Long Beach Improv Workshop vs. Pulling Weeds

I have to say, I'm super excited about the Held2gether Intro to Improv Comedy 1/2-day Workshop coming up this Sunday! And it's not just because the alternative is pulling weeds in my yard.

There are a couple reasons, actually. One is because I can never get enough of improv. Doing improv games and exercises, whether they're geared to brand-new-beginners or advanced players, always gives me a new perspective and helps me learn. Sure, I could probably skate through a "yes, and" exercise without much effort. But I could also challenge myself to do it with big emotion and in a way that helps a brand-new person understand it quicker. And on the other hand, sometimes the way beginners approach things is so simple and uncluttered, I wonder why I never thought of it. But you kind of need the beginner's frame of mind to see things simply sometimes. If you ever think you can't learn something from a beginning class, you're, um, just plain wrong.

Sorry, sometimes I'm a little blunt on Mondays.

The second reason I love this workshop is because a four-hour class is long enough for beginners to grasp the magic of improv, and I love to see people get that for the first time. You see the trepidation morph into a bit of frustration as they struggle with the basic concepts, and then right after that comes the lightbulb moment when they realize, "Hey! I can do improv."

Hey! You can do improv, too! There are a few spaces left in this Sunday's workshop - register at the H2G website or call the boss with any questions.

And if you don't want to take the workshop, could you please stop by my place and pull some weeds? That'd be awesome. Thanks.

By Sonnjea Blackwell

Who Needs a Right Fielder, Anyway?

Improv is a team sport. Last night, the H2G Long Form class was way low on peeps because a bunch of players were out with various ailments. But we have a show coming up, so the 6 of us who were there pulled together and gave it our all.

And here's what we learned about doing a long form show with a really small group:

• you have to put your neck on the line even more because there's not a crowd for you to get lost in
• you have to listen extremely well and be ready to jump on everything that happens, because there's not the luxury of leaving it for someone else - because there is no one else
• there is no room for prima donnas looking for individual glory - the show will only work if everyone is working together for the good of the team
• well-differentiated characters are critical because with only a few people, it would be very easy for the audience to get confused about who's who

The all-for-one-and-one-for-all aspect of improv is even more pronounced in long form, so it's a little disconcerting to be missing 1/3 of the team! Try playing a baseball game with no third baseman, no catcher and no right fielder. Um, awkward.

Luckily, it's still a couple weeks until Snow Globes & Shotgun Weddings, and by then everyone should be all better. So go ahead and get your tickets now - they are going fast and when they're gone, they're gone.

By Sonnjea Blackwell

Improv In August

OMG, peeps! There is SO MUCH happening in August. I don't want your heads to explode or anything, but I have a lot to tell you.

First, this Friday is the first Friday in August, which means it's August First Fridays in the LBC. Of course, Held2gether will be at Elise's Tea Room, doing our improv-y thing. This month we're calling it Beach Blanket Bixby!

The show is free, as always. Come at 6:30 to chow down on delish scones, finger sandwiches and, in honor of beachy picnics, pigs-in-a-blanket! The show starts at 7:30.

Then, on Sunday, August 14th, we're doing the 1/2-day Intro to Improv Workshop at the EXPO Art Center. This workshop is great for newbies, people who are currently taking the Level 1 or Level 2 classes who want extra practice, or old pros who know you can never get enough improv!

The following Sunday, August 21st, it's our big long form show, Held2gether presents Snow Globes & Shotgun Weddings at the Sky Room Wedding Chapel in Long Beach.

Ten bucks for all the long form-y hilarity you can stand. Get your tickets in advance at the website, and you'll get a ticket for a free drink as well. The show starts at 6:00, so no complaints about it being a school night!

We'd LOVE to see you at all of these things! Check the Held2gether website for more deets on everything, or call the boss with questions.

(Lisa thinks I'm not very subtle, but I didn't even mention my birthday. Which is in August. Sometime.)

By Sonnjea Blackwell

Seriously, It's NOT About You

The motto of improv could be: Don't ever think this journey is about you. It's about everyone around you.

Okay, technically that IS a motto of improv. I stole it from a guy named Del Close who was one of the major influences on improv comedy, working with 2nd City, Improv Olympic and Upright Citizens Brigade over the years.

According to me (technically not a major influence on improv) improv is about these people, in this order:

1. The audience. The audience gives the improvisors the suggestion, from which everything should flow. The audience has to feel like that scene could not have happened without their suggestion.
2. The director. Sure, it's all made up on-the-spot, so you might think a director is superfluous. But getting the audience involved and keeping the energy up is a real skill. A great director can turn a terrible audience into a, well, so-so audience. But a lousy director can kill the best of crowds.
3. Your scene partner(s). The best way to make a scene work is to forget about yourself, your ego and your agenda and focus on your scene partner. Label them, give them gifts of great information and a lively character and just let the hilarity happen. They'll be doing the same for you, after all.
4. Everyone else in the universe.
5. You. In improv, as in life, whether you succeed or not largely depends on how much you give to others.

We want to help you be successful. Take a Held2gether improv class in Long Beach and find out how fun it is to help someone else be funny.

By Sonnjea Blackwell

Don't Beat Your Head Against the Wall

You can't make people be nice.

Turns out, even I don't have that kind of power. No matter how much you want to like someone or give them the benefit of the doubt or be nice to them, you simply cannot force them to be nice.

So you might as well stop beating your head against the wall. Metaphorically speaking, of course. If you happen to beat your head against the wall because it's some Krav Maga exercise you subject yourself to, then by all means, continue.

In the meantime, I'm going to talk about improv. Cuz that's how I roll, people.

First of all, improv people are nice. But in the same way you can't make people in real life be nice, you can't make your scene partner be what you want them to be. Improv is all about letting go of your own agenda and working together to create something funny. You might go into a scene thinking, "Oh! I know! I'm going to label him as a wimpy door-mat guy whose lunch I steal from the office fridge every day." But your scene partner may have the first line and say in a snooty, hoity-toity voice, "You know, Evelyn, I've about had it with your incessant stuttering. I want a divorce."

At first it's disconcerting to give up your ideas. I mean, I don't know about you, but I am generally really fond of my ideas. They're mostly pretty fabulous. But when you learn not to force your agenda, you are able to be in the moment and appreciate the natural evolution of the scene. And it's true what they say: two heads ARE better than one. What you and your scene partner come up with together is usually a lot better than what either one of you would've thought up on your own.

At Held2gether improv classes, we learn how much less stressful it is not to force people to be what we want them to be. Sure, in real life, you might still have to deal with those not-nice people and for that, we're sorry. But you'll also learn how to use those people to create hilarious characters to use in scenes... it's cheaper than therapy and way more fun!

Register for the H2G 1/2-day Intro to Improv Workshop coming up on August 14th, and save your head.

By Sonnjea Blackwell