So. My iO shows have been lackluster, at best. It's really starting to mess with my brain. I'm pretty sure I'm a good improviser, but it's hard to remember the last time I felt like one after a show.
After my 5b set tonight one of the other classes had their show. They split into two teams like we do. Tonight, what I would call their "weaker" players were all on the same team. They had maybe the strongest 5B performance that I've seen yet. I don't know if it was luck or just good listening, and patient scene work. I can't figure out what it is about Nightwolf that makes it so hard to put a solid show together. I wonder what things would have been like if I'd been in one of the other classes. Tonight almost all the strong players in Nightwolf played together, and it was still kinda mediocre. I'm frustrated.
iO - mostly just venting
Anything about the AIC itself.
Moderators: arclight, happywaffle
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- DollarBill Offline
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iO - mostly just venting
They call me Dollar Bill 'cause I always make sense.
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- Asaf Offline
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Bill, you are a great improviser. You were my favorite improviser to watch in the entire Austin scene. You added so much to every improv you were a part of.
Judge not your abilities on a series of shows. We all go through slumps where we rethink everything. It is a very natural growing pain.
Try to remember what you have fun doing, and do it. The rest will work itself out in due time.
Judge not your abilities on a series of shows. We all go through slumps where we rethink everything. It is a very natural growing pain.
Try to remember what you have fun doing, and do it. The rest will work itself out in due time.
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- DollarBill Offline
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Thanks, Asaf. That means a lot to me. But no more compliments, please. Seriously. I just wanted to talk about my Chicago prov experience in the private section so that I could be honest without hurting anyone's feelings (not that chicago folks troll around the AIC forum very often). Anyway, can't wait to see y'all. And prov with y'all. See you soon!
They call me Dollar Bill 'cause I always make sense.
- TexasImprovMassacre Offline
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sometimes, when a team has no dominant players in the mix, it allows some good performers the space they need to do great work.
sometimes when a team that has a dominant player (or a player that seems to be able to go out in every scene and get a base hit), that misses a show. It creates room for the other players to feel confidenmt enough to step up and fill that void.
sometimes on a team full of heavy hitters, the listening gets left by the wayside, beacuse everyone's uberconfidence is preventing the groupwork from acheiving cohesion.
sometimes when a team that has a dominant player (or a player that seems to be able to go out in every scene and get a base hit), that misses a show. It creates room for the other players to feel confidenmt enough to step up and fill that void.
sometimes on a team full of heavy hitters, the listening gets left by the wayside, beacuse everyone's uberconfidence is preventing the groupwork from acheiving cohesion.
If you disrespect your character, or play it just for laughs, it will sell some gags, but it's all technique.
It's like watching a juggler-- you'll be impressed by it, but it's not going to touch you in anyway. "
-Steve Coogan
It's like watching a juggler-- you'll be impressed by it, but it's not going to touch you in anyway. "
-Steve Coogan
I'm pretty new to the game still, but I've found that there seems to be an up down cycle every so often. I've enjoyed watching you and think it would be great to play with or along side you sometime. This is a strong community and I've learned a whole lot.
"Love is the ultimate outlaw. It just won't adhere to any rules. The most any of us can do is to sign on as its accomplice. Instead of vowing to honor and obey, maybe we should swear to aid and abet." Tom Robbins
Oh Billy boy, the imps, the imps are calling
From old ColdTowne, to down on Congress AVE
Chicago's cold, and "shows have been lackluster"
'Tis you, 'tis you must go & take a drive.
So come ye back where summer's still in meadow
Where imps do play and celebrate good cheer.
And we'll be here in sunshine or in shadow
Oh Billy boy, oh Billy boy, we love you so.
From old ColdTowne, to down on Congress AVE
Chicago's cold, and "shows have been lackluster"
'Tis you, 'tis you must go & take a drive.
So come ye back where summer's still in meadow
Where imps do play and celebrate good cheer.
And we'll be here in sunshine or in shadow
Oh Billy boy, oh Billy boy, we love you so.
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- DollarBill Offline
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Yes. I agree. Plus I pick up a lot of negativity flying around within my team. And only a few of the members seem to want to rehearse. They all want to be ON a team, but very few want to BE a team right now. It seems like they don't even want to have fun on stage. I should have maybe taken control earlier and tried to rally a small group to rehearse and be a cohesive team. Ah well. Hind sight. I've still learned a lot in the last few months. Good stuff.Dave wrote:sometimes, when a team has no dominant players in the mix, it allows some good performers the space they need to do great work.
sometimes when a team that has a dominant player (or a player that seems to be able to go out in every scene and get a base hit), that misses a show. It creates room for the other players to feel confidenmt enough to step up and fill that void.
sometimes on a team full of heavy hitters, the listening gets left by the wayside, beacuse everyone's uberconfidence is preventing the groupwork from acheiving cohesion.
They call me Dollar Bill 'cause I always make sense.
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- beardedlamb Offline
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bill,
for the rest of your career, you will be more experienced than almost everyone you play with. you've been doing it for nearly ten years and you're not even out of your mid-twenties. you also come from a disciplined place as far as rehearsing and producing and focusing on having ensemble.
the people in your group now have much less experience. some have only done, what 5 or 6 shows in their whole life (improv or scripted.)
my guess, and this is only a guess is that your frustrations come from two issues. 1) the vast chasm of experience that exists and 2) the standard that everything is held up to. that is to say, it's hard to recreate the ensemble that you feel with other groups. the chemistry is always different there.
what can you do? well, i think you've hit it already. just relax and have a good time. working with less experienced players, which as i've said, you might be doing for the rest of your life, is an improv art unto itself. so, if you can adjust your expectations of what a show can do for you, i think you can really flourish in that environment.
hope that helps.
for the rest of your career, you will be more experienced than almost everyone you play with. you've been doing it for nearly ten years and you're not even out of your mid-twenties. you also come from a disciplined place as far as rehearsing and producing and focusing on having ensemble.
the people in your group now have much less experience. some have only done, what 5 or 6 shows in their whole life (improv or scripted.)
my guess, and this is only a guess is that your frustrations come from two issues. 1) the vast chasm of experience that exists and 2) the standard that everything is held up to. that is to say, it's hard to recreate the ensemble that you feel with other groups. the chemistry is always different there.
what can you do? well, i think you've hit it already. just relax and have a good time. working with less experienced players, which as i've said, you might be doing for the rest of your life, is an improv art unto itself. so, if you can adjust your expectations of what a show can do for you, i think you can really flourish in that environment.
hope that helps.
Any chance you've got another show you could totally cut loose in and do some wacky stuff that would shake your team up and inspire them to be more playful? Or is wacky behavior too aggressive (killing the fun)? Do you know a way to "tickle & delight" your team players??
The hardest thing to do is stay fun and playful in a negative environment. However, I've seen some very experienced people manage to do it, and their positivity in the face of it all saved the show.
[I love the playfulness I've seen in your prov.]
As Gene Joe would say, "Have fun, damn-it."
The hardest thing to do is stay fun and playful in a negative environment. However, I've seen some very experienced people manage to do it, and their positivity in the face of it all saved the show.
[I love the playfulness I've seen in your prov.]
As Gene Joe would say, "Have fun, damn-it."
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- improvstitute Offline
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- DollarBill Offline
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