Walla - new locations, and tightening up of our loosest relationships.

All of these were wonderful exercises and much more useful than "another runthroughTM" would have been. Major props to Paul.

Another observation that I sort of made during the discussions that didn't really think about until the drive home. I realized earlier that I wouldn't mind having a wife - then I thought that it would be cool to play my own wife so that I could totally play off of myself. During the discussion another player independently made the same statement (she has an established husband and has stated that she doesn't want anyone to play him). This tells me something (just a theory at this point). People want to have really deep relationships, but they don't trust that they can pull it off with others. Currently the closest relationship we have (outside of obsessions) is an aunt / niece - which is a really fun dynamic they play.

I propose that we simply keep an open discussion of things we want, don't want. Personally, I don't want to sell my house unless it is just the perfect situation. I would like to have someone assist me with renovating the house or at least someone that I seek related advice from. I would also like to know a medical secret about each character. People want to have relationships but are afraid to cast other people. We just need to make these things known.

I also think that we need more named characters, even if they don't have the same level of depth.

We're building a town here.

 

[Gnome]

CIF7 / Lazy . . . for now

I plan to write out a shorter, IRC specific journal entry, but for now I'm posting my thoughts on yesand. Why? Because I love them more! . . . and they're more interactive . . .

In the interim, you can see my thoughts (as I write them) at:

http://yesand.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=13620&start=45

You could probably guess it for yourself, but I post as Laughing_Gnome.

 

[Gnome]

Negative effects of Playing?

I don’t feel like writing any more about CIF right now. I’m sure it’ll seep into future postings and my thoughts have been pretty thoroughly documented on yesand so I’ll leave it at that.

A thought. Is there such a thing as harmful improv? Most instructors I’ve had suggested that the best way to get better is simply to play, play, play. I largely agree with this (as the journal name may suggest ), however I think that certain forms of playing can have negative effects on your prov.

A few questionable cases that I’ve run into:

Playing with passive people if you are naturally aggressive can lead you to be too reluctant to get up on stage. I was a dominant player in a group for a while, and if I attacked the stage every time I wanted to some of the passive players would sit and watch for the entire workshop. Hence I hug the back wall a bit more – hence everyone does – hence group energy goes down the toilet in the name of “no improviser left behind.” I think that this is more of a problem in a teaching environment rather than a performance environment.

Playing with aggressive people if you are naturally passive can lead you to be too reluctant to get up on stage. I don’t normally run into this, but when I was playing with Apollo 12 I felt severely outclassed and was going through some improv growing pains – I would sometimes hug the backline. I think that the experienced stretched and challenged me, but I can see how it could have a negative effect on some. I’m not sure if this is a correct assessment of my mindset but it seems to make sense and fit the topic of discussion.

Playing with people dramatically below your experience level. I think that this can be good in moderate doses so long as you are also playing with equally experienced people elsewhere. It challenges you in many ways, but I fear it may also reduce the amount of trust you have for your partner even outside of that realm. Getting subtle offers ignored on a regular basis could cause you to become more obvious (I’m not a big fan of exposition – seems most improvisers aren’t). However, getting offers ignored will teach you how to form good offers and how to stick to your shit in a scene. I think that there is a lot that you can learn from newbies and you’ll only learn from them if you treat them as equals. They’ll throw offers at you that you may not expect. I hope this isn’t me being conceited but I think that to completely ignore levels of experience is not realistic.

Playing in a place that has a drastically different point of view. I had a friend that wanted to do zany short form work. That’s cool. However, the only improv in town was a Spolin group. He hated it and eventually quit. I wonder if he had stuck around longer if it would have had a positive or negative effect?

There are probably several other forms of play that can cause you to take a step backwards in your development. I don’t know if the key is to be aware of the possible problems, to clear your mind of them and just play with hope and faith, or to avoid these situations all together. I don’t know.

This post changes nothing.

 

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Organic vs Annoyance Theory

I am guessing that I’m not understanding something correctly, but my current understanding of Organic and Annoyance theory is firing off some contradictory synapses in my head.

I’m going to take a case study of the first moments of one particular scene that I did at CIF during Mick’s analysis session thingy. As I was entering the scene my only thought was “I am going to touch my scene partner.” I reach out to him and discover that my character is lame and he is helping me walk. One of his first lines of dialogue introduces the idea that he is somehow responsible for my being injured. I quickly check into the scene and decide to be angry with him. The scene progresses from there: he feels guilty and wants to help and I’m being pissy.

