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Wednesday, November 30, 2011

You Have to Practice So You'll Know What to Do if Tim Tebow Learns to Pass.

I mentioned on Facebook yesterday that I'm looking forward to Held2gether presents Wreck the Halls, our last improv show of 2011... but that I'm especially looking forward to rehearsal. Some people assumed this had something to do with alcohol. Honestly, people, I don't know where you get these ideas.

First of all, I feel the need to explain "rehearsal" in the context of improv. Improv is totally made up on the spot, with no way of knowing what the audience will suggest or what your scene partner(s) will say based on those suggestions. So we clearly can't rehearse scenes. Duh. That would be called acting.

But in short form improv, there are a variety of games (you've probably seen 'em on Whose Line) like New Choice or Playbook or Foreign Movie that we play, and it's helpful if the improvisors understand the games before showtime. Just think of rehearsal as football practice: you practice the fundamentals so when the big game comes along, you know what you're supposed to do. You still don't know if the other team is going to blitz, or if Tim Tebow will suddenly learn how to pass, or if your kicker will make the easy 38-yard field goal, so you can't preplan your specific moves. But you understand the game, so you'll know what to do in any of those situations.

Anyway, the reason I look forward to rehearsal so much is because everyone tends to be slightly amped for the upcoming show, but still loose and relaxed because there's no audience. That combo of high energy with fearlessness and the joy of playing with people you know and trust leads to great improv. If you eff up in rehearsal, so what? But precisely because you're that bold, you probably won't eff up, and it's so much fun to see people playing that confidently.

That's how it is in Held2gether improv classes - the level of trust and encouragement makes everyone feel comfortable being bold and creative and adventurous, and pretty soon you're addicted to hearing people laugh and applaud. Which is a pretty good addiction to have, if you're gonna have one.

Um, there's no moral to this story, actually. Just sign up for an improv class already, would you?

By Sonnjea Blackwell

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Improv: More Important Than Collages

I think I may have mentioned it before, but in case you missed out on this useless tidbit about my life, I have a degree in art. You know, the drawing/painting/making-collages-out-of-found-objects kind of art. And without getting into a whole big thing about art and society and the Dark Ages, let me just assure you that art of every kind (ie, painting, acting, writing, photography, singing, composing, improv-ing, etc.) is crucial to a civilized society.

Of course, improv is more crucial than the others. Duh.

What? You think I can't justify that statement? C'mon, people, you know how I roll.

All of the arts fulfill important needs of both the artist and society as a whole: personal self-expression, social commentary, calls to justice, propaganda and of course, entertainment, to name a few of the biggies.

But where improv differs from the other arts is in the skills needed to create it. The technical skills I learned for drawing and painting apply specifically to drawing and painting. They may even help me see the world differently. But they don't help me function in the world differently.

Improv is the only art whose skill set helps people function better in their day-to-day lives. Listening, agreeing, contributing, trusting, working well with others, accepting and committing are skills needed in improv - and, if I'm not mistaken, come in pretty handy in life as well.

And, like the other arts, improv is totally a learnable thing. I'm not being disingenuous when I say that this whole mystique that makes people think arts can't be learned is total crap. You learned how to make coffee, didn't you? Then you can learn how to paint a coffee cup. Or compose a song about coffee beans growing in the sun. Or improvise a scene set in a Starbucks in Times Square.

Whether you want to try improv because it looks fun when Drew Carey and his pals do it, or because you want to push yourself out of your comfort zone, or because you think some of those skills you learn in improv might actually come in handy in the real world, Held2gether improv classes are the answer. January classes are enrolling now!

Now if you'll excuse me, I have some glitter and macaroni waiting for me...

By Sonnjea Blackwell

Monday, November 28, 2011

Improv Shows, Classes and a Little Begging

Hello and welcome back to our blog. We took a little break to eat turkey and insult bad drivers, but we're back now with lots of exciting improv-y information.

No, really!

First of all, Held2gether presents Wreck the Halls this Friday night at the LAST First Fridays of 2011. Don't miss out - Elise's Tea Room has awesome teas and tea-room-type snacks, and of course, the improv is pretty darn amazing as well. This show features the H2G Friday Company plus a few guests, including yours truly.

