Austin Improv

I think RLM is a huge bust every time I go there. In fact, 99% of the time I'd rather not rehearse than rehearse at RLM. I'd rather rehearse at someone's house. Why do I hate RLM? It's hard to find parking, it's hard to find a room, it takes too much time to work all that out (especially as the year creeps towards finals or midterms, neither of which I think about ahead of time because I'm not in college anymore, and my own lack of foresight just adds to the time factor), none of the rooms are set up in an improv-conducive manner, there's chalk dust everywhere, and the vibe is bad.

Coach or no coach - depends on the group. I think what Brett said is true - that you might be able to be so much better with a coach if you are already good without one. And I also think what Kristin said is true - that you don't want to feel like someone's taking notes onstage with you. Most theater productions and coached improv groups have asked the cast not to give notes to each other. If you're not with sensitive, group-minded, highly skilled people, you could get bad or hurtful notes and chaos instead of a collaborative work space.

Avi also makes a really good point that a group can be like a band, everyone contributing to the greater good. I think the liklihood of finding that kind of dynamic is so much rarer and more difficult than the kind where the group is good with the help of a coach. If you can find that right mix, you are very lucky and I say go for it! Because if you can create that collaborative work space, you can have some of the strongest group mind.

majcher wrote:

B. Tribe wrote:I'd do it but there's no place to rehearse these days, and I refuse to use RLM.

You're not the first person I've heard recently taking this stand against RLM. Has something changed, or are people just sick of trying to find parking?

Whoops! I was only making a joke about coaching "similes and metaphors" and referring to oft heard complaints about where to rehearse/coach. I'm fine to rehearse anywhere, although I don't disagree with Elizabeth Brammer's points on the downsides to RLM. Didn't mean to hijack the thread!

B. Tribe wrote: Whoops! I was only making a joke about coaching "similes and metaphors" and referring to oft heard complaints about where to rehearse/coach. I'm fine to rehearse anywhere, although I don't disagree with Elizabeth Brammer's points on the downsides to RLM. Didn't mean to hijack the thread!

seriously, you jumped it like it was a skinny Asian male engineering major.

(SIMILE!)

There is nothing sadder than a team that needs a coach but doesn't have one. It's like a collective piece of toilet paper dragging behind a giant shoe.

Jose knows the score!

jillybee72 wrote:Asaf talks in his book about "director's disease" - directors who do shows with their teams often play in a corrective way. The moves that they make are notes in and of themselves. I can only imagine that can happen to whole teams that are self-coached.

Yeah, but I see that all the time from teams who are coached.

A friend of mine is really frustrated with their iO team lately because of the whole sensitivity thing. You can't bring up gripes or questions or concerns because that's the coach's place. I suppose you could talk to the coach, but that seems so petty... like tattling or something. I'd rather hear from a person in my group, "Hey, I don't feel like you're listening to me in scenes." You know... collaboration... like civilized human beings. Thanks to Keith Johnstone I've really come a long way towards enjoying my mistakes.

the unique thing about improv is each actor is also their own director. the performer is making decisions about character, story, theme, pace, diction, blocking, etc. as they go along. i feel like everyone should train to and act as the director of themselves in shows. and that means giving each other notes so that the group can be a more cohesive ensemble that understands where the other directors are coming from and what their goals, weaknesses, and joys are.
in a scripted show, the director's vision is implanted in the production more concretely than a coach or director for an improv show. in improv, we have to speak in generalities and guidelines when preparing to perform. in plays, you have to hit exact marks and timing and cues, etc. all determined by the outside force.
a huge part of improv is making other people look and feel great. the shortest journey to that level of comfort is complete openess and vulnerability from the cast with each other. in a scripted work but moreso in improv, a cast that is not open and vulnerable with itself, lacks trust among many other important building blocks for good theatre.

At this point, I'm more comfortable with the thought that I like the idea of a peer review more than a coach. I mean, it's one thing if it's an out-of-towner or if I'm at a festival, but that's more of a workshop situation.

I'm not sure what else to say now, because I think peer review is pretty self-explanatory.

jillybee72 wrote:There is nothing sadder than a team that needs a coach but doesn't have one. It's like a collective piece of toilet paper dragging behind a giant shoe.

This is wise.

DollarBill wrote:You know... collaboration... like civilized human beings.

Justin D. wrote:peer review

This, and this. I know that what we do is all personal and sensitive and shit, but come on. Make people look awesome on stage, have fun playing like a kid, and then act like grownups who can deal with normal humans when people talk to you about stuff. Be nice to each other, but be honest with each other too, and be willing to accept that not everyone else is going to be nice (or honest) to you, and figure out how to make it work for you. Be an amateur because you love what you're doing (and probably aren't getting paid to do it), but be a professional because you want to do it as well as you can, and make life easy for people to deal with you. Balancing all that shit is hard, but it's totally worth it.

(That's a little ranty. Apologies. Carry on.)

As with anytime people give you notes, you can always just try it on and see if it rings true for you and it it doesn’t then just ignore it. I’ve had coaches and players tell me things that I didn’t seem right so I just chose to not care about it. Other times I knew it to be true and tried to do what they suggested on stage. I still think video is the best way to examine what’s happening on stage together. The video never lies.