Tuesday, May 25, 2004

Level 4 - Harold, Class #4, Ross White

Ok, where am I? A week behind, as usual, that’s where.

More than halfway through this class. I don’t feel like it should be that far. It used to feel like these classes lasted forever. Now they’re over too soon. And it’s made even worse by the fact that I missed the first one.

We worked on beats last Tuesday night. Different ways to play beats are… well, I already typed this last time I took a Harold class. From my entry of Feb 12th:

Quote:
We worked on beats tonight. On different ways to play second and third beats.
· Same characters at different times in their lives – a time jump.
· Same characters in different situations – ordinary, somewhat extraordinary, way over the top
· Same characters in different environments.
· Different characters in the same situation or with the same dynamic. You could be an animal in the second beat.

All well and good, but there is another: One strong character in completely different situations with different accompanying characters. I’ve seen Scott Jennings do this and it was lots of fun to watch. We did not actually manage to do this one in this class, but I am keeping it in my bag of tricks for later, because it is awesome.

We did first beats followed by several second beats to explore how many different possibilities there are. Then we did the first beat of two scenes, followed by three second beats, in no particular order.

One thing I noticed, well, I noticed two things. One is that I am better at second beats than I gave myself credit for, so yay!

Two, and infinitely more important, I bailed on my idea (my “deal” as Napier would say) when someone else came out with a different idea. Ok, that’s not the important part. I often do that. The important part was that I was aware of it immediately. I had already committed to the new thing and chose to stick with it because it was fun, but the very next beat, I came out with an initiation that walked all over something someone else had started to say, and I just kept right on with my deal. That warrants a very huge YAY!

YAY for me!

Level 4 - Harold, Class #4, Ross White

Ok, where am I? A week behind, as usual, that’s where.

More than halfway through this class. I don’t feel like it should be that far. It used to feel like these classes lasted forever. Now they’re over too soon. And it’s made even worse by the fact that I missed the first one.

We worked on beats last Tuesday night. Different ways to play beats are… well, I already typed this last time I took a Harold class. From my entry of Feb 12th:

Quote:
We worked on beats tonight. On different ways to play second and third beats.
· Same characters at different times in their lives – a time jump.
· Same characters in different situations – ordinary, somewhat extraordinary, way over the top
· Same characters in different environments.
· Different characters in the same situation or with the same dynamic. You could be an animal in the second beat.

All well and good, but there is another: One strong character in completely different situations with different accompanying characters. I’ve seen Scott Jennings do this and it was lots of fun to watch. We did not actually manage to do this one in this class, but I am keeping it in my bag of tricks for later, because it is awesome.

We did first beats followed by several second beats to explore how many different possibilities there are. Then we did the first beat of two scenes, followed by three second beats, in no particular order.

One thing I noticed, well, I noticed two things. One is that I am better at second beats than I gave myself credit for, so yay!

Two, and infinitely more important, I bailed on my idea (my “deal” as Napier would say) when someone else came out with a different idea. Ok, that’s not the important part. I often do that. The important part was that I was aware of it immediately. I had already committed to the new thing and chose to stick with it because it was fun, but the very next beat, I came out with an initiation that walked all over something someone else had started to say, and I just kept right on with my deal. That warrants a very huge YAY!

YAY for me!

Monday, May 24, 2004

Incubator practice, Week 7, Jon Karpinos coaching

May 24, 2004, 12:16 AM
Lisa P
Cat Lady Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: DSI Commune, NC
Posts: 1,856




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This has become a Sunday night ritual, but I guess it won’t be for long. Tomorrow will be the last of the Incubator practices. I’m glad I understand that fun, like happiness, is a decision. I’m glad I made the right decision.

Last Monday we began throwing the balls as usual, but it got really crazy and we just lost control of them. They were flying everywhere and hitting us in the face and head and back and boobs (that was me). As we stopped for a break, someone said it was like spherical suicide.

After all the discussion about trying to find a name (I tried to tell them it would come to us when it was time) I just turned around and said “You know that’s it, right?” And so it was. We are Spherical Suicide.

Jon had invited some friends to come watch us, and Ethan and Jeff came, too, and we rocked out with a couple of montages. It was so much fun, and I felt really good about it.

Afterwards we went to Armadillo Grill and Jon bought us each our beverage of choice and we just hung out and had a really good time. Bryan and Kit started dubbing for the muted news commentators and were hilarious. A good time was had by all.

And, yes, I kissed him back.

Sunday, May 16, 2004

Level 4 - Harold, Class #3, Ross White

Tuesday night we talked about group mind and all compared notes on how we had experienced it and how it affects our play. Pretty much everyone agreed that it has a lot to do with trust. We feel the group mind with people we have spent a lot of time with and really trust. A few of us described having felt connections with individuals we play with, group mind with a group of two, I guess.

Then we worked on group games. We worked on a bunch of different types of games. So many that I tried to write them all down but I know I missed some.

