July 2012
25 posts
“Improv taught me to really say YES” is something I read whenever a non-improv media source writes about improv. “SAY YES TO EVERYTHING” seems to be the big eye-opening moment that journalists take away from improv classes. Even accomplished comedians look back at their time in improv and speak to the revolutionary concept of being cooperative and then when pressed for specific examples will talk about the joy of saying yes to things one would say normally say no to.
I think that is over-simplisitic and wrong. Yes-And is not about SAYING YES TO EVERYTHING and in fact, an important part of becoming a good improviser is learning how and when to say NO on stage, so things stay truthful. It makes for a good story, but saying that “improv taught me to say yes” is like saying that comic books aren’t for kids anymore.
The revolutionary game-changing skill of long-form improv is: EMPATHY.
For anyone who isn’t aware I’ve uploaded episodes 5 and 6 of TUWYL.
Both of these episodes feature guests who made appearances on Whose Line, and I think it’s sweet that Colin and Wayne got to reunite with Florence, albeit with much less necking.
Episode 5: Jerry Springer
Episode 6: Florence Henderson
Enjoy!
The Summer of Freestyle continues with “I Admire You Guys” - an original Twinprov freestyle dedicated to Paul, a superfan, before our January 2012 TEDxOU Performance.
Ok, so I wrote a text adventure which takes place in the UCB Theatre. As with all text adventures, it’s hard to play, full of obtuse puzzles and inadvertently hard “guess the word” places.
I need stalwart nerds who can try to play this game and give me notes. In this order
1) stuff that just…
…The biggest takeaway from the practice, for me, was to follow the fun and not to think - which is exactly what my recent teachers have been telling me to do. I had so much fun playing and watching my teammates and enjoying moves that felt fun to make in the moment. …
Dear friend,
If you are producing a show and using Kickstarter to fund that show, please have at least one funding option that is a deal. If your show tickets are going to be $20, offer a $15 gift level where I get a ticket. Better yet, offer a $25 level where I get 2 tickets. Give me a bargain…
Mullaney’s not the first person that I’ve seen say this; I saw an article a while back suggesting the same kind of thing for other general Kickstarters (Specific source? I’m sorry, I can’t recall, but a quick Internet search reveals a ton of articles saying this as well).
Based on my own research of theater fundraising (Reginald Nelson’s book is particularly good), anything tangible will entice people a bit more. Get a free t-shirt, your name mentioned in a donor’s list in the program or prominent place in the theater, or a free pass to some number of shows. These are things a donor can get excited about, and point to as proof of how magnanimous they are.
The other day, I wanted my Harold team to work on incorporating moves from the opening into the rest of the show in order to infuse not only the content of the opening but also its style into the whole piece. The exercise I put to them was this: do an organic opening, then choose three (and…
Susan Messing did a workshop here in LA today, and while I didn’t have the foresight to take notes during her workshop, Nicclee did when she attended the NY Messing workshop and it sounds like similar material.
Susan Messing did a workshop yesterday that was a wonderful…
In computer programming (and probably in lots of fields) there’s the expression “Fast. Cheap. Good. Pick two.”
I feel like there’s three aspects of good scenework: cooperation, reality, activeness. Maybe the challenge is doing all three at once, and maybe students can only ever do two of them at…
I showed up late for my first class at iO. I’m an ass hole.
They’re in the middle of introducing themselves, it sounds like they’re saying where they’re from, who their last teacher at iO was, and what they want out of this class. It’s my turn to introduce myself, “I’m Stephen Perlstein, I’m from…
- CRAIG: So what, are you still working with Ryan?
- COLIN: I haven't seen uh... y'know, Ryan's hard to get hold of. I actually had to befriend his daughter on Facebook... I'd say, "Hey it's Uncle Colin, tell your dad to call me," 'cause he never calls. He was changing his number like every couple of months.
- CRAIG: Well maybe he's trying to avoid your call.
- COLIN: That's not possible. I'm adorable.
