Rant: Talky MOJO STEALING Coaches!

I really hate it when coaches talk too much in a workshop. I understand that they have knowledge and they need to convey it, but there should be a limit to how much they are allowed to talk as a coach in a 2 hour workshop.

The worst example is when you do a scene and the director says "cut" or "stop" and then begins to analyze the scene and talk about what would have been a "better choice", or "where we should have gone with the scene." F*%K YOU! I was perfectly happy having a scene about a school of fish that were trying to solve an underwater murder mystery...I don't care if it resembled some news story that made you think about Sarah Palin and you wanted to see a social/political satire! Go straddle a narwhal you chlorinated gene pool!

I feel better now. In all honest this has really only happened to me once or twice. As a director it is easy to analyze where a scene should go in your mind because you are just observing. So I don't blame them for thinking it, but sometimes they need to just shut up and analyze the scene at hand and let go of their preconceptions.

Creating an Original Ensemble Piece

The reason that I'm writing this is because for the past two weeks Mock Turtle Soup has been creating an original long-form to perform at the North Carolina Comedy Arts Festival (NCCAF). It's called The Sillyad and is an improvised EPIC QUEST! It has been a really eye opening experience, and I though that I would put down some of my thoughts. The thoughts are specifically for creating a new form, but I believe they apply to a troupe trying a form that they have never done before. Basically everyone is a blank slate.

First off everyone has to be on board with the form. The great thing about a good improviser is that they will never say no to a form, so this is generally not a problem.

Once you have established the basic game plan / structure just do it. Don't talk about doing it too much, just do it. This first time, and probably the second or third, are probably not gonna go very smoothly. After a few times as a director you can see what some of the fundamental problems are, and most of the troupe sees them too.

Long-Form Improvisation & The Art Of Zen: A Manual For Advanced Performers

"If you're already an improviser, even if you're just starting out, this is the book for you. This book merges basic improvisation techniques with Zen philosophy in order to create a new way of performing scenes and shows. Based on decades of work with the art form, Jason R. Chin strips away pretense and creates a simple, yet elegant method of improvising longer, more rich scenes and characters. A powerful tool for the advanced improviser and a wonderful book for the beginner, Zen and the Art of Long-form Improvisation is a welcome addition to your improv library. " Amazon.com

Directing on the fly!

As a college performer/director I have been able to watch my troupe grow over the years. When I start off a comedy season I like to have a general flow of what I would like to accomplish directing wise over the course of a semester. I think the best thing to do as a director is to have an ultimate goal for the end of the semester, and then construct a plan to achieve (that naturally leads to) that goal.

For example my goal for the Fall 2010 season was to perform a rich "Organic" Harold by December. Here was my general approach:

• Aug. Work on rich character development and perform the Henry

• Sept. Work on strong relationships within a scene
  

• Oct. Work on recognizing and continuing themes throughout a set of scenes and introduce the Harold

• Nov. Introduce and work an organic group game format and ultimately perform an "Organic" Harold

Introductions are in order!...Rush Marler

What up y'all?! My name is Rush Marler, and I'm really siked to have an outlet for intelligent college improv discussion. I have been doing improv since 2008. I am a member of Mock Turtle Soup, and am the current President for the 2010/2011 season. I am a Chemical Engineering major and I want to save the world after I graduate in May.

I have had the honor and privilege of taking classes from many great improvisers including, Jill Bernard, Asaf Ronen, Greg Tavares, Anthony LeBlanc, Tim Orr, and many others.

My favorite warm-up game is Loser Ball. My favorite short-form game is New Fall Lineup. And my favorite long-form is The Henry.

Boom!

Creating a Past

I am currently reading a very nice little improv book called Long-form Improvisation & the Art of Zen by Jason Chin, and though this book is full of really insightful stuff, there is one section that really caught my eye. Its all about creating a past for the characters in the scene. A theme that is repeated throughout the book is that the scene should be about the relationship of the two characters not what is actually happening. And how can you have a relationship without a past?

The Newlywed Game

A.) The host gets 3 suggestions of newlywed show questions and writes them down and puts them in his or her pocket. He should have the persona of a TV game show host.

B.) Then the two people that will be the couple come back in and gets a suggestion of how these two people met.

C.) The couple will then perform three short scenes (the “host” can pop in as a support character from time to time). The characters should pick strong characters based on the suggestion (What types of people would meet this way?). The characters will “get to know” one another throughout the scenes…try and learn a lot about each other’s personalities, likes and dislikes.