Intro to Improv Workshop This Sunday!!

We're offering an Intro to Improv Half-Day Workshop this coming Sunday, March 24. This isn't exactly noteworthy; I mean, we offer these things several times a year and they're always a hoot.

But I did feel it was worth mentioning because somebody on Saturday was concerned about "who exactly the class is tailored to." Which is a legit concern. Except in this case, the class is tailored to anyone and everyone who has heard of improv, so there's really no need for concern.

I suppose technically, it's wide open for those who haven't heard of improv as well, but I'm not sure how they'd go about signing up for a class they have never heard of.

Anyhoo... While this class is designed to be welcoming to people who have never done one second of improv before in their lives, and we focus on the basics, that doesn't mean old pros can't get anything out of it. In fact, much like improv in general, you will get out of the class what you put into it - if you look at it as being beneath you and having nothing to offer, well then that's prolly what you'll get. But if you look at it as a chance to hone your skills, brush up on the fundamentals and help new people by demonstrating how to be a strong, generous scene partner, you'll definitely see some personal growth.

The thing I love about the half-day workshops is that the new people are excited about the chance to learn not just from me, but also from the more experienced students in the class... AND that the experienced people are inspired by the fearless, all-out, go-for-it-ness that beginners bring.

Plus, you know I'll say something to embarrass myself, and that in itself is worth the price of admission. Hurry, there aren't many spots left!

By Sonnjea Blackwell

"Tacos Originated in a Small Village in Baja California Called Taquello..."

I was interviewed for an hour-long radio show this morning about, what else, improv. It was funny because beforehand, I was a little worried that I wouldn't be able to talk for an entire hour (well, 48 minutes, if you factor in the commercials). If you've met me, you know how laughable that is. I mean, I can talk for an hour about chalk. And this was improv. All I do in life is talk about improv. Most people pray for me NOT to talk about improv for an entire hour.

Anyway, I have a point. Shut up, I do. Before improv, I still had a tendency amongst my family and coworkers to be a bit of a Chatty Cathy... But although I never really had stage fright or worried if I had to give a speech or something, being interviewed and talking off the cuff for any length of time would have been WAY far out of my comfort zone.

But improv teaches, above all, the importance of being in the moment. It's hard to be panicked if you really ARE in the moment, because panic is about something that might happen in the future... All I can do in THIS moment is listen to the interviewer and respond to his questions to the best of my ability.

And what about that, the answering the questions part? Before improv, I would've had no confidence whatsoever in my ability to talk intelligently on any subject - especially not for a whole hour! But when you take an improv class, you get used to going on stage and having NO clue what's going to happen. You get a suggestion like "maple syrup" or something, and boom! You create a 3-minute scene from it. Sure, 3 minutes is far from an hour, but when you can learn to be comfortable in the gray area - that area where nothing is for sure and anything can happen and you have no control over any of it - that applies throughout all the areas of your life.

In this case, the interview was also about improv, which is something I'm a certain amount of an expert in, so it was not too difficult to talk about the why's and wherefore's of it. But if the interview had been about tacos or tablecloths or the Swedish design aesthetic of the 1970s, I could have still talked about it for an hour. Adding information is one of the first things we learn in improv, and being specific and having "expert" knowledge about stuff is just part of the game. My information about tablecloths and Swedish design would've been all BS, but it would've sounded good. Tacos... come on! It's meat in a fried container - how could I NOT be an actual expert on that?

Anyway, I just wanted to say that whatever your Comfort Zone Limit (CZL) is, improv can expand it. I never knew I'd need to be interviewed for anything, so it wasn't a goal of mine to acquire that skill. But the skills of improv apply in literally every area of life, and when you expand your CZL, you expand ALL of your abilities, without even really being consciously aware of it. Until one day, somebody asks if they can interview you on their show about sloths. And then you calmly say, "Sure. Two-toed sloths, or three?"

By Sonnjea Blackwell

I Love the Smell of Roses... MWAHAHAHAHAHA!!

Oh. My. God. We laughed so hard in the Level 1 improv class last night that our sides ached, our cheeks ached and one lady said her eyes even hurt.

Last night was emotion/commitment night, which means it's the first time we delve into the notion of having a HUGE, heightened emotion as well as total commitment to a character or emotion or whatever kind of label. And my peeps friggin' brought it last night, which was super fun... AND a really important lesson for them.

We did an ordinary ol' 3-person transaction scene in a store, then replayed the same scene with an emotion or a movie/TV genre suggested by the audience. The hilarity that ensued was caused ENTIRELY be the students committing to that emotion or style. There's nothing inherently funny about the statement, "Boy, there sure are a lot of erotic novels in this bookstore" or "Do you take VISA?" or "We're looking for Beatles albums" or "I love the smell of roses." But when you say those lines and you're SUPER sad or evil, or you're in a murder-mystery or a western, those same lines become HILARIOUS. The spacework and stage picture change, but the lines stay the same and it's proof that, if you are committed - really, really committed - the audience is completely on your side and they will reward you with eye-pain-inducing laughter.

And isn't that what we all want?

By Sonnjea Blackwell

How Much Effort Is 100%, Anyway?

I can hardly walk today. Oh, stop it. Get your minds out of the gutter, people.

