Austin Improv

Ok, so lately I've noticed that after a show I can think back and figure out what I did wrong. I don't remember being able to do this before. I used to be like, "SHIT! I suck at this, how come I suck so bad?!!?" or "Sweet, this is easy. Why isn't it always so easy?" Now I'm like, "Why didn't I just kill that character instead of talking about it for 3 minutes." Or whatever.

I think that's a sign of improvement. Like when I started playing tennis and my Dad was like. "You didn't follow through your shot. You did this... you should have done this...." I knew I hit the ball in the net, but I needed my dad to tell me why. Now if I hit the ball in the net I scream "FOLLOW THROUGH, GOD DAMMIT!" and then I break my racquet and cry about being a bad son. Point is, I can tell what I did wrong (and I was such a bad boy for it) without someone pointing it out.

Thoughts?

i think u improved

i think i was forced to develop this skill early on in my improv career because i acted as both performer and director for whj and cupholders. i had to pay hyperattention to what was happening in the shows otherwise i had nothing to say after the show about how we can improve. i think this made me a better improviser cuz i was paying lots of attention, and it gave me an analytical eye on the work.
so, i think this ability means you care more about the piece as a whole, and are able to process and store more information all at once. you also understand the language and intricacies of improv more now, so you can quickly discard moments that don't necessarily pertain to the health of the show, or any subsequent shows.
not that you didn't care before, but now you have a greater capacity to absorb and observe and it will only make you better.

beard

beardedlamb wrote:you also understand the language and intricacies of improv more now

I think that could be a huge part of it. Doing iO and other workshops and hearing people talk about improv has given names to things that used to just be feelings. It's easier to nail things down now.

Yeah, I look forward to the day when I can intelligently analyze what happens onstage after the fact. I played Saturday with a bunch of ace improvisers, and while I'm pretty sure I dropped the ball a few times, I only have the vaguest ideas about what I should have done differently.

ratliff wrote:Yeah, I look forward to the day when I can intelligently analyze what happens onstage after the fact. I played Saturday with a bunch of ace improvisers, and while I'm pretty sure I dropped the ball a few times, I only have the vaguest ideas about what I should have done differently.

ratlips,
i hope you aren't talking about the ggg show. I thought you were flawless.

Cody, I love you like the axe loves the shredder, and I don't care who knows it.

I can look at what I have done and make a challenge for the next time I improvise. Sometimes I can make the challenge for the very next scene. Sometimes, for the very next show or rehearsal.

Some of the clowns I know keep a performance journal. The write notes about each show they've done. They say it helps them look back and see patterns of what they need to work on and what is working and why. This might be another level in that self-reflection. In fact, I think I just talked myself into doing this. It seems like it is worth a try.

Jessica wrote:Some of the clowns I know keep a performance journal.

I am not a clown!!!

clown Pronunciation (kloun)
n.
1.
a. A buffoon or jester who entertains by jokes, antics, and tricks in a circus, play, or other presentation.
b. One who jokes and plays tricks.

Chris, my friend, and I say this with the deepest respect; You are a Clown.

Jessica wrote:Some of the clowns I know keep a performance journal. The write notes about each show they've done. They say it helps them look back and see patterns of what they need to work on and what is working and why. This might be another level in that self-reflection. In fact, I think I just talked myself into doing this. It seems like it is worth a try.

I would read this journal.

Jessica wrote:clown Pronunciation (kloun)
n.
1.
a. A buffoon or jester who entertains by jokes, antics, and tricks in a circus, play, or other presentation.
b. One who jokes and plays tricks.

Chris, my friend, and I say this with the deepest respect; You are a Clown.

Yeah, you're right, Jessica. I admit it. I am a clown. My dad's disappointed. He wanted me to be a mime...

DollarBill wrote:Ok, so lately I've noticed that after a show I can think back and figure out what I did wrong. I don't remember being able to do this before. I used to be like, "SHIT! I suck at this, how come I suck so bad?!!?" or "Sweet, this is easy. Why isn't it always so easy?" Now I'm like, "Why didn't I just kill that character instead of talking about it for 3 minutes." Or whatever.

I think that's a sign of improvement. Like when I started playing tennis and my Dad was like. "You didn't follow through your shot. You did this... you should have done this...." I knew I hit the ball in the net, but I needed my dad to tell me why. Now if I hit the ball in the net I scream "FOLLOW THROUGH, GOD DAMMIT!" and then I break my racquet and cry about being a bad son. Point is, I can tell what I did wrong (and I was such a bad boy for it) without someone pointing it out.

Thoughts?

IMHO, that's a skill more easily developed in scripted theatre, in which you have a stable text and six or so weeks to prepare for a performance. By the time a scripted show opens, you know exactly where you should be and what you should be doing at any given moment, and so it becomes a force of habit to look back upon each performance and critique yourself -- did I time that particular line correctly, was I late on that entrance, etc.

In improvisors with little scripted performance experience, I've noticed it takes a bit longer to develop that skill.

However, the same applies to scripted performance people who first try their hands at improv. I'll be the first to admit that it took me a while to be able to competently self-critique my own improv work, and I've done improv on and off since '95 (albeit without any FORMAL improv training).

So I started a journal, I'm keeping both clown and other gigs in it. So far it seems like a good idea. I have kind of a butterfly mind so writting down my thoughts shortly after the gig keeps these thoughts from disapearing. I re-read my last weeks notes and remembered stuff that I want to apply this week. Of course, this might work better for a set performance than improv.