Improv Math

[shando]

Bump! Take Miles's workshop. It's worth the 40, if for no other reason than to bring up this old thread again.

Links?

[Jastroch]

July 24, 1-3pm $40
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?c ... T7HPHTUTM4

July 24, 3:30-5:30pm $40
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?c ... GWUYMANLMG

[Spots]

I just read this thread, and I found the original question thought provoking.

I once filmed some documentary footage at a boxing gym. The boxers would often talk about talent and discipline. Talent referring to that innate thing inside you that nobody can teach. Discipline referring to that desire to learn, be flexible, and strive to show up & be the best. The trainers used to say stuff like "Boy, he's really got talent but NO discipline." or "Jerrod's a better boxer naturally, but Ray has more discipline so he will be the better boxer soon."

This mathematic idea seems to focus only on the discipline side of improv, & seems to actually conflict with the innate nature of the person in most instances. I like the idea but I *know* using it as a mantra would do more harm than good for myself.

[dukeharbison]

This mathematic idea seems to focus only on the discipline side of improv, & seems to actually conflict with the innate nature of the person in most instances. I like the idea but I *know* using it as a mantra would do more harm than good for myself.

I'm confused and interested. If the best are some combo of talent and discipline, where then do you find your discipline? or do you not agree with what those boxing trainers were getting at?

[Spots]

As far as my example, there was a boxer named Aaron Anderson. He refused to listen to his trainer, basically he just did what he wanted. His trainer's opinions conflicted with his own but the guy knew what would make him a better boxer: how to mature and better himself.

So in this instance Aaron was more talented than the boxer he was fighting later that week. Because the other boxer was more technical. He learned by the numbers and he had a better coach. But the guy had no imagination, he had no real spark. He was just painting by numbers.

Because Aaron refused to push himself any farther, and rely solely on his talent, he lost to this other guy.

That's where my example ends. This is getting to be a tangent.

[PyroDan]

This mathematic idea seems to focus only on the discipline side of improv, & seems to actually conflict with the innate nature of the person in most instances. I like the idea but I *know* using it as a mantra would do more harm than good for myself.

I'm confused and interested. If the best are some combo of talent and discipline, where then do you find your discipline? or do you not agree with what those boxing trainers were getting at?

Finding your discipline lays within openly honing the craft. You should always come to a rehearsal/workshop open to do anything despite how elementary, or not within your style it may seem.

To further the analogy, when Mickey made Rocky chase the chicken, it didn't directly relate to boxing, but the skill it honed, and determination it demanded payed off.

You should try everything, and then glean what works best for you. All that experience and exercises may make you sacrifice your own instinct in the moment, but should reveal some insight for how you perform.

I absolutely love to change how people normally play, because we all tend to fall in a rythm of what works best for ourselves, and it is hard to break that, unless you are disciplined enough to adapt to what is needed in the moment, and not necessarily what you may be best at.

Improv is a very intrinsic art, just like painting a picture, you may be instructed on how to use brushes, prep a canvas, or mix colors, but the expression is truly your own.