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

No Mental Improv, Please

By Sonnjea Blackwell

There have been studies that show playing tennis, for example, in your head actually improves your tennis game. Not as much as practicing with a coach, obviously, but mentally playing games and practicing strategies definitely helps when you go out on the court and face a real-life opponent.

Same with playing a musical instrument. Running through complicated fingering in your head helps you get the notes and chords right when you pick up the sax, or whatever it is you were practicing. I mean, if you were practicing the flute in your mind and then tried to play the trumpet, I don't think it would work. It's not magic, people.

And we've all practiced important speeches, job interviews and what-we're-gonna-say-if-he/she-picks-up-the-phone so that those conversations go more smoothly and don't make you sound as if you're a hyena having a seizure when you laugh nervously at the other person's opening remarks.

So you'd think the same would be true of improv. But no. Practicing improv in your head amounts to pre-planning, which is the antithesis of improv. So it's totally counter-productive. Which is super annoying to people like me who like to over-think and plan things to death... well, maybe "like" is a strong word. After all, I suppose most of us don't actually enjoy our mental illnesses.

Um, hello, tangent. Anyway. My point is this: don't practice improv in your head. Don't play out imaginary scenes. Don't think of clever ideas or opening lines that you just can't wait to shoe-horn into an exercise. Don't think, "Ok, I'm going to be brushing my teeth. And then, no matter what he says, I'm going to say, 'Here's the thing. I've always hated your brand of toothpaste.' Ahahahahaha! That'll be friggin' hilarious." Trust me. It won't.

If you must do improv in your mind, think up names that don't include Sally, Frank, Timmy or Jo-Jo. Come up with interesting locations so you can offer suggestions that haven't been done to death. Tell yourself a story using "Yes, and I" and "Yes, and you" as the beginnings of each sentence. Pretend you're a mouse or a duck or a tractor and figure out what kind of human character that would be. Play zip-zap-zop until you exhaust obscure categories like Australian shellfish or most annoying Christmas gifts.

Then come to a Held2gether improv class and wing it with the rest of us. It's win-win: you don't force pre-planned crap into scenes where it makes no sense, and you give yourself more time to practice your winning American Idol speech in your head. You're welcome.

Bravo! or Rotten Tomatoes?

By Sonnjea Blackwell

I had a class the other day with a substitute teacher who happened to be one of the founders of the Groundlings. So I guess you could say she knows a little something about improv comedy. And Phyllis got on to the subject of audiences for some reason, saying that if she could ever study anything she wanted she would study the psychology of audiences.

I totally agree. Audiences are just plain weird, no offense to those of you who find yourselves in an audience from time to time. Which I guess would technically be all of us.

When H2G performed with The Magic Meathands the other week, it was interesting to hear the audience's comments. People who are Meathands regulars liked the Meathands better. Our fans liked H2G better. So there appears to be a certain element of liking what you're used to better than that new, weird stuff that other people do.

Of course, there's a limit to that as well, because recently some of our hard core regulars have suggested we mix it up a bit more. So audiences want to feel comfortable and know kind of what to expect, but they still want surprises and changes from time to time.

But enough about my musings. Back to Phyllis who, after all, is the expert. She said that in her years of performing with and directing the Groundlings she learned that sometimes it simply doesn't matter what the performers do on stage - the audience will love or hate the show regardless because for whatever reason, that's what that particular audience was in the mood to do that night. She said there were shows where the cast was beyond spectacular, and they all knew they nailed it. Only the audience was like, "meh." And other shows when everybody sucked and the audience could not get enough.

This is not meant to encourage the Held2gether troupe and students to quit practicing and throw all the rules out the window. It's simply to illustrate that you can't please all of the people all of the time, and with improv (as with life) you should just do the very best you can and be happy with that - regardless of what anybody else thinks.

I mean, that's just my opinion and all, and I hope you think that's okay.

May I Suggest?

By Sonnjea Blackwell

By now most of you know that improv depends on the audience giving the improvisors suggestions. But I'm wondering, rhetorically of course, if you know why we need your suggestions. Ha, you weren't expecting a quiz on a holiday, were you?

I'll tell you why. Cuz, you know...

Sure, we could just decide amongst ourselves, "I know! Let's be at Panda Express!" or "Hey, let's pretend we're sisters!" And we could still improvise based on that.

But the thing is, improv is totally interactive. The point is that the audience is an integral part of the performance. When you suggest a Western as a genre of a play (really, are there any other types of plays?) part of the game is to make that work. If you say we're zombies, we're zombies.