Nextly, it's time to register for January classes. We've got two Intro to Improv Comedy classes, an Improv Comedy Level 2 class and a Long Form Improv class beginning right after New Year's. All the details, including prices, dates and pre-requisites are on the website. They're already filling up, so don't procrastinate!

And lastly, what Darren really wants for Christmas is 500 Facebook fans. If you haven't already, can you please go to the H2G Facebook page and click Like? Otherwise, I'll have to knit him a hat or something. Thanks!

By Sonnjea Blackwell

Friday, November 25, 2011

Improv and the Traffic Circle

I was thinking about survival of the fittest the other day. It stemmed from people who couldn't navigate the traffic circle and my uncharitable thoughts about how miraculous it was that they'd somehow survived long enough to have gotten a driver's license.

What? I know it seems like I don't have a bitchy bone in my body, but that's just my brilliant façade. Ha! And you thought I couldn't act!

Right. So as has been known to happen when I have thoughts, I sought to validate said thoughts by Googling. In this case, I Googled "Darwin Quotes." And this was the first hit I got:

It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.

Now, I'm not going to swear that Darwin said this. Just because Google claims it's so doesn't make it so. But it explained how people who can't manage a gas pedal, a brake pedal and a circle have somehow managed to live to adulthood: They may not be strong, and they're apparently not bright. But they can evidently adapt.

Change happens constantly, and it's not that pleasant or comfortable sometimes. But our survival - emotionally, if not literally - largely depends on our ability to adapt to the changes life throws at us. Maybe it's job changes, or relationship changes that you struggle with. Maybe you find it difficult to deal with never-ending technological advances. Maybe you just wish they'd bring back Gilmore Girls already.

Whatever it is, improv classes can help. I'm not making that up. The very heart of improv is learning to go with the flow. You have no clue what's going to happen in a scene or exercise, and you learn to be okay with that. It's a little scary at first, but after a while, it's exhilarating. You learn that you can adapt and go with the flow and take everything in stride, and you don't freak out or die or stuff.

And once you get the hang of it in class, you start being more adaptable in the rest of your life. So you don't bat an eyelash when you get a new boss. You aren't as skittish about dating. You learn to text and operate all of your remote controls. You realize Modern Family is pretty damn funny.

I can't swear it'll help with the traffic circle, but honestly, peeps - it can't hurt.

By Sonnjea Blackwell

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Computer Programming or Unicorn Sculpting?

I get bored easily, which is why I no longer have a "real" job. After working at the same place for a decade, doing the same paperwork-y thing day after day, I thought my head would explode. If I had known about improv back then, maybe I could've kept my job without any cranial pyrotechnics. But without improv as an outlet, my creativity was wilting, my personality was best described as über-bitch and I was always hungry.

Oh. Wait.

Anyway, now I do a little of this and a little of that, which usually means a little writing and a little graphic designing. But sometimes it means a little programming. You know, like for computers and stuff.

Stop laughing. Turns out, I'm half nerd (or, as Nate says, a Nerd Muggle). I'm one of those people who, when I took those career aptitude tests in high school, scored about the same across the board for creativity vs. logic, humanities vs. science, blonde vs. brunette, etc. Which means I'm decent at a lot of things, but not great at anything.

I went the humanities route, getting a degree in art. Excellent career choice, btw. But when I need to do something techy like write HTML, I get all nerdy and into it. It's kinda like a big ol' Sudoku puzzle, and I love using the parts of my brain that don't often get a workout.

(Clearly, I'm not adept at using the parts of my brain that lead to having a point. Sorry).

Ahem. The point is, maybe you don't want to write computer code for fun. Or maybe you do, but you don't want to sculpt a unicorn. The good news is, Held2gether improv classes in Long Beach are designed to help you use all the parts of your brain. You learn to listen, react, make connections, let go, communicate, laugh and be silly. Yeah, the laugh and be silly parts of your brain probably don't get enough use these days, and you don't want them to atrophy! So come take an improv class with us in the new year.

It's more fun than Sudoku. No, really.

By Sonnjea Blackwell

Thursday, November 17, 2011

The Roaring '20s, Improv-Style

Here's how Held2gether long form improv works: We do three separate beginning scenes, each based on different audience suggestions. At the end of the third opening scene, the players can then "clap in" to initiate entirely new scenes related to one of the beginning scenes.

