#andy rocco

Another set of notes from a session with Andy Rocco. Andy currently lives in LA and has been improvising for nearly 20 years.

Typical scenes are 2 minutes, maximum 3. This is a big reason why you need to define what's happening within a few lines.

Each line should add new information about the people. This will advance and deepen the scene.

Get to the meat of the scene quickly by making your lines meaningful and rich. This doesn't mean you need to speak quickly and act frantic.

Need who, what, where.

Do or say something deliberate and specific at the top of the scene.

Improv hack: you can come in with some detail about the character, and hold on to it to inform your behavior, and to pull out if the scene stalls. This is something that doesn't need to be said in the scene or addressed, but is still there for you. For instance, your character couldn't sleep the night before because of loud neighbors.

  Your partner's last line is your "meal ticket".

Make specific choices, and stick with them.

Choices and details don't exist in a vacuum. They imply things about the characters and their world.

Make choices that feel right. Make choices that fit the people and circumstances.

Let details inform other details.

Small details become something more because of their implications.

  Find out who you are early. The scene isn't meaningful to the audience if they don't know who the characters are.

If you don't establish who you are, the audience checks out.

Defining the "who" makes the scene real and relatable.

You want to immerse the audience in the world of the scene.

  Two "modes" in improv: heighten and explore.

A scene that is all heightening will feel chaotic and fake. A scene that is all exploring can at least feel real, honest, and even funny.

Don't be afraid to have a real conversation about something in a scene. 

Improvise scenes that feel genuine.

Move away from the "thing". Improvise scenes about people.

Make scenes about characters, feelings, and emotions.

Use what you know in real life to make scenes more interesting.

A lot of improv isn't being smart, it's being confident enough to act truthfully and come from a real place.

These notes were taken after an improv Skype coaching session with Andy Rocco. Andy has been performing improv for almost 20 years. He started at UCB New York in 1999, where he (among other things) performed with the legendary UCBNY Harold Team "Monkeydick". He now lives in Los Angeles. 

Without further ado, here are the notes:

We get lost in talking about what we're doing. Focus on the characters.

Instead of trying to make an improv move, just react honestly and truthfully.

Don't do things that only exist in improv world. Be more true to life.

After establishing the "thing", stop talking about it. Start talking about who you are.

The audience must believe in the reality of the scene before they will buy into an unusual thing.

If we start weird and crazy, we have to backpedal to get the audience on board. It's much easier to start from a grounded, real place that the audience can relate to.

It can feel weird, but your lines should be truthful and real. If you really do this, it will also make the scenes a lot funnier.

Give an honest, real, and personal reaction to your partner's lines. You can do this by "flashing". This is where you let  your mind naturally generate an honest and personal reaction. The flash might be a memory from your life, a real life opinion, or something in the collective consciousness. It's what your mind naturally associates with the line, rather than an artificial improv move. It needs to come from a place that is truthful, honest, and specific. Trust the honest reaction you have from your partner's line.

When you start a scene with reactions that are truthful and real, a dynamic will naturally arise. Then we can start playing with this thing we organically discovered.

What kind of person does the thing your character is doing? Why? For example, people doing a taste test are probably hard up for money. Again, it's being truthful to reality.

Instead of talking about things, we need to get into what our character's philosophies are, and why they do what they do.

Look at what's been created and address why it's happening. Justify what has happened by giving a commonsense reason that is true to life. This focuses the scene, and it's necessary to find our characters and what the scene is about.

Let all of the little things that have happened directly inform who our characters are. What is the most real and logical reason? Once we address that, we can start playing with the scene.

improv requires that we create a reality that is truthful and makes sense. Only then will the audience buy into an unusual thing.

Most improv is about heightening and exploring. It's the exploring that makes the heightening possible. A scene that is all heightening will be nonsensical and not entertaining. A scene that is all exploring can still be entertaining, because it is at least rooted in truth and believability.

The audience wants to understand what's happening, and care about it.

What do all the big and small things in the scene add up to? What does it all say about who are characters are? What does it say about the situation they're in? Draw from your real life, and your understanding of the world to answer these questions.

"Flashing" Exercise

One person initiates normally     .

Their partner turns to the coach and says what their mind immediately flashes too. It will probably be a memory from real life.

The person that shared their flash then says a line that incorporates the flash into the scene.

The other person then shares their flash and delivers a line.

And on and on.

 Exercise 

Start with a regular initiation, then every line afterwords is a simple fact that you flash to from the previous line.

