iamachilles

I’m teaching my Straightman workshop again this year. I’ve taught this for the past 3 years and it’s always a #funtime.

The course description listed on the site was wrong before, but now it’s correct! DO EEET

improvnonsense:

“Security Questions” is about a guy who is not able to answer any of the pre-set questions that guard his password. This is inspired by real life security questions like these:

I think I can answer ONE of those with confidence?

If “Liberty Plaza” was our labor of love…

I like these series of posts Will has done about Small Men. And, like Rachael says, it’s SO beneficial for beginner sketch students to read for a few reasons.

In the beginning, students feel so protective of their sketches and are defensive to notes because 1. they’re not used to receiving feedback on their work so they make that version of the sketch too precious and 2. they’ve poured all their ideas into that one sketch that any note on it feels like an attack on their own sense of humor.

In Will’s posts about Small Men, you see how they integrated the feedback they received from their director (Delaney) and RE-WRITE based on those notes. Then they re-write some more. Then more feedback. And more re-writes. Feedback. Etc.

They’re secure enough in the WORK and process of re-writing to change what needs to be changed and confident enough in their own sense of humor to push for things that are a little more self-indulgent. (It seemed that any time they pushed for something, it was to define their own taste, not because they felt like the sketches couldn’t be better.)

I was in a sketch class with a dude who was constantly shutting down the teacher’s notes by saying “I don’t want to change it,” “Nah, I don’t think so,” and simply “Nooooooo.” He was doing it not because of confidence, either, but insecurity. And his sketches never progressed beyond the first draft.

To sum up:

1. The first draft is the worst draft
2. Listen to your director
3. RE-WRITE
4. This isn’t the only sketch you’ll work on
5. Your taste + Your work = Your voice

jonbershad:

chrisgriswold:

sarahjburton:

chrisreblogs:

Reading this I kept thinking “Seitz is over blowing that…” and then by the next word I was thinking “Yes. Yes. I agree. That is what I was thinking.”

The is the best, most accurate review of Arrested Development Season 4 that I have read.  Don’t read Mike Hale’s review of the season in the NYT - he did the review before watching half of the season. How do you review a season before watching it all? So lazy, so half-assed.

I’m still digesting this thing. It’s living in my head right now.

I absolutely loved season four.

If a TV show shoots for A+’s all the time, everyone focuses on the couple of episodes it got a C and accuse it of being a disaster.

Meanwhile, if a hacky show never shoots for anything above a B- and always succeeds, we declare it a masterpiece and have big weepy celebrations when it ends its billion-season run.

Season 4 is a piece of art.