Was my initial “deal” that I would base my future deal on the response to touching my scene partner? I guess that could be a meeting point of the two theories? I felt that I was playing from a position of power but my entire character was reactive to how my partner and I reacted to my original act of reaching out. I was trusting that one of us would get something out of the touch which would throw me into a position that I had not even considered – and that is where I prefer to play from.

One of the main things Mick said during my diagnosis (which I agree I have a tendency to do this, sometimes poorly and perhaps too often?) is that I give up on my deal. I don’t see this as something which is bad, unless it is done as a crutch or with high frequency. I think that making an active decision to change your character, (POV, physicality, voice, etc) to mesh the scene is fair game if done in the first few exchanges (Does the audience agree? Would they forgive someone adopting an accent or drastically switching viewpoints at the top of the scene? I don’t know). In the above scene, I was not angry with my scene partner until after his first or second line at which point my POV changed. Perhaps if I’d had a POV on our relationship as well as the “touch him” deal it could have led to a more interesting scene. If I decided that I love him ahead of time – then it comes out that he injured me – that would be more interesting to see me fawn over my assailant? Reacting in anger to being injured is more realistic, but perhaps not as funny (and yes – I understand that fawning over an assailant can be realistic if your character dictates it), and perhaps this behavior leads to more ordinary scenes without pushing your boundaries?

I think in general I take a little from column A and a little from column B perhaps a bit too much from column B? Sometimes I love to come out with something strong and stick to my guns. Sometimes I love to come out with nothing and get sprung into the scene through reaction to the first thing I notice.

Variety is the spice of life.

 

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A Place To Play

I think that every city needs a place where local improvisors (or traveling improvisors) can just sit in and play for cheap or free.

It would be a big hippy commune where everyone takes turns leading. You're not learning from the greats, but you're ideally learning from your peers or those slightly better than you. And your peers have plenty to teach if you'd give them the same respect that you give the instructor of your typical 8-week session.

This is not a movement to replace the 8-week formal instruction - but rather a movement to supliment it. Really good teachers have their place and are an important part of the improv learning cycle but so many people think that it is the only way to learn improv. Sadly, in many cities, it takes a lot of initiative to find other ways to learn.

How can you play effectively if you're scraping to pay for classes?

Oh damn . . . this is rekindling my desire to start up a studio!

I wanna get a big empty warehouse, have a modest living area in the back for me (cut costs and such). Every weeknight from 7 to 10 we'll jam. I'll ask for volunteers to teach ahead of time. They'll post what they plan on working on on an online forum . . . or not. There'll be a minimal pressure donation system that is split between costs of the space and a small bonus for that night's instructor. If people want to keep jamming past 10, that's cool - stay as long you'd like. Lock up when you're done. I might have to figure out a "stay overnight" policy and other insurance / business license issues. I'd also give out several extra keys / passcodes to trusted individuals so that I don't always have to be there.

So that I don't have to deal with performance safety codes and licensing and whatnot we'll perform for free or donations at some public / free space. A park or college or something. Outdoor performances would be cool, but are trouble ridden. I'd prefer to avoid coffee houses / bars but I don't know what the rules are regarding performances in public places the they might be a necessity. Money raised goes to publicity, bringing in professional directors on occation, and supporting the space.

While this is a great way to learn improv, it must be understood and accepted that performance quality will undoubtly drop, at least at the beginning. This would be a den for the troupeless intermediate improvisor. A place to learn together, meet future project partners, and hopefully those that move on to the established troupes will remember their training and reinvest some of their time into the system as players / teachers.

Good lord that is a fabulous dream. How real could it be? How many unseen nightmarish things will plague me? Will the hassle of running a space / troupe like this completely destroy improv for me? Can I maintain this while living a normal life with a day job? Can it eventually lead to financial sustinance? If it could lead to financial sustinance - does that destroy the vision?

I fear that I'll never pursue this beyond talking about it. I also fear that it becomes a reality and it destroys me.

As Dave Razowsky (sp?) stated during CIF7, being an improvisor means you must have faith and hope.

