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Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Improv Comedy in 3 Easy Sentences

I would love to be able to shower you with a healthy dose of improv-y wisdom today, but the truth is, I'm not wise. At all.

What I've learned about improv comedy can fit into about three sentences. (Okay, 3 basic sentences with a couple of extra sentences for justification. What? I've told you before, I'm the Queen of Justification.)
  1. Be honest. The truth is not only stranger than fiction, it's way the hell funnier, too. Just play the reality of the made-up situation you're given, and the funny will happen.
  2. Don't tell jokes. For the love of unicorns, people, one-liners do not belong in improv. If you simply can't help yourself, do stand-up. That's what one-liners and jokey punchlines are designed for. Every time you go for the joke, you stop the momentum of the scene and pull the audience out of the action.
  3. Choose to lose. There's just something inherently funny about a loser who accepts the loser label and runs with it. Not only that, but an on-going battle/argument/contest of any kind is b-o-r-i-n-g, and to end it someone has to lose. In real life, the loser is the loser. In improv, the loser is the BIG winner. Being labeled any kind of loser is the best gift you can get. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth by denying it and insisting you aren't, in fact, a loser.
I was thinking about writing a book about improv, but now I realize it would be a short book. Three sentences, and you're an improv expert.

By Sonnjea Blackwell

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Don't Bring Your Shrink On Your Dates

There is a time and a place for analysis and, as it turns out, the time and place for analysis is NOT the same as the time and place for the thing being analyzed.

No, wait. It's not that heady, I promise. Lisa hates it when I get too heady.

Let's just say you are having difficulty in a relationship. Let's also suppose you have a therapist because it is, after all, 2011. Now, the appropriate time and place for analyzing your relationship issues would be when you visit your shrink at your regular appointment. You wouldn't bring your therapist along with you on your date to analyze your situation as it unfolded.

That might seem like common sense, but it isn't as obvious with certain other activities. And it is actually good advice for those of you who tend to analyze your improv while you are doing it.

The fact that you are analyzing the thing you are doing automatically alters the thing you are doing. So you can't be fully engaged in your scene if you are busy critiquing the scene as it happens.

If you are like me and love the intricacies and technical brilliance of good improv, it's hard to stop analyzing and just do it. At our show the other night, I got all wound up in the mistakes that were happening in scenes (mine and others') and the more analytical I got, the worse my own scenes became. Of course, by then it was too late to do anything about it because I was caught in the vicious circle of judgement.

So the moral of this story is simply: Don't bring your shrink on your date. If you are doing something, listen to Nike and just friggin' do it. There will always be plenty of time after doing it to pick it apart and analyze it from 40 different angles. And if you separate the doing and the analyzing, both of those activities will be far more satisfying.

At least I think so. I wasn't analyzing this blog as I wrote it, so it might be total crap.

By Sonnjea Blackwell

Monday, September 26, 2011

The Real Truth

The problem with having to get up at 4 a.m. on a Monday is that I tend to be a) cranky, b) literal and c) see "a". So I have already deleted two entire posts and am wracking my brain in search of a topic that is worthy of the time you lovely readers invest in reading this blog.

What would you like to read about? Unicorns? Rainbows? Fantasy football? Improv?

I was afraid of that. I'd love to help you out, peeps, but I have nothing to say about fantasy football.

So I suppose I should stick to a topic I know a little something about.

First of all, contrary to what they told you in school, rainbows are not formed when the sun's rays are refracted and reflected by drops of mist or rain. Nor are they formed when god has a message for humankind; that's just silly. Everyone knows god texts.

Rainbows are created when unicorns spin lovely ribbons of various colors and then weave them into a magical fabric made of colored ribbon mist, which is pulled up into the atmosphere by the sun's affinity for colored mist. The sun adds its golden energy to the rainbow and then lets it curve back down to earth, where it lands and spontaneously creates a pot of gold. (As everyone knows, gold coins are the physical manifestation of the sun's golden energy).

