Dramatic Improv

Jastroch · Post by **Jastroch** » February 16th, 2007, 1:14 am

kbadr wrote:
Jastroch wrote:This dude could use a hot dog right about now.*

*That was a perfect set up for a burn. Have at it.
You know what I want, Jastroch? You might know these from you life in the North East. I want a Sabrett's Hotdog. GodDAMn those were good. I want one out of a hotdog truck on the side of road.

I grew up poor. Mommy didn't buy me a car when I turned 16 and I sure as shit didn't get any free hot dogs.

acrouch · Post by **acrouch** » February 17th, 2007, 2:14 am

arthursimone wrote:yes, yes, narrative longform can make for certain tragic elements, but I maintain that it will only ever be tragicomedy. It can be honest, visceral, very theatrical and entertaining, but there will always be a certain degree of self-aware absurdity present, right?

Not necessarily. The self-aware absurdity is a product of the pressures of improvisation and the fashion of the times, but that doesn't make it inevitable. Comedy -- especially ironic or self-deprecating comedy -- is a safety valve that absolves us of the wrongs we're committing in the high-risk arena of improv. Our lameness, stupidity, ugliness, inconsistency, perversion, pretension, laziness and general unlikability are washed away with the wink and the nod. We make ourselves vulnerable and then cover our asses with comedy.
And beyond that, we're living in an age of irony. We're allergic to unchecked emotions and earnestness in whatever medium, which means you've got to be really fucking good to get away with untempered drama/tragedy these days. And you've got to be even better if you're trying to do it on the fly without the benefit of editing and rehearsing. So maybe 99.9 percent of improvisers don't have the skill set to pull it off right now, that doesn't mean it's impossible, and it doesn't mean we shouldn't work towards it.

arthursimone wrote:I know good self-appointed drama when I see it, and there's nothing spontaneous about it. Classical tragedy is based on myths, on archetypes, on narrative and communal characters that have an immediate place in our conscious and unconscious.

Come on, Arthur. I could as easily say there's nothing spontaneous about good comedy and I would be just as wrong. We work our asses off to learn the tricks of generating great comedy in the moment. We internalize the rhythms, attitudes, games and gags of comedy, and we could do the same with the tools of tragedy. In fact, Shana's teaching a class on Wednesday nights right now that is rooted in classic story techniques -- the heroes journey, archetypal characters, etc. -- that apply as much to drama/tragedy as comedy.

Improv is ultimately an exercise in vulnerability and genuine vulnerability is ALWAYS entertaining, be it funny, painful or somewhere in between. It sounds like what you guys saw last weekend was none of the above, which is a shame, but let's not go limiting our medium to hastily.

shando · Post by **shando** » February 17th, 2007, 8:52 am

acrouch wrote:
Come on, Arthur.

Uh oh, I'm starting to influence people.

Jules · Post by **Jules** » February 17th, 2007, 8:57 am

"allergic to unchecked emotions and earnestness"

Damn right. I even see it in my kids, moving very quickly from abject joy to blase if their peers are around.
Its kind of sad actually.
But. What.Ev.Er.

Wesley · Post by **Wesley** » February 17th, 2007, 9:17 am

All right, that's it.
I'm bringing back emotion.
Who's with me?

If a Vulcan can learn to hug, we all can...

Jules · Post by **Jules** » February 17th, 2007, 11:44 am

Wheeeeeeee!

kbadr · Post by **kbadr** » February 17th, 2007, 11:44 am

Wesley wrote:All right, that's it.
I'm bringing back emotion.
Who's with me?

I am not, in as much as I am 100% against the latest trend for people to proclaim that they are "bringing back" anything. Suck my ass, Timberlake. You're not getting wedged into the modern lexicon THAT easily.

Wesley · Post by **Wesley** » February 17th, 2007, 2:12 pm

That's funny you should say that because I totally Timberlaked my car this morning.

kbadr · Post by **kbadr** » February 17th, 2007, 2:27 pm

Sounds like you'll be bringing back riding the bus.

York99 · Post by **York99** » February 17th, 2007, 3:08 pm

Wesley wrote:That's funny you should say that because I totally Timberlaked my car this morning.

I'm not getting the Timberlake reference.

TexasImprovMassacre · February 17th, 2007, 3:42 pm

shando wrote:
Uh oh, I'm starting to influence people.

You've influenced my taste in t-shirts

Mo Daviau · Post by **Mo Daviau** » February 17th, 2007, 7:31 pm

York99 wrote:
Wesley wrote:That's funny you should say that because I totally Timberlaked my car this morning.
I'm not getting the Timberlake reference.

Timberlake's got a song about "Bringing Sexy Back," which I had not heard until it came on the radio in Chapel Hill. So now people are bringing back all sorts of things: manners, emotions, cardboard, the $7.99 all you can eat seafood buffet. It's a great time for bringing back things!

andrea · Post by **andrea** » February 17th, 2007, 8:07 pm

don't forget bringing awesome back.

Mo Daviau · Post by **Mo Daviau** » February 17th, 2007, 8:30 pm

andrea wrote:don't forget bringing awesome back.

Oh, don't worry. I won't.

Take it to the bridge!