There is nothing wrong with agreement. It can be quite nice when someone agrees with your ideas. But there’s also nothing wrong with disagreement, either. Both are surface-level phenomenon.
Category: Link
I am my own worst enemy→
Most of the time, we need to get out of our own way to start creating things we really want to make. It’s never a matter of banishing the fears and doubts we have, because those never go away. It’s more a matter of moving forward in spite of them.
What to Do If There is a Stage Hog in Your Improv Class→
Simply labeling someone a “stage hog” doesn’t label the problem. It places blame. Blaming slows everything down.
Playing Fast = Playing Big→
What I noticed is that the less skilled players took tons of quick baby steps but didn’t get anywhere. The more skilled players took bigger steps, but at a normal pace, and got a lot farther.
Redefinding Group Mind→
Ooh, this is some good stuff.
How to Beat Improv Foot→
Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch, We Built an Improv Form→
Some cool stuff about building long-forms based on television shows.
A Tale of Two Shows→
Despite the grief we give ourselves for poorly timed edits and missed game moves, it’s the other show that matters more. The one about people just making things up as the go. The one about people pushing boundaries, taking risks, experimenting and being brave enough to follow the fun.
This isn’t sketch or theater. The audience knowingly came to see improv. They want to see both kinds of shows. A bunch of people making things up (and sometimes failing) isn’t a bad thing. It’s what makes our art form unique. And when everything comes together, it’s what makes improv seem like magic.
Why Isn’t Your Improv Theater Diverse?→
It’s really a simple principle, if you want black people to be a part of your theater, ask them to be a part of your theater. I’m not being glib. If your audience comes to a show and they only see young, straight, white males on stage, and they aren’t a young, straight, white male, they are less likely to sign up for classes or sign up for auditions. Hell, they are less likely to come back to see another show.
Edit: Some interesting discussion on the subject at Reddit.
That’s Racist!→
What I try to explain to UCB 201 students is that every subject should be able to be intelligently explored with comedy. The key there though is intelligently. The comedy should not be coming from the sheer shock value of the subject matter. There needs to be a take on it. In 201 students are working towards being able to reflect real life honestly and then look for the first unusual thing, the funny or interesting idea that they can build a Game from. That means that you can portray a racist person because there are racist people in real life, but that alone can’t be the unusual thing.