Leprechauns have peacefully co-existed with unicorns for eons, and they protect the pots of gold from thieving bandits (often referred to as "teenagers"). They also make sure the unicorns have plenty of sparkles and fairy dust for their manes and horns and, in exchange, the unicorns let the leprechauns have some of the gold.

And there you have it, people, everything Sonnjea knows about improv.

You're welcome.

By Sonnjea Blackwell

Friday, September 23, 2011

Last Laugh Saturday in Long Beach

Because I woke up with a kink in my back and can't turn my head, I'm not going to write a long blog post - I'm just going to wish you all a very happy weekend, good football choices and a laugh-out-loud good time at Held2gether presents Last Laugh Saturday tomorrow night. Hopefully I'll be able to move my head by then. Otherwise, I'll be doing a lot of mortician and Frankenstein-type characters. So, pretty much the usual, then.

By Sonnjea Blackwell

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Be Better, Not Just Funnier

Do you wanna know what inspires me? Well, I'ma tell you anyway. Because, you know, that's just how I roll, people.

I'm inspired by people who struggle with certain aspects of improv, whatever those may be, and who continually put themselves out there, class after class, and shove the edges of their comfort zone a little bit further each week.

When I was in high school, I was on the swim team. One day at practice, one of the girls on the diving team was learning a complicated new dive with three flips and a twist and a half or some utterly ridiculous thing. She wasn't making it all the way over on the final flip, and she kept splatting into the water like a high-speed belly flop, only right on her face. You could hear the splat all the way across the pool.

Every time, she swam over to the side, pulled herself out of the pool and climbed determinedly up the ladder of the high dive. The coach would holler something encouraging and suggest slight adjustments to her technique. Splat. Again and again and again. She was still at it when our practice ended two hours later.

The next day at school, she had two black eyes from all the face-plants. But she had mastered the dive.

I would argue that improv is much more fun than diving. But it can be that painful (emotionally, if not physically) depending on your reasons for taking it. If your goal is just to get away from the kids for a few hours a week, you won't end up with two black eyes. But if your goal is to overcome something like shyness or to push yourself outside your comfort zone or to get more in touch with your emotions, there will most likely be days where you feel like only a crazy person would subject themselves to this kind of torture. Because it is hard to face your weaknesses and force yourself to overcome them. But it's also incredibly rewarding and life-altering and enlightening. Every time I forget about the deeper aspects of improv and get caught up in the "I need to be funnier" notion, I see a student finally overcome a personal hurdle and I get re-inspired to make myself better, not just funnier.

Obviously, improv is also about being funny and I definitely love the applause. But anyone who is out there working to best some personal demon deserves way more applause than I do for kissing a girl.

(BTW, if you want to see me kiss a girl, your best chance is to come out to Last Laugh Saturday at Hot Java this Saturday night. I'm not making any promises, but I haven't seen Barbi for ages.)

By Sonnjea Blackwell

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Free Held2gether Improv Show THIS Saturday, Peeps!

Hey, party people!

Okay, that was just lame. Sorry. I was just trying to get your attention so I could remind you that this Saturday is Last Laugh Saturday, which is the show where we take suggestions from you guys and then figure out creative ways to turn them into hilarious scenes involving brothers, Asians, homosexuals or, most likely, homosexual Asian brothers. And those are just the scenes I'm in.

I know, I know. But we have to work with the suggestions we get, and we get "brothers" about 98% of the time.


Anyway, come on out to Hot Java and check us out! It's a great place to bring a date - you'll both be so busy laughing at us, you won't have time to have that awkward conversation about personal space.

By Sonnjea Blackwell

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Oh, You Were Trying to Be Funny?

I've seen this happen to people (including myself) over and over: they start out just taking an improv class for the sheer fun of it, not worrying about doing it right or being good or anything other than having fun. Then, over a period of weeks or months, while still ostensibly enjoying the sheer fun of it, they begin to feel like the goal is to be funny in class.

That is not the goal.

