Be Your Own Hero

What I Learned from Improv: So Emotional.

Well, another Improv filled Sunday afternoon has come to pass, and I learned some more stuff. This weekend was quite timely for me... After a particularly emo Saturday, I marched on to Go Comedy! in Ferndale planning to start/end my week with some good, old fashioned, self-humiliation. (It is actually quite cathartic.)

We were focusing this week on emotion. Honestly, this is a class that lets just say, I haven't been looking forward to. I typically don't like to bring a lot of emotion to things. It's not that I don't have it... I think it's just some sort of self protective cloak of invisibility. Well, I left my effing cloak in the car, and did the damn thing.

Bring emotion to your scenes. I realize how basic this sounds, but when your brain is just trying to keep up, things like bringing emotion to a pretend situation are really some of the first things to go. So be present. Bring emotion.

As I was acting REALLY angry, (and trust me, I had the rage... re: emo Saturday) I realized what a gift it is to be able to march around like Mr. MadPants as much as you want. As grown ups we end up sucking it up the majority of the time. Something pisses us off, we only really have a grace period of about 15 minutes to feel what we feel before we have to pick and be "fine".

I found out the thing that I feared (being emotionally present) felt great. Don't interpret that as me being good at it quite yet, but it felt good. I felt like I was allowed. Like I gave myself permission to be that thing completely... angry, happy, scared, whatever. Now that I realize my emotions have a pulse. I need to learn how to connect that emotion in real time with my scene. I think it'll come right about the time my brain stops freaking out.

I've also realized what a powerful insight scenes are to your own natural emotional tendencies. I learned I was slightly skiddish in scenes. I ended up acting scared a lot.

Recognizing that tendency in myself in class, I started to see how I might be doing that in my 'real' life. So, you know, STOP IT!

A couple of less emotional things we learned about scene work was to say things within the scene that establish relationship and setting. Be descriptive when initiating or acting out a scene.

Stay tuned until next week for another riveting rendition what I learned from Improv... Next week we're working with objects. I know you'll be waiting like this until next Monday.

Being A Good Scene Partner

I never expected improv to be so metaphoric. I thought it would be a class where you go every Sunday, maybe say a couple of funny things on accident, but mostly you just end up looking kinda ridiculous and you learn how to be okay with that... -end scene-

We've been doing scene work the last couple of weeks, and next to water torture, I can't think of a slower more painful way to die. (Can you die from water torture? Anyway.) The first scene I did yesterday, I exited. The scene wasn't going ANYWHERE, and so I just said bye and slinked off the stage. Apparently, that's no bueno.

First Rule of Being a Good Partner: Don't leave. Don't leave your partner hanging. They might have to stay up there indefinitely, and you effed them in the a by leaving. After Michelle (my teacher) broke the news that I'd done a bad thing (in a really nice way), my brain went on defense/attack mode. "Well, it was her fault because she didn't give me a good scene idea to work with." "If you would have told me that before, I wouldn't have done it." "I thought it was a logical conclusion to the scene." Once I had silently exhausted all my mental non-sense, I realized that it was no more my scene partners fault than my own. Yes, she didn't come up with a strong idea and commit to it, but neither did I. Yes, my teacher didn't tell us that isn't kosher ahead of time, but without having done it, it wouldn't have had context and or meant anything to me. Now I can comfortably say I will never leave a scene unprompted again. (Until I get good and know when that is supposed to happen)

Michelle told us, "Make bold decisions for a scene. It gives your partner something to work from. You might think that you're being a good scene partner by letting your partner choose, but really you are just making it harder for them." A couple of things I've also realized is that "I don't have an idea" or "I don't know what to do" are not valid options. It's being a bad scene partner. It's lazy and inconsiderate to pass the buck. Come up with something! Anything! Make bold decisions for the scene, and your life. It's better to make a bold decision and change/adapt it later than to never commit to anything, and have your life scene end up sucking.

After my first sucky scene, I realized that it was my own indecision and laziness that got in the way. That I didn't make any bold decisions... other than leaving... which is a whole can of worms into itself. From then on I decided to be present and be bold. I learned that I have to be willing to let myself go there... even if it's scary. I will end up looking stupid at some point. (I have found that the less I commit to a scene, the more stupid I look actually. Oh, irony.) You have to do stuff. You have to make mistakes, and do things that feel uncomfortable when they're happening to find out what you're capable of. You have to be an active, engaged version of yourself for people around you to be set up for success... what they do with it from that point is up to them, you did your part.

Moral of the Story. Make bold decisions. Give other people the chance to succeed by being present for them. You'll be more successful that way. Don't cop out, and leave because it's not going your way. Act differently to solve the problem. Jump in. Be unexpected. You acting on your ideas gives other people some traction to develop on theirs... and don't be a dick.

10 Things I Learned from My First Improv Class.

LISTEN!!
Might seem basic, but most of us are just wait for the other person to stop talking, so that we can say what we want to... That's not where it's at. Hear that person. Listen. It creates a shared experience.

Say YES, and..." 
Saying "yes" seems pretty basic, but it's so easy to stop yourself short of what could be just because you decided to say "no". Okay, you got "yes" down? Now add the "and..." That's where the magic happens. Take what the other person is saying and build off of it. One person says “We're in a submarine,” Person two replies, “Yes, and my room has a waterbed,” and on and on until you end up in some weird ass place you never could have imagined at the beginning. If that reality ends up being funny, that’s great, but if it's not that doesn't make it any less improv. It's about creating a world with someone else.

Be in the moment.
You have to be present to really live in that world you just made. I'm working on this.

Every person's contribution is as important as another's

 












Take chances
...be scared, but keep going.

Follow your own instincts.

 












Let yourself fail. Go for it.
Odds are shits not going to be funny... especially at first. Roll with it without being judge-y. It's a process.

Keep exploring past the initial thought... that's where the good stuff is.
I found myself thinking of the most obvious and un-funny things, and getting kind of stuck on those concepts. I could have stopped right there, and felt like I was destined to suck at Improv Comedy for the rest of my life. BUT I didn't. I kept thinking about it... It gets funnier after you get rid of all the stupid ideas.

Observe your self talk & see if/how it serves you
This speaks to the past point... you not telling yourself that you're a lost cause because you came up with some tankers. It's cool be patient... You're learning a new skill. 

Don't shy away from what you know. Use it!
You're smart. Chances are you know a lot about something. Use it. Talk about baseball if that's your thing, or trains, or whatever... just roll with it. Your perspective is important.