Only say things that are absolutely true (either about the world or in our real lives) and are a reaction to the previous line.

Oil is lighter than water

Oil is darker than water.

Oil becomes darker in a car engine.

I put the wrong oil in my car last month and had to take it to a shop.

It's hard to find a trustworthy mechanic.

Etc.

“Man Underground” (2016): Drama Masquerading As Sci-Fi.

  Premiering last week at the prestigious Fantasia Film Festival, Writer/Directors Michael Borowiec’ & Sam Marine’ Man Underground is an interesting, but ultimately odd bird. I describe it as such, because it definitely isn’t what you think it’s gonna be – despite its intriguingly strange poster art. While some (If not most) of you will be expecting some sort of “Aliens Exposed As Real” type of…

This is from my boyfriend, Andy:

Hi, I'm Andy Rocco, as you're maybe aware, I'm trying to raise money for my project Teenage Vampire Killers from Hell on Kickstarter. Recently, a famous television actor slash shitty movie maker that will remain nameless also launched a Kickstarter. He's getting a lot of beef about it, but after 2 days, he's almost reached his $2 million goal. I, on the other hand, have just barely reached my $3000 goal with only a few days to spare. If you're considering donating to said television star, here's why you should actually donate to my project instead:

1) I started this Kickstarter, because unlike that guy, I can't afford to pay for this project myself. I'm broke. I live in a tiny apartment with my girlfriend and a roommate. You're probably wondering, why does a couple have a roommate? Because we're poor.

2) Said television actor promised that his new movie would tonally match his last movie, but would be older and probably sadder. Do you really want to enable him as a artist to not expand his vision? Probably not. I, on the other hand, am at least trying to do something different. I've never made a webseries about vampires before.

3) I really need money. I can't stress that enough. $3000 was low balling it, and I genuinely didn't believe I would even get that much. There's a lot of stuff that I need to make this great.

4) I will love you more than that guy ever will. 5) His Kickstarter starts with an Edison quote. Everyone knows Edison was a dick. TESLA 4 EVA!

Thanks and xoxo!

Several weeks ago I had the pleasure of playing my ukulele at The Upright Citizens Brigade Theater (with my good buddy Aram Bajakian backing me up on electric guitar). The night was packed with improv skits, stand-up, guitars, ukuleles, and good witty fun - all part of a show called Underground Americana hosted by Andy Rocco. Andy and I crossed paths this past summer on a subway ride in Brooklyn - and on the train struck up a conversation on the awesome power of the ukulele (I had mine with me and was coming home after a show). I handed him off a CD before hopping off at my stop - and a few weeks later got a call to perform on his show. Since then Andy and I have had the chance to connect and I've become a big fan of his comedic work. Andy has a big show coming up this Saturday December 5th - snag a reservation here - UCB Theatre - New York - Make Reservation. Over a cup of coffee in midtown Manhattan, Andy and I talked about where he's been and where he's going on his comedy journey. 

How long have you been pursuing comedy as a career? When did you decide to take the plunge and pursue the comedy thing full time?

I have been pursuing comedy as a career full time for a few years now. I think, my last real job was a temp assignment in 2007. I was lifting and moving boxes of files from one end of an office to another. Now, I coach/direct improv groups and once in a while I do a voice over or some commercials.

Tell us about your experience with The Upright Citizens Brigade first as a student and now as someone who has a regular show there?

Well, I started classes at UCB in 1999. I had been doing stand up on and off for about  two years and was living in CT with my folks. I had a very odd fear of going to NYC for anything. Once in a blue moon, I would do an open mike, but NYC used to really frighten the crap out of me. I think it's because, I watched a lot of 70’s & 80’s moives where gangs would constantly roam the subway and I was feeling if you were ever in peril, citizens of New York would do their best to ignore you. So I worked the graveyard shift at Kinko's in CT, then in the morning I would take the train and go to class at UCB. I was terrible at first, but I really did enjoy learning all about comedy. I was hooked. I would go to UCB all the time, just to see shows and hang out. The UCB just became my life. I went to community college pointlessly for 4 years, no major, no direction and I never got a degree. I didn't have many friends there, and there is no partying.    UCB was what I wanted my college experience to be like, fun, friends, and I had finally I had direction in life. I was a total geek about the whole thing!  Now, I am little more subdued. At times I can't help myself and the total geek comes out again. I think, you when you start out, you have something to prove. It's a great and wild attitude to have when you are younger. When you get older, you have already proven you can be good and now you have to be cool about it all the time and that is harder than breaking in.

