Opportunities for a troupeless improviser?/Now what?

[Spaztique]

Note: I'm going to keep this as impersonal and professional as possible.

I've been attempting improv for nearly two years. I've taken nearly $200 in workshops and graduated from a $1000 improv course at Coldtowne.

... Now what?

What do I do now? I didn't get into improv to do tech: I came into improv to do improv. I do not want to limit my improv experience to a jam full of inexperienced hobbyists: I want to perform in front of an audience, preferably with experienced players.

Should I just try a solo improv show somewhere? Are there any other theaters in town? Should I just quit? I'm completely lost.

[bradisntclever]

I think the next logical step is to perform improv in a troupe. I would think your two main options are:

A) Make your own from the ground up. Do you really want to do solo work? Try it. If not, hit the streets and start inviting people. It requires far more effort than simply posting a thread for a cast or sending a mass e-mail, but you have a much greater chance at success. Tailor your offer to the people you want to improvise with. Try not to lock the troupe into a specific name or format unless you're absolutely sure that's what you want to do. The narrower the offer, the smaller the probability you'll easily find someone who aligns with it.

If you go this route, you may find more people saying, "no" than "yes." Don't let that get you down. You clearly have a passion for improv, why not fight for it? Don't harass the people that tell you "no," just keep looking for other potential troupe mates out there. I can almost guarantee you will not get your ideal line-up exactly the way you had envisioned it, but that's what happens with most troupes here and abroad.

B) Keep auditioning for troupes when you get the chance. This route offers more stability while trading off with the control of who is in your group.

---

Unfortunately, this process won't be easy and may require quite a lot of effort for a prolonged amount of time. If you're truly committed to the idea of performing, then you've got to stick with it and be positive about the whole thing.

[bradisntclever]

Other things I can think of that may help increase success for any individual seeking to improvise in a group:

1. If things aren't working on a personal level, then they're doomed to fail on a group level. Everyone has personal issues, but if you become overwhelmed by them (to the point that you start thinking and acting differently) and carry them into a group setting as baggage, you're asking to be treated differently than most others. My two-part checklist is simple:

Am I in good mental health?
Am I in good physical health?

If the answer to either of these questions is no, for my own long-term health and social stability, I need to focus on fixing these issues before I can achieve future goals. Your friends and family are there to help push you back on the right track, but they can't make you do anything. If you don't want the help and fight back hard enough, you can push away those same allies for good.

2. On a similar note, don't be afraid of the person you are AND have a positive general attitude in life. In high school, I was so wrapped up with schoolwork most weekdays and debate over the weekends, that I rarely had time to critique my self-image or question what others thought about me. Although I was (and still largely am) quite introverted, I managed to be extremely friendly and people could reliably find me in a good mood. I was ok with the fact that I was a huge nerd. While I did wind up successful in the academic and debate realms, I was caught off-guard by the way my peers appreciated me. Somehow, I wound up nominated for Class Clown and Most Likely to Succeed. Even weirder than that, I was voted Prom King. I still don't understand it.

3. Be confident. [A sub-point to embracing the person you are] Every good improviser should know that you have to have confidence to sell an offer in a convincing manner. While the concept of "selling oneself" sounds really lame, almost every social interaction involves that at some level.

I would much rather have one confident, positive friend who exudes many of these characteristics than surround myself with thousands who don't. It's simple logic: do you want to spend your time around people who are constantly down on themselves in a desperate attempt to leech your sympathy away? I hope not. Don't put other people in the same position. You would be surprised as to how the adoption of even a few of these maxims turns the tables from one person wanting to join a group to that entire group wanting that same person to join.

[Spaztique]

I will take all that advice, except here's where I'm at right now:

Do you really want to do solo work? Try it.

I actually took a class with Asaf and managed to perform the first beat of a solo narrative to success (good audience reaction from a cold audience). Though, getting on the AIC schedule with a solo format that only debuted to a small cold audience feels next to impossible.

If not, hit the streets and start inviting people. It requires far more effort than simply posting a thread for a cast or sending a mass e-mail, but you have a much greater chance at success.

Being a graphic designer on the side, perhaps a mass flyering may be in order?

Tailor your offer to the people you want to improvise with. Try not to lock the troupe into a specific name or format unless you're absolutely sure that's what you want to do. The narrower the offer, the smaller the probability you'll easily find someone who aligns with it.

Here's who I'd like to play with: people.
Here's the format I'd like to do: improv and/or sketch.

