Remember this Simpsons bit with Krusty about hemorrhoids and riding bikes? That "I can ride a bike again!" idea jumps into my head a lot (more often than a person should really think about hemorrhoids...probably). I think about it in conjunction with that "It's just like riding a bike" expression used to refer to an […]
I started my Twitter account to drive folks to my site. David Pijor told me what I needed to do on Twitter was get "conversation going." So #ToTheEtherTuesday and #WordAssociationWednesday were born as conversation starters. And I like them as improv pattern practice. Obviously they rely on more on text than emotion and are near-devoid […]
The Johnsons' performances account for the majority of this site's videos. Why? I'm their coach. That means A) I love them, B) their work often reflects Improv As Improv Does Best characteristics and C) theirs are the recordings that are the easiest for me to get. But I have been a bad coach lately and […]
The rhythm with which a game’s mechanic is played helps pace the scene and build it toward an edit. The relationship between “When this happens” “this happens” is useful not only to focus improvisers’ choices but it also connects with the audience. In Short Form, where the mechanics of the “game” are told to the […]
Personal Games are the focus of the base Mirror, Action, Object warm-up exercise. Engaged in either how they feel about themselves, how they feel about what they're doing, or how they feel about a mimed object, players build progressions of emotional reaction triggered by active endowments. As examples: A player loves his outfit, and as […]
Looking for an exercise to help with creating characters and embracing endowments? Here's one for you.
ALL TOGETHER NOW Using To The Ether mechanics we can build a pattern from a progression of personal games, establishing and heightening a scenic game in the pattern’s evolving repetition. Using Help Desk mechanics, we can establish a pattern out of a scenic game, and repeat that pattern to heighten a personal game or theme. […]