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More about Improv: Genres: Dystopian Bureaucracy Example
[ad_1] Brazil poster For a recent workshop, I did a lot of research into dystopian fiction. Part of which meant rewatching Terry Gilliam’s 1985 classic Brazil. The film has nothing to do with the country, it’s just a song that plays a lot in the background. It’s a film where you have to explain the…
Read MoreBlack 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 MoreZoom In On Help Desk
[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 MoreZoom 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 MoreZoom In On Hey Everybody
[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 MoreZoom 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 MoreZoom 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 MoreZoom 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 MoreZoom 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 MoreMore about Improv: Online Improv: Zoomed Out
[ad_1] Very few people would have predicted that we would all be doing our shows online so soon into the future. But that’s what has been happening. And as many of us discovered or are discovering, it’s not the same as doing it on stage. Whilst a lot of the core skills are transferrable, there…
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