Taking the Unwanted

[Justin D.]

A few Maestros ago, I was in a scene with Jessica where each of us had to play two characters. Troy asked the audience for a reason why four people would be gathered together. Among other suggestions, someone yelled out sex or orgy or something else of that nature. I immediately latched onto that idea and didn't even hear other audience suggestions. Not because I couldn't wait to perform a foursome scene with two people on stage. Not because I wanted to do some blue comedy. I wanted to use that suggestion simply because it's something improvisers talk avoiding as a suggestion. We used it, and made a great scene about an enthusiastic wife wanting a foursome, a husband who wants a puppy, a woman who touched herself awkwardly, and a Mexican midget who barked. I have to say, the scene killed. I may have slipped up in the ending of it a bit, but overall, it was a great scene. From that moment on, I've thought of those "unwanted suggestions".

If there's one discussion that's happened among improvisers no matter the background, it's how to deal with the unwanted suggestions. Audience suggestions like sex, dildo, or proctologist are often joked about in a mocking way and people have different ways to get around them. There's the deflection technique:

"I'm sorry, we took that last week. How about something else?"

There's the spin-off technique:

"Dildo. That's a funny word if you say it too many times. Dildo, dildo, dildo, dildo, dildo. What's another funny-sounding word like dildo or spatula?"

And there's the flat out ignoring technique:

"Did I hear dentist? I think I did. Great. Let's do that then."

This isn't about different techniques to avoid those unwanted suggestions though. This is about why we dismiss those suggestions and if we should at all. Why do we so strongly repeat the chorus of "yes, and" when it comes our fellow improvisers, but are more more discerning, even discriminating, when it comes to applying this same rule to the audience?

Are we simply scared of going too blue? Why is the thought that blue improvised comedy automatically means dumb improvised comedy? I hear improvisers say that a show can go bad if it goes blue too quickly. Going blue can be done well too, so blaming a show on being bad because it is blue is a faulty critique. Yes, the first staples of a beginner improviser lean more toward sexual or violent comedy, but that doesn’t make that kind of comedy purely the work of beginners. There's the standard that after you know the rules, you can begin to bend or break them. This applies as evenly to these situations as it does to any other. There are plenty of times when better suggestions are offered up along with the unwanted ones, but there are also times when those unwanted suggestions are the lone ones yelled out in a theater. When we refuse to take these taboo suggestions, it's less that we distrust the audience or other players on stage, but we don't trust ourselves to make the suggestions work.

I give a call to arms to all improvisers. Take those unwanted suggestions. Take orgasm, vibrator, and president (Hey, I've heard it mentioned as tired before too). Make them work. Show how good you really are.

[Roy Janik]

Not all of us do deflect or pass up unwanted suggestions. When ColdTowne takes a suggestion, it's usually like this:

"Can we have a word?"

Someone in the audience says a word.

Someone in ColdTowne repeats the word and says "Thank you."

That's awesome.

That's not where I'm at, currently. I'm looking for inspiration. And I'm not awesome enough to find the level of inspiration I want in just any suggestion. It's not that I couldn't take any word and make it work, eventually, but I've found time and time again that the shows where the suggestion was something that made me go "OOOOOH! THAT! I WANT THAT!" were more enjoyable for both me and the audience. I want that spark from the beginning.

And as for going blue, you're absolutely right. It's just when going blue is used as a crutch, or when you go blue because the audience pushes you there that it's bad. As improvisers, we should feel free to go anywhere. But it should be at the service of the scene, characters, and relationship, and not at the service of ingratiating ourselves to the audience. Perhaps the distinction should be made clearer in notes. It's not enough to say that something was bad because it was blue... it's more about why things went blue, and what you did when you got there. So often the blue scenes I see become a oneupmanship contest of who can make things grosser, wronger, or fouler.

[kaci_beeler]

Maestro suggestions are one thing, but in other shows I like to take varied suggestions that are inspiring to me and my fellow players.

I like to change up the question used to get the suggestion. I like to change up the way I get it. A few more moments spent kindly getting a few more words from the audience isn't going to matter much more time-wise for the whole show.
For the past few shows Pgraph has been asking people to read a few random words from a piece of reading material they have on them. We get them to give us a few and then we choose one that jumps out at us. Shakespeare has also been experimenting week-by-week. We've found some suggestions and ways of getting them have been much more inspiring and productive than others.