It's super confusing at first, but most of us who have done it are totally in love with the format. And the audience loves it even more! It's like watching a totally unscripted, unrehearsed, off-the-cuff play, which is kinda incredible. Especially if you've met us. Sometimes it's hard to believe we can order breakfast without assistance.

Okay, that's probably just me.

Anyway, here's another little taste of long form for you: the 2nd set of Snow Globes & Shotgun Weddings, which was a huge extravaganza we did in August at the Sky Room Wedding Chapel. In this set, the audience gave us a historical era: the 1920s. And in case you wondered, yes, everyone in the Held2gether long form class was an expert in history. So it's totally historically accurate.

What? Lola was a showgirl, wasn't she?



We'll be doing some short form this Saturday with The Magic Meathands in LA. Come out and see us, and we'll try not to make a mockery of history.

"Try" is the operative word there.

By Sonnjea Blackwell

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

How to Get Your Improv Fix Without a Class

Everyone is emailing and texting and FBing me about how sad they are that this week is the last week of "official" Held2gether improv classes for 2011.

Um, hello? Darren and I calculated a while back and concluded that I have most likely taken more improv classes in 2011 than any other person in Long Beach, so I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that I am just a tad more of an improv addict than pretty much anyone. Thus, I've also calculated that the H2G improv hiatus is going to be much harder on me than it is on you.

What? I've told you before, this blog is all about me.

Since I'm not one to suffer in silence, I have a plan for surviving until the next batch of classes begins the first week of January. First of all, I will be at all of the drop-ins. Next, I'll be at the two remaining Held2gether improv comedy shows of the year. I'll also be doing "I'm a..." whenever the opportunity arises. With or without booze or other improv peeps. I'll "yes, and" whenever possible. And I'll randomly tell people I'm talking with "New choice," making them finish their sentences in a variety of different ways until I like the ending.

So don't be sad! Sign up for a January class now, while there's still room. Then, be creative! Improv is for life, after all. Find ways to use your improv skills in your life, then report back to me. I'm dying to know how your bosses like the labels you give them!

By Sonnjea Blackwell

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Improv Show AND Improv on YouTube. You're Welcome.

Okay, so we're doing a show this weekend with our friends The Magic Meathands. Look, it says so right here:


We had sooo much fun the last time we performed with them. Oh, and more importantly, the audience had fun too! We'll be playing in a much cooler venue this time, the Mary Pickford Studio! So come on out and have an awesome Saturday night with us!

In the meantime, here it is! The long-awaited video for Snow Globes & Shotgun Weddings. Enjoy!



By Sonnjea Blackwell

Sunday, November 13, 2011

No Muppet Improv!

BFF and I saw an improv competition recently that included a team brandishing muppets. I know there's some really bad stuff going on in the world these days, but muppet improv is an issue I feel needs to be addressed now, before the situation gets out of hand.

In case you wondered, I like muppets. I liked them on Sesame Street when I was 5, and I like their movies now. But there is a time and a place for muppets, and the time and place is not in an improv show.

For one thing, muppets don't do spacework. And they can't make eye contact. I'm just sayin'.

There were a couple of people walking around the stage with muppets on their arms, and some of the character traits seemed to be in the muppets, while the rest were in the humans. So each of the muppet-people was kind of like two characters in one. One of the players had no muppet. That distracted me - did he lose his muppet? Did his troupemates not trust him with a muppet?

If I'm watching a muppet show, I don't want to see the puppeteers. When the people manipulating the muppets are in the scene, I can't fully believe in the muppets because the people are right there. And I sure as hell can't believe the people, because they're just crazy bastards who conduct their conversations through inanimate fuzzy monsters.

As Lisa has pointed out, I am an improv purist (purist is a nice word for snob). And the purist in me thinks the fun of improv is making everything up out of thin air, without sets, props, costumes, makeup, scripts or muppets. I suppose you could argue that muppet improv is a matter of opinion and personal preference.

You'd be wrong, of course. But you could argue that.


