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

Tired of Being a "Good Girl"

By Sonnjea Blackwell

Have you ever noticed there are fewer women than men in comedy? Not just improv, but comedy in general. It's true. It seems like the same number of women start off in the beginning classes, but as the classes advance, fewer and fewer women keep pace. At Groundlings, it takes far less time for women on the waiting list for Writing Lab to get there than men, because they keep the classes balanced gender-wise and there are just fewer women at that level. Even in the Held2gether Improv Comedy Troupe there are twice as many men as women.

So what's the deal? Are men naturally funnier than women? Huh, as if! And don't worry, I'm not going to go off on a feminist rant or anything; that's just not how I roll.

But I do think there's something to the relative dearth of women at the highest echelons of comedy. Look at Tina Fey: she's fabulous, brilliant, hilarious and did I mention brilliant? And yet, if she were a man who had accomplished everything she's accomplished, no one would care. Because plenty of men in comedy have achieved her level of success.

Here's my take: In general, girls (even in 2011) are more conditioned to be pleasers. As a gender, we don't take the risks that men take. We don't feel as free to say whatever's on our minds. We drink beer... but we don't belch. If we had balls, we still wouldn't scratch 'em all the time. There's still some ingrained "Good Girl" nonsense that keeps us from going all-out and being fearless and just not giving a fuck. We don't want to look foolish or inappropriate. We want to please everyone. We want to do it right.

If we're me, we want to do it right the very first time and if we don't, we don't want to do it again. Like the time I tried to roller skate on my fifth birthday. But I digress.

In improv, I hold back A LOT... without even realizing it. I'll think I look furious as a character in a scene, and Darren will say I look mildly irritated. "Loud" for me is quieter than a normal speaking voice for the guys. I don't do raunchy or over-sexed or brash or inappropriate - because it's not appropriate to be raunchy or over-sexed or brash or, um, inappropriate.

Which isn't to say there are no women who do those things. There are. But not nearly enough. I'm getting better, but it's slow going even in classes that are as encouraging and supportive as Held2gether improv classes in Long Beach. I know I'm not the only one out there, so if you're a woman and you are sick and tired of the Good Girl label, come take an H2G improv class and learn to be completely inappropriate with me. After class, I'll buy you a beer and we can practice our belching.

Improv vs. Stand-Up

By Sonnjea Blackwell

First, let me just assure you all, I love them both. Comedy is comedy, and I'm a big fan of anything that makes me laugh. So I'm not setting out to dis stand-up or anything.

It's just that we frequently get questions from:

1. people who want to know if improv is the same as stand-up
2. people who want to know if taking Held2gether improv classes in Long Beach will help them with stand-up
3. people who say they've taken stand-up and want to know if that background allows them to skip H2G's Intro to Improv class

The short answers to these questions are no, maybe and no.

The long answers go something like this:

1. No. Improv and stand-up are both hilarious forms of comedic entertainment, but they are the same only in the sense that pizza and filet mignon are both delicious forms of dinner. Improv, most famous as a result of Whose Line Is It Anyway, is a team sport that is completely unscripted and created entirely in the moment. Stand-up consists of an individual performing pre-written and rehearsed material. Neither is better or worse, easier or harder. At H2G, we teach improv exclusively. Cuz it's better. Duh.
   
   Okay, okay. I'm just kidding. Moving on.


2. Maybe. The rules of improv - mainly agreement, adding information and commitment - obviously apply in every life situation, so technically they will help with stand-up. But there's nothing we do in improv classes that applies directly to doing stand-up per se. I did have an up-and-coming, almost-getting-successful stand-up comic in a Groundlings class; she was there because NBC sent her to improv to improve her bantering ability for a show they were considering doing that required her to interact with the audience and other comics and guests. So improv was helping her with her career, though not specifically with her stand-up.


3. No. Doing stand-up helps you become comfortable performing in front of an audience. But the whole stand-up concept of going for one-liners and delivering a punchline are sort of the opposite of improv, where you want to avoid being jokey and instead play the reality of a made-up situation. And since stand-up is flying solo while improv is flying in formation, it's important to learn the rules of improv that help everyone avoid crashing into each other or smashing into the ground in a spectacular fireball of destruction. Or, you know, something like that.

I hope this has cleared everything up for you. We have an easy way for you to get your feet wet if you think you want to try improv but aren't sure it's what you're looking for: the H2G 1/2-day Intro to Improv Workshop. Four hours with us, and you'll see - improv's definitely better.

Overexposed! Chips & Salsa

When members of Held2gether go out to the theater, they seem to have a, well, different experience than other (normal) people. Enjoy!

Improv Comedy in Long Beach. No, Really!

It's been a busy week for Held2gether. Three new Long Beach improv comedy classes started, we launched this blog, and tonight we're rehearsing* for our next show, Held2gether presents Spiked! coming up next Friday at Elise's Tea Room in Bixby Knolls.

Level 1 and Level 2 classes began again at El Dorado Park West and Recreation Park, respectively. And at EXPO Theatre, the first-ever Held2gether Long Form improv class kicked off on Wednesday. Yay!

*By "rehearsing" I mean we are practicing some games and scenes to hone our skills. We aren't rehearsing the actual performance. C'mon people, improv is improv! Wow, look at the time – I have to go rehearse kissing Delilah. See ya!