|
Due to the holidays, I haven't posted much about my improv experiences. Here's a quick recap of "what happened previously in improv."
I have been to the Farm Team workshop a few times and I am starting to feel more comfortable. Part of this is getting to know the "veterans" of the Farm Team. I already feel like I know the other members of the 101 class and have a certain level of trust with them. Another part of feeling more comfortable is that I have more experience. Having done some singing games stretched me to the point that regular games are not as scary as they used to be.
In addition, I went to a Thursday workshop where the concentration was on long-form improv. Up until that point I had no exposure with long-form. There were only a handful of people which meant there was no place to hide! This was challenging in a new way. We played different "games" and had just as much fun as with improv. One game I especially liked was where we had 5 people in a line, with each one adding to the previous persons line, in emotion as well as adding more lines. The fifth person effectively reiterates what everyone else contributed to. A light bulb turned on for me on this one when the coach pointed out how awesome it would be if we all started scenes the way the fifth person did. Wow!
I am progressing well. It is hard for me to see marked improvement, although if I was to be dropped into the Farm Team workshops the way I was before the 101 class, I would be soooo lost! I am getting better at "yes, and." The "yes" part is easy enough, the "and" part is trickier. I am also getting the hang of relationship. One coach/ref we had would side-coach us and kept asking the audience what they found interesting about the scene. It wasn't anything to do with the audience suggestion, but what was going on between the players. This is where I am spending a lot of my time. I believe I have made strides in my attitude and emotion from the work in long-form. I need to do more on this and try to come up with different emotions. I am also much better at not asking questions.
One area that I know I am lacking is interacting with the environment. My last scene involved a lot of standing around talking. Obviously I am just trying to get that part down, but I need to actually be *doing* something at the same time. I can really see that it will add color to my scenes.
Improv seems a lot like golf. There's a lot to think about in golf. Keep your head still, shoulders square, arms straight, etc. If you try to get them all right at once, you will get none of them right. Concentrating on one is the key. I am concentrating on relationships and making the scene interesting. The rest is gravy.
All in all, a successful holiday season of improv. I am looking forward to much more improv in 2008.
|