Sometimes, we have trouble staying with the suggestion. That's our bad, and we're sorry. You might tell us we're at a volcano, and we might say something about the nice volcano scenery and then proceed to have a scene that could have taken place anywhere - my living room, a funeral home or, you know, Panda Express, where most things in the world occur. What we're supposed to do is have whatever transpires between our characters happen as a result of the suggestion you give us - where we are, who we are or what we're doing.

An improv guru recently put it this way: The audience has to feel like that scene could not have taken place without their suggestion.

At H2G, we are more than happy to be Western zombies at Panda Express if that's what you want to see. So start working on your suggestions, cuz we have a First Fridays improv show coming up this Friday at Elise's Tea Room. And we can't do it without you!

You Guys Are Pissing Me Off

By Sonnjea Blackwell

I have a few bones to pick with a few Held2gether troupe-mates and classmates, and what better place to air dirty laundry than on the internet. I mean, it works for the Kardashians, right? So here goes, with all appropriate credit to Kim, Khloe and whoever the hell the rest of them are.

First of all, I'm a little miffed at Viet. I've known him forever. Okay, like almost 2 years, anyway. And we're very close. Or so I thought. But in all this time, has he ever made me an Honorary Asian? No. Not even when my eyes came out slanted in our NoH8 photo. Not even when I went with him to weird Asian markets to buy a live eel. You think you know someone.

Lisa, my lizard sister and sometime running partner, DID make me an Honorary Asian, with all the rights, responsibilities and privileges associated with being Asian. Well, some of them, anyway. Which brings me to my beef with Lisa: Where exactly is the Ancient Chinese Secret Explanation I was promised upon my Asian conferral? How can I be Asian without knowing the secret? Sheesh.

Next: Andy, Co-Dependent and Neighbor. Andy shares my improv addiction and he gives me wine. So naturally, I'm inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt. In response to my recent insomnia-induced ramblings, Andy suggested I could come over sometime and kill ZOMBIES. FAKE ZOMBIES!!! Of course I said yes. It's important to kill things that eat brains - this world has enough people walking around without brains as it is, we can't afford any more. But have we had a zombie-killing-a-thon? Um, no.

Thanks for letting me get that off my chest; I feel much better now. I promise to return you to your regularly-scheduled-blogging tomorrow, where I will regale you with tales of how improv can actually help you in your job! That's even more important than killing zombies.

Oh, and just in case you wanted some useful information today, the Held2gether Intro to Improv Comedy classes starting this coming Saturday and Tuesday in Long Beach are almost full, so register now and then you can go kill a zombie or two.

Improv Rules for Insomniacs

By Sonnjea Blackwell

Caffeine + too much sugar = Sonnjea up in the middle of the night, thinking about improv. Holy crap, Andy's right; I do have a problem!

I won't bore you with my issues, though. No reason for all of us to be disturbed.

Anyhoo. My thoughts were running along the lines of, "Should I add on to my tattoo?" And then I thought to myself, "Make it a statement." So I thought, "I should add on to my tattoo!" And then I thought, "Yes, and I think I'd like to color in the petals a cheery orange color." And then I thought, "What that means is I need to save up some money so I can afford to get it colored in." And finally, I thought, "What that means is I need to get some more freelance work."

Yeah, I definitely have a problem.

The Dream Team

By Sonnjea Blackwell

While I spent many of the past 24 hours basking in the unseasonably warm sunshine at the Embarcadero in San Francisco, drinking several of something called a French Bulldog and eating food that was so good I almost didn't come home, Mr. Held2gether himself, Darren Held, was hard at work leading a Held2gether Corporate Workshop in Denver, Colorado.

Yes, besides being masters of improvisation, we are also quite the jet-setters around here.

Anyway. Darren was working with a national insurance company, helping train agents to be more spontaneous and more comfortable in their interactions with customers. Some research we've come across (this is actually real research, not Sonnjea-believes-it-so-it-must-be-true research) indicates that sales people who work from scripts convert significantly fewer potential buyers than those who are able to (gasp!) actually listen to their customers and react appropriately.

And no, we at Held2gether are NOT experts in sales. That's not our job. Our job is to help people - sales or otherwise - listen and respond and think quickly on their feet. How these skills apply in each particular workplace varies widely, but what is universal is that these skills do in fact apply in every workplace.

Do you need to help your group/team/office/family bond? Work better together? Communicate without shouting? Do you need to boost morale before things deteriorate into a scene from The Godfather? Do you need to increase sales or productivity? Would you love it if everybody loved to come to work... and actually showed up most of the time?

