January 2010
24 posts
A silly example of pattern →
Dumb little thing I found on memeparty, it is nonetheless a pretty fine example of pattern and pattern play, which comes up in improv. Enjoy.
Decisions
The thing about decisions is that they need to be made. Right god-damned now. Just be honest and realistic. If it pops into your mind that you’re holding an oar and that you’re on a canoe, start paddling. I know that moment where you aren’t sure if you should make a decision. What if it’s ‘wrong,’ or ‘too blue,’ or unfunny? I have succumbed to that...
Say Yes
It might be my irrepressible love for improv, but if I’ve learned just one thing, it’s that you’ll always be happier saying yes. Saying yes takes you somewhere you didn’t expect, somewhere you didn’t see coming. It leads to a place of discovery and nuance, where you can learn as you go.
Fluffy language aside, saying yes is the route to go. You will want to say no;...
Long-forms, 2: The Armando
The Armando is a form that goes by many names and faces. It is light on structure and somewhat heavy on style in that it uses monologues as inspiration. Terminology before we go on:
Monologue (improvised): The improvised monologue is like any other (i.e., a single speaker speaking to the audience) with the stipulation that the monologist is telling true stories from their life. They are not...
Billy Merritt's Improv Party (journal) →
An absurd bit by Billy Merritt, renowned improv teacher. As silly as it is, he describes and explains many of his (highly successful) personal philosophies on improvisation.
Long-forms, 1: The Montage
Thought it’d be fun to record various longforms, at least as I’ve read about/performed/seen them performed around the city. I’ll do a new one for each of these entries.
If you ever want information on these forms from someone that isn’t me, I’d strongly suggest the Improv Resource Center wiki, a wiki maintained by various improv nerds...
Improv Exercises, 5
These are just some basic scenework exercises. Nothing complicated. I ran into them primarily in beginner’s classes in Philly and at the UCB.
Morphing Clay: Circle up. No talking. Give a suggestion (or don’t, it doesn’t really matter); then, the first person reveals that they have magic, morphing clay. It can be stretched to any size or shape. Have them mold the little ball of...
Courage and Commitment
The key to being successful in the arts is to continue to produce at a consistent rate and quality. Easier said than done. To keep creating and creating well is difficult in the face of rejection and distractions; it follows that to be successful in the arts takes courage and commitment.
Successful artists are courageous. It is impossible, in the modern day, to become successful without hitting a...
Kurt Braunohler's One Man Harold →
I’m sure most of you don’t give a damn, but this relic of a site contains footage of Kurt Braunohler’s one man Harold at a UCB cagematch from 2001. I’ve been fascinated with it since I heard of it, and through incessant internet digging, I’ve found footage of it. Truly ridiculous. One guy putting on a 25-minute, improvised show by himself…and doing a form...
Improv Exercises, 4
A lot of beginning improvisers tend to focus too much on the verbal components of scenework and never really get to playing with emotion and point of view. These exercises are aimed at reducing the verbal impetus and focusing on what makes scenes really flourish.
Replay: Have two people up for a scene. Give them a situation. They must perform a two-minute scene silently (don’t cheat by...
Late Night Interview →
This is weird and awesome.
Improv Exercises, 3
Today’s focus will be on group mind, the ability to think as one unit. It’s a powerful phenomenon that can up the play of any group.
Before getting into the exercises, I should like to say that these only help your group develop group mind so much. If you want your group to work at its peak, you need to be friends; you need to be invested in one another; you need to know one another;...
News from Haiti →
Please lend support, and if you pray…pray.
Doubt
Doubt is the enemy of creation. It causes you to judge yourself and to stop producing, whatever your medium. You can always tell which improviser doubts them self in a scene. Doubtful writers tend to not finish their work. Students who doubt their own abilities tend to do poorly. So, it seems, it might be good to try and eliminate doubt altogether. That is by no means easy—and surprisingly,...
Improv Exercises, 2
Thought today’s selection should be some of my favorite warm-ups. We do these in Hubris at the start of pretty much every practice.
Red Ball: Begin by standing in a circle. Someone creates a red ball, then sends it to someone by saying, “[name], red ball!” The receiver catches it and responds, “Red ball, thank you.” This continues until someone adds another ball of a...
UCB Podcast →
If you’re an improv nerd and you’re into the NY improv scene, this is definitely worth your time.
A Thought on Critique
Since I pitter around the creative arts a lot, I run into criticism pretty often. I think that it’s a very helpful and constructive action, actually; I also think a lot of criticism is done in malice. What makes criticism good or bad? I thought I’d blab on about that today.
Everyone is critic. That’s no surprise. If you aren’t filtering your everyday life through your...
Improv Exercises, 1
I thought it’d be fun to post some of my favorite improv exercises, partly because I feel like sharing them, and partly because I tend to forget everything that has ever happened (so I’ll have a record of them by posting them).
Here are three of my favorites to do between practices, when you’re by yourself but you want to keep sharp:
Dadaist Monologue: Open your eyes. Say the...
First!
All right, then. I guess this is it.
My name is Matt. I love improv, sketch, stand-up, gadgetry and Kurt Vonnegut, among other things (I also like food). I am well-meaning and I like people. I can be a bit of a dick. Sorry.
I study comedy at the Upright Citizen’s Brigade Training Center and creative writing at Hofstra University. I will blather on incoherently on any related topics if you...
