05/10/2012 Jacksonville, FL
(quick note to the reader, bullet points continue an idea, *=some gem thrown out that might be adjacent/tangent to current topic and I will use ( ) to share my interpretation. Enjoy)
Starting place with workshop: Basics of improv in UCB language
Short form vs. Long form: Short form you are given the game, Long form you discover & play game.
-mentioned was the lack of overall concern of the speaker for 'short form'
Long Form (2 main types)
Organic vs Premise Based
Organic
- 2 people step out to Yes and... until you find an unusual thing
- Start by building a base reality with ideas moving you closer to 'the idea'/the game/the first unusual thing'
- Base Reality is the who, what, where and establishing the rest of the reality through yes anding
*Monologues are at best between 2-3 minutes rich with detail & depth. What were the motivations that put you in that place, that can extend the piece and allow for more exploration by the monologist.
Premise
- One person initiates starting w/an unusual (funny) thing (based on monologue/opening)
- A good premise initiation will have the who/what/where w/in the first line.
- Think of half ideas similar to a writing room for sketch comedy, each throwing something out to see what can stick & what will work (You throw something out and Yes And to find the other 'funny'/unusual parts.)
*In coming up w/premises you will get one of three things 1. Premise 2. Half Idea 3. Chaff .
You want a premise, can start a scene with a half idea, but want to dismiss the chaff
*Matt drew an imaginary picture of how an Organic opening would work towards finding & playing the game, this was how I hallucinated it.
*Finding the Game is all improv is
*SNL sketches start grounded & real(allows to heighten, if you start off in the stratosphere you have no where to go(but down)).
*In Premise - No Yes And, more acceptance- You react & *Play at the top of your Intelligence.
*Playing at the top of your intelligence - Knowing How human beings behave (typically in high stress situations (gun pulled, crazy offering) newer improvisers don't do this, they respond w/yes and so they aren't acting naturally.)
*Common reaction by early improvisers is to play either unreal or too straight* reacting to unusual with acceptance as if it is normal which makes them unusual as well. **Too Ok with Unusual is Unusual
(this makes for essentially 2 unusual things so you now have muddied the initiating idea of an usual thing to spark a game)
Example: Doctor: I'm going to anesthetize you with a brick
Bad Improv patient: Okay, Great, Nighty Nite
Avg. Improv patient: No (by this you agree with absurdity by saying no to it, as you would in real life if confronted with brick carrying doctor.)
Good Improv patient: Are you talking about a new kind of medicine or is b.r.i.c.k an acronym for something. (You are confirming the oddity of the reality, staying in the scene/as opposed to running out of the room, and trying to defend absurdity with logic*)
*DEFEND Absurdity w/LOGIC - logic makes for good exploration
Monologues - 45 seconds is too quick, 2-3 minutes make for good stories. Be rich with detail to all to stretch it out a bit. The individuality of the speaker will come out.
*If you hear the audience laugh, be sure and recognize what the audience responded to. (Place a marker at that line to recall it)
*Find the funny intricacies of the speaker.
*Discovery in premise based improv happens in the monologue.
*If moving away from the possible location of the monologue/main players/concepts, be sure and keep a line used from the monologue to keep your fellow improvisers & the audience in the loop. It makes for much clearer initiations. (This is also good when going analogous to make sure everyone is on board with you)
RE: Harold
*What makes it unique, why is it harder to do a harold and why are they a good form to do?
-it has built in recalls/returns to heighten the game, not necessarily the scene, but the game. The scene can be gone, the game remains and is heightened. Harder due to it's organic nature of idea creation and memory of earlier scenes/games and their intertwining.
*W/Harolds(UCB Style) You return to the Game Not the Scene
*For Second Beats - you could relate the game to your own life (source material)
*If you don't get the game a 2nd & 3rd beat might be weak.
*When you are walking out(the second person to speak in the scene), be ready to assume the game that the partner creates.
*The more clear you are the better(in initiating & in any moves that you want to be understood where you are going)
*You are not playing a guessing game, you want to clue them(your fellow players) in.
Playing w/in the scene
*Being "Jokey" in responses makes for often 2 unusual things (muddies the 1st, becomes unclear)
*Responses in regard to the unusual thing discovered.
**Primary source of truth are things about yourself you share during scenes**
