Building a scene one brick at a time – Saturday, August 14

Class Description
Simplify, simplify, simplify. We will take this opportunity to look at the art of creating a scene by adding and building on one piece of information at a time. This will include condensing your words and ideas in order to increase the effectiveness of your scenes. Learn to lay down one brick, and then to let your scene partner(s) add a little mortar and then one brick of their own. We will use exercises that promote simplification and support.

BIO
Megan Hovde Wilkins has been performing and teaching improv for over 10 years. She has worked around Chicago at the Second City, Improv Olympic, the Annoyance and the Playground. At Second City she teaches in the beginning program and the conservatory, and has been a member of the National Touring Company, on the Mainstage in Detroit and understudies the stages in Chicago. Recent film credits include ALL MY FRIENDS ARE FUNERAL SINGERS which was featured at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.

Notes for Posterity
Building Blocks are where we start
Exercises to begin – Warm ups
Name-Yes-When you say someone’s name, they must say “yes” to invite you to move into their spot. They must in turn say someone else’s name, and the new named person has to say “yes” to invite you to move and so on and on.
Name-Any Word – Instead of saying “yes” when your name is called, say any random word as the invitation to move.
-Unusual Categories
Everyone stands in a line and someone points out people in turn to give suggestions of the “odd” category that has been called out (fish you’ll never see). Until the main person directing the suggestions is tagged out by another, enters the line, and the new leader calls out a new category and the line blurts out suggestions of the new category.
Build a room – with no living characters (groups of three went up and created a space in turns). The rule of this game was that we were supposed to build on what the person before us had created and between the three of us create a space. The audience was then asked who lived there.
Group character monologue –
Turkey Maker (bowler)
Swan Lake (ballerina)

Samurai – three separate hiee-ya’s (1-middle person up, 2-two sides slash, 3-center person back down).

“What you said is important because . . . ”

Two circles – with a piece of paper the separate groups create a story by building it one line at a time. After you finish your sentence, you give it to the next person and hide the line before yours, so this person only has the last line to make inferences from.

After we read the stories, Megan cut up the lines of dialogue and we each grabbed one of the pieces of the dialogue and that was the only piece of information that we could take into our next scenes and work off and the people that are in the scene with you can only use their lines of dialogue as their motivation. The caveat was that we can react to other people’s information but not add more than what we had in hand. Use our information and react to their information without adding anything new.

Highlight – I really liked that this class was based on simplifying and not adding and inventing on top of inventing. It almost felt like a bigger risk to not keep creating but continue to go back to the piece of information that I had already established.

Don’t sweat it, just edit – Saturday August 7th

Class Description
Feel like your scenes are going on and on. Afraid you are editing too late or to soon? Tired of just doing the sweep edit across the stage. In this workshop we’ll learn different techniques to edit out scenes and get you to stop doing the edit dance on the side of the stage.

BIO
You can find BRETT LYONS performing at Chicago’s I.O. Theater in The Armando Diaz and with Deep Schwa. Brett is also a member of The Second City National Touring Company. Performing all over the world aboard NCL Cruise ships. Also, he can be seen around the country performing with Aphasia and heard on their weekly podcast. (www.aphasiapresentssomething.com)

Notes for Posterity
First instinct is the best for edits.

Warm ups
Pass the Clap
Elimination

La Ronde (ab-bc-cd) using tag out edits

Transformation edits – more scene painting than you think
Using it as
– a base for the scenes, character, or environment
– Set-up (information is great, give a lot of details)
– give information – details
Don’t limit yourself
Take what was done previously to some place completely brand new
“We see” not necessary, don’t need to start scene painting with those two words.
Listen/watch scene
Try to grab information from the front of the characters versus in back of them (or what is established versus inventing something in back of them). Use what was introduced on stage instead of making up information that is not there.

One line of dialogue edit
Take the last line of dialogue and make that the first line of dialogue for the next scene.

Created new edits in three separate groups.
Death Edit – Killing people in between scenes (no one comes back)
Electric Company edit – say two words with two people yelling from off stage as they enter, when they reach the center say the words together.
Elevator edit – Two people enter from behind and on-stage people (or people playing the scene) split off

Don’t sweep loudly
No blank stage
Go with the first instinct
Edit so you can save some for later
Edit to give something different

Exercise Highlight
I really liked the idea of creating a new edit for us to try out. It made me look at the use of the edits as a different mechanism in the scene and made it apparent that the edits really do color the show that is produced in its totality.

Warm ups –

Stretching
Paper Ball (real paper ball – needed to reach 15 as a group – can’t double hit)
Word association
Phrase association
Phrase association w/once removed (you say the second thing that comes to mind)
Body hoohas

“Every day, one day, as a result of this . . .”

