HEY EVERYBODY! START SOMETHING!
“Hey Everybody” initiations can lead to some pretty stilted scenes wherein the initiator forces the role of facilitator. If you’ve seen improvisational performance, you’ve seen these scenes.
“Ladies and gentlemen, [important person] is ready for your questions.”
“I gathered you all here today because…”
“Class! Class, pay attention (to me).”
Players rush out on stage to support the initiation, but Continue reading
ALL TOGETHER NOW
Using To The Ether mechanics we can build a pattern from a progression of personal games, establishing and heightening a scenic game in the pattern’s evolving repetition.
Using Help Desk mechanics, we can establish a pattern out of a scenic game, and repeat that pattern to heighten a personal game or theme.
Using Hey Everybody mechanics, we can develop a pattern from a scene’s disparate personal games, and then heighten all games through that pattern’s evolving repetition.
With these rubric game mechanics in our toolkit, we can confidently navigate any progression of moves. Continue reading
I like formats. Playing within The Harold’s dictated structure of Opening, 1A, 1B, 1C, Group Game, 2A, 2B, 2C, Group Game and 3A/B/C an improviser can spend less time on the wings worrying about what to initiate and more time focused on how to initiate.
I like rules. Rules free us to play Pavlovianly and enable audiences to engage, even subconsciously, in the pattern. Again, while rules indicate what gets said more creativity can be pumped into how what gets said gets said.
An improv group has a lot on its plate building something collaboratively out of nothing. A set format and established rules can be helpful spines to flesh out – useful maps on which to erect roadside attractions. An improv group though that is experienced in a wide swath of formats, a troupe that is working from the same rulebook, can grow to trust in its ability to be flexible.
Sure, at “Harold Night” every show’s content will be different and of-the-moment. And, sure, a known format, like The Armando, can foster a loyal crowd week after week. But. But if a group of improvisers who know each other, trust each other and share the same language can get on stage and follow each other into a format made up in-the-moment? That’s improv as improv does best.
If this Weakness is identified, the following posts may prove helpful in coaching to the Opportunity:
* Kick The Duck Red Rover
* Flexible Long Form “Formats”
* Establishing Organic Forms
21 – The group (without teacher) huddles in a tight circle and together counts to 21 with players contributing one number at a time. If two people speak at once, the group must start over.
Lessons:
• Breathe; Don’t rush to speak; Share focus.
• We are walking backward, making each subsequent step based on the trajectory laid down behind us
• Don’t rush to 21, just build each move on top of the one before it
• Don’t emphasize failure; there are no “mistakes” on stage, only what happens
• The audience only knows you’ve “messed up” if you tell them you have
Focus Outward: There is a ton of material for us to mine in our improv if we are committed to seeing it, hearing it and embracing it. We don’t need to be in our heads worried about making something happen once we learn how we can follow what’s already happening to a collaborative end.
Suggested Exercises:
ACTION PASS – In a circle, a player turns to his left and executes an action, any action. The next player observes that action and attempts to recreate it EXACTLY in turning to the player to their left.
Progression:
• Do it once through. Then immediately have them do it again focused on slowing down and really noticing all the nuances of a player’s action and working to repeat the action exactly.
• Call out people that are in their head and not focused outward
• Call attention to what makes them laugh – straight repetition, embracing something “accidental”
• Call out when someone tries to force the evolution for a laugh – this will happen after they get comfortable with a few “successes” under their belts
Lessons:
• See head to toe – take the time to really see all that players are giving you; Where are their toes pointed? How are their shoulders’ squared? What face are they making?
• See more than you’re given – the things a player does subconsciously or accidentally should be noticed and repeated; What did they do before and after the action?
• There are no mistakes/There is no “right” – there is only “what has happened” and “what’s happening now.”
• Repetition is heightening – we don’t need to create unrelated information when there is already material at play to mine. Collaborative evolution is a fun enough; don’t force difference for difference’s sake.
PHRASE PASS – Like Action Pass, but with a sentence.
Progression:
• Focusing on exactly what was given to you
• Pick just one thing (one word, emotion, inflection, character, etc.) and heighten it 2 notches
Lessons:
• Even with small things, we create a feedback loop that will heighten everything we do to places no one could imagine or achieve on their own
• You don’t have to force evolution – if everyone is concentrated on heightening what they see and hear, the phrase will naturally change. We want to continue embracing small changes to foster evolution instead of forcing mutations that separate an individual from the group.