You clearly have a passion for improv, why not fight for it?

It'd make me look egotistical, which it already did.

I can almost guarantee you will not get your ideal line-up exactly the way you had envisioned it, but that's what happens with most troupes here and abroad.

My only vision is to play more than 5 shows a year.

B) Keep auditioning for troupes when you get the chance. This route offers more stability while trading off with the control of who is in your group.

I can't audition and get on a troupe because I have a "history". It's kind of like if a person sees somebody put Mentos in Diet Coke, so they never drink Diet Coke again.

Unfortunately, this process won't be easy and may require quite a lot of effort for a prolonged amount of time. If you're truly committed to the idea of performing, then you've got to stick with it and be positive about the whole thing.

I've stuck with it for two years, and I've tried remaining positive, despite most people getting (and staying) on a troupe within their first three months and being far less experienced as I am. Then again, it seems improv is more about the people you know and less about experience.

1. If things aren't working on a personal level, then they're doomed to fail on a group level. Everyone has personal issues, but if you become overwhelmed by them (to the point that you start thinking and acting differently) and carry them into a group setting as baggage, you're asking to be treated differently than most others.

My only personal issue right now is that I'm singled out as an improviser. It's a self-feeding problem: I'm stressed because I'm not in a troupe, I'm not in a troupe because I'm stressed.

Am I in good mental health?
Am I in good physical health?

As far as I know, I'm both, but I don't seem to send off that vibe than I am.

Your friends and family are there to help push you back on the right track, but they can't make you do anything.

What if they don't push me back on the right track and assume I know exactly where the right track is?

If you don't want the help and fight back hard enough, you can push away those same allies for good.

I do want help, but it seems I can't respond without looking like I am fighting back. And as for the pushing away allies for good, it's waaaay too late for that.

2. On a similar note, don't be afraid of the person you are AND have a positive general attitude in life.

I'm not afraid of the person I am, but other people are. And as for having a positive attitude, I generally have a positive attitude when things are positive, but not right now since things are negative. Again, going back to the guy who never drinks Diet Coke because he knows from past observations that Diet Coke naturally explodes, but he rules out the fact somebody put Mentos in it first.

Be confident. [A sub-point to embracing the person you are] Every good improviser should know that you have to have confidence to sell an offer in a convincing manner. While the concept of "selling oneself" sounds really lame, almost every social interaction involves that at some level.

If you've ever seen me perform, you'll know I exude reservoirs full of confidence. Plus, I'm at my happiest when I am performing in front of an audience.

It's simple logic: do you want to spend your time around people who are constantly down on themselves in a desperate attempt to leech your sympathy away? I hope not.

That may be extremely true, and something I reflected on the other Tuesday, but again, it's the Diet Coke and Mentos again: nobody wants to be near a Diet Coke after somebody puts Mentos in it.

Don't put other people in the same position. You would be surprised as to how the adoption of even a few of these maxims turns the tables from one person wanting to join a group to that entire group wanting that same person to join.

Gotcha. I'll try to remain even more positive than I am now.


Again, I am still taking the advice! I just have the tendency to elaborate on my reasons behind my behaviors to dig up deeper things. Sometimes, when I coach certain improvisers elsewhere, I ask them the reasons behind the choices they made, and there's more than one response to the same reason.

For example:
Q: Why did you blatantly block his offer?
A: I thought it would be funny.
Q: Why didn't you think it'd be funny to run with the offer?
A: I never thought of that!
or
A: My offer was better.
or
A: I was making a game out of it.

The same applies to Psychology. You can always dig deeper for questions and answers and understand where that person is coming from.

Q: Why are you depressed?
A: It's a chemical imbalance!
Q: Did you have this chemical imbalance before?
A: Yes.
or
A: No.
Q: When did you get this "chemical imbalance"?
A: After my wife left me.
or
A: After my family died.
or
A: After I lost all of my money!
Q: And why is that a bad thing?
A: I'm homeless!
or
A: I can't pay my kids' way through school!
or
A: My wife is going to leave me!
Q: Then it's not really a chemical imbalance, is it?

You can always dig for deeper questions and get deeper answers.

It's not like...

Shrink: Why are you here?
Patient I'm depressed.
Shrink: Stop being depressed! Cheer up! Take meds! Everything is alright!
Patient: But my family died, I lost all of my money, I'm homeless, and-
Shrink: Look, if you're not going to take my advice, you can just leave.
Patient: But I came here for therapy! Aren't you supposed to help me?
Shrink: No! I'm not your mom! Now get out of my office!