We have Group Workshops for every type and size of group with every conceivable goal. From a generic out-of-the-box workshop to a fully customized training session, we can help you build your own personal Dream Team. Our website has more information on an improv workshop for your group, or you can email Darren for a detailed quote.

Just Justify!

By Sonnjea Blackwell

One of the things you have to do in improv is justify stuff. You can throw out weird or seemingly-random information, but you have to justify it in terms of the emotions and everything else that's going on in the scene, otherwise you just look like crazy people. If the audience can't believe the information, they won't be invested in the scene or the characters or anything and then they'll get up and go to the bathroom or order a latte or make a phone call or smoke or... You get the idea. They WON'T be sitting in their chairs drooling with laughter, which is what we as improvisors want them to do. Well, maybe not so much the drool.

Last night at Held2gether's Level 2 Improv Class, we had to justify stuff. This, like everything else in improv, is a skill that can be learned. Unlike everything else in improv, this is a skill that comes naturally to me. I can justify ANYTHING, just ask my husband.

Sonnjea: "I think we should go out to dinner tonight."
Husband: "Why? We have food in the refrigerator we can cook."
Sonnjea: "It's Tuesday. I have class the next two nights, then Friday it'll take you forever to get home on the vanpool so we won't feel like going out. Saturday night I have a show. And Sunday is, well, Sunday. We have to go tonight."
Husband: "Do you hear a buzzing sound?"

Bad Sonnjea: "Let's not work today. It's sunny."
Good Sonnjea: "It's southern California. It's always sunny. If we don't work, we don't get paid."
Bad Sonnjea: "If we take today off to bask in the sun, we'll feel rejuvenated and we'll work twice as hard tomorrow and get even more work done. Studies show that rejuvenated workers are much more creative. We're creative types; we have to rejuvenate or we'll die. So really, it's a matter of life and death."
Good Sonnjea: "Well -- "
Bad Sonnjea: "Now where's that bottle of vodka?"

Right. Now I have to go to lunch. Um, yes, really. It's Friday. Tomorrow I'm working, and Sunday I'll be in San Francisco and Monday I have a meeting and Tuesday I have to pick up a friend from the airport. So I have to go to lunch. Now. Sorry I can't finish this post, but I'm sure you understand.

Trixie Cares!

By Sonnjea Blackwell

We have an improv show in Long Beach coming up in a little over a week, in case you've somehow managed to miss my oh-so-subtle self promotions. It's called Held2gether presents: Trixie Keeps the Books and it's our newest long form extravaganza.

For those of you who haven't seen us do the long form thing, it goes like this: we do three short scenes based on your suggestions, and then we all jump in and out of the stories that those scenes have set up, going forward and backward in time and creating a whole cast of supporting characters to tell a big, intertwined 1/2-hour story. It's like a play with no script. And then... we do a whole second set! Whew!

If you think it sounds hard, you're right. It requires focus, memory, attention to details and the ability to keep the big picture in mind while focused on the minutiae. Oh, and a sense of humor. That's all.

Luckily, those are all skills that Darren Held teaches in Held2gether's Intro to Improv and Improv Level 2 classes. But he's sneaky - you learn all those things without realizing it because you think you're just playing hilarious games for a couple of hours a week. And then all of a sudden, you realize you've learned stuff. And whether you choose to apply your newfound ability to focus, remember stuff, pay attention to details and laugh your ass off to mundane things like getting everything you meant to get at Trader Joe's or calling your kids by their right names or even doing long form improv, at least you'll have the skills to fall back on. And Trixie would be pleased.

DrinkingRehearsing

We're getting ready to rehearse for tomorrow night's improv comedy show at Hot Java. Rehearsing for an improv show is different from rehearsing for other kinds of shows. There are no lines to memorize, for one thing. We don't know what you, the audience members, are going to suggest for any given game, so we can't rehearse for that. We never know what our scene partners are going to say or do, so we can't rehearse for that, either. We don't know what order the scenes will be in, so we can't even rehearse for that.

So basically, if you wanna know the truth, "rehearsing" for an improv show means that the troupe gets together, plays some improv games and drinks some vodka. Which is pretty much what the troupe does on any given Friday night anyway. But it sounds so much better when you tell people you're "rehearsing." And if we're rehearsing, no one helpfully suggests that perhaps we might need a meeting...

Remember, Hot Java fills up quickly, so get there early!

Crazy Uncles

I have an uncle that we refer to as "Uncle Missing Link." I could give you literally thousands of examples to explain why, but I suppose this one will have to suffice.

