March 2010 Challenge: Notes

For my first year or so of taking classes, I took notes in my classes.  A lot of what I jotted down were literally the “rules” of improv that many of us know — “Don’t be coy,” “Explore your environment,” “Justify unusual behavior,” etc. 

Other notes, however, were phrased in such a manner that they illuminated specific concepts in cool ways.  Here are some of those early demystifying notes.

“Don’t make jokes.  Jokes are penny stocks in improv.  Truthful moments are blue chips.” — James Eason

“‘Gay’ isn’t a game.” — Seth Morris

“The scene is not about winning or losing.  It’s about finding out who you are to each other.” — Armando Diaz

Here are a bunch from Peter Gwinn:

“If you’re not having fun in a scene, do whatever is necessary to amuse yourself.”

“Game isn’t complicated.  ‘Game’ is just ‘My character does something that makes your character do something.’  That’s it.”

“Whenever you feel in your head, lower the volume inside your head and focus on what your scene partner is doing.”

“When something unusual comes up, treat it as unusual.  Don’t be offended by it.”

Some from Christina Gausas:

“If you feel yourself talking about the past or future, return to the present by using your five senses: see, smell, hear, taste, and hear.”

“When you play characters, endow them with good improv skills.”

“Don’t talk each other out of that which makes you great.”

“Play with joy.”

A whole bunch from Michael Delaney:

“Be excellent.”

“In theater/acting, we have the General and the Specific.  General is bullshit, Specific is where it’s at.”

“Do good theater and act your little hearts out.”

“Agreement is a powerful choice.  Choose to use it.”

“Agreement plus our playing to the top of our intelligence gives us improvisers That Thing we don’t have with a script.”

“Be in the room with the thing you fear.”

“Plot emphasizes what will happen.  Game emphasizes what is happening now.”

“Wait aggressively.”

A couple from a long-time coach, Charlie Sanders:

“You should be exhausted mentally and physically after doing a Harold.”

“Don’t be pussies.”

And even though I have never met the man, here’s something I read that first year from a book on acting by David Mamet, and it’s definitely applicable to improv:

“Nothing is invented and nothing is denied.”

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This is part of my March 2010 Challenge.  More information here.