For the love of ponies, what is she babbling about today?
See, there's a quote from the movie that applies to me on a semi-regular basis. "The defense department regrets to inform you that your sons are dead because they were stupid."
Okay, I'm a girl so "daughter" would be more appropriate.
See, like Mav and Goose, I know the right things to do. And I even do about 90% of them. But if improv were a life-and-death endeavor like flying F-14s, I would be one of the casualties.
I'm not a show off like Maverick, which in improv I guess would equate to being selfish in scenes, going for the joke, that sort of thing. And I'm actually the opposite of a "maverick" in that I think playing by the rules is part of the fun, so I don't typically break them. Intentionally, that is.
See, having a big emotion/character is one of the rules. And I break that f*er all the time. Not because I want to, but because I can't seem to internalize that rule. I know why it's important, I see the difference in other peoples' scenes when there is big emotion/character vs. when there isn't, I go overboard making sure my students understand why it matters.
But it just doesn't stick. I'm all ready before a scene to have a character and an emotion... and then the scene starts, and I'm all about information and justification and logic. I guess to trot out another movie analogy, I'm the white swan in Black Swan. All intellect, no emotion. But less crazy. No, really.
Anyway, I have no idea how this post will help people with their own improv. But I know I'm not the only one who has a problem grasping certain concepts, so I guess I just wanted you to know we're all stupid when it comes to something. The good news is, in improv, being stupid doesn't result in death.
Yeehaw, Jester's dead. Just sayin'.
By Sonnjea Blackwell