Postive/Negative Space straight into . . .
Freeze tag

Scene work –

-One set of scenes where you are just generating characters.
-Second set of scenes where you are generating three characters and the third character created will be your scenes character.
Set-up for the previous two scene exercises is that one person will create three characters on the spot given the same exact line of dialogue and you will be given four body parts to influence the character you create. You can use the body parts at your discretion.
-Two-person scenes – going from platform to exploring the tilt (every day reality scenes where something changes and pair explores “change”).

Helpful hints: When the tilt/change happens make it readable to the audience and to the person that you are on stage with. Tilt doesn’t always have to be an argument, explore positive tilts. There is a difference between exploring a change and inventing more changes. The best way to explore a change is to use the information that has come before versus “inventing” new information that further tilts the scene.

Overall points –
Talked about physical trust of the other players and the use of “improv” clothes to do scenes for the players. There is a good touch and a bad touch, though.

I’ve been doing this for a while now, I’ve also critiqued quite a bit of performances and performers because I do believe that is how I can get better at improv; I watch others to see the things they do that I like and want to mimic or that which I don’t and try to conscientiously avoid.

I like to look at improv in two ways. First as a discerning audience member to whom improv is just another form of theatrical entertainment and with no improv background. The other as a technical performer. Most times though, my “audience member” will win.

That being said, I’ve started to watch improv people in the audience as well. I see where they are in the watching process and am usually surprised to find a correlation with where they are as an improviser.

It is interesting watching people watch a show and critique certain aspects of it that I don’t find as irritating because I see more than that one problem that, that one performer has. Don’t get me wrong, everyone has problems when it comes to improv (me included) but that is when it becomes more important for group cohesiveness. Because if you like the people it makes it easier to accept both the good and bad.

Warm ups –

Stretching

5 shakes w/a “Huzzah!”

Word association

Phrase association

Phrase association w/once removed (you say the second thing that comes to mind)

Passing a tone

Horse lips

Hot Spot

Every day, one day, as a result of this . . .

Freeze tag

Scene work –

Two-person scenes – living in the platform (every day reality scenes where nothing changes)

Two-person scenes – going from platform to exploring the tilt (every day reality scenes where something changes and pair explores “change”).

Helpful hints: When the tilt/change happens make it big. Tilt doesn’t always have to be an argument, explore positive tilts. There is a difference between exploring a change and inventing more changes. The best way to explore a change is to use the information that has come before versus “inventing” new information that further tilts the scene.

Drills-(Playing woman characters)

-Play five different female characters w/the same line of dialogue given (Jeannie’s second exercise from Sat.)

-Derivative of above, involved all three up and creating the five characters through focus on a specific body part (given by extra person) and then being given the line of dialogue.

Edits-

Talked about the edits in this form; cross edits, push and pull, directed edits and self edits.

Overall points –
In rehearsals, we’ll be working on specific platform, tilt, resolution skills, drill relationship and character exercises to help develop and enhance the relationship scenes, and then (with the skills down) begin to work them into the “Maude” form.

Don’t be afraid to try different characters that you may not have played before. Rehearsal is time to explore things and figure them out. If you get into a habit of doing things here, it’ll be easier to do them on stage and have fun as well.

So we’ll work a bit of review into next weeks rehearsal and hopefully explore the platform, tilt and get to resolution so we can try on some edits.

Warm ups –

Stretching

Boink boink

Word association

Phrase Association

Hot Spot

Every day, one day, as a result of this . . .

Scene work –

Two-person scenes – living in the platform (every day reality scenes where nothing changes)

Two-person scenes – going from platform to exploring the tilt (every day reality scenes where something changes and pair explores “change”). Helpful hints: when the tilt/change happens make it big.

Form stuff discussed –

The form is called “Maude”

Format:

· Monologue –“Armando” style

· Three 2-person scenes (one character comes back

· Group scene

· Three 2-person scenes

· Group scene

· Three two-person scenes (run)*

· Revisit Monologue from beginning of form or new monologue/monologist*

*These two parts are filler in case the tech time is not fulfilled.

Overall points –

– We shared our individual experiences that we’ve had with improv and other performance mediums.

– I talked a bit about the form that we’re doing having a very specific skill set (platform, tilt, resolution, tag-based scenes) which is not being taught extensively in Hawaii and because of that we’ll be learning the skill set, first, and then adding on the form as we gain the skills to do the pieces.

– My improv philosophy “dare to be boring” – working on strong character and relationship scenes (in my experience, the rest falls into place) – full buy-in by the group on what we’re doing as a whole.

– My hopes for rehearsal; coming in ready to rehearse, to start on time, everyone getting something out of this for themselves.

