Level 1, Ross White, Class #3

I am continually impressed at the fact that no matter what group I find myself with in DSI, it is always fun. These people are talented and funny and just plain fun to be with. It’s no wonder we all love each other so much here. We’re pretty damn amazing.

We played Zip, Zap, Zop and changed it up, first with the beginning sounds, then phrases and then reactions to the phrases passed to us. We determined that Steve has a sweet ass and I was high. One of those things was not true. I don’t get high.

Oh, I forgot to mention that we were joined by our fearless leader, Zach. It’s always a treat to hang out with Zach, and it will be wonderful to have him home finally. He seemed impressed by the way Ross had conditioned us to be walking advertisements for Inside Improv. To achieve this, Ross and Zach used sophisticated brainwashing techniques, like giving us all a sense of ownership in the community so that we feel invested in its success. Very devious.

We warmed up some more with Bippity, Bippity, Bop. I had mad fun with this. It’s funny, I really hated this game whenever I played it at ComedyWorx. I don’t know why. But it was just so silly and fun last night, and I don’t think I will ever fail to enjoy it again. Yay! A new favorite warm-up.

We mirrored each other being big brother/little sister, anal retentive boss/slacker employee (Ross and Mike seemed somewhat familiar with that dynamic, though I guess their version would be slacker boss/slacker employee) and clean roommate/dirty roommate. Crazy fun. I love mirroring.

The focus of the evening was want and relationship. We circled up and took turns going around initiating and then naming each other in our responses. It is a wonder how a simple detail like a name can help characters know each other. Cultures all over the world believe that names have power. Maybe we endow each other with power by naming each other. It makes us think about our partner, who they are, and who we are to have the right to give them a name, and therefore an identity.

Maybe I spend way too much time thinking about this shit.

We played scenes where we had wants we needed to strive for. The three new guys played a scene where Paul was a woman and Steve and Joe were both alpha males trying to get her attention. They, after only two Level 1 classes, found the game of that scene and played it for all it was worth. They will be great players if they stick with us. I hope they do.

I got to play a fun “women in prison” scene with Lauren. I wound up being a lesbian again. I have been lesbians and blue-collar Northeastern guys an awful lot lately. Is it possible I am having an orientation conflict I am unaware of? If so, I guess it belongs in the other journal, huh?

We played Oscar Winning Moment and Love, Hate, Funny. I had never played that one before. I really felt good about the work I did and I enjoyed the games. It’s been a long time since I enjoyed short form games, and that’s too bad, because they’re fun when you let them be. Again, seeing things through fresh eyes changes one’s outlook.

I worked hard last night and managed to make some headway with anding. It is an uphill battle for me. I know what I want in scenes, but am afraid to ask. I do that in my offstage life, too, so I guess I’m playing real.

That makes me wonder. I recently made a decision to start asking for what I want in life. Is it possible that achieving that goal in my life is what I need to do to be able to achieve it on the stage? Maybe I am onto something here.