Ironically, that scenario with the doctor happened once.


And, once more, I must reiterate, I WILL TAKE YOUR ADVICE!!!

[Lants]

But to your last point... you're still fighting the advice a lot of the time.
I know, I've been in the same situation, a lot of the time it just comes naturally to fight advice, but it's best to just take it... if you DO have those questions that come up in your mind, ask them to yourself, really think about it.

You keep saying you'll improvise with anyone, but I've noticed you put all these caveats on who you will improvise with. If you want to do it, just get together with ANYONE who will improvise, despite their level of "experience" compared to yours. Even if it's not ideal, at least you're improvising and you can grow together.

[beardedlamb]

Bro,
I feel your pain. I felt very much the same way when I was living in Chicago. I pissed a few people off and due to my own personality and ego I wasn't able to repair those relationships. I was just being myself, but myself is awkward when it comes to socially charged interactions.
I think you're like me and a lot of people who went through some shit when they were younger. Let me guess, you have trouble communicating face to face in a well lit room, but when you're on the stage with all the lights turned on you and those people out there in the dark, you feel more at ease. It's actually common for performers to feel that ease when they're working and lost when they're not. I've noticed that I speak slowly, calculating all my words just right in person. On stage, I never do that. I'm completely relaxed on stage because I have total freedom that doesn't exist when dealing with real people.

You just need to find people with similar personalities to yours. In your case, that may take longer because you're so unique. I was able to retreat from my rejection situation in Chicago to home. I pussed out because I had an easy exit. You're in the unenviable position of having to meet this challenge head on and its going to take time and patience. Repairing those relationships is going to take time but it can be done.

Trust is huge in improv and I think some people don't feel they can fully trust you right now. Luckily, due to the fact that there are dozens of new improvisers going through the many training centers in Austin right now, there will be more opportunities to get involved.

I think you should try solo stuff. Find a forum where you can do maybe 5 or 15 minutes of stuff by yourself and see how it goes. I see you've done that already, but not everything works the first time around and although it sounds like you did well, you weren't satisfied, so try it again. The individual circumstances of every improv show are going to be completely different than the one before it. That's just the nature of the artform.

I think you could have great success writing solo shows. You seem to enjoy writing little bits of dialogue in forum posts. Try working out a monologue or some other solo bit and performing it somewhere kind of chill. No Shame would be perfect for you but it's unfortunately no going on right now.

So, don't give up, man. Every artist has their own journey to fulfillment. You've been dealt a tough hand but anyone can win if they play their hand right. Like I said, it will take patience and the social hangups we both have mean we have to work even harder off the stage than when we're on it.

[Marc Majcher]

Be cool.

Be patient.

Keep working.

[Spaztique]

Like I said, it will take patience and the social hangups we both have mean we have to work even harder off the stage than when we're on it.

Truer words have never been said. An excellent post overall, Mr. Lamb.

Ok. So, according to a consensus of replies, my next improv goal is to simply get in good with the rest of the community. Seeing as I'm no longer as socially inept as I was two years ago, I'm willing to take that challenge.

[ChrisTrew.Com]

No Shame would be perfect for you but it's unfortunately not going on right now.

Speaking of, a similar form (I'm assuming it's similar, missed the first No Shame boat) is on it's way to ColdTowne. A sketch comedy open-mic type of thang. I guarantee you, David Zimmerman time on that stage to do whatever the fuck you want. Hold me to it.

[shando]

No Shame would be perfect for you but it's unfortunately not going on right now.

Speaking of, a similar form (I'm assuming it's similar, missed the first No Shame boat) is on it's way to ColdTowne. A sketch comedy open-mic type of thang. I guarantee you, David Zimmerman time on that stage to do whatever the fuck you want. Hold me to it.

Also, the real No Shame is coming to SVT in October.

[BriHo]

You could always get a dog!


Onward to Victory,


Brian H.

[starkserious]

It takes courage to express yourself and your frustration. I hear you. People do get branded with whatever vibe or personality they project to others. It's hard to change that but people can with time. Trust is a Key Issue for everyone in an improv troupe. The best way to create trust with others in social situations is to "MAKE & KEEP ALL YOUR AGREEMENTS". That's it! OVer time people come to trust people who do this regardless of their personality. Also your personality isn't who you really are. You are much more than that and don't let other people try to persuade you otherwise.

[Jeff]

Also, the real No Shame is coming to SVT in October.

NEAT!!!