Even if you decide, like I did, that improv is the best thing since sliced bread and you absolutely want to become the best you can possibly be at it, being determined to be funny in class is an excellent way to slow your progress.

Class is not a performance. Sure, part of the fun of improv class is the non-stop laughter - but that happens whether you are actually funny in your scene or not, it's just part of the magic of improv. Class is about pushing yourself and trying new things and being bold and brave and downright weird, and sometimes those bold, brave, weird choices don't work. So what?

Class is about learning. Doing what you already know how to do is NOT learning, it's showing off. Not only that, it's hiding out in the safety of your comfort zone. Guess what? The minute you decide to stay comfortable, you've decided to stop growing. Trust me, I like being comfortable as much as the next person, and I have a strong desire not to fail publicly - but if I want to ensure that I'll be funny as much as possible when it matters (in a show, for example, or at a dignitary's funeral), then I have to be willing to be downright UNfunny in class.

Luckily, H2G improv classes are totally safe and encouraging places to be bravely, boldly, weirdly NOT funny! And we have a whole new batch of classes starting in a couple weeks. Register at the website right NOW if you want to make sure you get a spot. If you come check out the 1/2-day Intro to Improv Workshop, you'll recognize me as the not-very-funny blonde.

(In my defense, if you come check out the Last Laugh Saturday show, you'll recognize me as the only blonde).

By Sonnjea Blackwell

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Addicted to Rainbows

I feel the need to defend myself, peeps. Some of you (you know who you are) continue to imply that I have an improv addiction that requires imminent intervention. While I'm not denying (never deny!) the addiction part of your accusation, I beg to differ when you suggest an intervention is in order.

First of all, being addicted to improv is like being addicted to rainbows or happiness or kindness - there is no downside. Doing it makes me happy and, unlike doing meth, doesn't ruin my teeth or my relationships. Another advantage of improv addicts vs. meth addicts: improv addicts give their friends, family and even strangers joy and laughter; meth addicts steal shit from their friends, family and even strangers.

B) I think everyone should have a passion in life - something they love doing so much they'd be willing to keep on doing it for free, even if by some miracle getting paid became an option. If your passion isn't improv, that's okay (weird, but okay) and I won't try to force you into a 12-step program for it. If you don't have a passion, please stop reading now and go find one.

And nextly, when you are in your mid-40s by the time you figure out what you wanna be when you grow up, you can't afford to waste time dabbling. If you're 40ish and think of improv as a fun hobby, fabulous - you can take a class a month or whatever fits your busy schedule. If I take a class a month, I will be good enough to perform and teach improv about the time I turn 237 years old. I'm afraid I just don't have that kind of time.

So you can keep on mocking me for taking every single Held2gether improv class offered, along with as many LA classes as my checkbook and my ego can stand - I don't mind. I'll continue to offer you joy and laughter to the best of my ability.

And I promise I won't steal shit.

By Sonnjea Blackwell

Friday, September 16, 2011

Half-day Intro to Improv Workshop

I have to go out now and sell myself. It's weird - I'm used to being a pimp, not a ho. But these Killer Fate books aren't going to sell themselves. Oh, and if you must know, I'm also pimping Held2gether improv classes while I'm out. Can I multi-task, or what!

One of my FAVORITE classes evah is coming up again on October 9th: the 1/2-day Intro to Improv Workshop. This is a jump-in-and-get-your-feet-wet type of class for people who've been itchin' to try improv and just haven't been able to fit the 6-week intro course into their schedule. The really awesome thing is, a bunch of existing H2G students drop by for a refresher, and it's a brilliant mix of the old timers helping the newbies get comfortable being in the gray area and the newbies reminding the old timers about the joy of simplicity.

Sometimes a person who has never done improv before starts out feeling intimidated because there are experienced students in the room... inevitably, the intimidation evaporates by the time the first warm-up game of introductions is over. It's just a big ol' happy improv-y family, laughing with and encouraging and supporting one another for four hours. And it's only forty bucks!

Register right NOW at the Held2gether website or email the boss if you have any questions.

