Don't Ask Me!

Probably the phrase I hear Darren say the most in improv classes is, "Make it a statement." That's because making statements rather than asking questions doesn't seem to come naturally to most students.

This is a hard skill for many of us because in real life, asking questions is polite. "How are you?" "Where would you like to go for dinner?" "Where did you get that amazing plastic surgery?"

In improv, on the other hand, asking questions is NOT polite. It's actually putting the burden of coming up with information onto your scene partner, which could be considered rude. In improv, you want to choose to KNOW. Know everything. I've seen a bazillion instances where, when forced to change a question to a statement, students come up with the most amazing labels and information.

Students sometimes argue that their question was leading, and therefore added information. Like, "I think this dress makes my ass look fat - what do you think?" That's a yes or no question, peeps, and all we learn when your scene partner answers it is that your ass looks fat, or it does not. Making it a statement, "Gosh, I'm really afraid that this dress makes my ass look fat," tells us something about you: you are worried about your appearance. Maybe not the most exciting improv bombshell ever, but it's still a character trait.

Students also frequently point out that their question was a rhetorical one, and they were not actually relying on their scene partner to answer it in order to add information. I see the point, and I don't disagree with regard to the burdensome aspect of it. However, you have 3 minutes to do a whole entire scene in improv. You don't have time to waste on throwaway lines. A rhetorical question doesn't add anything, so even though it's harmless, it's also pointless. Much stronger choice to go with a statement.

There's also the type of question that's tacked onto the end of a statement, designed to elicit agreement. "I have always loved making scones with you, Reggie! Wouldn't you agree?" That's kind of the opposite of forcing your scene partner to come up with the information - it's forcing them to accept your agenda. Just stick with the statement and perform a question-ectomy on the last part. Naturally, your scene partner will agree with the facts of your statement because they know they have to yes, and whatever you say. Reggie will therefore agree that YOU have loved making scones together. However, he may have hated every minute of it. Give him that freedom.

When you see performers ask questions in shows, it's largely because they've been working together for a long time and know how to set one another up to give great information or to pimp out certain character traits or particular skills they know their scene partners possess. Even then, though, I'd argue that the same could be accomplished more quickly and directly with a statement.

But, you know, that's just my opinion. Right?

By Sonnjea Blackwell

Improv Tip: Free Your Mind!

I noticed something in improv class on Saturday. We were doing an exercise where the students had to come up with tons of examples of spacework they could be doing in a specific location. Like, in a Starbucks, they could be making a latte, or cleaning children's handprints off the display case, or refilling the half-and-half container.

Everybody did fine up to a point. Then their brains started to run out of things to do in Starbucks or wherever. At that point, they'd throw out a couple of repeats or examples that were only slightly different from the previous one. But then, after a couple of those, they started to come up with the more interesting ideas. And I realized that once you get to - and pass - the point of discomfort, something magical happens to free your mind.

A space shuttle scene had someone collecting tiny asteroids and storing them in a glass jar. A county fair scene had someone trying on clothes in the funhouse mirror. A bakery scene had someone giving cupcake tops to needy children. An auto repair shop had someone ripping the girly calendar off the wall. A beach scene had someone passing out seashells as gifts to passers-by.

That's a great thing about improv. It forces you to use your brain in ways that don't logically make sense to it. And, like a muscle, the more you exercise your brain the stronger it gets. So more and more things pop into your head as possibilities, and you don't always have to work quite so hard to think of the next thing to say, do or be. But if you give up right when it gets difficult, it's like only ever doing curls with a 3 pound weight. It's not nothing, but you're not going to gain strength by doing it.

Obviously, this kind of brain exercise helps with out-of-the-box thinking, brainstorming and problem-solving at work. But even more importantly, it helps you think of things to say to your busybody neighbor, ways to handle family get-togethers and, um, things to do at the beach now that throwing footballs and frisbees is illegal.

Want to exercise your brain muscle? We have just the ticket! A 4-hour Intro to Improv Intensive on March 11th. Come on out and play with us!

