Don't let becoming a good improviser keep you from becoming a great improviser. Believing in your ability is good; being open to your weakness in committing to constant betterment is great. Finding a personal understanding of what works for you on stage is good; staying receptive to the ideas of even the greenest improviser is […]
Here are the list of Weaknesses - ordered to track with an improviser's growth from novice to artist - linking to the relevant piece of the matrix: Vulnerable Confidence - Player is afraid to share personal, emotional depth The Details - Player is too vague in defining scene elements Bold Choices - Player hesitates to endow character and environment […]
Here are the list of Strengths - ordered to track with an improviser's growth from novice to artist - linking to the relevant piece of the matrix: Vulnerable Confidence - Player is emotionally and personally accessible The Details - Player is specific with descriptions Bold Choices - Player initiates with active endowments Self Contained Initiations - Player initiations ground them while […]
Objective: Collaboratively building something out of nothing on stage requires Confidence and Support. An improviser needs to be able to make bold choices and to stand by those choices. An improviser needs to accept and embrace each other’s choices. Make your fellow player “look good” should be an improviser’s guiding principle.
CRAZY EIGHTS – Together (teacher included) everyone shakes out their limbs – right arm, left arm, right leg, left leg – in descending counts starting at 8 each and ending with 1 each. KEY - Everyone commits to having their heads up, and to making eye contact with every other player at least once during […]
NAME THUMPER – Going around the circle, each person (teacher included) associates their name with an action or adjective – “Punching Patrick,” or “Pouting Patrick.” Go around once more so everyone knows everyone else’s name and action. Then play progresses with an individual doing their name/action and then another person’s name/action; that person then does their […]
PASS “YES” AROUND – A player points at / makes eye contact with another player who accepts by saying “Yes.” The accepted player walks across the circle to stand in the place of the player who said “Yes.” The player who said “Yes” points at / makes eye contact with another player who says “Yes” […]
AWESOME! – Around the circle, students say something about themselves and/or their day to which the rest of class enthusiastically responds, “Awesome!” Lessons: • Acceptance is fun – don’t waste time judging; the audience wants to see you enjoying one another
HOT SPOT (Singing or Monologue) – Players stand in a circle. One player enters the center and begins singing or telling a true, personal story. In no particular order, players enter to take the place of the player in the center to sing a new song or tell their own story. Lessons: • Hesitate and […]
FREEZE, THANK YOU – Two players assume frozen positions on stage. From the wings, another player says, “Freeze,” confidently enters, taps a player on the shoulder to indicate that they should go to the wings, and assumes a new frozen position in relation to the remaining player. Lessons: • Confidence sells – Don’t worry about […]