Anyway, it's nice now. I have conversations, where I say "Hi, I am Andy Rocco" and someone will say "I know who you are" - that's cool and kind of embarrassing. I don't how to classify it. I have certain level of fame, where people know me, but it's not the same fame where teenage girls are pissing themselves at the mere sight of me. The guy at Subway is blown away while he's making my sandwich. It's really nice to be welcomed and feel part of something bigger then yourself. 

I heard about a big show you did with Tom Schiller - tell us how that went down?

I love Tom Schiller. He is amazing and so great. He directed a commercial that I did. It was a very big campaign so I spent a good amount of time with him and we just became friends. It was so cool. I couldn't get over that this accomplished guy is on a first name basis with me!  I asked him to do my show and he agreed. I was so pleased. He did the show twice! The last time show he did the show, it was great. We had ball. I did interview with him and talked about SNL, comedy, and making movies and he showed a video that he never showed to an audience before, it was insane and funny! I was going to have him on again, and was excited to do it again, but he had a work conflict. My favorite thing is that he ended that last e-mail  “I want to do it.  Ask me again!"

Do you always approach strangers with ukuleles on the NYC subways?

I don’t always approach strangers with ukeleles on the subway, but that's how I met you. I have musical acts in show. I don't have a particular way to pick the music acts for the show. People recommend bands to me to pick. I listen to them, sometimes I will pass. Sometimes, I will see people playing on the street and I ask them. If there is nothing engaging about them, I don't bother.  Sometimes, I ask people I really like and they never get back to me. I went on Craig’s list once and got a great one. I also went on Craig’s list got one who never showed up. So, I have varied approaches when it comes to getting the musical acts. You looked like a together young man, and you had ukulele I had been listening to a lot of ukeleles at the time, and I figured I would ask because I am always on the look out for musical act. You gave me a CD and your card. I listened to it and I thought was AMAZING! If I didn't like it, I wouldn't bother. Although, this does raise the question, why don't I just start talking to random pretty girls on the subway?   

Well thanks for the good words on the music - Aram and I had a blast being on the show. Where do you see things going for you in 2011? 

Well, I hope to keep working on thematic shows, like the show on Dec.4th is a parody of a Christmas Carol. It's a variety show with a story. I want to make more shows like that.  I want continue keeping honing my craft. I hope to make new web series as well called "Andy Rocco's Tales of the Absurd" I want to do a podcast, because I have been listening to a lot of different ones and I am all jazzed about it. And I hope to find another steady acting gig to pay the bills. All that and I want seltzer maker. I like seltzer. 

Well Andy thank you for these insights and for the chance to perform with you. I look forward to working and hanging more in the future - cheers and have a great show on Saturday!

-Brian

Variety show “Underground Americana” – hosted by Andy Rocco, will be held at The Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York on January 8th at 12 midnight. Congruent with the UCB’s mission of “big names for small change,” tickets are only $5. The lineup includes Anthony Atamanuik from the TV show “30 Rock,” Matt Koff – comedy writer for The Onion, and musical artist Little Embers who ran a successful crowdfunding campaign with RocketHub.

Underground Americana celebrates the seedy and urbane life in America. Host Andy Rocco likes to say “Think of us as The Prairie Home Companion, just a little more f**ked up.”

Little Embers is a collaborative effort featuring Theresa Hoffmann and her husband Anthony Rizzo. While she writes the songs, he provides the setting from which the tunes take flight. 2010 was a big year for Little Embers - highlights include a successful run on RocketHub, a packed-out showcase at The Living Room, and a new tune released on Ramen Music.

Also featured on the bill will be Alice Wetterlund, of the comedy troupe Garamond – and Steve Dressler who will perform the National Anthem.

To reserve tickets to the show: http://newyork.ucbtheatre.com/shows/2433

Named "Hot Farm Team" by Rolling Stone magazine and "Best Comedy Club" by AOL, The UCB Theatre is widely recognized as home to today's funniest actors and writers. Among their esteemed alumni include several performers and writers for Saturday Night Live, The Office, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The Late Show with David Letterman, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, 30 Rock, Best Week Ever, Old School, Blades of Glory, Semi-Pro and countless other films, commercials and television shows. Performers who have gained success continue to lend their talents to the theater and training center.

Andy Rocco began taking classes at UCB in 1999 and has been featured in numerous TV commercials.  He now hosts “Underground Americana” – a variety comedy show that features top talent in NYC.

This show makes our "RocketHub Recommendations" list as one to watch.