By Sonnjea Blackwell

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Held2gether Is an Improv School, Not a Kardashian

This whole social media thingy seems like it might just take off. No, really. And I'm pretty sure the internet whatchamacallit is here to stay, too.

Crap.

See, our whole reason for existing at H2G is to bring the joy and skills of improv to everyone. That's why we call it "improv for life." And what better way to do that than through the magical powers of cyberspace and social media, right? Right!

We've gotten oodles of new students who found us by Googling, Yelping, reading this blog and/or Facebooking. A few found us through the magical powers of unicorns, but that's a different blog post.

So, what's the problem? Well, I'ma tell you.

It turns out, I am just one girl. I know it may seem like there's a bunch of people inside my head, and I'm not disputing your armchair diagnosis. But in terms of getting the Held2gether name out there, my voices and I can only do so much. The thing with social media is, it can't be static. You have to add information constantly in order to be relevant.

And the problem with an improv school is, we are not a Kardashian. Okay, that's really not a problem. I just mean, we can't create hype and attention by planning elaborate weddings to little-known athletes we intend to divorce in eleven minutes. We can only create hype and attention by doing what we do, the best way we know how - and hoping you'll share it with your friends and family.

We love social media because it's accessible to everyone, which is exactly how we feel improv should be. If you want to help us make sure that everyone has a chance to learn to express themselves in a fun, safe, supportive environment, please take a moment to play with us from time to time on the social media platform of your choice: comment on and/or share a blog post; "like" our FB page, post some stuff on it and/or ask your friends to like it, too; write a review; tag yourself and your friends at our shows.

Thank you! I'll be back with more profound improv = real life thoughts next time. Unless I have to rant about bunnies or Star Trek instead. I just never know which voice is gonna get to the keyboard first.

By Sonnjea Blackwell

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

I Can't Help It If My Idea Is Better Than Yours

Some of you who know me as a person know that I'm not always all sweetness and light. I know it's totally hard to believe, but it's true! Sometimes I actually get a little cranky.

Usually my crankiness has to do with hunger. What? I'm a pretty simple girl.

But other times my crankiness has to do with not getting my way. I wouldn't say I'm a control freak; I simply like to know what's happening and when. And where, of course. Oh, and if at all possible I like to be in charge of it. I don't think that's asking a lot, personally.

So you can imagine my dismay when I learned that improv requires you to let go of your agenda. Um, what? My agendas are awesome, people!

But after a little practice (okay, a huge, ginormous amount of practice), I learned that holding on to my agenda strangled my scenes. That's because a scene can't unfold naturally if one (or, god forbid, both) players are determined to steer it in a particular direction. Sure, you can have a vague idea at the beginning of a scene, like we're hicks or what have you, but if you are hung up on getting your way, you are killing your scene.

Oh, okay, fine. I see my own point. Being hung up on getting my way in real life makes me miss out on all the potential wonderfulness of other peoples' ideas. (I said "potential" on purpose; I'm still not too sure about some peoples' ideas). Trying to be in control of every situation is not only pointless, it's also stressful and pretty much sucks all the fun out of life.

The good news is, after a few improv classes with Held2gether, I learned to let go of my agenda. You know, most of the time. If my agenda involves food, though, it'd probably be a good idea to let me have my way. Just sayin'.

By Sonnjea Blackwell

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Improv Tips: No Character? Be a Blender!

It's been a rough week. What? I know it's only Tuesday; I don't judge you when you're having a hard week, do I? Part of the problem is that there's very little improv happening this week. Anyway. As usual when I'm having any sort of mental meltdown, I vented to Lisa who was all nice and non-judgy and everything and wished me a day filled with "sunshine and rainbows and unicorns." Which reminded me: unicorns!

I know some people (you know who you are) don't think unicorns exist. Um, whatever. But in a recent H2G improv show, Andy, Co-Dependent was labeled a half human/half unicorn mutant, and he played a very convincing half unicorn. In fact, I had trouble believing he wasn't a pure-bred unicorn, that's how committed he was.