By Sonnjea Blackwell

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Hookers, the Handicapped and Heart Valves

Only in an improv class can a drinking, smoking, pregnant prostitute NOT be the most inappropriate person present.

There were also the twin brothers who enjoy playing tricks on people and secretly both dated the same unsuspecting handicapped woman with a lisp.

Oh, and the man who buried treasures like corn nuts and shoes in his neighbor's yard so he could dig them up later - you know, when he needed them.

There was the nurse who, despite the fact that he mistakenly pulled out heart valves and inserted IVs into eyeballs, insisted he should be given "permanent status."

And don't overlook the doctor, who worked on commission and needed more bodies to work on.

In case you can't tell from this freakish cast of characters, last night's Held2gether Drop-In Improv class was a hoot. You don't have to miss out on all the fun, you know: the next batch of class starts in a couple weeks. And if you can't commit, no worries! There's a 1/2-Day Intro to Improv Workshop on October 9th. Six weeks of fun crammed into four hours!

By Sonnjea Blackwell

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Improv: Adding Information

I couldn't sleep last night, so I occupied myself with thinking profound improv-y thoughts. Lucky you!

See, I was pondering the concept of information and how best to give the audience and my scene partner all the information they need. Obviously, dialogue is one way, but it's overused and not always the best way. For example, I can say "I am chopping this tomato, and boy am I mad about something." Or I can do angry-space-work chopping while glaring daggers at my scene partner. No words, and yet the audience instantly gets the same information. It's faster than dialogue and more visceral because the audience experiences it with you, rather than just listening to you tell them about it.

So spacework and emotion aren't just things you do in an improv scene to make Darren happy; they are actually important ways of adding information. Who knew?

As far as dialogue, it IS useful in getting out the who/what/where/relationship information at the top of the scene.
  1. Who: Giving your scene partner a name may seem unnecessary, but think about all the information a name can convey: Andromeda, Dr. Barnhardt or Buford all tell us something about that character. Sure, Jim and Mike and Ann are fairly generic - but you can challenge yourself to use names that are themselves labels.
  2. What: It may seem perfectly obvious to you that you are typing on an old-fashioned typewriter, but if you don't label it and your partner says you are massaging a bunny, then you are, in fact, massaging a bunny. Sometimes spacework just isn't all that clear, and letting the audience know exactly what you're doing helps them get involved in the scene. If they're confused, they're not relaxed and ready to laugh. Spell it out.
  3. Where: You might think being uber-specific about your location would be limiting, but it's actually the opposite. If neither partner labels your location, you could literally be doing anything on earth. But think about that Google-map thing that you can zoom... When you see the whole planet, there's not much detail. But zoom into the U.S. and you get a little more detail. California, even more. Long Beach, even more. Zoom to street view, and you can see all the details like the fact that I haven't mowed my yard this week. You want to give the audience as much detail as possible and, beyond that, you want to make it as easy as possible on yourself and your scene partner. If we're just on earth somewhere, I don't know what to do and the audience doesn't know what to imagine. But if we're in the bathtub in my house, that tells us all a lot about these two people, gives the audience a specific location to see in their mind, and gives me and my partner very specific choices about what we might be doing.
  4. Relationship: A lot of times the players give each other names but don't make it clear what their relationship to each other is. But getting that information out early cements the scene and gives the audience a context for what's happening between these people on this big day. If Buford and I are in my bathtub massaging a bunny, the information is going to differ if we're brother and sister (don't be gross; we're dressed. In overalls. Duh.) or if Buford is my pastor or if I'm Buford's boss. If you feel like you're having a hard time adding information that moves the scene forward, make sure the relationship is clear - having that context will help you know what to say or do next.
All right, that's all I have time for. I need to get out of this bathtub and get this bunny to church before Buford's next service starts.

By Sonnjea Blackwell

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Don't Be a Hypothetical Bitch

I don't always vent at Lisa. Sometimes I vent at Paul instead. You know, so Lisa's head doesn't explode from all the nonsense I spew.

