Another mediocre performance from me. My notes tonight were: don’t explain yourself and more emotion, more pain.
Once again I fell into the trap of explaining my situation and WHY I should be emotional instead of actually BEING emotional. For this instance I said, “I was fired today!” I volunteered this information instead of letting my partner coerce it out of me. I should have communicated the fact that I was fired through my emotion. Tom wanted me to break down. Ultimately, he said the fact that “I just needed the rent money” didn’t really play well. He said he knew where I was going with it and what I was working from, he just wanted a heavier situation.
As I was leaving, Tom told me, “I don’t care what impediment you choose to do for next class, I just want to see you go deeper. I want to see you do something like a eulolgy.”
He wants the pain and the tears. I’ll have to break out the onion next class or jab myself in the leg. Just kidding. I’ll just slam some rum and coke before class.
Then again, I could just practice…
Good morning David…am really enjoying your site…been checking it often and see you are developing a following…like your links too. Lots of interesting stuff…
Ok..back to your topic…the improv. I went and saw one last Friday night and was AMAZED… This was the FIRST improv I have ever attended and it was wonderful. I cannot believe that ANYONE could have the ability to think so fast and come up with this kind of stuff….
I am extrememly impressed that you can do this…
It looks impossible…
Hello! I’m guessing what you saw was a comedy improv. I love those. I am also very impressed watching the improv work on the show “Who’s Line is it Anyway” w/ Drew Carey and friends.
The improvs we do in class are similar but a lot more dramatic and have different rules. We basically create “scenes” to act out which contain secrets that each character has and is emotionally connected to. Once we establish a circumstance, in class we act out the scene as an improv with no script and just follow our emotions and react to the other person. When it works, it’s awesome. It’s like you’re watching two people living life who are confronted by huge dramatic circumstances. It’s highly emotionally charged and the feelings are real. Not fake. That’s what they are teaching us - to have real emotion in front of an audience or camera and to really live through the experience as if it were really happening. It’s exciting to watch and to perform.