By Sonnjea Blackwell

Oscar Winning Moments

Thanks to everyone who came out to see awesome improv in Long Beach on Saturday night! We had a fantastic time, the crowd was incredible and the cake Hot Java served as our 2-year anniversary surprise was delish!

See, I told you you'd be sad if you missed it. There was cake, people! Free friggin' cake!

One of the highlights of the night was Sean Fannon's "Oscar Winning Moment." This is a fun game, where at random points Darren shouts out Oscar Winning Moment and that player then delivers a short monologue that is his or her Oscar clip for this movie.

When Sean finished his monologue, the audience erupted in a spontaneous ovation. Not because of what he said so much, as how he said it. His monologue was filled with angst and drama, and he built it up to a fever pitch. It was a brilliant, textbook demonstration of how far commitment will take you in an improv scene.

Later, in spite of his somewhat, er, diminished capacity, Darren said to me, "I hope you learned something from Sean's Oscar Winning Moment." Being far less incapacitated, I responded with an always-appropriate finger gesture. But his point was well taken.

The audience is so much on your side when you do improv - they want to find you funny, and they will work pretty hard to find the funny in pretty much any scene... if they see that you are working just as hard to bring the funny. If you are totally committed, digging in when the scene gets struggly and giving your scene partners 100% and not laughing at your own lines and sticking with a character from start to finish, the audience will adore you. Even in scenes where nothing develops, the audience will love you because they will know you worked your ass off for them.

And, of course, part of giving it 100% is going BIG. HUGE, even. I know it's hard, especially for people who have no performing background. Like, um, me. But the thunderous applause Sean got is a pretty good reward, if you ask me. Which, of course, you didn't. But it is my blog, you know.

By Sonnjea Blackwell

Free Improv Show In Long Beach TOMORROW!

Tomorrow night, peeps! It's your chance to see INNY-nominated improv troupe Held2gether perform a free improv comedy show in Long Beach!

It's our 2-year anniversary show at Hot Java, so if you miss it, you'll be sad. We'll be sad, too. So please don't miss it!


By Sonnjea Blackwell

Improv Tip: You're a Team

I have been in improv classes where students have argued with the teacher about their critique and even, occasionally, blamed their scene partner for whatever went wrong in their scene.

Just to clarify, that's so not cool.

One time in class, I was totally off. (Right. It only happened once.) I couldn't think clearly in my scenes and my initiations, which are usually strong and have an obvious point, were muddled. Eh, it is what it is. We all have nights like that.

Part of me is still annoyed with a scene partner who was in total denial mode all night. Denials are difficult enough to deal with when you are at the top of your game. When you're having an off night, they're impossible to overcome.

But the advantage of taking critiques without argument and without blaming or pointing out the shortcomings of others, is it forces you to take complete responsibility for the scene. Um, what? Why should I have to be responsible when the other person effed it up just as much?

Well, because. It's improv. You're a team. Pointing fingers at your teammates does nothing to build the strength of the team. Sucking it up and taking responsibility means you'll work even harder in the future, and you'll get the reward by becoming that much stronger of an improvisor. Sure, I know that a lot of the things that I got called out on after that scene wouldn't have happened if my scene partner hadn't denied every bit of information. But denials are going to happen sometimes - sometimes even in shows - and learning to deal with them in class will help me handle them gracefully when it matters.

I guess my point is, the critique is to help you become a better improvisor. Deflecting the critique is a denial of its own. It's basically saying either, "You're wrong," or, "It's okay. I'm cool. I don't need your help because I'm as good as I want to be." It's not always fun or comfortable - nobody likes being told they aren't quite perfect - but the only way to learn and improve is to listen to feedback and do your best to implement it.

If you have comments or feedback about this blog, I'd be happy to hear them. You know, over martinis. And a steak wouldn't hurt. Thanks.

By Sonnjea Blackwell

Don't Walk Through a Horse

I'm just going to point out that, in addition to defining your location and grounding the scene in a specific where, spacework in improv has the potential to make you look very foolish.

Not so much the doing of the spacework. Mostly that's pretty good, as long as you remember that your index finger is not technically a gun.

