#articlesbyme

Howdy there, Improv Explorers!

As promised in a previous blog, I’ve decided to start posting my own thoughts and theories about improv. Rather than ease into it, let’s dive head first.

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For many improvisers (myself included) there comes a moment when the sheer amount of techniques they’ve learned becomes overwhelming. It becomes hard to make sense of what to actually do with them. This leads to paralyzing moments in scenes: “Should I lead with a body part?” “Should I state an opinion?” “Do I need to justify?” “Should I be more emotionally affected?” “What’s the game? Do we even need a game?” Etc, etc.

The reason why it feels so confusing is because the ideas aren’t unified. The antidote is to step back and start seeing the proverbial forest for the trees.

I believe it’s extremely useful to give a broad, clear definition for improv scenes in general. This way, we have a clear goal to shoot for.

Here’s my definition:

“An agreed-upon fictional reality that the performers play with.”

And for all ya’ll non-sadists, here’s a second part:

“...in order to entertain themselves and/or the audience.”

This definition works for me because it’s pretty much as fundamental as you can get. Really, it isn’t saying anything new- it’s the very essence of “yes-and”. You would be extremely hard pressed to find an exception to this rule, and that’s why it’s so useful.

To recap: The fundamental goal of an improv scene is to create a reality on stage that entertains the players and the audience. Techniques are just a means to that end.

The definition (goal) is the forest, and individual techniques are the trees.

But what techniques should we use? Well, it depends on what your specific goals are. Do you want a slow burn scene that explores the relationships of the characters? Do you want a scene that feels like a sketch? Do you want a scene that feels like a train nearly going off the tracks? Basically: what flavor of reality you want to create? There is no wrong answer here; it’s truly a matter of taste.

Top groups know exactly what flavor of improv they’re aiming for. That said, you and your group may not know exactly what flavor you want. That’s okay. It’s a good opportunity to experiment and learn.

The first step is learning what techniques result in what flavor. This is largely a matter of practice and observation, and is beyond the scope of this blog post. But I will give you a method for achieving this goal:

Pay attention to the impact your choices have on scenes.

It’s easy to say the choices either “worked” or “didn’t work”, but dig deeper than that. Think of it this way: How did the move impact the reality of the scene? What more do we know about this reality that we didn’t know before? What effect did it have? Was it what you intended?

You can use this method in your own scenes, and when watching other improvisers. In fact, this is exactly the reason why you can learn so much from watching improv (good or bad).

As you grow as an improviser, you’ll start getting a feel for the effects certain moves have. It starts becoming second nature. A classic analogy in improv is that techniques are like tools in a toolbelt. The question is: do you know how, when, and why to use those tools? An experienced improviser has the foresight to know exactly what tool to use for any given job. This is a skill they’ve learned through experience.

I’ve used a lot of colons in this blog post. Here’s another one: if you have any questions I would absolutely love to answer them! For example: it would be impossible to list out how each technique affects a scene, so don’t hesitate to ask about a specific one.

In the coming weeks, I hope to post several blog posts that build and expand on these ideas further.

See you: in the next improv exploration.

Howdy there, improv explorers.

If you follow my blog, you know that most of my posts are direct notes from improv classes, workshops, intensives, and rehearsals. I do it for a few reasons:

Reason no. 1: I personally believe that improv belongs to everyone, and wherever possible, information about it should be freely shared. Coming from a very small improv community, I realize how precious and valuable improv education is. Of course, I would never post notes without permission from the teacher or coach.

Reason no. 2: By posting the direct notes, you (dear reader) get an unfiltered, uncut perspective on an actual class.

Reason no. 3: I’m scared of putting my own ideas out there. A lot of my ideas are half baked, and my perspective on improv is constantly evolving and growing. I’m afraid of looking back 2 years from now and saying, “Oh god, I was so naive back then”.

But you know what? I’m at a point where maybe I don’t care if I feel embarrassed in 2 years. I’m at a point where I feel confident in my ideas, but also confident enough to admit they could be wrong. Who cares? We’re all making this stuff up. That’s what improv is.

Hi, I’m Andy. I live in Springfield, Missouri, and have been improvising for a little over three years. I think about improv a lot.

Do you think God is calling you?

Early today, while I was praying with my dad and spending time with God, I felt the need to share this topic which I myself found pondering about sometime ago.

I have heard so many times, people say that they feel as if God is calling and pulling them towards a particular direction in their lives. 

In that case, how would I be able to hear this call too when it comes to the many decisions in my life- maybe become a missionary? find a new career? The list is endless.

The Call. What does it really mean?

A calling to a specific role or a certain direction is something that we do not find in the Bible. However, what we do find is a calling towards Godliness. The following verse highlights this really well:

But we must always give thanks to God for you, brothers and sisters beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the first fruits for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and through belief in the truth. For this purpose he called you through our proclamation of the good news, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Thessalonians 2:13-14 (NRSV)

What is implied from the above is that God has called all of us to live a life that brings glory to Him. God is supreme and He is in complete control of all that happens in our world which naturally makes God deserving of Glory and Praise.

So what do I do in making those decisions?

The answer is really simple. Love the God with all of your heart, strength, soul and mind. Whatever you may do, do it to bring glory to God's beautiful name. In all your decisions, ensure that you honor God and that you have placed God in His rightful place. If you do have more than one choice that you truly believe that brings glory to God, then you are more than free to choose either one- something that you like the best. I say this because God will use you regardless because you have His favor and blessing. After all, God gave us the freedom of choice. But we need to recognize the fine line between the wise and the silly decisions before making them. 

God sent His son who died for us so that we can be free and that includes the freedom to make choices as well. With that in mind, we need to be cautious when we 'listen' to the the call of God. God doesn't promise us that He would speak and direct us in a physical sense but rather, He has promised us that we will not fail in our direction and purpose if we devote our time to His word and being intimate with God. Bringing Glory to God should always be the motive behind our decisions and as long as we are well aware of that, we are free to live and make decisions.

Love,