Are you too nice to be your character? – Saturday July 31st, 2010

Class Description
Have you ever started a scene with a strong character then immediately abandoned it for the sake of “yes anding” your scene partner? I used to do this all the time thinking I was helping the scene by constantly agreeing and doing what my scene partner wanted me to. Instead I found that I was actually hurting the scene by not sticking to my character’s wants and opinions. Sometimes as improvisors we forget how to play a scene. We’re all so nice and don’t want to step on any ones toes that we end up having a boring scene instead of one rich with perspective. My workshop does not advocate arguing but instead allows the improvisor to delve deep into how their character might “yes and” as opposed to how they personally would in real life. These valuable exercises will teach you to feel at ease and in control of who you are in each and every scene you do.

BIO
JEANNIE CAHILL has been professionally performing and teaching improv for years. Currently performing for The Second City aboard the Norwegian Pride of America in Hawaii.

Notes for Posterity –
We started off this class with a game of George with no elimination but to learn names. We then spent most of the class working on character development.
The first game we played was called 5 in the room. It was a character calvacade game where one person would be on stage and would become 5 different characters on the spot. Each time they were a new character the audience would count off.
The next game involved groups of four people but one person out the group at a time would be the “it” person. The “it” person would stand in the center and then one after another, the people in your group would come up and deliver one sentence of dialogue per person (preferably a declarative statement). They would repeat the sentence and the way of delivery each time without change three times. Each time they say the sentence the “it” person would have to become a new character. This happens with each person in the group until all four people have had an opportunity to be the “it” person and have the group give them their lines three times.
We then did an exercise where each person had one adjective and a “character” to portray. We would go on stage and do a scene with someone else that had their own character and adjective to work with and the audience would guess who they were.

Exercise Highlight –
I really enjoyed the two character games we played at the top. They were fun and we spent a good deal of time thinking about creating characters and making choices different from what our initial impulses were.

A week that started with a plethora of possibilities ended on a sad note today with the final nail in the coffin for two grant proposals (one federal and one from a private foundation). These proposal would have (over several years) put millions of dollars and much needed assistance for literacy learning into a school complex area that across the board has not met its NCLB standards (elementary to high school) during the 08-09 school year.
Why did this happen? Someone felt slighted and that person sat at the top of the complex area.
When should your own pride take a back burner to the education of over 5,600 children? First of all, I think your pride should never be the issue if you hold this type of position. But if that wasn’t enough, I’d probably say: when all the principals say yes to this help, organizations are coming together to assist your community, your community might benefit greatly from these possibilities, and two opportunities to funnel money into your complex area are handed to you on a silver platter. I’d give my blessing.
I wish someone could explain this to me and I think it’s a compelling argument to keep our government and school systems separate. There’s enough politics involved already.

I read the paper a lot in my office and for the past two years, I’ve been following the on-going onslaught of budget cuts that have come directly from the Governor’s office. I hope no one is really fooled into believing that more than one person is responsible for furlough fridays, because that is entirely untrue. The lead state negotiator in the union talks is the one and only governor and she has instituted some of the most manipulative tactics to push her agenda. Think twice when you read the paper because many times the news you read there comes directly from her publicity agent (yes, she has one) so it’s meant to show her in the best light in the most reprehensible situation.

I’ve heard that one of the most frustrating things that unions have had to deal with during negotiations with her are her negotiation strategies that include, leaking information to the press before bringing it to the table for discussion with the unions.
Right now, you may be thinking, “Isn’t that politics?” And yes, you are right, it is. We’ve seen it and fell for it countless of times, but please remember it isn’t the way it should be, especially when the cost is our children’s education. This will hurt everyone and, if we let her fool us into believing that she’s doing the right thing because it’s cost-effective, we’re beginning the descent into dumbing down the state for our future generations.

Our governor has done a bang up job for the last two years implementing the impossible situation for our state that we are currently in. I remember attending a town meeting and at it, they were talking about the governor needing our libraries and schools to estimate a decrease by 10%, 15%, and 20% budget revision for the following year. Later, the 20% decrease was put into effect and a few months after, furloughs were added to that.

I’ve read some chatter on this subject that deals with the fact that the DOE and BOE signed off on the furloughs, let me first say they signed off on a considerably smaller number than the original request from the governor, which was 36 days a year and a cut in salary for our teachers. I’m not always a fan of the way our educational system is, but I do know if we don’t put value on it, neither will the people that do that job. So we need to remember that this is a problem but the solution is not NOT funding education! It’s making sure that once we get all our kids back into schools on Fridays that we do our best to make sure that the good teachers are the ones that move ahead and the bad . . . well, it’s time to really make sure that the governor never gets an opportunity to make our children’s education a business decision again.

But don’t forget here that the person that caused the problems that we are currently dealing with in terms of our children’s education is the State Negotiator. I know it’s time to move on and to “do the right thing” but the only one who isn’t “doing the right thing” is the Governor. Too bad she just can’t admit that she made an awful decision and concede, instead, she is stubbornly trying to save face over a situation that, nationally, made her look justifiably reprehensible.