Where it tends to fall apart is in the remembering of where objects are located. I have seen people walk right through horses, desks, dead gangsters, you name it. I've seen people type letters on their barbecues and put milk away in the broom closet. Once you've created something in the space, remember that it's there!

It'd also be awesome if you could remember the objects that are in your own hands. If you're holding a baby, remember to put it down before you fling both of your arms up in the air in frustration! Otherwise, the entire audience will gasp and wonder where the baby landed. If they're worried about the baby, they aren't listening to your amazing information. Don't sip your coffee, then use both hands to strangle your coworker, then go back to sipping that same coffee, unless you thoughtfully set the mug down on the desk before commencing the strangling. If you or your partner inadvertently drop a spacework object, call it out! "Dammit, Marco, it's bad enough you're strangling me, but you broke a mug and spilled coffee all over the carpet, too!" The audience will have noticed, so when you acknowledge the error they will feel vindicated and reward you with laughter.

You can get away with pretty much anything in improv, of course, as long as you justify it. So when the spacework errors occur, just justify them and move on. Unless you've walked through a horse. There is pretty much no justifying walking through an entire horse, people.

By Sonnjea Blackwell

Improv Tip: Tim Tebow Is Not a Solution

A funny thing happened in improv class last week. I know, weird, right?

Barbi and I started a long form scene, and it had the potential to be incredibly horrible. Barbi got confused, and labeled herself confused. I yes, anded that by labeling her slow. As in short-bus slow. And since I was her boss and what she was confused about was how to do her work, it seemed only natural that I should teach her.

Wow, about the only things we didn't do wrong in that scene were to ask questions or deny stuff.

But (and this is the funny part), we were both completely aware of the pit we had dug ourselves and we just stayed calm and got ourselves out of it in about two sentences. I told "Tabitha" that I didn't have time in my day to teach her how to sharpen pencils, and that I trusted her to end up with sharp pencils - however she did it, from gnawing them to whittling to using a sharpener. She confessed that she was 32 years old and had lived a completely sheltered life until this very job, and nobody had trusted her before. All of a sudden, this scene was about relationship. Yay!

Since it was long form, we had awesome support, and we got back story about her sheltered life, and the Danger-Danger book I made for her, and we learned that she ended up with my job, while I had to move in with her parents as a result.

I am not in any way implying that this was the most fabulous improv ever. I'm simply saying being aware of the rules, as well as the fact that you are breaking them, and staying calm and connected with your partner, will take you a long way in creating a decent scene. We didn't panic, we didn't bail, and we didn't start throwing out bizarro information about aliens or hummus or Tim Tebow.

And in real life, when a situation goes wonky, staying calm and being willing to work together with the others involved is a good start towards fixing it. I keep telling you improv will help with real life, peeps. I wouldn't lie about that.

Of course, if the situation stays wonky, you can always start hollering weird facts about Tim Tebow. It's good to have a Plan B.

By Sonnjea Blackwell

Nice, Reliable Den Mother? Or Psycho Moronic Bitch?

I've talked about labels in improv before, but in light of the recent revival of the mom thing (thanks so much, Nate) I think it's time to talk about them again.

In real life, sometimes it's hard to define yourself. Unless you are a marketing machine like Madonna, who has literally made self-reinvention an art unto itself, it can be difficult to force others to see you the way you see yourself. Look at the lengths poor Sandy had to go to in order to convince Danny she wasn't just Sandra Dee.

I'm like boring Sandy. I have the hair to be sexy Sandy, but I'm lacking the spandex. And the, um, everything else. So I get labeled "nice" and "reliable" and "den mother." It's okay; none of those are bad things and they're better than "bitch" or "psycho" or "moron."

But in improv, I can be sexy Sandy. Or a psycho, moronic bitch. Or anything I want. If I label myself and take on a character and commit to it 100%. Because the thing is, I look the way I look: boring Sandy/soccer mom/nice. And improv doesn't rely on costumes or makeup to change our appearance - so the only way I can possibly convince the audience that I am sexy or 450 pounds or mean or stupid or trailer trash or paranoid or whatever is to take that characteristic to a 10 and believe it myself and stay committed to it throughout the entire scene.

