Trust / Technique

Spots · Post by **Spots** » November 24th, 2012, 6:48 am

The idea of this thread is to share which one you can currently work on.

Trust / Technique.

Right now in your troupe can you personally work on your Trust? Or can you work on your Technique?

Technique means that others can corner you into tough positions, but ultimately you always have yourself to find ninja moves to deal with it.

You grow as an improviser building and working on your technique. You adapt.

Trust means that no matter what, you feel safe & welcome in your troupe and just make everything work because there's no doubt. You're all gonna commit and just love on each other.

You grow as an improviser building and working on your trust. You accept.

The good news is that Trust OR Technique is always present. You are never just doomed. You can accept OR adapt.

So which one can you work on?

I had an amazing show tonight because I found another player who I trust like nobody else ever. I can honestly say that I had been working on technique for months without even trying to grow in the realm of trust. So I am currently working on trust & building a new troupe from the ground up based on that principle.

jillybee72 · Post by **jillybee72** » November 26th, 2012, 4:50 am

I am blessed with being absurdly trusting. It saves a lot of time.

AJ Holler · Post by **AJ Holler** » November 28th, 2012, 6:52 pm

Just trusting is the easiest way to do a good show. There is no pressure to be clever, you just trust and react

Spots · Post by **Spots** » December 1st, 2012, 5:06 am

I certainly agree! You want trust but ultimately it won't be there 100% of the time.

Perform in any jams recently? How does the idea of trust / technique figure into your different scenes? Was one scene more trust heavy? More technique heavy?

Does thinking about technique give you an opportunity to challenge yourself in scenes you would otherwise be bummed about?

On the sidelines you can always work on fearlessness. Maybe you SHOULD play with that one guy who is a loose cannon.

Cut straight to your sense of control.

jillybee72 · Post by **jillybee72** » December 2nd, 2012, 4:02 am

I say to you this - trust is a technique.

Spots · Post by **Spots** » December 2nd, 2012, 4:13 am

And technique is a trust in one's self.

Rev. Jordan T. Maxwell · December 2nd, 2012, 11:19 am

jillybee72 wrote:I say to you this - trust is a technique.

verily, verily...

Spots · Post by **Spots** » December 3rd, 2012, 4:50 am

Due to the idealized nature of the responses I will rephrase so that this dynamic is better understood.

As a performer you can set up your improv partner 100 times in a row to make them look good. And there will come a time when this is not reciprocated. Not once.

You will feel betrayed or alone out there. You may lose faith. Or resort back to playing only with people you know & trust.

For instance many imps have admitted they feel weird playing with strangers.

In these times where you find yourself lacking trust (which to deny happens is ridiculous ) you can always fall back on working on your technique.

Keep throwing support moves at your partner. 100 support moves wasn't enough? Throw a thousand moves their way to make them look better. Throw a million moves.

Now you're unstoppable.

It's going to happen at least once.

Post by **bradisntclever** » December 3rd, 2012, 12:26 pm

Is your goal to create a trust/technique dichotomy where everything in improv falls into either category? I don't see how the two are mutually exclusive. Active listening seems to belong to both camps, for instance. I guess I'm just missing the point of this thread. Apologies.

PyroDan · Post by **PyroDan** » December 3rd, 2012, 3:41 pm

I think the terminology may need to be changed from TRUST to something else, but I don't know what.

When I hear trust I automatically think of real world trust. Asking someone to house sit, or take care of your kids.

I think often in improv circles TRUST is often mistaken for RESPECT mentally. That can cause problems if you are playing in a jam or in a group where you may feel superior in some way to the other players the lack of RESPECT can cause a rift of TRUST. You can use TECHNIQUE to overcome a lack of TRUST.

RESPECT/TRUST in the real world in most cases, must be earned, but on the improv stage we must freely give it, without restraint and that may be more difficult more so that the NOT THINKING thing.

When I have been thrust into a situation where I did not know anyone, or felt as if I was inching towards feeling superior, I surrendered trust in myself and my technique and I have found that has served me, and my fellow players the best.

It's like a yawn, or a smile, it can become contagious.

Spots · Post by **Spots** » December 3rd, 2012, 6:01 pm

PyroDan wrote:I think the terminology may need to be changed from TRUST to something else, but I don't know what.

I'm down with this. Let's talk about it sometime over a beer. I want to flesh this out to make the sentiment more relatable. Thanks for bouncing something off of me.

Just brainstorming I came up with these silly examples:

Net / Ninja

You hope for a safety net beneath you which is the comfort that others will have your back. Like the net of a circus tightrope walker. In extreme cases where you don't have this, you can focus the fear by trying out riskier and more skilled Ninja moves. Although you should always look for that net, you will become less reliant on it being there in the future. And you will be expanding the width of your partner's net in the process.

Quilt / Quickness

As a group you and your partners weave together a quilt. All that matters is that support is reciprocated and everything will be fine. The scene will be a whole. But when other members do not contribute, know that this is the perfect opportunity to make your fingers more nimble, more precise. You can "yes and" yourself by weaving patterns within patterns if it comes to that. Your fingers gain precision & become more skilled at offering your partners support. Your offers are custom-tailored and you become better and better with every day. You help to cover for your partner based on their needs.

Patchwork / Needlework

The general idea is to never withdraw from fear of your partner. Embrace the void in comfort by always challenging yourself so that the scene is fulfilling for one reason or the other. An unexpected benefit is that there will be no fear the next time. And you gain confidence in your precision by taking risks where you normally would not.

Thanks for comprehending my intangible thing. I love you Dan. Brad you too. Thanks for chiming in about where the block in understanding exists. I'm realizing so much of this applies to Straight / Absurd. To make it more applicable over various comedy styles.