The SoCap Improv Comedy Podcast

Final Takeaway

Self consciousness means being in your head, ruled by fear. Playfulness means being in the moment and ruled by curiosity and fun.

What's the difference between the two and why does it matter?

We're told not to address the elephant in the room but I say 'nay'!

Why Vulnerability Works

Being Specific in your offers, leads to three main benefits...

1 - audiences find it relatable

2 - roots you in the present moment

and

3 - suggests character

The Power of the Smile

Flexibility, the ability to pivot, is a terrific skill to have on stage and off. Today, we look at reframing as a way to that.

If your audience - be that your scene partner(s), the people watching, or the chap at the dinner partner - is in doubt as to your intentions, the way forward will often be more difficult for you.

Status is great in comedy and in real life. You likely use it all the time and don't even know it.

It's one of those things that once you see, you see everywhere. Once you understand it, it'll make your life much better.

Remaining open to 'who' your character is, what they stand for, what they love, what they hate, and more, keeps you open and alive to your audience (on stage and in the real world). You can be flexible, surprise yourself, and learn about points of view different from your own.

Listening as a gateway to presence and reduced self-consciousness.

Mistakes scare the crap out of us, but they're usually only as bad as you think they are! They have wonderful upsides.

Starting a scene is one of, if not the most, difficult and critical things in improv. I discuss two of the ways to begin scenes and reveal my favourite!

In this week's episode Ralph talks about one reason everyone should take improv even if they never plan to get on a stage. In improv, you can roleplay different scenarios from your real/imagined life but also practice techniques that will make you a more effective communicator. One of those is ceasing to try to control what you can't control.

Falling in love. Hanging with good friends. Being in a moment. These are all times when we tend to lose ourselves, get over our self-consciousness, and forget about our selfish needs and serve an experience.

Whether on stage or in life real, try not to gaslights others. In improv, it often leads into the argument trap. In life, it escalates tension, shows others you're not listening, and more. Instead, treat the opinions of others as legitimately theirs and deal with it except in one situation.

Scenes in which the characters are strangers to each other come with an extra added level of difficulty. For that reason, I encourage improvisers to stay away from them. But, when they do happen to try and figure out what's at stake.

Having a process in a scene will help in a multitude of ways, however, there are also a couple major pitfalls with which to be aware.

A discussion of the third exercise I use when starting almost every class I teach. I Am A... is a game of patterns in which three people are elements within a certain pattern, category, etc. The more recognizable the pattern and elements, the better it is received.

Being process oriented, or systems based, allows one to make modifications if their goals aren't being realized. Conversely, relying on magical thinking to achieve a desired outcome can leave one at the mercy of a stochastic, unfeeling universe.

Improv has changed a lot in the 35 years since I started. One thing is that we are much more sensitive to people different than us and no longer mock people based on generalities about them. However, two areas have escaped that scrutiny and I have no idea why.

Dissonance is a powerful tool that can grab your audiences attention and make them laugh whether that's on stage or at a dinner party.

When in scenes, there is the actor and the character the actor/improviser is portraying. Sometimes, their goals are aligned but often they are not.

There are many reasons a scene, or interaction, may be boring. Here are the top two reasons why scenes can be boring and make you want to gouge out your eyes.

Stopping the action, or business of the scene, is generally destructive for a number of reasons. Even if your character doesn't like what they're doing or being asked to do, finding a justification to let it happen, will usually serve you well.

If 'A' is true, the opposite is also, likely, true. Improv allows one an opportunity to role play different options to stimuli thus giving you a chance to 'try the opposite'. Maybe you'll like it better.

If someone, or another character, says or does something that doesn't make sense to you - ask them to clarify it.

Laughter, especially laughter in your gut, is much more about bonding than appreciating the humour, or cleverness, of a line or situation.

What does it mean to 'Yes, and...'? It goes with what we're trying to actually DO when we improvise on stage and in real life.

As improvisers/storytellers, we get to create tertiary characters - people, animals, etc - and you will be judged based on how you treat your creations.

Playing with other human beings requires us to get out of our heads - give up our selfish needs - and serve the interaction/moment/relationship developing between and among us.

There are two general ways to create content whether in the format of the improv scene or 'out in the world'. There is a more solo act of invention or writing and the collaborative act of discovery or 'uncovery'. While both have their place, the latter usually leads to richer, more satisfying creations.

It's a good practice to start scenes - or interactions - with something already going on. One way, is to think up a line of dialogue or part of a context however these practices have certain pitfalls. A better choice is to pick something you can play and maintain independent of the situation in which you, or your character, find themselves.

The Association Game is a great warm up game for groups of 2 to 20. It helps people listen, say yes, get out of their heads, and build community. Not bad.

The Big Yes, the overaccepting of your scene partner(s) offer, can have so many benefits especially at the start of scenes or interactions with friends and people in the real world.

Falling into the argument trap (aka denial of reality, gaslighting, refusing to engage) is detrimental to improv and the act of playing and discovery with other players. What it is, why it is, and how to avoid it are the subjects of today's episode.

In stories, there are generally three types of conflict. Person vs person, US vs the world/environment, and internal conflict. All are useful but sometimes it benefits us to flip between them.

A great reason to take improv even if you never intend to perform is that it helps build empathy for your fellow human beings. Helps us to understand the journey of people completely unlike us with vastly different experiences.

There are many types of Duo Scenes. The most common is the Hero's Journey, Story Circle w. a Single Main Character, aka the Three Act Structure. What is it? How to recognize it?