Austin Improv

Yeah, so far these are basically things that I teach and try to practice myself. I do the repeating exercise. I try to use different parts of the stage. Sometimes with the physicality thing. But these things are hard.

What I'm looking for is: How can I be magic?

York99 wrote:What I'm looking for is: How can I be magic?

Well you can talk to Joplin. He knows a lot about wizards. But I think Cody is right. Listening super hard instead of thinking is probably how I play when I'm at my best. I think way too much during harolds now. NEW GOAL: I'm gonna focus on listening in my next harold rehearsal and just let my instincts handle the improv. See if that get's me out of the slump I've been feeling.

Steph, when you said you just have to connect a tiny bit back to the first beat: It's easier said than done. I'll find myself thinking, "I have NO idea what happened in the first scene. Not a single clue." But I think if I listen like Cody said. That'll start to take care of itself. I love it! I have a plan! THANKS Y'ALL!!

I agree with Bill. And Cody. And Steph. And everyone.

I think that listening in the big, general sense of being completely aware and open like a sponge is how to be: being aware of the major beats of a scene, being aware of characters and their "thing", being aware of physicality and little "if, then" games, being aware of little turns of phrase or things out of the ordinary. Letting your mind open like a sponge, most especially when you are not on-stage, is key.

And then not questioning when to regurgitate what you have soaked up. I think this is more important part of the magic wizardry: being in the moment of your scene, but also allowing part of your mind to be aware -- be in that awesome zone -- to just "do" when something is apt to pull back, like a physicality, a phrase, a game, etc.

Sounds all karate kidding, but I really think there is a crazy zone you can get into as an individual and as a team where this stuff does feel like magic.

And I also love the exercise to have people redo a scene they just watched, redo their own scene as their scene partner, redo the scene as themselves, redo a 3 minute scene in 90 seconds, 45 seconds, 20 seconds, 10 seconds... It forces your mind to pick up on the important stuff.

Something that I was always encouraged to do in class and I try to do when talking about second beats or whatnot is to put stuff in your back pokcet that is interesting to you. You don't have to put everything you see back there, but just interesting stuff you can pull back later.

I really love this conversation thread and agree with a lot of what's been said. I think listening, retaining, and recalling information is so key in improv.

To me a lot of this falls under the topic: improvisers are learning how to be like the audience--relaxed and effortlessly creating. Audience members, without much effort, are able to remember so much about a show as it is happening. They notice every time someone is called the wrong name or someone trounces through a space object. And it's not because they are working hard to remember all that stuff, it's just because they see it. And because they are relaxed and don't feel responsible for it, they are able to hold on to it without much effort.

Along those lines, I found this article VERY interesting: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/17/science/17angi.html

One of the theses in this article is that memory is worse when you are stressed out (taking a test, performing in front of people) and that's part of why master improvisers seem to remember so much more, because they are relaxed.

smerlin wrote:I really love this conversation thread and agree with a lot of what's been said. I think listening, retaining, and recalling information is so key in improv.

To me a lot of this falls under the topic: improvisers are learning how to be like the audience--relaxed and effortlessly creating. Audience members, without much effort, are able to remember so much about a show as it is happening. They notice every time someone is called the wrong name or someone trounces through a space object. And it's not because they are working hard to remember all that stuff, it's just because they see it. And because they are relaxed and don't feel responsible for it, they are able to hold on to it without much effort.

Along those lines, I found this article VERY interesting: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/17/science/17angi.html

One of the theses in this article is that memory is worse when you are stressed out (taking a test, performing in front of people) and that's part of why master improvisers seem to remember so much more, because they are relaxed.

Great insight and great article. However, it brings up a small paradox (for me, at least). For me to be an active listener, I need to be on my toes. Focused. I sometimes drink a little caffeine before a show and always do some stretches and bounce around a bit to get the blood flowing. In those cases I'm not relaxed. I'm not tense or stressed, just a little keyed up.

I find that I do a lot better in those shows than in ones where I just stand up, maybe do a non-physical warm up, then nonchalantly take the stage. I'm relaxed and not stressed, but I find it difficult to get engaged in the show... basically lazy.

I think there's an easy explanation of the difference that I'm missing now-- mental vs physiological?

I totally agree. I like to play when I am energized, focused, and relaxed. Like yoga.

For me, relaxed is not the same as tired or lazy. Energized is not the same as stressed or tense.

smerlin wrote:For me, relaxed is not the same as tired or lazy. Energized is not the same as stressed or tense.

I was just saying that exact same thing last night to a dude in my playground team. I think relaxed confidence is so key to an enjoyable performance. I definitely think I make better connections when I'm not trying super hard to remember EVERYTHING that happens in a show.