Author: Michael

My friend Dion Flynn recently taught Mopco a master class on “The Tao of Improv.” At the start of the class, Dion gave us a $40,000 nugget. Dion is a gradate of NYU, with a BFA in theatre. He told us that throughout his training, which he figures cost him about $40.000, his teachers repeatedly tried to get one simple concept across. Once he got it, Dion said, he realized that is was THE most important concept he was given throughout his education. And then he gave it to us, free.

So I shall now pass on this pricy concept. Ready?

Relax your shoulders and breathe.

That’s it.

Dion shared that, and I flashed back many years, to being a freshman acting student playing theatre games in George Morrison’s class, listening to him admonish us to “get in touch with your breathing…be here now.”

New improvisers (actually many new actors, scripted or not) tend to think they must be DOING something, every second, on stage. So they create “characters”, by twisting their bodies, faces, and voices into awkward postures, and they create “reactions”, mimetic rituals that serve to prevent them from actually reacting to the environment. They create “business”, which is often intended to be funny, and isn’t. They feverishly dream up “clever” things to say, ignoring the natural, obvious replies that spring unaided into their heads.

As a result, they create stiff, stilted, semi-people, who are as awkward as they are boring. (I know. Harsh. But true.)

To stop doing this, and start just BEING, is a big, and critical, hurdle.

We are human beings, not human doings.

Viola Spolin, in her seminal book Improvisation for the Theatre, prescribed that we should show someone listening by…that’s right: listening. Not by cupping our hand to our ear, or bending forward at the waist while squinting our eyes. These are things people may naturally do as they try to listen—but they aren’t “listening.” Shakespeare spoke to the issue: “…but if you mouth it, as many of your players do,
I had as lief the town-crier spoke my lines.
Nor do not saw the air too much with your hand, thus,
but use all gently…” Hamlet, Act III sc ii

To be interesting on stage, be interested. Do less, be more, and; (all together now:) Relax your shoulders, and breathe.

A short time ago I saw this beautifully illustrated in a scripted play. Gorman Ruggiero, a friend from way back, mounted a production of Of Mice and Men using professional actors and local, amateur actors. It was an impressive production; the local amateurs performed handsomely. Yet for the most part, it was easy to pick out the amateurs, because they did the most. They posed, scratched, mugged; they had “character” voices. These performances were very effective—the actors in question portrayed the characters they were playing in a way that we the audience understood…if we really willingly suspended our disbelief. But they were clearly amateur performances. However, one of these amateurs, who happened to be my friend’s son, was different. As it happened, he was playing Lennie.

Many years ago I saw Of Mice and Men on Broadway, with James Earl Jones playing Lennie. I couldn’t stand Jones’ portrayal. Didn’t believe it. Probably because he was DOING so much to make us believe that he, James Earl Jones, an actor with natural dignity and high status, could be this simple-minded farm worker.

Thirty-odd years later, Brynn-Wolf Ruggiero, this young, untrained actor, was totally believable. I assumed, since he was Gorman’s son, that he had followed in his dad’s footsteps, and was professionally trained. After the show I learned that this was not the case. He is not an actor. Yet he was the best Lennie I have ever seen. Why, I wondered? I came up with a few answers. First, he didn’t do a cartoonish Lenny voice. He spoke, simply, when he had something to say. Next, he didn’t do much! He listened, when he was listening. When he pet a mouse, he pet the mouse. He didn’t “show” us Lennie’s love for soft things. He just pet the mouse.

I’ve never seen a Lenny do less. Never believed one more.

So, improvisers and script actors alike: When you don’t know what to do:
Relax your shoulders. Breathe. Allow your real reaction to happen. It not only isn’t “stupid” (as our censor likes to tell us, whispering away up there in our head) it is probably fascinating. To relax your shoulders and breathe is to say that you are here, now, and receiving. That’s always fascinating to watch.

Here’s an exercise that’s six days old. We had a lot of fun with it in rehearsal last Tuesday. What we ended up doing wasn’t exactly the exercise I intended to invent; yes-anding the offers my improvisers in the Mop & Bucket Co. made, I re-wrote the exercise a bit. Enjoy!

The Routine Routine
Two players.

A short scene (90 seconds, for example) is played twice. The scene should be of an unremarkable, oft-repeated event in the life of two people who know each other well—breakfast at home, husband and wife, for example.