He used to work for the power company, doing something or other on the power lines. One day there was a squirrel hanging about and, since it happened to be lunchtime, Uncle Missing Link ambled over to his truck, got out his .22 and killed the squirrel. Then he skinned it, cooked it over a little fire he made there on the side of the road and had himself some bbq'd squirrel for lunch.

I'd love to be able to say this happened in the 1800s or in some podunk village miles from civilization, but no. Happened about 20 years ago on the central coast of California. Look, you can't choose your family, okay?

Anyway, tonight I'm heading up to Hollywood to see The Groundlings' version of Uncle Missing Link - their Crazy Uncle Joe show. It's two 40-minute long-form sets that are "oh-my-god-my-stomach-hurts-from-laughing-so-hard" funny. It's just in time to inspire me for Held2gether's long-form class, which starts one week from tonight!

Free Improv in Long Beach!

Hard to believe, but it's almost time for a show at Hot Java. This Saturday at 8 p.m., Held2gether presents "Last Laugh Saturday!"

For the uninitiated, Last Laugh Saturday! is our monthly extravaganza at Hot Java in the LBC. It's a totally uncensored, unscripted hour or so of hilarious improv comedy based on audience suggestions that range from clever to ridiculous to head-scratchingly obscure. But whatever you give us is all we get, and then we turn it into comedy right before your eyes!

Unlike our First Fridays shows, this one is NOT family-friendly. That is, unless you have a burning desire to teach your children some four letter words, interesting lifestyle choices involving barnyard animals and/or that zombies rule the world. That's really your call, and we don't judge people based on their parenting skills.

As always, Last Laugh Saturday! is free, just bring some friends, drink some coffee and practice your suggestions. Can't wait to see you all on Saturday!

Improv and Normal People

It just occurred to us that many of you might have the wrong idea about improv and improv classes. And we feel we'd be shirking our responsibilities if we didn't set you straight. You're welcome.

See, in LA improv is for capital-A Actors. Some of us have taken classes in lala land, and we've had a good time. But at Groundlings, et al, you're surrounded by young, beautiful people who always have an 8x10 glossy headshot in one hand and their iPhone on speed-dial to their agent in the other. These people can't go ten seconds without working the words "audition" or "agent" into the conversation. Don't get us wrong. They're mostly quite sweet, and we even have some auditions of the actor ilk, so we're not disparaging in the agent.

Anyway, as Los Angelenos will point out until the cows come home, Long Beach is NOT Los Angeles. To which we always pleasantly reply, "Thank god." The nice thing about Long Beach is it's so real. The people are friendly, down-to-earth and interested in the world around them. Yeah. Not Los Angeles.

And that's what different about Held2gether improv classes. We cater to real people, offering improv skills to help you if you're a teacher, artist, parent, engineer, doctor, lawyer, Indian chief (sorry, so un-PC), student or even an actor. The vast majority of Held2gether students are folks just like you! Come meet some of 'em and do something fun. Register at the website - the next round of classes starts mid-March, and they're already filling up. Space is limited.

Improv and Networking

So you’re brand spanking new to your career and need to expand your professional associations. Or perhaps you’re in sales and would like to generate new leads. Or maybe the grass looks greener on the other side of the fence and you’re ready to give your current employer the old heave-ho.

Well then you darn well know the importance of networking – the art of building mutually beneficial relationships with others. Some call it schmoozing, others call it hobnobbing. Here at Held2gether, we call it brilliant. While technology has made networking easier, by far the strongest networks are built through in-person interactions. And that’s where brushing up on your improv skills can benefit you.

Don’t get us wrong, we love the internet. Facebook, Linkedin, and Myspace have made the world a smaller place. Keeping up with gossip and making quick connections can be as easy as clicking a link. But those are just short sound bites, not meaningful relationships. And they tend to involve entirely too many photos of your friends in drunken, compromising positions.

Good networking means learning the give-and-take that is fundamental to improv. It requires you to actively listen to others and provide appropriate responses. And yes, as painful as it is for all of us to do sometimes, it requires you to put aside your pre-conceived ideas and to organically respond to the relationship as it unfolds. Trust us, networks that are built on the fundamental of give-and-take are stronger and more interesting than networks built on the principle of gimme-gimme-gimme. We learned that one the hard way. Long story.

So put down your mouse, turn off your computer, and join us for a Held2gether class or two. Then watch as your network grows, both in the number of people you know and the quality of the relationships you develop. As we say at H2G, “Yay!”

Go To Jail, Go Directly To Jail

You know how it is these days, with prison overcrowding and the like. So be careful because even if you only commit securities fraud (and really, who doesn't?), you could end up sharing a cell with Chuck the Carrot-Slicing Murderer. And that would be bad.