Anyway, I was venting at Paul and this is what we decided: You are responsible for your own work.

Okay, technically I didn't need help with that particular concept, but it was interesting to get to that point. I had been telling Paul about a hypothetical scene in which a hypothetical player was disregarding all the rules of improv, while the hypothetical partner tried in vain to make sense of everything and keep the scene from imploding and taking everyone in the room with it.

After a while, the hypothetical partner gave up and did the wink, wink, nudge, nudge thing so the audience was clear that the hypothetical partner knew the scene was ridiculous and that the hypothetical partner wasn't taking any responsibility for it.

Paul told me about a similar hypothetical situation he experienced in a play and how he held back so as not to get drowned in the sinking ship of the overall performance. And how a director/friend of his more or less called him out on it.

As you no doubt remember from my previous 618 mentions of it, commitment is one of the three cardinal rules of improv. You don't bail. Doesn't matter what your partner is doing, your job is to do improv to the very best of your ability. Period. And there is no such thing as "kinda" bailing. You are 100% in the scene or you aren't. I didn't save myself when I bailed on the hypothetical scene, I just made sure everyone knew what I thought of it. Which meant the audience thought the scene was weird AND I was a bitch (or at least completely unprofessional) for not staying in it.

The audience doesn't want to be on your side if they see you're selling out your teammate. On the other hand, the audience will back you 100% if they see you're giving 100% - no matter how wonky the scene might be.

I'm not going to insult your intelligence by explaining how that is similar to real life. Hypothetically speaking, of course.

By Sonnjea Blackwell

Monday, September 12, 2011

I'll Label Myself, Thank You Very Much

It's been suggested that perhaps I have an improv addiction. To that, I say: um, duh. But I also say: I'm not the only one, peeps. Here is an excerpt from Bossypants that sums up my feelings about improv quite well.
Improvisation as a way of working made sense to me. I love the idea of two actors on stage with nothing - no costumes, no sets, no dialogue - who make up something together that is then completely real to everyone in the room. The rules of improvisation appealed to me not only as a way of creating comedy, but as a worldview. Studying improvisation literally changed my life. It changed the way I look at the world.
See, I told you Tina Fey and I agree on 100% of things. But still, there are some big differences between Tina and me (besides talent, I mean). One is that Tina discovered improv when she was young. It led her to SNL and her entire career. I discovered improv in my mid-40s. I've never studied acting. Hell, I'd never been on stage before except the 5th grade play, in which I was a tree. I don't have a lot of confidence. I'm ridiculously shy.

Awwww, poor Sonnjea. But one thing we learn in Held2gether improv classes is to label everything - ourselves, our partners, what's going on in the scene. Once a lady who was older than the other students in the class got mad because everyone kept labeling her the mom. Darren said, "Well, then, label yourself first. This is your chance to be God - label yourself whatever you want to be."

So I can accept the labels that I'm too old for improv, or too shy or too quiet or not confident enough. Or I can label myself: loud, outgoing, brash, confident, funny, smart, sexy, goofy, charming, whatever. Sure, labeling is easy and actually following through is harder. But realizing that you are in charge of you is an important first step. It's easy to hide behind the labels of too shy or too old or whatever and use those as excuses for not living up to your potential in any area of life. But why let some random bit of information define you if it's not how you truly want to be defined?

I'm pretty sure Tina Fey wouldn't stand for that crap.

By Sonnjea Blackwell

Friday, September 9, 2011

Being Madonna

Perhaps the most important tenet of improv is "be in the moment."

Yes, I know I yammer on about listening and agreement and all, but underlying everything is being present. After all, you can't truly listen to someone if you're busy planning a scene in your head. The only way to do improv well is to let go of the past - your day, what's happened previously in class or a show, whatever - and don't even consider the future.

It's hard and kinda scary, sure. But it just occurred to me that if you look at it as Being Madonna, it's less scary and kinda fun.