 

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ImprovBoston Auditions

Lalala

Been kinda on the downlow for a little bit. Biggest news is that ImprovBoston had auditions for the last two nights. They normally promote from the classes and apparently this is the first open audition they've had for the mainstage since '99. As a result, half of the Boston improv community auditioned. I'm exaggerating, but I think the final count was something like 100 people. Two nights, 4 hours each night, each split into half hour sessions, ~8 people per session. They didn't say how many people they wanted except that they were recruiting for their three main shows (Micetro type show, theatresportz, and mainstage). Callbacks are Saturday should I make it. I would love to get in, but won't be heartbroken if I don't. I think that is a good place to be.

Showed up 10 minutes early with my headshot (my headshot experiences will probably get a post sometime in the future) and improv resume. IB is a small place and the only thing separating the lobby from the stage is a curtain, so we had to fill out our paperwork outside in the cold. Brrrr. One of my fellow Villalobosians was there - I didn't know anyone else in my session but knew a few in the sessions before and after. I'd also at least met about half of the auditioners, a few of which know me by name and the basics of my story.

So - they ran a tight ship (as you must in such situations) and at 8:30 the group before exits and we bust in. We turn in our paperwork / headshots and get a nametag. Each person gives their name to the crowd of auditioners. They explain that the two things they're looking for most is a) have fun and b) variety of characters. Then Will (artistic director) leads a round of Aye Gazimbah. We go through it twice. I knew it (with minimal variations) some people didn't. THOSE WHO DIDN'T WILL NOT MAKE IT IN! Kidding. I kinda wish I didn't so that I could show "learning" but that's kinda a crappy viewpoint.

Two rounds of Aye Gazimbah and we went into hotspot. I love hotspot. My old troupe could be perfectly happy playing it for half hour increments. It was a common threat to do a full 2 hour hotspot workshop. Anyhow - I dig it - and I listen to really obscure music which is part of the fun for me. We played the variant where the non-singers job is to "support" the main singer. I don't like this very much - especially for an audition. Everyone ends up hamming up the "support" and the singer can end up floundering without anyone really noticing. I got caught singing one XTC song that nobody knew (I think one auditioner knew it because it got a laugh in the first line - which isn't funny by itself). Nobody - as it would seem - included myself. I kinda syllabled my way through it - got to the end and I was still there. So I started again. I think I was selling confidence this whole time - but I know that I showed relief when I finally got tagged out. Didn't dwell on it - but I was visibly glad to have escaped.

The funny thing for me during this game of hotspot was how it started as a circle, and became a backline. Nobody wanted to face away from the auditioners. I think that this happened when I entered the circle and Will left the circle (we were two of the backwards facing people). That left a two person hole that split rather than being filled. I wanted to return it to a circle but that would have interrupted things and made me look retarded so I went with it. Still funny though.

We went from this to Board Meeting. I was happy that I played a character rather than just being "Craig." Board Meeting with eight people can get overwhelming. We temporarily split into two 4 person games a few times. You want to kinda sit back in those situations, but the game itself is based off of exaggerated agreement. Nothing phenomenal - but okay.

Next we played hitchhiker. I felt I did quite well but also felt that I was playing a lot of spasticish caricatures. I say this is largely due to nerves. I had the leg shaking thing going on at the beginning of the audition but if faded. Whenever that happens (only during auditions) I wonder if people see it and what they think. Anyhow - I wanted to play a passive character or at least a realistic character when it was my turn to initiate - but I also didn't want to be "Mr. Iron Emotions". I only halfway succeeded I think. Ended up with a kinda repressed sadness. Whatever. Like all the other games, hitchhiker also acted differently than normal due to the nature of auditions. Frequently the driver would take ownership of the scene and would wait longer than necessary to pick up the hitchhiker. Will said at the beginning that they shouldn't be scenes - they should just be 4 quick characters then rotate. I didn't get to display my understanding of this very well since I was the last driver and had no hitchhiker to pick up. Oh well.

We finished up with a very short session of freeze tag. Very short. I had one scene - the most that anyone had was three scenes. Then they thanked us for coming - I gathered my belongings - and went on my merry way back home. When I arrived I took part in the requisite half hour IM discussion about it with Ben (who auditioned Monday).