Even "butterfly", though it is non-offensive, is an example of a possible uninspiring suggestion.
You were obviously inspired when you took "orgy", and so you were able to jump in with inspired energy that made the scene go well.

Sure, I can make "dildo" or "clock" or whatever random word that gets shouted at me first work fine, but I'd rather be inspired instantly by the suggestion, getting into the moment as quickly as possible instead of having to jump through hoops in my brain/with my fellow partners to make it work.
I'll go with it if it's the only thing being yelled out.
But if I had a preference. Right now. I'd go with what makes a spark go off in my mind.
"Yes, thank you for suggesting that, and I'll take something else."

[mcnichol]

I always take the first one. It's an easy rule to follow, and you never know what that suggestion will mean or suggest in the context of the show.

[kaci_beeler]

I want that spark from the beginning.

I'd go with what makes a spark go off in my mind.

Sometimes I think I should never bother to post my opinion.

[kbadr]

I know the scene you speak of Justin, and it was a solid scene.

I understand the attitude behind taking the first suggestion, and I also understand looking to be inspired.

Micetro is the type of show that sometimes attracts audience members who want to be funny for a moment. It feels weird to me to take what they themselves consider a throw-away suggestion as the inspiration for a scene.

On the other hand, if we (for Micetro specifically) try to reduce the occurrence of wacky/sexual suggestions, it'd be good. But we should also strive to basically do real scenes. The bluer the suggestion, the more grounded we should make it. Don't use it as an excuse to spiral into crazy land instantly.

I am obviously torn on this topic. Sometimes I get in this "fine, you wanna see that crass shit, you get it" mood. For example, once we got "baby prostitute" as a suggestion. I jumped on it instantly said "ALRIGHT. When the lights come up!" and gave the audience exactly what depraved thing they asked for.

[Roy Janik]

Right. I was speaking generally. Part of Maestro's appeal is making the improvisers play games and jump through hoops... so obviously you want to throw suggestions at them and watch them deal with it. But I do think that Maestro will naturally trend blue on most nights, and left unchecked, you'll all need a good shower by the end of it.

[Justin D.]

Not all of us do deflect or pass up unwanted suggestions. When ColdTowne takes a suggestion, it's usually like this:

"Can we have a word?"

Someone in the audience says a word.

Someone in ColdTowne repeats the word and says "Thank you."

That's awesome.

That's not where I'm at, currently. I'm looking for inspiration. And I'm not awesome enough to find the level of inspiration I want in just any suggestion. It's not that I couldn't take any word and make it work, eventually, but I've found time and time again that the shows where the suggestion was something that made me go "OOOOOH! THAT! I WANT THAT!" were more enjoyable for both me and the audience. I want that spark from the beginning.

Oh, absolutely. If there's no inspiration, it's hard to take the suggestion no matter what it is. I was mainly talking about those specific suggestions we tend to avoid as improvisers. It’s not that we don’t take uninspiring suggestions, but that we automatically declare certain suggestions to be uninspiring and not worth taking. I’ve had conversations about these unwanted suggestions with different people, which is why I was able to list many of them above. I bet we could actually list many of the ones improvisers talk about dreading.

And as for going blue, you're absolutely right.

Part of me just wants to quote this and leave the rest out.

It's just when going blue is used as a crutch, or when you go blue because the audience pushes you there that it's bad. As improvisers, we should feel free to go anywhere. But it should be at the service of the scene, characters, and relationship, and not at the service of ingratiating ourselves to the audience. Perhaps the distinction should be made clearer in notes. It's not enough to say that something was bad because it was blue... it's more about why things went blue, and what you did when you got there. So often the blue scenes I see become a oneupmanship contest of who can make things grosser, wronger, or fouler.

Is ingratiating ourselves to the audience always a bad thing? Maybe that one-upmanship is the game the improvisers found and could be worth exploring because, frankly, it could be funny. Maybe you do go blue because the audience wanted you go there, but you’re still the one on stage and can decide how you do that. I say those qualifiers of “maybeâ€

[Justin D.]