Oh, for crying out loud, I know that doesn't make sense at face value. Gimme 2 seconds and I'll explain it. Sheesh, we're impatient for a Friday, people.

And please put away your pointy bras. That's not what I meant.

See, among other things, Madge is famous for reinventing herself on a semi-regular basis. Which is like starting over with a clean slate. And I don't know about you, but I've wanted to start over with a clean slate about four hundred bazillion times in my life.

Guess what? Every time you go into a scene with NOTHING in your head, no agenda, no baggage from the past, no plan for the future, you have a clean slate. It truly doesn't matter what you did in a scene 5 minutes ago, because every improv is a whole new beginning, middle and end.

And I don't want to get too heavy just before the weekend, but it really is the same with life. What matters is what you do in THIS moment. So you fucked up royally yesterday. It happens. Or maybe yesterday you were totally on fire and could do no wrong. Yay you. But that was yesterday. Living there, whether it was totally fabulous or total crap, means you aren't living in the now. Same thing with spending all your time focused on what you're going to do tomorrow or next week or next year - you're living in the future, not in the now. And ultimately, now is all there really is.

Held2gether improv classes teach you all about how to be in the moment. And when you learn how to be in the moment in improv, you can transfer all that being-present-ness into your real life and be in the moment there too. And then you get to decide exactly who you're going to be and what you're going to do in that moment because you aren't tied to who you were before or who you might become later.

If that means wearing a pointy bra, then so be it. It's your moment. I'm not here to judge.

By Sonnjea Blackwell

Thursday, September 8, 2011

I Hate Love Improv

Let's say, hypothetically speaking, I was having an "I hate improv" day recently. Why would someone who loves improv and thinks everyone in the known universe should do improv ever hate improv?

Paradoxically, it's because I love improv that I sometimes hate improv. If I just kinda liked improv, it wouldn't be frustrating when I don't live up to my (often completely unrealistic and unreasonable) demands on myself.

Look, I'm a funny person. I know that. But I'm not necessarily the right kind of funny person for improv. Which means I'm constantly swimming upstream in terms of keeping up with my troupe-mates. And sometimes I get tired of paddling so hard.

Luckily, when I'm having a hypothetical "I hate improv" day, I usually vent to Lisa. Well, lucky for me, anyway. Rather unfortunate for Lisa. And in this particular hypothetical scenario, Lisa reminded me of a couple important points:
  • I don't do scenes that leave the audience with a WTF expression afterwards
  • and
  • "Viet" and "hummus" are two words that don't belong in the same sentence.
Yeah, we'll just focus on the first one. Lisa meant that I don't have crazy information or big denials or obvious mistakes that make my scene partner have to work hard to save the scene, or that make the audience think they've traveled to another dimension where people only speak in riddles.

She's right. I don't go to crazyville, and that's an important skill. Still, improv is about making big bold choices, and I'm not a big bold kinda chick. I'm never going to change who I am, and that's okay - as long as I keep paddling and push myself to be as big and bold as I can be. Some people prefer the big, huge character-y types, and I get that. But I just keep thinking about Gilda Radner... brilliant, obviously, with huge energy and characters. But I always thought she was funniest when she was playing off low-energy - but smart - Jane Curtin.

So I guess the moral of this hypothetical story is, don't give up AND don't feel you have to be something you're not. Play to your strengths while continuing to work on your weaknesses.

You know, like in real life. Hmmmm. Didn't see that coming, did you?

By Sonnjea Blackwell

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

New 3 Square Shenanigans

Our friends at 3 Square are getting ready to shoot a new episode this Friday. I can't tell you too much about it, except that it was written by H2G's fearless leader, Darren Held, and it stars Darren and Held2gether troupemate Paul Knox. That info alone should be enough to convince you it'll be hilarious.

It takes time to edit these episodes, so it won't be available on YouTube for a while. In the meantime, you can check out the first five episodes at the 3 Square YouTube page.

