It's 2020, my friends. And my curriculum needed to get with the times. Goodbye, Dukes Of Hazzard. Goodbye, s/he, his/her, him/her, etc. 2020 brings new exercises, new insights, and new clarifications for teaching. Links have been updated on the Class Materials page, but they're also here. Enjoy!
When asked for a desired focus for a scheduled coaching session, a Duo sent me the following: Mainly character stuff, fleshing them out versus building out more plot. Getting better at finding and sticking to the game of the scene. What follows is some didactic and exercises that filled two hours. DIDACTIC: How do You […]
Embodying the Environment. We can be set pieces. We can be crowds. We can be animals. We can be inanimate. Bottom line, we can flesh out the stage picture as Tertiary Players without adding to the dialogue. Check out this great example of players assuming the role of what other players were seeing on a screen.
Want to play more than one character in a single scene? You can! It's a powerful move. But - as goes the cliche - with great power comes great responsibility. Let's explore how and when to use the move and when and why to not.
Ask your troupe what they want to work on. A comment by Alan Volmer during a Johnsons rehearsal led to this move being added to the group's bag of tricks. THE BODY SNATCHER: A third player takes over either Player One's or Player Two's character. If Player Three chooses to take on Player Two's character, […]
A "Blackout" is a short scene with one big punchline. In sketch, or in improv with a tuned-in booth operator, the lights would go out on stage after the punchline, designating the end of the scene and earning the name "blackout." Blackouts are fun. They can help vary the pacing of a long-form show. They […]
There's more than one way to build intensity over time. Both scenes work in an improv context. No doubt. But I prefer the second iteration. The second scene is more dynamic. Yes, both Bobs are altered by scene's end and both scenes progress, but in the second scene Bob's change is clearly delineated to establish […]
Looking for an exercise/warm-up that will engage your group in tapping emotions between characters and leveraging those emotions in heightened subsequent beats?
Looking for an exercise/warm-up that will engage your group in tapping personal emotions and leveraging those emotions in heightened subsequent beats?