Just so everyone knows, I wasn't speaking about just Maestro shows or I would've put this thread up on that board. I just had the best example I could think of come from my last Maestro show.

[kaci_beeler]

For example, once we got "baby prostitute" as a suggestion. I jumped on it instantly said "ALRIGHT. When the lights come up!" and gave the audience exactly what depraved thing they asked for.

Oh god, I remember that. blech.

[Justin D.]

I know the scene you speak of Justin, and it was a solid scene.

I understand the attitude behind taking the first suggestion, and I also understand looking to be inspired.

It's hard to put into words, but I think many times we force words into the uninspiring corner without giving them a chance.

On the other hand, if we (for Micetro specifically) try to reduce the occurrence of wacky/sexual suggestions, it'd be good. But we should also strive to basically do real scenes. The bluer the suggestion, the more grounded we should make it. Don't use it as an excuse to spiral into crazy land instantly.

Exactly.

I am obviously torn on this topic. Sometimes I get in this "fine, you wanna see that crass shit, you get it" mood. For example, once we got "baby prostitute" as a suggestion. I jumped on it instantly said "ALRIGHT. When the lights come up!" and gave the audience exactly what depraved thing they asked for.

While it sounds like a crappy suggestion, did you try to play the scene well anyway or did you try to play it in a way that showed what a crappy suggestion you thought it was?

[Roy Janik]

Is ingratiating ourselves to the audience always a bad thing?

I don't think so, but it's playing a different game, I think. Billy Merritt talks about it in his blog somewhere... that there are two different shows going on at any given time... one is the show you're putting on, and the other is "guys/girls up on stage". I think that trying to ingratiate yourself to the audience is playing the 2nd game at the expense of the first.

And there's this quote from a book I'm reading called "Improv for Actors" that I particularly like:

Gag improv is based on you and your own personal success or failure with the audience, not the success or failure of the character you're creating in conflict with the character you partner is creating.

He also defines "narrative improv" as the opposite, basically. Which isn't to say that gag improv is bad... it's just that if your overriding concern is the audience loving you, the guy on stage, your scenework might suffer.

On a tangential note, I've had a dream for a while of forming a troupe that does corporate/paid gigs for organizations, and does as much research, sucking up, and ingratiating as possible... and calls themselves the Pander Bears.

There’s are assumptions about certain suggestions that doesn’t have to be true, but are thought of as if they’re automatic and rigid when we should know that not much in improvisation is.

I agree. The day that "dildo" inspires me as a suggestion, I'll joyfully take it. But it hasn't so far.

[Roy Janik]

While it sounds like a crappy suggestion, did you try to play the scene well anyway or did you try to play it in a way that showed what a crappy suggestion you thought it was?

By this point in the show, the audience was asking for it. Or at least, the drunk lady who yelled out "baby prostitute" and 1000 other things was. At the end of the show, she apologized for giving us the suggestion "tapioca" at some point. "That was just random. I don't know where that came from!" But apparently, she knew where "baby prostitute" came from. Deep down, she knew.

[kbadr]

but that we automatically declare certain suggestions to be uninspiring and not worth taking.

Some suggestions truly aren't worth taking. Here's why I have that attitude.

Sometimes I ask people, say, what they last talked about on the phone as a suggestion. Here's a sample of how that goes sometimes:

Me: "Can I please have a suggestion of something you last tal...:
Audience Member: "FUCKING A PIG!!!"

Really? Did you really just talk about fucking a pig on the phone? Because I haven't even finished asking you my goddamn question. It's common courtesy to, when someone is asking you something, wait until they finish ASKING THE FUCKING QUESTION before you answer it.

That audience member clearly didn't listen to what I was asking, and didn't give me the thoughtful, truthful answer that I wanted. So why should I respect their suggestion that was an answer to a question they didn't have the respect to even listen to?

On the other hand, I once asked "what was the last thing you fought about?" and someone said "cows". I was intrigued and said "really, did that actually happen?" and the audience member said yes, told me about it a little, and we used it.

[Marc Majcher]

I was going to say what Roy said, only he said it first, and better. That.