Just to let you know what's coming up in the future: we're scouting locations for an episode I wrote, and hopefully we'll shoot it before the end of the year. If you happen to own a restaurant in or around Long Beach and would like to see it in a video, message me!

By Sonnjea Blackwell

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Improv in Long Beach vs. Highway 101

I know some of you assume I exaggerate for effect, but I'm not exaggerating when I say I would love it if I could do improv every single day. You know, with people who are doing improv with me, as opposed to subjecting those around me to improv when they think we're having dinner or attending a funeral or standing in line at Trader Joe's.

Sometimes I feel sorry for Darren because he loves improv at least as much as I do, and he's surrounded by it all the time - he teaches and/or directs 4 or 5 days a week on average - but he rarely gets to do improv. Partly that's his own fault. We would love it if he'd perform with us more often, but he typically only plays at out-of-the-ordinary shows, like the one we did back in May with the Magic Meathands. He occasionally performs with other troupes we're friends with. But for the most part, he helps other people do improv.

That's super nice of him, so I just wanted to say thanks to him. And to you peeps, I just want to say, we are incredibly lucky to have Held2gether improv classes right here in Long Beach. There's no reason to travel to LA for improv, unless you just happen to like the 101 a lot. Personally, I'm not that fond of it, but who am I to judge?

The next batch of classes starts in a few weeks - they've been filling fast, so register early!

By Sonnjea Blackwell

Monday, September 5, 2011

You Can Totally Do Improv! Yes, You Can!

I like compliments. Oh, come on, people - you know you do, too. We all like compliments.

But sometimes I don't exactly feel like I deserve them. I mean, sure, if they're about my biceps I can accept them. But after our last H2G show, a few people complimented me on my improv, believe it or not. Being told I'm funny always makes my day. But one lady said, "You are so brilliant. You are always so calm and make it look so easy. I could never do that."

Look, I admit I don't mind being called brilliant. And I am very calm on stage - but that is both good and bad. It's good in the sense that I never panic in a scene. It's bad in the sense that I'm just very, very calm: Low energy. Not reactive. You want big energy and huge reactions in improv. So I'm constantly working on balancing my "calm."

But the part that upset me about the lady's lovely compliment was the end, where she said I make it look so easy and that she could never do that.

The reason improv looks easy is because there are very specific rules that ANYONE CAN LEARN and that, when adhered to, make scenes work seemingly effortlessly. It has nothing to do with whether or not I'm brilliant... I just know the rules and, at that show at least, I remembered to stick with them so my scenes tended to work without looking like work.

We specifically do shows to demonstrate the fact that everyone can learn improv. Most of the Held2gether troupe folks are forty-something peeps with no acting or performing experience. We discovered improv later in life and, in spite of that, are pretty damn funny.

So please don't watch us and think, "Oh, I could never do that!" Trust me. If I can do it, you can do it. You weren't born knowing how to ride a bike or cook a chicken or balance a spreadsheet or whatever. Nobody was born knowing how to do improv, either. But we can teach you. And it's way more fun than cooking a chicken.

No, really.

By Sonnjea Blackwell

Friday, September 2, 2011

Improv Class Way Fun. Sonnjea Way Tired.

The Held2gether Level 2 Improv class was way fun last night. That's not exactly noteworthy; I pretty much think any H2G improv class is way fun.

You'd think I'd have more to say about it than just that. I mean, if I'm going to bother writing a blog post about something, it should be, um, about something, right?

And yet, I got nothin'. I'm completely overwhelmed and overtired and overfed, and I can't think of anything more profound than "Ugh. Class way fun. Me Sonnjea." I apologize.

I will try to compensate by giving you some highlights:
  • Leon was creepy. Really, really creepy.
  • Lisa was transitionally transgendered. For the second time in a week. What are the odds of that?
  • Patricia was completely inappropriate. In a good way.
  • Don't take bowling lessons from Nate. I'm just sayin'.

Also, FYI, apparently I sit like an owl. Hooo knew? Ahahahahaha!

Told you I was overtired.

By Sonnjea Blackwell