Tag: connection

Patrick’s Improv Reflections – 10/14/15 Show→

When you’re being led by discovery, you’re analyzing your scene partner for information.  You aren’t looking internally for ideas, you’re looking externally at your scene partner to see how they’re reacting, to see what offers they’re making (both big, obvious and verbal gestures, and smaller body language offers).  You’re then using those offers and making intuitive response offers.  That makes connection with your scene partner much easier, as what they’re receiving from you is based on what they’re giving out.  They aren’t being fed any strange curve-balls.

You start with scenes, but once a few scenes have happened, a show is being created. And you start opening your awareness–I’m not only aware of the scenes I’m in, but how they connect to one another and what pattern they’re creating. You start thinking, ‘How can I best fill in the rest of this show?’ You start playing the piece.
Dan Bakkedahl on Miles Stroth’s show philosophy. More here.

There’s sometimes psychological reasons people tell stories badly. One element of good storying is being emotionally connected to the words you’re saying, but if people are in denial about something, or suppressing the emotions involved, the story can sound somehow flat and affectless.
Alex Blumberg of This American Life/Gimlet Media talking about what makes stories work for radio. Replace stories with scenes and radio with improv shows, and well… More at Transom.