I originally expected yesterday’s improv class to cover the topic of emotion and how to connect in a scene. Right at the beginning of the class though the teacher decided to switch topics and cover status instead. I was a bit apprehensive at first when I heard that we were looking at this topic because of the potential for ugliness and stereotypes. I quickly dropped the fear though because it became apparent pretty quickly that society functions as it does because of differing status. There are people of high status, and people of low status. The majority of people will be somewhere in between the extremes and will raise or lower themselves depending on the situation. Interactions with each other are kind of predicated on our perceived status levels, right? In terms of improv, knowing how to play status and how people at different levels are bound to interact tends to make scenes all that more interesting.
There are a good number of simple truths about status and what people see and would like to see. In general, what type of character do we like to see on TV or in a movie? We tend to gravitate toward the underdogs, right? We’re interested in seeing the underdogs rise and seeing the people at the top fall. In terms of a scene, it seems to be a good setup that will make the audience feel good. Sure, it makes sense but I don’t think I would have thought of something like that until the teacher mentioned it.
Now, people of high status are usually in control of a situation, right? A person in control does not need to act in anger of forcefully. There’s a calm assertiveness about that type of position. For a character that’s close to the top of the heap but not quite there, there should probably me a bit more forcefulness in terms of interactions. Such a person tends to be that way to make them seem higher status than they probably would be. That person wants to act like he or she has control. A person of high status should need to act that way–they just are in control.
On the flip side, people totally on the bottom of the pile should be reserved and really focused inwardly. They would act like the world is out to get them and should be afraid to interact with it. Someone close to the bottom would be fearful and reserved, but probably wouldn’t be afraid to reach out here and there. There might be a fear of a bad reaction, but at least that person would have done something. So therein lies the difference. A person of low to middle status wouldn’t be so sure of himself or herself but might act in hopes of achieving something higher. A person who’s at the bottom probably wouldn’t even try.
So yeah, that’s some of what I took in on Monday. In truth, it’s normal for us to be in the middle and show traits one way or another. In terms of improv knowing how things tend to play out can help to create more truthful scenes which are more engaging in the end.
Have I mentioned lately how much I enjoy this activity?
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