Improv Is Art

By Sonnjea Blackwell

Whew. What an awesome week! Held2gether improv galore, a heat wave, and a celebration of America's Independence involving fireworks, wine and smooth-jazz versions of classic Hall & Oates songs performed by Hall & Oates. Not the way I would've chosen to hear Rich Girl cuz it made it hard to sing along, but I guess Hall and/or Oates gets to decide these things, not me. Weird.

Which made me think about appropriateness and art. It also made me think about 7th grade, because that's when Rich Girl came out. Go ahead and do the math. I'm old.

But I digress. Sorry, it's Friday. Of course whenever you're talking about art, questions arise as to what's appropriate and acceptable... and even about whether or not something is, in fact, art. I have a degree in the subject (seriously, you're learning SO MUCH useless information about me today), and I spent countless hours in classes debating the question, "What makes something art?" There's no correct answer. I'd argue that the original version of Rich Girl is art, while the 2011 fireworks version of it... well, it's still art. Just not good art.

Improv is art. I'm just sayin'. Sometimes it's good and sometimes not so good, but anything that sets out to make people happy by showing them funny scenes created on the spot out of thin air without being mean in any way is definitely art.

Seriously, I learned that in art school.

Improv and Wedding Chapels

By Sonnjea Blackwell

I'm effing cranky. No excuse, just woke up in a mood. A little early-morning improv might've helped, but so far there are no Held2gether improv classes at 8:00 on Thursday mornings. One of these days...

So, you wanna know what cheered me right up? This poster for our upcoming long form show!

Look, it's pretty obvious by now that I'm easily amused, so you shouldn't find it surprising how little it takes to make me happy.

Anyway, we have a couple shows before the August long form extravaganza - Last Laugh Saturday on (duh) Saturday, July 23rd. And Beach Blanket Bixby at Elise's Tea Room for August First Fridays on (duh) Friday, August 5th. I'm excited about all of them, but I'm partial to Snow Globes and Shotgun Weddings because the show is going to be in a wedding chapel. With a full bar. I mean, c'mon... how could that not cheer me right up?

You can get your tickets now - all tickets are 10 bucks, but if you purchase in advance you get a free drink. Free. Drink.

I can tell that cheered you right up. You're welcome.

Improv Is Magical

By Sonnjea Blackwell

Okay, this is your last official warning: the Held2gether Intro to Improv Comedy class that starts this Saturday (July 9th, 2011, that is) is thisclose to being full. There are a couple spaces left, but they aren't going to last so hurry up and register at the website so you aren't one of the sad people who missed out.

In case you aren't sure what to expect in an intro to improv class, I'm gonna tell you. Cuz that's just how I roll. First of all, you'll learn the fundamentals of improv, namely agreement, information and commitment. Believe it or not, there are fun games and exercises that help you learn those things while you're just being goofy and having fun... and all of a sudden you think to yourself, "Hey! I learned something even though I was just being goofy and having fun! Weird!"

You'll also learn to help your partner out by adding information, instead of always asking questions. Sure, it sounds easy. But try to go through your day without asking questions. Not so easy after all. One continuing student says that when he learned to make statements instead of asking questions, his wife started liking him more. "Honey, do you want me to take out the trash?" puts the burden on her to say, "Yes, doofus, of course I want you to take out the trash; it's not going to take itself out." But now that he makes it a statement, "Honey, I'm going to take out the trash now," she doesn't have to think up creative names to call him every evening.

Of course, the most important skills you'll learn in the H2g Intro to Improv class are self-confidence and trust. When it's your turn and you and your partner make something hilarious out of absolutely nothing, you learn that you can do pretty much anything. And then you can apply your new-found skills in any area of your life, including with the dozen or so new friends you'll make in class, some of whom will probably end up becoming the best friends you've ever had. Because improv is, when you get right down to it, magical.

And you don't want to miss out on magic, do you?

Don't Judge Your (Improv) Self

By Sonnjea Blackwell

I had a lot of time over the 4th of July weekend to ponder deep thoughts about improv and life and stuff, and I came to several important conclusions:

1. I really need some sushi soon
2. It feels like it hasn't been summer for about three years, so I'm happy about the heat
3. Red wine goes with everything, and
4. Being self-judgy* is counter-productive and, well, bad

In improv, as I may have mentioned one or forty-seven times, it's important to commit. You have to be in the scene 100%, however lame or stupid it may seem, and it can't be obvious that you think it's lame or stupid. For those 3 minutes that you are on stage, whatever is coming out of your mouth (and your scene partner's mouth, too) is the most brilliant, fascinating thing ever.

It's better if you don't even think the idea is lame or stupid. Judging yourself (or being "self-judgy," to use the technical improv terminology) puts you in your head, takes you out of the scene, and lets the audience know how you feel about what's happening. You can't be acting in and committing to a scene while you're judging, critiquing and/or analyzing it. To be focused and in the moment means you can't be multi-tasking. All you can do is listen to your partner and respond. Period. Having a running commentary going in your brain simultaneously means you are not 100% committed to listening and responding, and the scene will reflect that. And I've seen plenty of scenes that were going great until one of the improvisors starting judging themselves. Then, sure enough, the scene became lame and stupid, even though it hadn't started that way.

I will go out on a limb here and suggest that the same is true in real life. Being self-judgy can undermine your confidence, inhibit your creativity, stifle your willingness to take risks and make it damn near impossible to make decisions. And that's no way to live! Learning not to judge yourself can truly help you accomplish more in your work, and become more confident in your abilities and choices. And the only way I know of to learn NOT to judge yourself is to take Held2gether improv classes. I mean, you could try hypnosis I suppose, but with improv classes you also get to make friends and laugh your ass off weekly, and I just don't see that happening with hypnotherapy. Just sayin'.

*Thanks to Lisa for coining the phrase "self-judgy." I'm not saying she has too much time on her hands, but when was the last time you had an hour to sit around and make up words?

Trust Me

By Sonnjea Blackwell

It's good to have goals. Setting goals is sort of like creating a roadmap of where you want to go in life, and I don't know about you, but I can pretty much get lost on my way to the bathroom if I don't have a map.

So I applaud having a goal in mind. But here's the thing. Sometimes on the way to attaining one goal, something even better presents itself. And you don't want to be that person who is so damn determined to get the brass ring that he fails to notice there are gold and silver rings all around him. Although I personally find it difficult to understand how anyone could overlook anything that shiny.

In any event, the same principles apply in improv. You might have some general improv goals like:

1. Connect with scene partner
2. Remember to agree!
3. Let them talk too
4. Don't forget to do spacework
5. Have an emotional reaction

What you don't want to do in improv is have a goal of where you want the scene to go. If you are driving the scene in a particular direction, you can't be in the moment and you will not be reacting to your partner's information. You'll just be constantly steering the conversation and action back to that goal of yours, determined to reach the brass ring and ignoring all the wonderful gold and silver rings of information your scene partner throws you.

This is bad for a couple reasons. One, when someone forces a scene, the scene feels, um, forced. The audience can sense it and it simply isn't as funny as a scene that unfolds organically. And b) it irritates the hell out of your scene partner because nobody enjoys feeling ignored and/or railroaded into something.

Improv is called improv because it's improvised. If it was meant to be pre-planned we would just call it acting. If you want to be a good improvisor, you have to let go of your goals and trust. The only reasons people force an agenda in improv are because they don't trust their scene partner or they don't trust themselves.

We understand that politicians have made it nearly impossible for people to trust anyone these days. So Held2gether offers fun and safe ways to learn to trust others and yourself. Once you learn that, you'll have way funnier scenes, and way more fun doing them.

It works. Trust me.