It's easy to talk an idea to death, to yap and yap and yap.
Get up.
Put it in action.
Learn by doing. Learn by failure. Learn from the inside out.
Talk is cheap.
1/10/2007
Choice
Just make a choice.
MAKE A CHOICE.
I don't care what it is.
Make a choice and commit to it.
Own it.
I don't care if you decide to do a scene with your back to the audience.
I don't care if you decide to speak in gibberish.
I don't care if you play dead the entire scene.
Make.
A.
Choice.
Commit.
To.
It.
H
E
I
G
H
T
E
N
What you choose to do is absolutely perfect A-1 correctomundo.
MAKE A CHOICE.
I don't care what it is.
Make a choice and commit to it.
Own it.
I don't care if you decide to do a scene with your back to the audience.
I don't care if you decide to speak in gibberish.
I don't care if you play dead the entire scene.
Make.
A.
Choice.
Commit.
To.
It.
H
E
I
G
H
T
E
N
What you choose to do is absolutely perfect A-1 correctomundo.
1/03/2007
Improv Commandments
Dave Pasquesi's Improv Commandments from "Inside the Improvisors Studio"
"Well yeah...
Listen up--that’s the one.
Pay attention.
Shut up.
That’s it, there’s only three. "
"Well yeah...
Listen up--that’s the one.
Pay attention.
Shut up.
That’s it, there’s only three. "
12/27/2006
Don't worry.
Don't worry about what other folks think about you, just do good work.
Don't worry about how you compare to others, just do good work.
Don't worry about shows you're not in, just do good work.
Take care of the things you CAN control.
Everything else will sort itself out.
Don't worry about how you compare to others, just do good work.
Don't worry about shows you're not in, just do good work.
Take care of the things you CAN control.
Everything else will sort itself out.
Editing
Trust your instincts.
Don't apologize for editing a scene--edit with authority. Don't slink onstage hoping folks will notice. Be decisive. Be confident. Own it.
Trust your instincts.
Better to edit too soon than too late. A scene with legs can always come back.
Trust your instincts.
Always be ready to edit. A scene may go 1 hour or 1 line. You never know. Be ready.
Trust your instincts.
Don't fucking make faces, shrug, comment or make any other bullshit judgment move when you edit. Just edit the fucking scene.
Trust your instincts.
If you draw attention to the edit itself, you are saying "audience, this is important" -- you are highlighting the tool itself. Most of the time this is accidental. If you decide to incorporate the edit thematically into the show, then do so with gusto. Otherwise, keep it simple and keep it neat.
Trust your instincts.
When all else fails, sweep downstage.
Trust your instincts.
You've read hundreds of books and watched thousands of hours of TV. You've done countless scenes in classes and rehearsals and seen tons of shows. You KNOW when something is done. So, for god's sake, EDIT! EDIT NOW!
Trust. Your. Instincts.
Don't apologize for editing a scene--edit with authority. Don't slink onstage hoping folks will notice. Be decisive. Be confident. Own it.
Trust your instincts.
Better to edit too soon than too late. A scene with legs can always come back.
Trust your instincts.
Always be ready to edit. A scene may go 1 hour or 1 line. You never know. Be ready.
Trust your instincts.
Don't fucking make faces, shrug, comment or make any other bullshit judgment move when you edit. Just edit the fucking scene.
Trust your instincts.
If you draw attention to the edit itself, you are saying "audience, this is important" -- you are highlighting the tool itself. Most of the time this is accidental. If you decide to incorporate the edit thematically into the show, then do so with gusto. Otherwise, keep it simple and keep it neat.
Trust your instincts.
When all else fails, sweep downstage.
Trust your instincts.
You've read hundreds of books and watched thousands of hours of TV. You've done countless scenes in classes and rehearsals and seen tons of shows. You KNOW when something is done. So, for god's sake, EDIT! EDIT NOW!
Trust. Your. Instincts.
Vulnerable
The armor we wear to get us through life, the little defense mechanisms, the buffers between us and others--physical, mental, emotional--has no place on the stage. The best thing you can bring to the stage is your willingness to be open, accepting and vulnerable.
I believe to be vulnerable, to be the that frail, fucked up human being that you are, is one of the hardest things to do. It is also the greatest thing you can do.
Yes, you will do bits.
Yes, you will be silly.
Yes, you will do crazy characters and be in wacky situations.
But underneath it all, you have to be YOU, the unarmored you, with all your joys and pains, triumphs and tragedies.
I've never been trapped in an elevator, but I've been scared shitless.
I've never been left at the altar, but I've had my heart broken.
I've never been a Shark asking a Dolphin to the Sea Prom, but I've been afraid of rejection.
We do a lot of wacky shit on stage, but if you bring your own life and experiences, your own truth, the audience will hook into that and be engaged. The audience can relate. They've felt what you felt. That honest interaction between performers on the stage, no matter how crazy the scene, is what matters. People, not premise, matters.
There are improvisors who are "themselves" on stage but they never let you in; they're open to an extent, but only on their own terms. Truth in comedy and truth in art comes from your heart and your soul. And if you never let yourself be vulnerable, we'll never see the real you. The you that is a poet and a genius and a motherfuckin' rockstar. And that is who we all want to see.
I believe to be vulnerable, to be the that frail, fucked up human being that you are, is one of the hardest things to do. It is also the greatest thing you can do.
Yes, you will do bits.
Yes, you will be silly.
Yes, you will do crazy characters and be in wacky situations.
But underneath it all, you have to be YOU, the unarmored you, with all your joys and pains, triumphs and tragedies.
I've never been trapped in an elevator, but I've been scared shitless.
I've never been left at the altar, but I've had my heart broken.
I've never been a Shark asking a Dolphin to the Sea Prom, but I've been afraid of rejection.