I've recently been a human/otter mutant as well as a human/gerbil mutant. And what I've learned from playing and watching these mutants is that it's easier to take on a character if it's some kind of animal. Or a blender. Duh. That's because your brain isn't all judgy the way it gets when you try to be a fully human character: "That's a British accent? Really?" Or "Uh, hello, hookers have bigger boobs." Or "Seriously, again with the ditzy chick?" You can probably think of one or two things about your mutant character that sort of make them that critter - like my otter was breaking open abalone on her chest, and the gerbil was gnawing on everything and everyone and had little rodenty hands. The audience picks up those cues and gets it, and it works. And it's really easy to commit because your brain doesn't judge everything you do as a unicorn or a blender or whatever, because it really doesn't know any better.

Naturally, the goal is to have your brain not be judgy of your human characters as well. And of course, Held2gether improv classes are a big help. But depending on how well-developed your self-judgy instincts are, they may take some time to overcome. So in the meantime, why not give your human character an animal trait? It'll take your mind off your bad British accent, and audiences love seeing people with quirky characteristics.

Now I'm gonna gather up some sparkles to take to the unicorns so they can spin me a rainbow. Cuz that's just how they roll.

By Sonnjea Blackwell

Monday, November 7, 2011

Improv Tips: Fearlessness, Yes. Sparkles, No.

Turns out, among my many improv analogies, I somehow overlooked the improv-is-like-being-a-trapeze-artist analogy. I'm sorry! If you're mad, please blame Lorna for not taking a trapeze class sooner and inspiring me with it. (Thank you, Lorna!)

Of course, there are a couple of differences between improv and trapezing. First of all, obviously, you don't have to wear sparkly, spangly costumes to do improv. In fact, we really prefer it if you don't. Darren has a tendency to get distracted by shiny objects and if all the students are shiny, his head will probably explode. Second, improv requires very little upper body strength. And finally, there is no net in improv.

But there really are many similarities: both require fearlessness, a high degree of trust, the ability to work well with your partner, balanced give-and-take, and a desire to entertain people, among other things.

If you think about it, denial in improv is akin to a trapezer refusing to catch his partner as she comes flying towards him. In both cases, one partner has tossed something (either information or their own body) to the other, only to have the something unceremoniously dropped. Obviously, in a trapeze act, if one person fails to catch the other, the show is pretty much over.

Guess what? In improv, the scene will also come screeching to a halt if one person drops the other's information: if you deny it, or fail to react to it, or just flat-out don't bother to listen to it. You don't want to drop your partner to their messy and untimely demise, so do your best to catch them!

Of course, if you don't leap, you're in just as much trouble as if you don't catch. Nobody wants to watch a trapeze show where the trapezists just swing back and forth and back and forth and back and... It's B-O-R-I-N-G. Somebody has to f*ing leap, or there's no show.

In improv, you have to be brave and leap, also. Make a bold choice. Make an important discovery, confession or admission. Have a huge emotional reaction. Otherwise, you're just two people swinging back and forth and back and forth and back and...

Lorna said that the most important coaching she got during her trapeze class was, "Don't let your brain get in the way." This is also the most important coaching for improv. Scenes go fabulously when the players aren't in their heads, wondering, thinking, trying to be clever, being afraid, being cocky, judging, keeping score, strategizing... Your brain is used to being in charge, but to truly be in the moment and in sync with your trapeze partner or improv partner, you have to shut off your brain and connect and trust.

I'd argue that DON'T LET YOUR BRAIN GET IN THE WAY is also the most important coaching for life. What would you do if your brain didn't conjure up all the reasons you might fail? What would you learn? Who would you talk to? What would you wear, say, eat, sing, try?

Held2gether improv classes in Long Beach are great at teaching you how to get out of your head and fly with a safety net of incredible encouragement and support. Classes start the first week of January. Register before December 1st for discount pricing.


By Sonnjea Blackwell

Friday, November 4, 2011

Starbucks On Earth

Andy, Co-Dependent had to miss class this week because he's traveling. But he texted me his contribution for a "location" suggestion and, being the lazy student I am, I used it rather than coming up with a suggestion of my own.

And now, being the lazy blogger I also am, I'm going to use it to make a point. You can thank Andy when you see him.

In improv scenes, the more specific you can be with your information, the easier it is for the audience to visualize the scene. After all, you have no costumes, no props and no sets, so the audience has to work very hard to imagine what's going on. It's the improvisor's job to make it as easy as possible so the audience doesn't hurt their brains.