I realized over the weekend that I don't really put 100% effort into... well, much of anything, really. I know how hard I have to work to accomplish certain standards that matter to me, and that's how hard I work. I'm guessing I average around 70% effort, if effort can be quantified in that way. It's not exactly that I'm lazy, although I'm sure there's an element of that involved. But it has more to do with fear than anything else.

Doesn't everything?

I don't know about you guys, but I'm a perfectionist. And a pleaser. Not being a complete idiot, I understand that "perfect" is unattainable... and yet, since I have the drive to achieve perfection anyway, sometimes the only way to not make myself crazy is to just do stuff half-assed. Because when I CHOOSE to do a less than perfect job, I haven't failed in my attempt.

The pleaser thing compounds the mediocrity that perfectionism gives rise to. Giving people what they want is half of being a pleaser; the other half is becoming adept at figuring out what they want, so you can give it to them. Most people have absurd but specific expectations - parents, teachers, bosses, the mailman - and so I can skate by doing a mediocre job and still managing to satisfy most of the people most of the time... and those I can't please, I eventually "choose" not to try (see the procrastination thing, above).

Yes, I have a point, and yes, it has to do with improv. I've been reading all these books lately that have to do with fear and how insidious it is. I'm starting to think that every negative attribute a person can have boils down to fear, in one way or another. Perfectionism = fear of failing. Pleaser = fear of not being loved. And in coming to these conclusions, I realize that, as hard as I work at improv, I still don't give it EVERYTHING, because part of me still wants to be perfect at it, and part of me still wants to please people (teachers, the audience, my classmates) with it. As long as fear is part of the equation, I will always be acting to avoid it. I won't try things that I know I can't succeed at (the first time around), because I don't want to fail. I won't try weird things because I don't want to displease people.

Part of giving 100%, in my estimation, is pushing until failure no longer applies. Because you DID fail, and you didn't give up. Or because you pushed and pushed and you DIDN'T fail. Or because you learned something about yourself in the process that made the eventual outcome irrelevant. Or because, in pushing that hard, you learned to say "Fuck you, fear. I'm magic."

So I can't walk very well today because I actually pushed myself 100% at the gym yesterday. Not that I have anything to prove there; Nate has already seen me at my most spastic anyway. But I want to get in the habit of seeing what I really CAN do, after so many years of just doing what I HAVE to do to get by, so I'm practicing this 100% effort thing in as many areas of my life as I can - improv being at the top of the list, naturally.

Care to join me?

By Sonnjea Blackwell

I'm Good At Snowboarding! Can I Work at this Funeral Parlor?

Certain people at H2G HQ have the kind of jobs where they go to offices and have bosses and underlings and actual responsibilities. I personally do not approve of such scenarios, but it seems as if they're here to stay, so I accept them and try not to judge.

In any event, in the course of doing his job, one such individual is often in the position of interviewing hiring candidates. He asked me to write a blog about how improv classes can help these people with their interviewing skills. I'm happy to oblige.

It seems that, when asked about their strengths, candidates frequently list any number of things they're good at (or at least things they think they're good at) THAT HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THE JOB THEY ARE APPLYING FOR... from snowboarding to karaoke to speed-reading to cooking to sex. Well, I made that last one up - if you're going to mention sex at an interview that is not actually for a job in the porn industry, I think improv is probably not going to solve all of your problems.

Conversely, when asked about their weaknesses, these same people list any number of things they suck at THAT ARE DIRECTLY RELATED TO THE JOB THEY ARE APPLYING FOR.

Now, I know that my readers - employed or otherwise - would not do such a thing. But in case you are reading this to an illiterate friend or relative, I will explain how improv classes would help in these instances.

In improv, we always want to make connections and unearth what something means. If I tell my scene partner, "I resent your condescending attitude," we need to figure out why. Perhaps it's because it makes my character feel insecure, or because his character is actually completely incompetent and yet thinks he's all that, or whatever. We want to connect our next bit of information onto the last, so we can build a relationship and, therefore, a scene. If I say, "I resent your condescending attitude," and he replies with, "You love ice cream!" that's not connected and not helpful.

When you learn that skill, you can apply it in an interview situation. If the HR person asks what your strengths are, and you have none that directly apply to the job at hand, but you are good at snowboarding, don't say you're good at snowboarding. Instead, think about the skills needed for successful snowboarding, think about how those skills connect to the job at hand, and list those... Say you have the ability to assess new situations and adapt accordingly, or that you're always one to take initiative, or that you're a risk-taker who nevertheless weighs the needs of the team before making a decision. Think about the question, understand what they are really asking, and make those connections in your brain before you answer. All in a couple seconds. That's what improv teaches you.

Oh yeah. If you're asked about your weaknesses, don't hand them a laundry list of reasons not to hire you. Think of something you're not good at, and explain how the skills you lack in that situation are something you're not great at. Maybe you're not good at karaoke... you can say, "I am uncomfortable being singled out or being the center of attention. I'm much better in a collaborative situation." That takes a weakness and turns it into a strength; essentially, I'm a team player.

I am NOT suggesting you lie in your interviews. Far from it. I am suggesting that improv will help you understand questions and how to logically reply to them in a connected manner that will allow you to tell the best possible truth, instead of the truth that gets you sent home without the job.

By Sonnjea Blackwell