We do a lot of wacky shit on stage, but if you bring your own life and experiences, your own truth, the audience will hook into that and be engaged. The audience can relate. They've felt what you felt. That honest interaction between performers on the stage, no matter how crazy the scene, is what matters. People, not premise, matters.
There are improvisors who are "themselves" on stage but they never let you in; they're open to an extent, but only on their own terms. Truth in comedy and truth in art comes from your heart and your soul. And if you never let yourself be vulnerable, we'll never see the real you. The you that is a poet and a genius and a motherfuckin' rockstar. And that is who we all want to see.
12/26/2006
The Personal and the Professional
There are too many unhappy people doing improv.
I don't mean unhappy in their lives, but unhappy with what improv project they're doing.
So, I give them this advice:
There are projects you find personally satisfying--you like your fellow performers, you look forward to rehearsals, you enjoy your shows, etc.
There are projects you find professionally satisfying--it challenges you, it looks good on a resume, it takes you one step closer to TourCo, etc.
Sometimes a project is both, sometimes it's just one or the other and sometimes it's neither.
If it's neither, not something you look forward to doing and find personally satisfying or not something that will advance your career, why the fuck do it?
Let me repeat that point:
Seriously, why the fuck spend the time and energy and money every week doing something you don't enjoy personally and won't help you professionally?
Most projects start as a combination of the both and eventually devolves into one of the two for you. Then, for whatever reason, a project becomes neither.
Don't be a martyr.
Be a professional.
Move on.
I don't mean unhappy in their lives, but unhappy with what improv project they're doing.
So, I give them this advice:
There are projects you find personally satisfying--you like your fellow performers, you look forward to rehearsals, you enjoy your shows, etc.
There are projects you find professionally satisfying--it challenges you, it looks good on a resume, it takes you one step closer to TourCo, etc.
Sometimes a project is both, sometimes it's just one or the other and sometimes it's neither.
If it's neither, not something you look forward to doing and find personally satisfying or not something that will advance your career, why the fuck do it?
Let me repeat that point:
Seriously, why the fuck spend the time and energy and money every week doing something you don't enjoy personally and won't help you professionally?
Most projects start as a combination of the both and eventually devolves into one of the two for you. Then, for whatever reason, a project becomes neither.
Don't be a martyr.
Be a professional.
Move on.
WHY?
If a group hires you to be their director, you'll quickly suss out what they NEED.
Just as importantly, you need to find out what they WANT.
Metaphor:
You've been hired to captain their ship. Where do they want to go? Why? You can't go anywhere without a destination and you can't plot the best route unless you know why they want to go there.
Do they: Want to develop a form? Want to perform at festivals? Want to become a member team/house team? Want to do fuck-around shows every so often?
And at the same time ask WHY? WHY do they want to develop a form? WHY do you want to perform at festivals? WHY do you want to do this or that or the other fucking thing?
Metaphor:
(WANT) The group wants to sail from Seattle to Tokyo.
(WHY) The group wants to experience sea travel together.
--->You suggest stopping at Honolulu so they get more of a tourist experience.
(WANT) The group wants to sail from Seattle to Tokyo.
(WHY) The group wants to see whales.
--->You suggest changing the route to Alaska where it's whale season and more likely to see whales.
(WANT) The group wants to sail from Seattle to Tokyo.
(WHY) They just want to be on the water.
--->You suggest a cheaper coastal trip along the west coast.
Same WANT, different WHYs.
If you're any sort of director, you'll easily figure out what folks NEED -- scenework, characterwork, etc. -- but you need to know what they WANT to do and WHY. Knowing and working with these creates motivation and momentum for a project; if they know that one thing leads to another and to another and ultimately to their WANT, then they'll be more invested as individuals and a group.
Just as importantly, you need to find out what they WANT.
Metaphor:
You've been hired to captain their ship. Where do they want to go? Why? You can't go anywhere without a destination and you can't plot the best route unless you know why they want to go there.
Do they: Want to develop a form? Want to perform at festivals? Want to become a member team/house team? Want to do fuck-around shows every so often?
And at the same time ask WHY? WHY do they want to develop a form? WHY do you want to perform at festivals? WHY do you want to do this or that or the other fucking thing?
Metaphor:
(WANT) The group wants to sail from Seattle to Tokyo.
(WHY) The group wants to experience sea travel together.
--->You suggest stopping at Honolulu so they get more of a tourist experience.
(WANT) The group wants to sail from Seattle to Tokyo.
(WHY) The group wants to see whales.
--->You suggest changing the route to Alaska where it's whale season and more likely to see whales.
(WANT) The group wants to sail from Seattle to Tokyo.
(WHY) They just want to be on the water.
--->You suggest a cheaper coastal trip along the west coast.
Same WANT, different WHYs.
If you're any sort of director, you'll easily figure out what folks NEED -- scenework, characterwork, etc. -- but you need to know what they WANT to do and WHY. Knowing and working with these creates motivation and momentum for a project; if they know that one thing leads to another and to another and ultimately to their WANT, then they'll be more invested as individuals and a group.
Coach or Director?
When you lead an improv troupe you can be called a coach or you can be called a director. Coach is an IO-born term that came into general use as IO influenced improv in Chicago and then elsewhere. Some folks maintain there is a difference between a "coach" and a "director," that there is delineation of control and duties between the two.
Who gives a fuck what you're called.
Just do your job.
Who gives a fuck what you're called.
Just do your job.
12/25/2006
Form
Go with the flow of the show.
Fuck the form.
Form is your fall back, your safety net.
Follow your inspiration. Where it leads will be infinitely more interesting than your form.
Fuck the form.
Form is your fall back, your safety net.
Follow your inspiration. Where it leads will be infinitely more interesting than your form.