January 2012
7 posts
natedern asked: Have you ever heard anyone discuss an "improv order of operations"? In high school math we have the acronym PEMDAS to help us remember that the rules must be followed in a certain order. I think it might be useful if we came up with one for improv students. I've found that when I'm teaching or coaching and I note someone on disagreement, they'll say, "Well, I was...
The Daily Grace: I'm an Improviser! Grab Me!! →
thedailygrace:
Maybe I’m in a little bit of bad mood today. Maybe I’ve just had too much caffeine. Maybe I’m nervous about the way too many things I have going on today but I just want to talk for a minute about the perception of Improvisers being open and fair game for anything from anyone at all times. Am I…
You should never have to put up with anything you don’t like on an...
Teaching Interviews: Chris Gethard, Part 2 of 2
Part 2 of an interview with Chris Gethard about teaching improv. I asked him for general advice for teachers/coaches. I added the boldface emphasis.
Speak in universals - if you tell two people why their scene is off, two people can get something from it. If you tell those two people how what they’re doing is emblematic of common problems and tendencies, everyone in the room can learn from...
Teaching Interviews: Chris Gethard, Part 1 of 2
This is a series in which I ask great improv teachers to write down their thoughts on teaching improv. We start with Chris Gethard, who was the second person to ever run the UCBT-NY school after Kevin Mullaney.
Gethard wrote the first full curriculum for the school, taught dozens and dozens of very popular classes at all levels and also coached some of the best teams to ever develop at the...
Play It Real? A Police State
Watching the Improv Jam two weeks ago, sitting with Neil Casey while a scene started where someone did a tag out that transported characters from a fast food restaurant to a police interrogation room. Neil leaned over and said this to me:
“I’ve noticed that for students under 25 a lot of them walk on or tag out as the police coming to shut things down for being out of line. These kids...
Know Everything!
I get in trouble for saying that because I deliberately say it in a jerk manner. KNOW EVERYTHING. When someone says “I didn’t know the movie my partner was mentioning” I’ll sometimes say “Well, you don’t HAVE to know it but it would be easier if you knew it.”
And then people are like “Why do I have to like Star Wars?”
And I say “Who...
Funny, Smart and No
Here’s things that I bet upper level improv teachers/coaches would be uncomfortable to say:
“Being funny is good in improv!”
“Characters should feel comfortable saying no!”
“You should know a lot of things if you want to be a good improviser!”
But all of these things are true.
(NOT for beginning improvisers. These sentences would be destructive in a...