I certainly wasn't at the top of my game. And I got caught up in the "gotta sell myself gotta sell myself gotta sell myself" attitude more than I would have liked. But I felt that I had fun and showed a decent variety of characters (except for the spastic thing I mentioned) earlier. My resume is decently strong (5+ years with 6 different troupes in 3 different states, experience with directing, 4 festival appearances, workshops at CIF). I would put myself in the top 20% by what I saw. And my headshot was STUNNING!

Anyhow. Callbacks are Saturday. So if I don't hear anything by Saturday morning I'll assume that everyone hates me for wasting their time.

I don't know what callbacks are like, but I kinda like their approach to the first level of auditions. Each exercise pointed out different things about the performer that may not show up if you just do a bunch of straight scenes. It really gives you a good idea of the approach people have to improv. Cool.

I have nothing else to say - just wanted to document their process.

 

[Gnome]

Waiting

Crap. I think that complacency has kicked in. My temporary holding pattern has become the accepted norm rather than a motivation to improve.

I'm waiting to become more established in the improv scene. I'm waiting for a job. I'm waiting for a relationship. I'm waiting for quitting time. I'm waiting for bedtime. Might as well be waiting for death (not quite - but I thought it summed up the thought nicely). Like in a scene - silence and stillness can be extremely powerful if done correctly - if used to hold and focus potential energy.

How can that kind of life outlook not manifest itself in scene work? If I don't make active choices in life then how could I do it in scenes? Do I just wait for each scene to end? Do I complacently accept the level at which I'm currently playing? I sure hope not.

The title of the journal is PLAY! PLAY! PLAY! but that doesn't mean that I don't have to remind myself to do this at times. It is all about the process. And you can't wait for the process - you have to be a part of it.

It's this pain that tells us we're alive, it tells us that we aren't just marking time on this planet - we're dancing. And I would rather trip and fall on my face a million times than give up on a chance to fly.

 

[Gnome]

The Adventures of Judge Judgealot and the Judging Judgies

The Adventures of Judge Judgealot and the Judging Judgies

Once upon a time - everything was groovy. There were a bunch of gods and goddesses just hanging out and having a good time. The rocked out all the time because they didn't require sleep to survive and there was no such thing as a noise ordinances or the resulting $50 fines. There was crazy sex, drugs, and rock and roll going on frequently, but they also had an unbelievably good time playing chinese checkers. Not all of the gods were equal but nobody would know from looking at them.

One day Old Man Winter discovered humans as the secret prize in a box of Cracker Jacks. He was pumped! The humans told Old Man Winter that he was old and ugly and smelled bad. They wondered why he couldn't be hot like that Athena chick.

Man . . . I would so do Athena.

In the next 30 years that original band of humans slaughtered all of the gods that they didn't like, populated and developed the earth unevenly, wrote a false history of humankind filled with stories of hate, love, and indifference, and killed anyone that didn't agree to never speak of these things again. This brings us to "1980" - the year that I, Judge Judgealot, was born. I would like to remind the reader that I had no control over my name. It was my stupid parents' stupid idea.

I grew up with a bunch of asshole bullies that would call me names - obviously out of their own insecurity and feelings of inferiority. I wanted to stand up to them but none of the other pansies they made fun of would help. They were a bunch of scaredy wusses! So I rationally and purposefully decided to be stoic and put up with the retarded, genetically inferior behemoths confident with the fact that I was better than them - which I was, am, and always will be. Then one day I saw Mary "Barfbag" Porter trip and fall because she was a clumsy whore that never gave it up for me. I chuckled to myself but then this nosey fuckhead psychic bully bitchass felt my vibes and shit (Like any of that bullshit is real!) and said some wacked out shit about me suddenly being cool. So all of a sudden all these brain-dead sheep started following me around just because I laughed at that loser Barfbag chick (It wasn't even very difficult - these things come to me easily). They tagged along everywhere I went. I barely had any time to myself to bask in my own glory.

Long story made shorter - I named them my Judging Judgies and we went on some adventures that were wicked awesome and might uplift you if you heard them - but I don't have time to tell the likes of you.

I can tell that you don't like my story - I can see right through your false praise of my genius. That's okay - I knew you wouldn't get it back before I even started. I don't know why I even bother sometimes. But - hey - I'll see you at rehearsal next week.