The audience is totally fine with suspending their disbelief, as long as you have suspended your own. If you don't buy that you're 450 pounds, neither will they. But if you're really 6'2" and you are totally committed to the little person character you are playing, the audience will love it. So don't shy away from labels that are far from your real-life self - just remember to commit to them and then have a ball playing them.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go be a nice, reliable den mother. Cuz, you know, that's just how I roll.

By Sonnjea Blackwell

Improv Tips for Dating

The whole Valentine's Day thing got me thinking, and I realized that (gasp!) improv can help your dating life.

Okay, first of all: no, I haven't dated since um, [insert your favorite decade here], but that doesn't mean I have no knowledge of the subject. That would be akin to saying I don't know about training dogs because I don't happen to be a golden retriever.

So anyway. Yeah, sure, improv will teach you to be a better listener, and a better talker for that matter. So, you know, when it is your turn to talk you don't blather on idiotically about pencils or your ears or cake. You'll learn the importance of eye contact, so you don't come across like a serial killer or a used car salesman. Was that redundant? You'll learn to be present and in the moment, so you are at least somewhat less tempted to text your friends about how cute this guy is or check the basketball scores or order that online language class you've been thinking about trying.

But here's how improv can really help you in the dating game: bring a date to an improv show. Seriously. There are usually beverages - sometimes alcoholic, sometimes caffeinated - so you'll have something to do before the show or between sets. There's something to watch, so you aren't committed to hours of chit-chat. And, duh, improv is hilarious.

If your date has a fabulous time because they were laughing their ass off, they'll still associate that fabulous time with you, which is better than associating you with, say, food poisoning. Also, you'll get to see what, if anything, this person finds funny. Because unless you happen to be on a date with a total improv "purist" such as the boss or myself (which is unlikely since we're both taken), normal people find even mediocre improv pretty damn funny. If your date isn't laughing at an improv show, either their pet just died or they are devoid of humor and should be avoided at all costs.

Life is too short to date someone with no sense of humor. And you might as well find out early on, before you invest a lot of time and texts on someone who can't find the funny in life. Fortunately, we have a show lined up for a week from Saturday - just in time for your date! And remember: "No funny, no honey." Just sayin'.

By Sonnjea Blackwell

National Improv Awards!!

I am pretty modest by nature, but sometimes I have to brag. Like, um, now.

See, Held2gether: Improv for Life has been nominated for four - count 'em, FOUR - national improv awards. That's a big deal for places like the Groundlings and Second City. It's a HUGE, GINORMOUS, FANTASTIC deal for little ol' Held2gether!!

The categories we were nominated in are: Best Short Form Improv, Best Improv Training Program, Best Improv Coach and Best Improv Blog Series (for this here blog that you are currently perusing.)

I would love it if you could please take the time to vote for us at The INNY Awards. Thank you so much for your amazing support!

By Sonnjea Blackwell

The Worst Girl EVER

For the record, I am the worst girl EVER. I'm not sure if that makes my husband incredibly lucky or incredibly unlucky, but it is what it is.

It's not my fault, honest. I'm pretty sure I was born without the girly gene that makes most women like things like flowers and candy and ridiculous made-up holidays like Valentine's Day.

(Yes, I'll make this about improv, I promise.)

Let's look at the evidence, shall we?

• I like fresh flowers around the house as much as the next person, but my practical nature abhors the expense. I prefer flowers cut from the yard.
• I don't like chocolate. To me a box of chocolates = a paperweight. And if the box is in the shape of a heart, I can't even re-gift it. Wasteful.
• I never wanted kids.
• EVER.
• I'm not big on jewelry. I like to work in my yard, and rings get in the way. And jewels are expensive! No matter how much money we have, I will always have something I'd rather spend it on than shiny metal and rocks.
• The way to my heart is through my stomach. I know, that's a guy thing, but see above about the worst girl ever. I was never the girl who didn't eat on dates. I like food.
• Some people laugh inappropriately at funerals. You know, nerves or whatever. I laugh inappropriately at romantic gestures.