Often the audience will already be tired out by coming up with suggestions - and it's hard enough to get them to offer suggestions that are more specific than "Ireland" or "Earth." So if you get a suggestion like "Starbucks," count yourself lucky!

Andy's suggestion last night was "Starbucks in Times Square." You might initially think, Jeez, Starbucks is the same whether it's in Times Square or Bakersfield. That's the thing about Starbucks - it's just the SAME.

And yet, that added bit of information is what the whole scene was based on - cold, impatient New Yorkers and tourists demanding hotter coffee while they waited for the ball to drop on New Year's Eve, a fact that pitted one Starbucks employee against the other.

Last night, the improvisors had Andy to thank for that added bit of location information that elicited very specific information. But usually Andy isn't in the audience, so you can't count on any kind of suggestion being that specific. So you have to make it that specific yourself, and do it fast. If you label your beach Miami Beach, that's going to mean something different to the audience than Jersey shore. Where are you on the beach? In a cabana? Lying on the sand? Standing in line at the concession stand to buy churros? Disneyland is too broad; Main Street USA is better; trapped in the boat on Pirates of the Carribean is awesome. Try to give the audience a location that they can reach out and touch. And remember, if you can't really picture where you are or what you're doing, the audience won't be able to, either.

Naturally, Held2gether classes, which are located in a large, well-lit auditorium with a stage and hardwood flooring that's been scuffed up by the tap dancing ladies, in the middle of Recreation Park in Long Beach, can help.

By Sonnjea Blackwell

Thursday, November 3, 2011

We Love You When You Shut Up

I found this photo on a FB friend's wall today, and I am reposting it here as a reminder to myself.


Obviously, it's my job to talk about improv. I'm not going to shut up and start posting totally blank articles on this blog. That would be lame. I'm reminding myself to shut up when I'm doing improv. So here's that reminder:

Dear Sonnjea,

We've talked about silence before, but since the Happy Bunny's advice for yesterday was to shut up, I'm going to go with it. I'm already a day late! Far be it from me to anger Happy Bunny.

Sometimes there's a tendency to feel like you have to get out all the information in an improv scene in one fell swoop. And of course, you do want to be adding information. But in real life, you don't say things like, "Well, Martha, my sister, here we are at the DMV again because you have to renew your license and it's going to be difficult because you're 97 years old and you can't see very well and I have an eating disorder."

Or do you? No. You don't. Nobody talks like that.

Labels and information are important, don't get me wrong. But give and take is important, too. Let sister Martha have a line! As long as you and your scene partner are listening to each other, the information will come out much more naturally if you each add small bits, layering the information as opposed to dumping it all out with a cement mixer.

Oh, and another thing. In the real world, if you say, "Why Martha, you smell lovely! That Febreze mouth wash is working wonders for your halitosis!" and Martha doesn't respond within a nanosecond, you don't keep on yammering. You give Martha that kind compliment, and then you stop. It was a wonderful compliment, and there's an excellent chance it's going to take Martha a few seconds to fully absorb it. And then, when she has, she'll respond. Give your scene partner the same window of opportunity. Just because they haven't responded in the time it takes you to take a breath doesn't mean they're not going to. They will if you let them.

And finally, dear Sonnjea, try to remember that just because you like giving information doesn't mean it's always the best information that could be given. You're in an improv scene with someone, and their information is just as important as yours. So please. Shut up.

Sincerely yours,

Sonnjea

By Sonnjea Blackwell

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

So Many Choices!

Improv is all about making choices: choose to agree, choose to lose, choose to know each other, choose to care.

In the span of 30 seconds, you need to figure out who you and your scene partner are (and who you are to each other), what you're doing and where you're doing it. Then you have to figure out why today is special.

That is a lot of information to come up with based on a suggestion like, "They're trying on hats."

