Posted: April 24th, 2007, 9:25 am
i was introduced to a crucial piece of improv advice many years ago that has forever changed the way i improvise. in scenes with four people, you're only going to be talking 1/4 of the time. and that fraction can be changed depending on how many people are in the scene obviously. since i am never sure exactly of this percentage in a scene i err on the side of less than. better to leave space and support what's happening.
another good one is the concept of the "passenger." with scenes of more than two, the rest of the players should be passengers. they are merely there to act as window dressing or color until the scene decides otherwise. you might be a passenger for 10 seconds somewhere in the middle of the scene, or you might be on stage for the entire scene just miming an action in the corner, never to be used other than for your incredible good looks.
these ideas have forever changed me because they made me into an almost constantly support player. i'm usually the guy who hangs back and reacts to what's been built, somewhat of the passenger in my troupe.
i'm also working out the kinks on a format idea called 31 People, where the cast is 31 strong. 26 or so of that 31 are permanent passengers, or i guess extras in the show. they act as scenery, objects, other characters with little or no dialogue. the other 5 or so act as an ensemble delivering all the dialogue and story stuff. as long as it is rehearsed and directed (practiced and coached) well, everyone will know how they fit in and it should look really sweet from the audience. so while assigning these kinds of roles at a jam would probably be a real dick thing to do, it might be a good way to get a handle on the massive cast issue.
another good one is the concept of the "passenger." with scenes of more than two, the rest of the players should be passengers. they are merely there to act as window dressing or color until the scene decides otherwise. you might be a passenger for 10 seconds somewhere in the middle of the scene, or you might be on stage for the entire scene just miming an action in the corner, never to be used other than for your incredible good looks.
these ideas have forever changed me because they made me into an almost constantly support player. i'm usually the guy who hangs back and reacts to what's been built, somewhat of the passenger in my troupe.
i'm also working out the kinks on a format idea called 31 People, where the cast is 31 strong. 26 or so of that 31 are permanent passengers, or i guess extras in the show. they act as scenery, objects, other characters with little or no dialogue. the other 5 or so act as an ensemble delivering all the dialogue and story stuff. as long as it is rehearsed and directed (practiced and coached) well, everyone will know how they fit in and it should look really sweet from the audience. so while assigning these kinds of roles at a jam would probably be a real dick thing to do, it might be a good way to get a handle on the massive cast issue.