Good thing I'm already married. I don't think this bio would do me much good on Match.com.

Anyway, enough about my obvious shortcomings. My point is, we all have foibles that we take for granted - but those quirky tidbits can be used to great effect in improv. Label your scene partner (or yourself) as too practical to enjoy a bouquet of flowers, and then see what else this character is too practical to enjoy. Maybe you also make handmade greeting cards or you stock your fishtank with fish you netted yourself at the creek. Find out what else the girl who's all about food might also like. Monster trucks? Football? Culinary school?

It doesn't take much to create a character if you start with a quirk and a strong point of view to back it up. You're welcome.

Oh, and happy Valentine's Day. Whatever.

By Sonnjea Blackwell

Improv Tip: Panic = Bad

No, I didn't forget I work here. In between crying about Tax Guy Day and doing an obnoxious amount of manual labor to get our new class space at EXPO ready for all the H2G improv classes that start next week, I haven't had time to sit still long enough to write a post.

Sometimes it's hard even for me, the Queen of Information, to think of things to say. No one who knows me will believe that, since I can ramble on for 15 minutes about a hangnail. But it's true, and sometimes I feel at a loss when it comes to writing these blog posts.

Luckily, when I feel this way usually something in life occurs to trigger a thought that I can share with you for 500 words, give or take. But sometimes, nothing triggers any thoughts at all. Like now.

And guess what? Sometimes it's like that in improv, too. Your partner may label you like there's no tomorrow, you might have a crystal clear relationship and have an obvious "what" in the scene. And yet, your brain gives you zilch. Oh my god! What do you do?!?

I don't want to alarm you, but if you do improv long enough ("long enough" in this case means more than, um, 20 minutes or so), your brain will fail you. So you have to have a contingency plan that does not include panic. Panic will only cause your brain to lock up even more, which in turn leads to more panic and... well, I think you see where I'm going with this.

Your contingency plan should instead include:

1. take a deep breath
2. make eye contact with your scene partner
3. remember that silence in scenes is a GOOD thing
4. take another deep breath
5. have an emotional reaction

That emotional reaction can be anything as long as it's BIG. Cry, stomp your feet, scream, laugh and dance about, whatever. If you still have nothing in your brain, that emotional change will give your scene partner something to work with. But chances are, by having the emotion, the information to justify it will be right on its heels. There's something magical about just being committed to an emotion that helps you find the justification for it.

And there you have it! You've unlocked your brain, the scene has moved forward and everyone lives happily ever after. You're welcome.

By Sonnjea Blackwell

Level 2 Class Portrait

So, yay!

By Sonnjea Blackwell

Improv Corporate Training

Did you know Held2gether does corporate training workshops in addition to teaching improv to fabulous individuals in our regular classes?

Well, it's true. That's because many businesses recognize the benefits improv can bring to their bottom line. No, seriously. As fun as improv is and as silly and frivolous as it may seem on the surface, improv offers profound psychological benefits that help people in the workplace, um, work better in that place.

I yammer on all the time about the for life aspect of improv, and when you utilize those for life skills at work you find yourself working better as a team, listening to others' ideas more receptively, being more willing to share your own ideas, finding creative solutions to problems and innovating entirely new products, processes or procedures. I work alone in my house, but still I'm pretty sure creative solutions and new, improved ways of working are important in any successful endeavor.

Of course, if it's just you who has the improv skills, it's going to be more difficult - though not impossible - to effect change in the overall organization. But by bringing ongoing improv training to your business, your entire team begins to move in the same direction. For those of you who have taken an H2G class, you understand how closely bonded you become with your classmates after just six 2-hour sessions... and those are people you didn't know from Adam and had nothing in common with before improv class.

Imagine the camaraderie you'd feel after a few sessions with people you work with every day! The first session, there might be some trust issues and maybe a little baggage to work through, but the magical thing about improv is that it forces you (in the gentlest, most unforceful way) to be in the moment and play to your partners' strengths while building your own... with trust as the natural by-product!

