Improv: Just Learn It

"Many people have the idea that to improvise you have to get up on a stage and 'make it up.' While it’s true that that’s the bulk of it, it could also be said that the bulk of driving is pointing the car, so let’s allow five-year-olds to do it. Bad idea. To master the art of improv can take many years, and a great understanding, not just of improv’s tenets, but those of many different disciplines. Because there are fewer parameters than any other performing art, one must be prepared for anything that comes your way. That includes forays into the worlds of writing, directing, design, dance, music, singing, mime, stage combat, and especially acting. Once you’ve got all of these down, then you can say that improv is easy."
--- Jeff Catanese, Improv Review

I recently did a show with a local high school improv troupe.   I always enjoy seeing what young improvisers do on stage, considering that I started my sophomore year of high school.  (I'm also still considered a very young improvisor since most people that I know who do it are like... 30... and I haven't even hit 2 decades yet) Some of these kids were extremely talented.  It was quite surprising.... On the other hand.... well.... there were other people on the troupe.  

You could tell that a few of these kids thought that they didn't have to try to understand improv.  They thought that all you had to do was say "poop" (yes... poop.) on stage to get a laugh, and that was just good enough. I have an extreme distaste for anyone that takes this route on a stage.  If you are on a stage and the only word that comes to your mind is poop... you better damn well keep your mouth shut unless that scene calls for it. (And it really has to call for it...) If your the kind of person that thinks the only way to get a laugh is to use blue humor, (although I do admit sex can be funny if used appropriately) then get the hell off of any stage you were planning on performing and start a crappy stand up routine at a bar. 

Improv isn't that hard to learn, but that doesn't mean you can skip the learning process.

In Other Words, Improv...

Regardless of how I felt about my Spring Break there was one redeeming quality of the vacation: The Improv.

It was spectacular! I've seen quite a bit of improv in my life, but the shows that I saw this week are the best that I have ever seen. 

I even got to see a main stage performance in iO west. I had an improvgasm.  There is no other word to explain the feeling.  (The owner of the place snuck me in to see the show because you have to be 21 to go in... but he really liked me and my improv and wanted me to see his group. Fuck Yeah!)

Improv. It was beautiful.

(I saw this and laughed unusually hard...)

Well, I've Never Said No to Flattery...

I have a fan club.  

It's cool to think about... until you realize that they are all middle school children... then it's creepy.  

It's a nice little confidence boost though.  I've been needing one of those.

And it's not a bad thing.

Just odd...

...But everyone likes flattery.

yeah...

Nothing Can Ruin a Friday

I have a lot of things that have been troubling me lately:

• I'm having extreme amounts of jealousy towards a good friend
• My current friend-zone rate is at 100%
• I'm feeling quite depressed
• I'm doubting my own abilities
• I have a terrible self-image
• I'm still living at home
• I'm lonely
• I hate my job
• Waiting for audition results is killing me
• The initial confidence that I had at the beginning of the semester has vanished completely
• I'm allowing my emotions to crush me
• People make me angry
• My older brother and I haven't talked pleasantly in over 4 months
• Costume Construction
• Girls I like end up being attracted to my friend rather than me (see first item)

Despite all of these things, today, I'm happy.  Why? Because today, this wonderful day, I get to improvise.  I get to forget about everything that is bothering me and have two, glorious hours of performance.

Improv is my stress relief.  Weird, I know.  ("His stress relief is putting himself in a state of complete vulnerability? What a weirdo...")  Yes. Yes I am.  I like feeling that vulnerable because I'm never that way around others.  I don't show my true emotions to everyone all the time and I usually lock them inside of myself.  But not when I improvise.  I get to release every thought, feeling, musing, rant, and scream that I usually want to give throughout the week without any bad consequences.  NO ONE will judge it.  EVERYONE will love watching it. It's liberating.  And this liberating feeling: it's mine, and not a single person, no matter how good-looking, charming, well-liked, pretty, rich, kind, mean, unpleasant, passive aggressive, depressing, or talented they are, can take it away from me.

I love improv. I'm kind of obsessed.






 Improv is my chocolate.