The first run of the scene features the two players remarking on the things that they know are happening/will happen in the scene. (For example: Husband: “She’s going to brown the eggs too much again, ’cause she never remembers to find the jam in the fridge before she starts the eggs!” These remarks may be about the physical action or they may be about the interpersonal drama that unfolds every day between these characters, eg: Husband: I am reading the paper so that I won’t have to engage with her never-ending, monotonous chatter. Wife: I speak really quickly and enthusiastically, trying to get him engaged in our lives together.

The focus should be on creating the description of a completely known, uneventful slice of life , rich because it is loaded with varying kinds of color added by the two players.

The second time, the players play the scene normally, with dialogue. They should be encouraged to make no overt reference to any of the things mentioned in the first iteration; but honor the flow of the first scene with their actions.

NOTES:
This is a platform scene; the improvisers should resist the temptation to have the “but then one day” moment happen—the whole point is to fully explore the normal life prior to the event that sparks a drama.

The impulse to develop a scene based on ennui/antipathy will probably be strong; there is nothing wrong with this, but there are happily married couples, barbers who enjoy their work etc. Watch out for a repetition of the negative flavored scene, funny as it may at first seem.

Players must be particularly careful to listen and yes and each other in the first scene; they will find that they endow each other greatly during this stage, and shouldn’t block these offers.

This example uses two players. There is no reason that the exercise should be limited to two—one, three, or five should be possible.

UPDATE:
I didn’t realize it, but I borrowed a title! The title of this post is also the title of a great book by Robert Poynton , See his comment below. Thanks, Robert!

We talk a lot in improv about offers. What exactly do we mean?

Well: Everything is an offer. In any human interaction, there are multiple offers being made and either yes-anded or denied in any moment. Offers can be verbal, vocal-but-non-verbal, physical; they can be huge or tiny, conscious or unconscious.

Looking at the offers in the moment, and choosing the offer(s) to yes-and; this is the secret of the improvisors art.

This also explains how it is possible to disagree with the content of a scene partner’s statement, while still yes-anding the partner’s offer.

Try this experiment:

Stand in a neutral position. Your feet are about shoulder width apart, knees just slightly bent, hands hanging at your sides, spine erect but relaxed. Neutral. Now, shift your weight., Put a hand on one hip. Tilt your head slightly.

What have you done? You’ve made a HUGE offer, with just a slight change in posture. What does the offer mean to you? Is your posture now showing you to be bored? tired? interested? challenging?

(While we are experimenting: How did you do the above experiment? I did it sitting in a chair, typing. yet I could “see” the neutral position, and I could “see” the altered posture, which in my case I identified as meaning that I was challenging my scene partner, kind of an “oh yeah?” statement with my body. the ability to “see” our posture and facial expressions without a mirror is central to our ability to communicate….but that’s another blog post.)

New improvisors tend to over-offer. They don’t see their partner’s offers, and they don’t trust that they can simply yes-and a simple offer and have something delicious develop from it. So an improv scene between two amateurs is often a huge train wreck of offers, flying at each other and colliding in the performance space. There will be lots of overtalk (remember that term, too!) and little actual communication. Gags will abound. And the audience will probably be bored.

Advanced improvisors, on the other hand, will be keenly aware of their partner, and look to yes-and their partners, with the result that (sometimes, anyway) the scene they create seems absolutely magical.

Improv is more about RECEIVING than it is about BROADCASTING. And that is a hard concept to fully grasp, for many performers.

Improv, in the business/corporate world, is incredibly useful. If, in a business setting, you think like an improvisor, consciously look for the offers in the room, and choose the ones to yes-and, you’ll be on top of the situation in a dynamic and powerful way. We’ll talk about that more in a subsequent post: CHOOSING the offer to yes-and. This is a biggie. In scenes, and of course, in life. So stay tuned….

In the meantime, here’s a warmup for your group:

GETTING THE YES
Group stands in a circle. One player looks across the circle, facially indicating that they are asking permission to walk. The person they look at then says “Yes.” This allows the person who asked to walk towards the person who said “yes.” The second person now must receive permission from a third (getting the yes) so that she can get out of the space the first is about to occupy. And so on, players get the yes, walk towards the granter of the yes, one at a time.

Discussion: Was it hard not to start walking immediately after you GAVE the yes? Did it seem awkward to wait and GET the yes? Did it seem hard to get the attention of another to ask (silently, remember) for the yes? Why?

This is a warmup we use a lot before Mopco shows. It’s a very basic game, but it hugely improves our group focus and openness to offers.

A new session of Mopco improv classes will be starting soon. Look for the schedule at Mopco.org! 

Unfortunately, we live in a contentious society. People love to argue. It’s clear that to many of us, a great way to gain status in a given group is by shooting down a “dumb” idea. Or if not shooting down the idea altogether, poking holes in it–saying “yeah, but…” We’ve all done it.

