What? No theatre thread?

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > Creative Convention > What? No theatre thread?

MerylNZ: Nov 19, 2004

antiloquax posted:

Essentially, you want to be doing this:

1. Make a strong choice immediately at the beginning of a scene. Decide you're a perverted pirate, and stammering teacher, a retarded CEO, it doesn't matter, but do it immediately. Don't wait to see what the other guy is doing.

2. Commit to your choice. Don't change it halfway through. Don't suddenly say, "Yes, so that's what a pervert would say." Stick to your decisions: your accent, your body mannerisms, your emotional point of view, your needs and wants, your flaws, your and so on.

3. Don't negate what your scene partner is doing. React to it in the character you've created and committed to. This way, if your partner is lovely and is being a selfish improviser, you're protected because you've made an awesome decision at the top of the scene.

Improv geeks, represent.. I perform in and work admin for a improv company in NZ. Also studying theatre at uni, primarily to support my improvising.

This here (above) is a pretty hard and fast rule for an art that really has very few hard and fast rules

IMO, Impro: Improvisation and the Theatre and Impro for Story tellers (both by Keith Johnstone) are the best things to read first, the former for theory and the latter for actual practical games and exercises. Another good book for someone starting out, or someone looking to teach, would be be the Improv Handbook by Tom Salinsky and Deborah Francis-White, who are a couple who run the Spontaneity Shop out of London. It's really good for easing you into it all.

The thing about the rules of improv are that as soon as you know them and know how to play within them.. you don't have to any more.

The best set of 'rules' I was given were:

Be Postive.
Say 'yes'.
Say 'yes, and...'
Be normal.
Establish platform - if you don't know where/who you are or why, how will you know where the scene goes?

To refer back to the method you mentioned above, making a strong choice before you go on can be helpful if you're struggling to create strong characters. But if you walk on as a demented pirate and your partner endows you as a dentist, then you got to change

Maybe we should have an improv thread...

# ¿ Apr 21, 2010 12:59

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ¿ May 16, 2024 17:25

MerylNZ: Nov 19, 2004

Ah I should have clarified, I meant if you go on thinking 'right I'll be a pirate' and right before you get into the improv your partner says 'So doctor what do you think of this abcess in my jaw' - then you are now a dentist. If you've already established that you're a pirate, then by all means they should be listening!

But if they don't, what's better for the scene - you insisting that your reality is the correct one and making it into an argument between the actors, or you switching gears, accepting their offer, and letting the scene continue? If you can find the game in "oh I'm sorry you've mistaken me for a dentist" then cool beans, but if not then it's really a case of being the bigger improvisor and helping the scene

There's a game loosely called 'Good Improvisor/Bad Improvisor' where one person accepts everything and the other blocks everything. If the person accepting really and honestly says 'yes and' to everything you can't even tell that they're being blocked.

I do know that Second City and the iO operate with a slightly different style and approach to those that work with the Loose Moose philosophy, which means I'm probably comparing completely different approaches... I also have never had to audition for a troupe, the one I work in is a community based group that caters to beginners and up so if you're doing good you move up and if you need more work there are classes you can keep taking.

# ¿ Apr 22, 2010 00:50

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > Creative Convention > What? No theatre thread?