Improv Comedy at First Fridays Long Beach

Okay, I know I've mentioned that we at Held2gether LOVE Long Beach, and First Fridays is one reason why.

First Fridays is a free monthly artwalk in Bixby Knolls that takes place on the (surprise!) first Friday of every month. Most of the businesses along Atlantic Avenue participate by offering local artists venues to showcase their talents. There are paintings hanging all over, musicians of every sort, poets being poetic, tattoo demos, a strange man dressed as the "Knolls Ranger" and of course, improv! People from all around the city flock to Bixby Knolls to check out cool art, eat delish food and visit awesome shops.

This time around, the Held2gether Improv Comedy Level 2 class will be showing off what they've learned, creating hilarity out of audience suggestions in Held2gether Presents: Four Score & First Fridays at Elise's Tea Room. I predict someone will mangle the alphabet, several people will sing off key and everyone will have a great time! Check out what else is happening at February First Fridays.

Team Building With Improv Comedy

Team building is one of those current buzzwords (buzzphrases?) that gets bandied about by HR people in companies composed of more than one human being, for those of you who don't know. The concept is that, by doing "stuff" that helps your team learn to interact better, both with each other and with your customers and clients, your employees will become more productive, more pleasant to be around and better looking. Or, you know, at least a couple of those things.

Improv comedy is a great way to accomplish these goals, because at its heart improv is about trusting, listening to, agreeing with and supporting each other. If your employees can master these skills, pretty much any human interactions they undertake will be enhanced. Many of the interactions they have with non-humans will also improve, as illustrated by the well-known fact that improv people walk their dogs more often than non-improv people.

Held2gether taught an awesome improv comedy corporate workshop this week, helping an insurance company train agents in selling techniques. We spent several hours over a 2-day period teaching the agents improv skills designed, among other things, to help them overcome potential buyers' defenses to their sales pitches. Besides having loads of fun, the agents learned a lot about how listening can tremendously boost sales.

Listening. Sounds simple, right? Well, it is and it isn't. But like most other skills, listening can be learned. And playing improv games is a fun and effective way to do it! If you have any questions about how Held2gether can help your company, or if you'd like to schedule your own team building or other corporate or group workshop, check out Held2gether.com or send us an email at darren@held2gether.com.

Held2gether + Hot Java = Last Laugh Saturday!

Wow, it's been a long time. We haven't done an improv comedy show at Hot Java since last October! That's, like, several entire months ago. So you can probably imagine how excited we are to perform there tonight! But just in case you can't quite imagine our level of enthusiasm, we'll tell you.

We ironed our clothes. Took showers. Used product in our hair.

We practiced the alphabet. Rehearsed some games. Reminded ourselves that musicals typically contain, um, music.

We put up posters. Invited our friends. Lined up a TV news crew.

Oh, right. We have a crew coming to film a segment about us tonight! They're doing a show about Long Beach, and we are being featured as one of the cool things there are to do in the LBC. How friggin' awesome is that? So come out, drink coffee, laugh your ass off and say "Hi Mom!" when the camera pans past you. The show is FREE! Held2gether Presents Last Laugh Saturday!

First Day of School!

In case it escaped your notice, it's a whole new year! So we thought we'd celebrate by offering up a passel of new Held2gether classes starting this week. Cuz, you know, that's just how we roll.

Of course, the original Tuesday night Intro class at El Dorado Park is still happening - tonight at 7:15, as a matter of fact. But that class is full. With a waiting list. Which is awesome, but sad if you were one of the people who didn't get in. So to accommodate the growing demand, we've added a second Intro to Improv Comedy class Saturday mornings at the awesome Catalyst Space in downtown Long Beach. Register at the H2G website. And don't wait this time, because you know what happens!

Improv Comedy Level 2 starts Thursday night at Rec Park. There are still a couple of spaces left for people who have completed the Intro class or who have some improv experience. You know who you are.

We have shows, corporate workshops and all-new classes in the works, so check back often! And have a happy First Day of School, won't you?

Crazy Improv Schedule

Last week was an improv-intensive week for some of the Held2gether improv clan. Drop-in class for advanced levels on Monday, Improv Meets the Script class Wednesday night, Improv Comedy Level 2 on Thursday, some of the crew performing on Friday with our friends from Corporate Recess, the head honcho performing Saturday night at Upright Citizen's Brigade, improv at a Buddhist meeting of all things Sunday morning AND some improv-y table reading Sunday night. Whew! I'm tired just thinking about it.

This week we've got nothing on the agenda, so I'm thinking it's time for a tattoo. H2G? Hmmmmm....