In this piece about improv technique, I want to let you in on the secret of great improv. Ready?

Say “Yes, and…” instead of “Yeah, but…”

That’s it. Simple, yes. And transformative. And not easy.

Here’s the thing: When we say yes and, we open a door. We accept an offer (remember that word; it’s improv jargon, and an important word) made by our partner; in effect, we accept our partner.

Imagine that you go to the trouble of picking out a gift for someone’s birthday party. You think it is exactly their taste, you think they’re going to love it. You eagerly await the chance to give it to them. The day arrives, they open the wrapping paper, look at the gift, look at you with disdain, and say “Whatever were you thinking? I HATE this thing!” Can you imagine your feelings? At that point the rest of the visit would become a thing to be endured, rather than delighted in, no?

Maybe you would try to save face by claiming that the gift was a gag (Keep an eye on that word, too!) or maybe you would leave in a huff, or maybe you would sink into the floor in shame…whatever, you probably wouldn’t be having a great time.

Well, an improv scene is kinda like that birthday party. You can help to make the party delightful by accepting your partner’s offers, and building with them, or you can be a party pooper, and yes-but everything.

We run an exercise with new groups called yes-but, yes-and. If you are training a group, try this:

The small group (four to six is good) is tasked with planning a party (for their boss, a retiree, whatever.) they are told that money is no object. The one thing: Every response to an idea must begin with the words “Yes, but…”

Let them take turns, spinning ideas, all beginning with “yes, but…” Let them try to plan that party for a while, then ask them how they are doing. Probably, they’ll tell you they are doing great. Then ask them how the party planning is going. They’ll tell you they haven’t gotten very far at all.

Now, have them try again–you guessed it, this time the words to start each response with are “yes, and…”

See how this party turns out! Our experience is that we’d always rather attend the second party, never the first one.

Something to watch out for: The dreaded “Yes but in disguise!” It might present as something like this:

A: We could go for boat rides!
B: Yes, and the way these boats leak, we can all drown!

If you see that, in a group setting, the person who comes up with it might get a laugh. But watch the quality of creativity degrade once that little disguised but is unleashed.

OK. I hear you. You’re saying, OK, Michael. Great. I get it. But in real life, even in real scenes, I don’t always agree with what others have to say. Are you suggesting that I pretend to agree with a dumb idea, when I really don’t?

Nope. And that will be the topic of the next post: Everything is an Offer.

If you are interested in taking improv classes with the Mop & Bucket Co, a new session is starting soon! For details, go to www.mopco.org.

I’m Michael Burns, Artistic Director of The Mop & Bucket Theatre Co., a professional improv troupe based in the Capital District of NY State. Working solo and with my partner, Kat Koppett, I’ve trained many performers over the years. But we’ve also trained thousands of people of all ages, and from all walks of life, in the techniques of improv theatre.

We’ve worked with teachers, kids, corporate executives, sales teams, crisis workers, counselors, lawyers, college students, clergy, and you-name-it in a number of settings. And we keep hearing the same thing: “This stuff is amazing!”

I agree. I humbly propose that the techniques of improv theatre can change one’s life for the better, in no time at all. So in this and following posts, I am going to lay out the basics, and talk about the reasons for the basics. I’ll point out where various things can be helpful on stage and off, and I’ll give you exercises to try on your own.

What can you expect to find here?

As you read upcoming posts, you will find proven ways to:

• Improve your interpersonal communication skills
• Heighten your creativity
• Build your team
• Solve problems in more effective, faster, less cumbersome ways
• Overcome negativity (your own and others’)
• Develop yourself as an actor, artist, or writer
• have a lot of fun!

Wow. I am reading this list, and thinking here comes the sales pitch….But no. No pitch. Oh, we sell things, don’t get me wrong. And we’ll provide you with links and all that good stuff. In fact, for those of you who MUST believe I’ve got a sales agenda, there’s a link to Kat’s excellent book about improv as a business training tool at the end of this post. But link notwithstanding, this blog, I guarantee you, will provide you with a lot of meaningful, applicable, free content, with no catch.

Or I’ll refund every penny you haven’t spent.

So check back soon, and we’ll get started. While you’re waiting with bated breath, you can find out about upcoming Mop & Bucket Company shows at www.mopco.org .

Coming Up:
The power of Yes And.

And here’s that link: Kat Koppett’s Book, Training To Imagine
http://www.amazon.com/Training-Imagine-Improvisational-Techniques-Creativity/dp/1579220339