We did an invocation, which I had read about in Truth in Comedy, but if I had ever seen it I wasn’t aware of what it was. I really enjoyed it, though it felt strange at first. Kevlar used it for their opening on Friday night, and it was cool watching it in action after having done it in class.

We worked on hosted group games, which I enjoy participating in but am afraid to host, which is funny because in the last Harold class I hosted one and had a really good time doing it.

We played Slacker, which reminded me of the LaRonde. A two person scene starts and then someone leaves (either one of the original two or a walk on). Then the game follows the person who leaves into the next quick scene, someone leaves, we follow that person, and on and on. It was really fun, but we kept forgetting that our scenes were ending when someone left. It was like, “Ok, bye. Now, as I was saying…” I’d like to work on that one some more, because so much fun stuff can happen there.

We did supported two person scenes. I started one washing dishes with Laura and gossiping about the people in the other room, several of whom began to appear in the kitchen. That was fun, and after we talked about it more, I saw how much more fun it could be to see what was happening and really play the shit out of it.

We talked about monologues, but we didn’t do any. That’s just as well, since I remain convinced that my supply of stories is severely limited and I don’t want to use them all in class.

We finished up by invoking “Circus” (we misheard the suggestion of “Circuits”) and then doing three scenes and a game. It was really fun, and I felt so much better when we were done than I did after the last class. Good thing I didn’t decide to quit. I’d have missed out on the good stuff.

Tuesday, May 11, 2004

Incubator practice, Week 6, Jon Karpinos coaching

I’m tired, but I did improv tonight, so you’re stuck with me till I unwind.

We threw the balls again – I think we’ve done that almost every practice, and if I had my way, it would always be the start of every practice ever. It is so awesome when all the balls are in the air and everyone is just moving without thinking. This is the most perfect improv warmup ever.

Once we started playing, we all seemed to be just doing ourselves in different scenes. Jon had us get in a circle and play something like Hot Spot, only with characters instead of songs. It was fun. I was a Southern housewife and a dinosaur (not at the same time, but wouldn’t that be awesome?).

It must have worked, because after that we had some stronger characters. In one montage, I think almost all of us had accents. I was still feeling somewhat stymied by the in my head thing. It bugged me all weekend, including the TLAG show. I hope I get over it by tomorrow night, because I don’t want to waste any more time in the Level 4.

But this is not about the Level 4. It’s about Incubators. We perform in a couple of weeks. I am looking forward to this. I know a couple of us are stage virgins, but they’re ready, and we’ll rock out and have fun.

Oh, and I managed to make out with both Bryan and Kit, so all in all, it was a good practice.

Monday, May 10, 2004

Level 4 - Harold, Class #2, Ross White

Next up. I started the Level 4 Harold class Tuesday night (everyone else started last week while I was at the Buffett concert people watching and drinking beer and singing about sharks and volcanoes and cheeseburgers).

This was a hard night. I got in my head right at the start and just never did find my way out. I was ready to cry by the end of the second hour. We did a lot of exercises, and exercises always make me start thinking too hard about what I’m supposed to be doing. Improv death, but how else can you learn?

The class ate my brain and I don’t really remember a lot of it. I remember starting to have fun a couple times but then thinking “Game? Is that the game?” and then losing both the fun and the game. I just did crappy scenework all night long, but I know I can do better. I know I have done better. So I’m not quitting this week.

Maybe next week.

But probably not.

Sunday, May 9, 2004

Incubator practice, Week 5, Jon Karpinos coaching

Ok, I’m down two and will have another due tomorrow. Better get down to it.

I’ve done this class/practice group thing enough times to know that it’s all a little uncertain at first – everyone is trying to figure out where they fit and how everyone else plays. You wonder if it’s going to work at all. Then suddenly you gel. You realize you’re playing as a team, taking care of each other and anticipating each other. That’s when the real fun starts.

The fifth Incubator practice was the best night yet. We actually got down to business with montages and really worked together as a team. We had so much fun. I wish I could elaborate, but I’ve let too much time elapse and now I don’t remember all the wonderful stuff we did.

I do remember all of us working hard on the negativity problem. We didn’t argue nearly as much as we have been in past practices. I was really glad about that. It gets discouraging when all the scenes are about people not liking each other or insulting each other and never finding a way to agree about anything.

The most fun I had was in the montage we did where Kit and I started out as a couple in the crawlspace under a creepy house and then wound up in a later scene as that same couple, now bickering ghosts haunting the house.

What was cool was that as soon as Bryan established that he and Lauren were in that house, I think Kit and I both had the same idea at the same time. I started making ghost noises and Kit was suddenly at my elbow doing it too.

Me: [spooky voice]“This is my house.”[/spooky voice]
Kit: [spooky voice]“This is our house.”[/spooky voice]

Man, that was fun! I can’t wait till tomorrow night.