Logic Improv

Okay, so today I tested out a little theory of improv and it really helped the start of the scene. It hasn't been fully fleshed out BUT I'm gonna keep doing it, if it tends to work.

The inspiration was watching Anthony Atamanuik on roo roo in youtube videos. There was a little subtitle saying, "Let everything affect you". I thought about it and he was actually doing that. Most of the time it was affecting him negatively but it was affecting him and it was obvious.

He introduced himself in a scene and the response was very situational. "We crashed and rolled here.", his response was, "You rolled here, that's impressive, this is 6 miles off the road"

I thought about this in terms of initiation. First off, who affects you.... for the most part people you know. A person very rarely gets affected by a stranger and if they do it's never really confrontational, since chances are it's negative. So, you have to really know the PERSON or the SITUATION.

Lets look at types of sentences. Command. Observation. Question.  

My experiment is that if I respond to an initiation that is personal and up the situation to the nth degree,

Command:

Get Me a Sandwich. (to me)

That's a hell of thing to ask your mom as she just came back from chemo.

Get it together, Justin. (to the other person as if it's to themselves)

You lost our son to egyptians?

Damn you, God. (an outsider)

Do you really want that as your last words, dad?

Observation:

The car is blue. (outside)

That's the only description you have for the man who stole our son?

You're looking great. (to me)

Don't fucking fuck with me, my heart is on the outside of my body.

I'm a lawyer.

Dad, stop bragging about your fucking life.

Question:

Could I get a ticket?

Way to rub it in, Dad. I get it, I should have stayed in college.

License and registration, please?

Son. You're an asshole, I'm driving home.

Who is Abraham Lincoln?

Which monument did you want to go to?!!

ACTIVITIES:

Digging a hole

You cheap bastard. Couldn't chalk up the cash for mom's burial.

Eating food.

You're an asshole, grandpa, you know you're deathly allergic to meat.

Dancing

Fuck you, sis. Way to make fun of the fact that no one is at my party.

This is all just conjecture. But, if you really take in that first thing that is said or done. You can pin point it in seconds. I attempted it in one show, the partner went out and started sewing and I said, "Mom, you need to stop making my clothes." It kind of worked but I really had to figure it out and got a little confused.

Now, I know it's kind of a negative thing but in my mind it's fun because in each one you want the other person to stop what they are doing and they are weird. So, technically the game is there, kind of. 

The Importance of Just Hanging Out

First off, I'm not the most social person in the world. Maybe it's just how I was raised. I literally have never reallly made friends easily and there's this little tiny voice in the back of my head that says, "Are you being needy". So, when I started doing improv, that was my escape, I didn't need to hang out. And whenever I did hang out, all we would talk about was improv.

When you look at the best teams, they hang out a lot. They are best friends, they go everywhere together. You could say that improv caused this but there has to be a legitimate effort on the other end.

This has literally been one of the harder parts of my improv life. Sure, I have lots of friends and fellow improvisers but when I think about it, I rarely just hang out. I've come to realize that is a major issue I have to deal with. 

The thing is, someone has to start the ball rolling. Organizing is hard, let's face it, but it HAS to happen.  As you get better and better at improv, you get placed on teams with people whom you only know from watching. That can be hard. Rehearsals are great but that is work. You're trying to acheive something. Sure, it can be fun, but it's that extra effort that really counts. 

I think I just found my New Years resolution. To take every team I'm on, and start hanging out with them. Make friends, figure out who these people are. I soon found out that those few teams I started out with, Decent Proposal, Adorable, Maybe Monogamous. I may never have those folks in a room together again. It's rough. I look back and they were such awesome people that I maybe never got to know entirely. I'm gonna try and stop the pattern. Stop the pattern and get moving. 

My point is, be the one who cares enough about the team to do these things. Be the one who cares enough to make it a point to get together. Don't feel jilted if people can't but those that do will feel closer together. Get it done.

Magnet Level 6 "Los Palumbos" and "Wizard Brunch" Shows on Mondays

We recently started out shows at the Magnet. My team, Los Palumbos, consists of some amazing people.

At this level, everyone is so good. Sometimes I think to myself, I have to keep up or prove something but the fact is, fun is all you need. Fun is infectious, energy is momentum. You start with fun and just run the gauntlet, there is nothing that can stop you.

The more I do improv, the more I feel like I'm someone who likes runs and tag outs. Sure it sounds hokey but it's the fun part of a harold or montage. That moment where everyone just builds and builds.

We had a string of tag runs tonight. I wasn't as active as I usually am but I was just enjoying the show. It wasn't hesitancy, it just existed. That's the one thing that you have to get over, there are no bad shows. If you think about it, there is always good and bad, but shows are shows. People are already ridiculously impressed that you're making everything up. The key is just love and support.

This is pretty personal but I've been trying to get over myself lately. I was in a place of gratefulness for awhile then I got what I wanted and I fell back into some weird stuff. It went from having fun to just not wanting to screw up. That's fear, I've never feared the stage. The fear is based in a need for recognition. I need to realize that I am good enough and I deserve to be where I am.

LIfe is too short to wonder what if. Just do it. If you're teammate kicks ass in a show, that's YOUR TEAM. SUPPORT THAT KICK ASS. RAISE THEM TO THE SKY!!! 

That's what improv is all about. I'm a lucky man.