The structure of corporate workshops is different from improv classes, but the material covered and the skills taught are the same - except with the added element of demonstrating how these skills apply to the work environment. No matter what your service, product or thing is, improv training can help your organization do it better. Comment below if you have any questions, or email us for more information.

By Sonnjea Blackwell

The Tax Man Cometh

Today is my least favorite day of the year. It always falls between the first of February and the end of March, and it always involves swearing, tears and, um, more swearing.

It's the day I have to meet with my tax guy, or Tax Guy Day, as I like to call it. I hate it so much, that I put off gathering my shoebox full of receipts and stuff until the day of our appointment. Then, I have 8 - 10 hours to collect, sort through, organize and explain a year's worth of expenses, income and what it is I do for a living, anyway.

Yes, I know this is a blog about improv, and I do actually have a point. You know how I roll, people.

Tax Guy Day is all about assessing what happened in the past, so that something [hopefully good] will happen in the future. But I don't like living in the past! Whatever happened in 2011, it happened and it's over and I've moved on.

Improv, on the other hand, is all about being in the moment. We are only concerned with what is happening between the players right now, in this moment. We don't care about "gonna" and we only care about what was in terms of the labels it generates for what is.

So I guess that's where the problem lies: The labels. What I discover on Tax Guy Day is that I was, once again, underpaid, not so clever with investments, disorganized, random and some more of examples of underpaid.

As character labels, I like those quite a lot. As Sonnjea, I'd prefer labels like affluent, astute investor, precise, structured and some more examples of affluent. Sigh.


By Sonnjea Blackwell

Improv Specialty Night

One of the incredible things about Held2gether improv classes in Long Beach is that Darren takes the time to help each student over their particular hurdles. That's never as obvious as it is in week five of the L2 class, a night we've come to call Specialty Night.

Sometimes we do "against type" exercises, where each student takes on a character that's 180 degrees from their usual characters. Other times, Darren devises specific exercises for each student, addressing his or her weaknesses. People who tend to be flat may get an exercise where they have to have HUGE emotional reactions to mundane information like "The toothpaste is on sale." People who can tend to vomit information (stop pointing your fingers at me; didn't your mother teach you pointing is rude?) may be restricted from saying lines that contain more than 5 words. People who are agenda-driven may have to give up the "and" part of "yes, and" for an exercise in which they have no choice but to go along with the other person's ideas.

It's HARD. Really, really hard. Because you have your tendencies and your go-to's for a reason, and that reason usually has something to do with some sort of insecurity or trust issue or... oh, let's stop sugar-coating it and just call it fear, shall we? But the exercises are designed to give you no choice, and by week 5 everyone in the class is so bonded and connected that you feel safe tackling even your biggest obstacles.

I have seen literally dozens of epiphanies on Specialty Nights over the past couple years. People, stripped of their go-to defense mechanisms, suddenly understand what they've been hiding (or hiding behind) and leap to the next level on their improv learning zig-zag. It's so inspiring to watch.

Naturally, it's time for an improv=real life analogy here. I mean, Darren can't visit all of you and give you an exercise that'll help you overcome your real life obstacles. But you probably have an inkling of what those obstacles are, right? So force yourself to respond differently in those situations. If your go-to is to say no, say yes instead. If you're shy, talk to every single person you encounter today. If you're bossy, ask someone else to take the lead on something - and don't criticize their choices. In other words, make today your very own Specialty Day and see what that does for you.

Personally, I'm going to work on writing a story that contains only 5 words.

By Sonnjea Blackwell

New Improv Videos! Woo Friggin' Hoo!

Okay, we have been S-L-A-C-K-E-R-S, with a capital SLACKER. It's been eons since we've uploaded any videos from our hilarious short form improv shows for you to guffaw and giggle over. But I'm remedying that as we speak!

I'm currently in the process of uploading segments from our July, 2011 Hot Java show to our H2G YouTube page. That means I only have, like, 8 or 10 more shows to upload to get current. But I won't let you down! There are a few up already, but if you wanna take one out of order, I accidentally uploaded Multiword Story from August before I started on July.

Blonde, remember?

Here you go, mystery lovers!



By Sonnjea Blackwell