Getting the hang of it

It's creeping closer to Showcase time, and I'm actually feeling sort of prepared. Well, as prepared as you can be for improv.

Last night, Jeff was AWOL again, so Jeffrey taught us. As he quizzed us on improv basics that we've covered the past few weeks, I finally felt the full realization that I have learned quite a bit. Such as:

• The one basic guideline of improv: "Yes, and..." which means you take what someone says, accept it, and add to it.
• Three pieces of info to get out within the first three lines: Who you are, where you're at, and what you're doing.
• Three ways to initiate a scene: Action, emotion, or words.
• Bring a brick, not a cathedral: You're a part of a team, so don't try to pre-plan the whole scene. Just bring a piece of info and build on it as you go.

I know that doesn't look like a lot of learning for five weeks of class. But there is a big difference between being able to state the principles and being able to incorporate them all into scenes, while making it look effortless. I definitely think the other improv-ers and I have improved by leaps and bounds. It's obvious that we're more comfortable with each other.

Oh, funny moment of the night.....the four of us that showed up were playing a game called "Buzz". Basically, 2 people are doing a scene, and another person can say "buzz" at anytime, and the person speaking in the scene has to change what they just said. But anyway, John and I were doing a scene about the Wright Brothers, of all things. He said something like, "I'll hop in, and you spin the propeller." And, stepping out of character, and legitimately confused, I said, "Wait, but where's the propeller?" And everyone thought it was hilarious! Yay for unintentional humor!

Breakthrough

The great thing about improv is that you're not stuck being yourself. Last night, I broke out of my rut of being super-sweet in my scenes. It felt wonderful. In this particular scene, I was bitter, sarcastic, and dare I say, even a bit...mean. As me and my fellow improv-er, John, were on the stage, I started out with, "Every time I see you, I want to throw up." And Jeff and the other onlookers let out a huge laugh. It felt like the first time that a scene I participated in really got a great reaction. The scene kept getting better, too, but I can't honestly remember how it went. I wasn't thinking about what would come next; I just let it happen.

I had finally caught on to something. I stopped editing myself, and let my subconscious take over. Jeff's been telling us to do that for weeks now, but I didn't ever fully let go until last night.

I've also realized just how freeing it is to do improv; you can be a camper, a firefighter, an astronaut...anything. It's like a chance to semi-experience something you may never have a chance to do in reality.

It's so hard to believe, but my level 1 improv class is halfway over. In a month and one day, it will be showcase time! I'm not sure what time it will be, but I'm already excited about it!

Bricks

I'm a perfectionist. I have been for as long as I can remember. To this day, I get upset when my nail polish chips or I make a mistake in pen and there's no white-out in sight.

There's a tough lesson for me to learn if I want to succeed in improv: no one is perfect. As much as I try to say the perfect thing, or make the funniest scene ever, it doesn't happen. Despite my best efforts, I may totally miss a perfect cue, or occasionally forget to get the whos, whats, and wheres of the scenes out quickly.

And that's really okay. As we were doing scenes tonight, I realized that any scenario can go a ton of directions, and none of them are wrong. Each team member could take a cue a different way, and that's the beauty of it. When we let ourselves focus on just one line (a.k.a. brick) at a time, we can build an amazingly good scene. Although some "bricks" may be more funny or more complex, there isn't a wrong way. That's comforting to me.

Even though Jeff had pointers for all of us, and during many of our scenes he would give us ideas of how to improve, none of our scenes were bad. I do get flustered when someone sets up a scene and I have no clue how to respond, though. Most of all, I'm learning to trust my instincts, to focus on relationships between characters, and to "bring a brick, not a cathedral."

"If it feels weird, keep doing it"

That was the biggest lesson from last night's improv class. For me, improv is definitely one of the weirdest, most uncomfortable things I've ever done. Yet, even though it's only the second week, I already feel it becoming more familiar.

Part of that is because the rest of my classmates put me at ease, and they screw up or say something awkward just as often as I do. Our improv-guru, Jeff, made us start to see just how freeing it is to be a part of an improv team. One thing he said was, "every idea you have is the best idea ever." That's so comforting. No matter what you say, the rest of the team is going to be there to build upon your idea and make it look awesome.

And it's cool to do the same in return.

The biggest obstacle I have is my need to think. I have an irrational fear of saying the wrong thing or just plain looking stupid. But there's no time to think in improv. And from what I've experienced, gut reactions are the best. If I can just keep myself from thinking too hard, I think I'll be okay.

Day One

I just finished my first improv class at the Skinny, and I am bubbling over with excitement! But earlier today, I was kind of freaking out (almost to the point of not even showing up! Sad, right?). When I got to the theater, I was the first student to show up, which in itself was nerve-racking.

But soon, an older man named John showed up, followed by Beth and Kasey, and then Caleb. Our instructor for today, Jeffrey (because the Jeff who would normally lead our classes is sick) led us through some improv exercises that were kind of quirky, but oh-so-fun when you let yourself just go with them.

We played a name game, where we each say our names with a movement of some sort, and then have to memorize everyone else's. We also played "Zig, Zag, Zog" which is hard to explain in words, but I was totally the champ of that one! Yay!

Most importantly, we learned the one rule of improv: "Yes, and..." Basically what that means is you have to take what the other actors say or do, and then build upon it. Kind of an abstract idea, but it works. I think we can apply "Yes, and...." to everyday life by taking in what others say and not dismissing them right off the bat. When I look at it that way, it kind of seems like life in general is just one big improvisation game....

Overall, it was really interesting to meet some new people and see how well our personalities work together. Even though it was only the first night, I felt we all had a good chemistry and I bet the next seven weeks will fly by.

More updates next week!