But making the right choices in those few seconds will get you pretty far. Want me to break those choices down for you? Well, I choose to anyway cuz I have to write something.
  1. Choose to Agree: You know this. Agreement is the #1 rule of improv. First line out, wins. If you think you're a ballerina but your scene partner speaks first and says you're feeding giant squid, you are feeding giant squid. And let go of your agenda - you are not a ballerina feeding giant squid, okay? Also, remember what you've said during the scene and don't say things later to negate what you've set up. The audience will remember.
  2. Choose to Lose: This works in two ways. One: if an argument or contest develops in the scene, someone has to lose. If no one loses, the scene loses, which means the audience loses. So bite the bullet and take one for the team. And two: scenes involving status are hilarious, so choosing to be a low-status person in the scene (ie, being a loser) can give you and your scene partner something to work with.
  3. Choose to Know Each Other: It's much harder for you and your partner to have anything meaty develop if you're strangers, or even relative strangers. If you're on a date, make it at least the 3rd date. If you get stuck in a transaction scene, be a regular at the store and know the clerk well.
No, I didn't forget Choose to Care. It's my topic for the week, so it gets its own special paragraphs and everything.

There are a few reasons why it's important to care about what's happening in an improv scene. First of all, audiences take their cues from the performers. If you don't care, they won't care. So when your scene partner gives you some information, make it matter... a lot. Remember, there's no "kind of" in improv. You're not kind of sad or kind of angry or kind of happy. You're devastated, or enraged or f*ing giddy. Then the audience can get behind you.

Second, not caring is equivalent to a denial (see "Choose to Agree" above). If your scene partner says, "It's time I told you the truth, Brenda. I'm having an affair with our dogsitter," and you just blow it off or take it totally in stride, you've cheated your scene partner and the audience. That was big information! We want to know what that means to you! And your dog!

Third, nothing can save a floundering scene better than an emotional change. So if things are going nowhere, show you care about the last bit of information - no matter what it was - by bursting into tears. Or laughing hysterically. Or confessing your love. Don't worry if it doesn't seem to make sense; just being in an emotion will help you find the information to justify that emotion.

Obviously, learning to make choices quickly and decisively is a skill that will benefit you in every area of life. So choose to come to a Held2gether improv class and we'll choose to make it the most fun you've had ever.

By Sonnjea Blackwell

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Improv and So-Called Limits: Pshaw!

There's an improv exercise called Spotlight. The game is very simple: the group forms a circle, one person steps into the center of the circle and belts out a song and, as quickly as possible anyone from the circle taps that singer out and begins singing a different song that was inspired by the previous song. So "Singing in the Rain" could spawn songs about rain, or weather, or songs from musicals or songs by the same singer, etc. Each singer should only be in the circle for at most a few seconds before someone taps them out and starts another, somehow-related song.

I have always had a love/hate relationship with this game.

The game is about commitment, not singing. You sing the song, off-key, mangled words and all, with all the abandon of singing alone in your car. The people in the outer circle sing along or clap or whatever to support the singer. I love that part - the singing along part.

The part I hate is coming up with a song that's related to the song being sung. As I'm typing this now, I have had probably a hundred song-leading-to-another-song ideas pop into my head. But when I'm hearing a song, it's practically impossible for me to think of the melody of another song. My brain doesn't seem to multitask in that way.

But when you teach improv classes, you sometimes have to force yourself to do things that you're not so good at. When we do Spotlight with the Intro to Improv Comedy class, it often takes a little while for people to get brave and start jumping in. Which means that the ones who are brave could be left in the middle singing for a half hour. So I have to save them, whether I can think of the tune of a song or not. It's not so hard for me to make the logical connections: Manic Monday => Monday, Monday => Ruby Tuesday => Easy Like Sunday Morning, etc., but I usually can't think of the tune.

Too bad for me. I have to jump in and sing it like I mean it anyway. So I do.

Which brings me, finally, to some kind of point. It turns out that, with the proper motivation, I can force myself to do things I always thought I couldn't do. I've started to apply that logic to my own classes - I think I can't do [choose from any number of things], but when I imagine that I'm teaching that particular thing, I can force myself to up my game and do it. Maybe not spectacularly, but better than I've done previously.

Maybe that's not the motivation that works for you, but there's a good chance there's something that could get you to push past your "limits," in improv and in life. Try and find out what works for you, and then use it to your advantage. After all, the so-called "limits" are really all just self-imposed mental constructs. And since we made them, we can un-make them.

Naturally, H2G improv classes can help. With the bravery and commitment, I mean. Not with the singing. You're on your own with the singing.

By Sonnjea Blackwell