ONE PERSON WALKING – Students spread out through the room. Without talking, one person has to be walking at any given time. Students have to see each other to know when to give and take focus.
Variations:
• Now two people are walking at a time. Now three. Build to everyone walking and then work back down to one person walking.
Lessons:
• Make eye contact
• Give and take focus
• Be willing to surrender focus to your scene partner
Objective: The aim of group game work is to establish a pattern as a group and heighten in a unified direction. For the group to be successful, individuals need to be focused outward on all that others are contributing and committed to serving the group’s progression with their own contributions. Continue reading
Group Mind: Having Group Mind is about immediate, enthusiastic acceptance. You need to show your fellow players that you respect and love their ideas, and trust that you can make a bold move and have your group respect and love it. “I trust you – I’m going to follow your ideas whatever they are, wherever they go, and I’m going to launch into my ideas and trust that you’ll follow me.” It is, however, not up to the group to earn this trust. You must surrender to the group. Give it your trust. Only then will the group get anywhere.
Suggested Exercises:
I AM SUPERMAN – Everyone stands in a circle. One at a time, each player will enter the circle, say “I am [NAME] and for the next 30 seconds, I am Superman” at which point the teacher will start a timer and the player does whatever they want until the time is up at which point everyone claps and the next player takes the circle. Players around the circle are NOT to interact with the player in the center. The player in the center should be encouraged to do something they’ve been told they need to do more of on stage. Do mime. Be emotional. Stand still. Doesn’t matter.
Lessons:
• Surrender to your group – let go of ego, let your team know that you’re ready and willing to commit to being awkward in front of them.
• You don’t need anyone – you can be on stage alone for 30 seconds or for five minutes. Commit to yourself. Don’t rely on meeting your scene partner center stage before the scene starts. You can be alone.
• It sucks to be alone – don’t let your fellow players suffer on stage alone. Get out there and support each other.
MIRRORING INTO BUZBY BURKLEY – everyone must commit to following and looking idiotic together. Get them to let go, trust each other and the teacher. Start everyone in paired lines, facing off as if looking into a mirror at one another. Have them start mirroring each other – head to toe, leading by following, heightening subconscious contributions, etc. – and have them keep going as you give more instructions.
Progression:
• Start with mirrored pairs
• Allow people to move closer and farther apart
• Allow people to move left and right, overlapping other mirrored pairs
• Allow people to switch the player they’re mirroring, making and breaking different groups
• Build to everyone moving around the room, switching mirroring, coming together, breaking apart – committing to following the crazy
Lessons:
• If everyone is “doing it” then no one looks dumb “doing it” – but the moment it becomes apparent that someone in the group is not committed then the audience doubts the entire endeavor.
• When you are “playing” others want to play with you – if you’re having fun and committing the audience will follow you no matter how silly you look
• That is the weirdest thing I’ll ever have you do – thank them for just doing what you asked them to without judgment; encourage them to remain that trusting throughout class
Simplifying and Clarifying: The sooner everyone is on the same page, the sooner we can heighten and evolve collaboratively.
Our main tool of simplification is Agreement – the more players that mirror/agree, the less different stuff there is on stage to negotiate.
The more people you’re playing with the clearer you have to be. Our main tool of clarification is Repetition. The first time something happens, it’s random; the second time is purposeful; the third time is expected.
A group of people can take the stage and confidently navigate chaos by focusing outward, seeking symmetries, making differences matter and clarifying sequences of cause and effect through repetition.
Through “Kick The Duck, Red Rover,” players learn to focus outward and make the random purposeful by mirroring, heightening and supporting one another.
KICK THE DUCK, REDROVER – “On the count of three, everyone will be playing a game without words. You will collaborate to establish focus and define the rules of your game. One, two, three, go!” This game starts with impossible chaos but becomes manageable and then successful as the teacher lays on instructions with each iteration and the group feels how to build collaboratively.
