Black Box Beats warm-up | Improv As Improv Does Best

Black Box Beats warm-up | Improv As Improv Does Best

[ad_1] Lights come up on black-clad high school students standing on and around wooden boxes of varying heights. You know what’s coming next. Staccato sophomoric pretension. A wonder to laugh at, if you’re not in the actual audience and/or have to drive a performer home afterward. Like with The Invocation, a structure of that kind…

Read More

Zoom In On Help Desk

New Year, New Curriculum | Improv As Improv Does Best

[ad_1] With its focus on characters interacting, Help Desk games are perhaps the rubric most conducive to Zoom. As such, I found myself hewing much more closely to my typical Help Desk curriculum this class. The biggest hurdle came in navigating Pivots and Split Screens. Appearing on a Zoom screen it’s certainly not easy to…

Read More

Zoom In On To The Ether

Zoom In On To The Ether

[ad_1] The Patterns & Games class where we go over To The Ether games is always my favorite. This time was virtually no different. Understanding the atomic structure of patterns can help a group collaboratively build evolving molecules which combine into complex compounds.  Patterns that facilitate game play can be defined by three “moves.”  A…

Read More

Zoom In On Hey Everybody

New Year, New Curriculum | Improv As Improv Does Best

[ad_1] “Hey, Everybody,” we say as our initiation in some form. Maybe it’s “Team, take a knee,” “Soldiers. Attention!,” or the Zhubin Parang special, “People, people, [important person] is ready for your questions.” The potential for trouble in a “Hey Everybody, get out here” initiation is high. Players may rush out on stage to support…

Read More

Zoom In On Organic Games

Zoom In On Organic Games

[ad_1] Students were taught the 4 Key Lessons for building collaborative improv games on Day One. In subsequent weeks focused one of 4 rubric group games designed to explore the power of each of those key lessons. At the end of the day – which really is the class showcase – the audience isn’t looking…

Read More

Zoom In On Patterns & Games

Zoom In On Patterns & Games

[ad_1] I taught my first Patterns & Games class through Zoom. I had been nervous going into it assuming I’d have to tweak my teaching materials significantly to work within this new world. But as I learned when approaching Silent Games, the mechanics of collaborative pattern play are applicable however Group Games are attempted. Need…

Read More

Zoom In On 4 Key Lessons

Zoom In On 4 Key Lessons

[ad_1] When I teach Patterns & Games in-person the first class is always Kick The Duck, Red Rover. I love this game. When I say “Go,” the class is to align behind a gibberish group game. It’s always a mess to start, and then I begin laying in the lessons and with each iteration the…

Read More

Zoom In On One Person Scenes

Zoom In On One Person Scenes

[ad_1] Agreement is awesome. Don’t you think. In class number two, we focus on that first of our 4 Key Lessons: Seek Symmetries. Bringing characters into group games brings new opportunities for chaos.  Simplifying character-based group scenes with balanced stage pictures and shared emotional perspectives can help a team confidently navigate the chaos.  Here’s how…

Read More

Call & Response Connections | Improv As Improv Does Best

Call & Response Connections | Improv As Improv Does Best

[ad_1] Dang, it’s been along time since I posted. There is a site re-design in the works and I have been working through teaching online. So lots of good things ahead for improvdoesbest.com. But here it is Halloween night 2020. I’m feeling a little hopeful (knock on wood). And an interaction just inspired me to…

Read More

Fun Times | Improv As Improv Does Best

Fun Times | Improv As Improv Does Best

[ad_1] 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…

Read More