This whole process of learning improv is a lot more involved than just figuring out what works and what doesn’t. I mean, if that was the case anyone could just pick up a textbook and learn the skills theoretically. Of course it doesn’t work that way. In the end, each person is going to approach it from a different angle. Personal approaches will be coloured from personal experiences as well as personality quirks that are unique to that person. As such, depending on who you end up playing with, you might have to adjust your methods just to get scenes to click, right?
This is all leading me to reflect on what I bring to the table and whether or not that’s worked for me so far. From my point of view, I believe that I am capable of bringing a high level of energy into a scene. I enjoy dipping into that hidden personal reservoir of vigour and just letting it all out. If the scene calls for it, I will be the loudest person on the stage. I will be the noisemaker and can shamelessly make guttural noises for everyone’s consumption. I have trouble controlling it, but my face is very expressive. I’m very capable of sending strong messages and offers with just my eyes. When someone starts a scene and makes an initial offer, I’m good at responding and adding necessary detail.
Overall, it would seem like these traits and skills are entirely useful, but that’s not always the case. If the people I’m in a scene with are easily intimidated, they tend to back down far too easily. If the the people that start a scene aren’t making offers that can help push the things forward, instead of making a suggestion myself I often end up waiting on them to do something. That can lead to paralysis all around. If I choose to play the loud person, sometimes I might end up yelling over someone and running over their suggestions.
All in all, I do my best to adapt to whatever group I’m with. Some nights things just don’t click. When everything works though, the results are magical. This past Thursday I was invited to take part in a classmate’s show which was taking place in a bar downtown. Small venue, but it was a perfect chance to work on my skills further. I’ve seen the show before, so I had some idea of how everyone played. Still, I felt hesitant because I didn’t just want to trample all over everyone. By the time the second half of the show rolled around and we were warmed up, everything just worked. There was no ego. Instead of just trying to advance scenes for personal profit, we were all working on finding what would make the scene work, which makes everyone look great. Usually I feel a sense of regret after shows just because I tend to look back wishing that I had done X or Y instead of Z. After this show though, yes, there were some things that fell flat, but I didn’t over-analyze myself. How rare! In this case, if I had given myself a report card I would have written “plays well with others.” Things won’t always be this way, but the fact that having a good show like this is even a possibility makes me feel like I’m on the right track, and that makes me happy.
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