Progression/Lessons:
• Someone will use gibberish to direct other players’ actions – Stop them and remind them to lead by following
• Ask “How did the game start?” They will tell you about the first move that was made. Remind them that the game started when you said “go.” Have them return to their positions and postures when you said “go.” Ask them to focus outwardly on what is already there at that moment.
• Seek Symmetries – Are you standing near someone? Posed like someone? If you seem like you could be aligned with someone, align yourself with them; do what they do. This agreement fosters focus.
• Empower Asymmetries – How do the different groupings relate? Make the asymmetries that exist matter. How does one group react to the other? What does one group do to another?
• Have the group shake it off, walk around the room and then, when teacher says “go,” start a new game focused on Seeking Symmetries and Empowering Asymmetries.
• Stop and ask them to walk you through what happened, with players explaining what they saw and what they did in response. Tease out “When X happened, Y happened.”
• “What rules were you playing by?” We want players to observe cause-and-effect and seek to clarify the “rule” with repetition. Make another X happen to make another Y happen. If you see X happen again, make Y happen again. Work to notice not only what is happening, but how what happens relates to what happened before. And pay attention to what happens after. Even if there is no inherent connection between the first set of moves, by working to repeat that sequence we begin to establish rules and clarify group direction.
• Everyone is necessarily “playing by their own rules” – but if each individual is committed to simplifying and clarifying then a group direction will emerge.
• If something is not clear, don’t ignore it or play it half-assed, make it clearer – by heightening it or otherwise clarifying the move. If you’re lost, chances are the rest of the group is too. Don’t wait for someone else to clarify what’s going on; take responsibility yourself. The rest of the group will thank you.
• “Can you go back and start this game over?” When they’ve learned to seek symmetries, empower asymmetries, establish and repeat rules of cause and effect, it’s time to get them to Reset the Game Sequence. Have them go back to their initial starting positions and try to do the same game again exactly. It won’t be exact; it will evolve, but it will evolve organically because they are attempting to do it exactly.
• If you’re ever lost, return to what was done before – engage a rule again. Restart the sequence. Going through a game again will build clarity and simplifies the amount of stuff in play.
• After they have a great game, they are likely to have a game become super sloppy because they got too excited and stopped leading by following.
• Trust the pattern – don’t overcomplicate. The sooner everyone is on the same page, the sooner we can heighten and evolve collaboratively. My favorite aspect of the video above is how the group clearly starts to have fun with a very simple progression simply because they know how to play and can just play. We tend to overcomplicate unnecessarily. And then we end up in our heads trying to figure out how to navigate all our complications. Keep it simple and have fun with it.
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Here’s a video of me teaching the group the Kick The Duck, Red Rover exercise that culminates in the clip above. It’s long, containing many iterations of the exercise by the group with lots of rambling by me in between those iterations. But talk about a progression! Watch them grow:
Having Group Mind is about immediate, enthusiastic acceptance. You need to show your fellow players that you respect and love their ideas, and trust that you can make a bold move and have your group respect and love it. “I trust you – I’m going to follow your ideas whatever they are, wherever they go, and I’m going to launch into my ideas and trust that you’ll follow me.” It is, however, not up to the group to earn this trust. You must surrender to the group. Give it your trust. Only then will the group get anywhere.
MIRRORING INTO BUZBY BURKLEY – everyone must commit to following and looking idiotic together. Get them to let go, trust each other and the teacher. Start everyone in paired lines, facing off as if looking into a mirror at one another. Have them start mirroring each other – head to toe, leading by following, heightening subconscious contributions, etc. – and have them keep going as you give more instructions.
Progression:
• Start with mirrored pairs
• Allow people to move closer and farther apart
• Allow people to move left and right, overlapping other mirrored pairs
• Allow people to switch the player they’re mirroring, making and breaking different groups
• Build to everyone moving around the room, switching mirroring, coming together, breaking apart – committing to following the crazy
Lessons:
• If everyone is “doing it” then no one looks dumb “doing it” – but the moment it becomes apparent that someone in the group is not committed then the audience doubts the entire endeavor.
• When you are “playing” others want to play with you – if you’re having fun and committing the audience will follow you no matter how silly you look
• That is the weirdest thing I’ll ever have you do – thank them for just doing what you asked them to without judgment; encourage them to remain that trusting throughout class