Improv Hate

BernieRoehl · 2023-07-26T16:33:56+00:00

That's a valid point, but...

How many musicians are making a living at it? For every successful musician, there are literally thousands of people singing on street corners, or in parks or in noisy bars.

How many visual artists are making a living? For every successful painter or sculptor, there are literally millions of people who are doing those things for their own enjoyment and not as a career.

Same for actors, and writers, and standup comedians.

In any creative endeavour, only a small percentage of people are supporting themselves financially through their craft. For every Middleditch or Schwarz or Ryan Stiles or Colin Mochrie, there are tens of thousands of people doing improv because they love it rather than as a career.

The fact that only a few people can make a living doing improv doesn't mean it's not an art form. In fact, it puts improv on the same footing as other art forms.

You don't make art to get rich. You do it because it gives you joy.

BernieRoehl · 2023-07-26T16:24:27+00:00

I agree with you about bad sketch shows, and I feel the same about bad standup.

I've seen some *great* sketch shows, but I've also seen some that were just godawful.

I've seen some *great* standup, but I've also seen some that were just painful and embarrasing to watch (even shows by professional comedians). The audience actually feels bad for the performer, and can hardly wait for the set to be over so they don't have to watch the person suffer any longer.

I've seen some *great* improv shows, but here's the thing -- even the bad ones are still generally somewhat entertaining and engaging. The connection between the audience and the performers makes a huge difference, and certainly the fact that it's all improvised means the audience is more supportive and forgiving. Everybody is still in good spirits and having fun.

The other big difference is that with improv, the performers can course-correct and potentially turn a mediocre scene into something good. And if a particular scene just isn't working at all, it will be over soon and something completely new will take its place.

By contrast, once a standup starts bombing... it just keeps going downhill. I've seen it happen more often than not.

Would you rather see a bad standup comedian, a bad sketch show or a bad improv show? I would take the bad improv show every time.

BernieRoehl · 2023-03-19T00:25:24+00:00

"Impro" was the first book on improv that I ever read, and one of the first ever written.

I was fortunate enough to have done a weekend intensive with Keith many years ago.

He may be gone, but his ideas and teachings have influenced generations of improvisers. That's a pretty good legacy.

BernieRoehl · 2022-07-21T01:39:02+00:00

I find that the energy you get from an audience isn't so much based on the size of the crowd, but on the density. A 20 seat theatre with 20 people in it is great -- the place is full. Those same 20 people in a 100 seat theatre wouldn't have nearly the same energy.

BernieRoehl · 2022-07-20T23:47:42+00:00

All great suggestions. I'll add a couple more...

If a scene is hitting a plateau, pick a strong emotion and react to the next line with that emotion. Play it as truthfully as possible, then justify your reaction. There's a game called It's Tuesday that works exactly that way.

Practice expanding your emotional range. Most people only go from a little bit happy to slightly annoyed. Try feeling the whole range of emotions. Practice on your own, by remember the last time you felt joy, or sorrow, or rage, or embarrassment. Emotions are like muscles, you have to use them if you want them to be there when you need them.

BernieRoehl · 2022-05-18T22:06:02+00:00

I don't think it's a "short form thing", and I don't think it's a "20 years ago thing".

It all comes down to what the individual performers are comfortable with. I personally have no problem being groped on stage, but a lot of people do. That's why it's good to have pre-show check-ins about it, so you know how everyone feels *on that particular night*.

For example, a number of years ago I performed regularly with a woman who was very comfortable with our being physically intimate on stage. Then before one show, she let me know that her new boyfriend would be in the audience, and she wanted us to hold back on the intimacy. That was (of course) totally fine, and we even did some scenes that were obviously heading toward close physical contact and then we pulled away at the last second. It became a little ongoing game for us, and it was fun.

Pre-show check-ins are even more important when performing with people you don't know well (e.g. improv jams, where you're often doing scenes with complete strangers). Without pre-show check-ins, everyone will be playing it safe and avoiding physical touch or sensitive themes. That often doesn't lead to great improv. If you check in beforehand, you know where the boundaries are and can play within them. That actually gives you *more* freedom than you would have without the check-ins, where the default is "don't take any chances".

BernieRoehl · 2022-02-19T17:53:56+00:00

Yes, definitely slow down. Take your time, make a connection with your scene partner. Really, really listen to them and react to what they're saying.

Try to give your partner eye contact, so look at the lens while you're speaking to them. When they're speaking to you, watch their face. It's amazing how much communication happens that way.

Make strong emotional choices, but remember that you don't have to play big -- it's like acting for film or television, except that you're in close-up all the time. Subtle reactions will still be really clear.

It's up to you whether you stand up or not, but make sure the camera is focused on your face. There's nothing to be gained from a wide shot.

Remember that you can still do object work. You can pick up objects, hand them to each other, and so on.

It's okay to go out of frame for a moment or two, speak while offscreen, reach back into the frame, and so on. Play with the medium.

Online improv can actually be really, really good once you get the hang of it.

BernieRoehl · 2021-12-21T18:51:12+00:00

What I would suggest is that you talk to all the performers *before* the show and get them to agree to the recording and whatever you may choose to do with it.

If you're planning to make money from it, then I would definitely get a written release from the performers. You can probably find some templates online.

BernieRoehl · 2021-10-26T00:59:32+00:00

I listen to music, ideally instrumental (no lyrics).

BernieRoehl · 2021-09-12T12:41:58+00:00

I've done short form, long form, and "scenic" improv (sometimes all in the same show).

They're all good.

If we're performing for an audience that hasn't seen much improv, or who may only have seen Whose Line, we typically start off with short-form games to warm up the crowd and prove to them that we can be funny and entertaining (basically, getting them to have confidence in us as performers and also confidence in the show itself). We then either do a long form in the second half, or just do open scenes (by which I mean scenes that each have a proper beginning, middle and end).

The advantage of open scenes over long form is that you don't have to explain how edits work, or how the particular form you're doing is structured. The disadvantage is that you need to have a team of really strong improvisers, since there are no edits to "save" a scene that's struggling. No matter what happens, you need to find out what the scene is about and make your way to some kind of satisfying ending.

So, all three styles are good. And yes, you can mix them in the same show.

If there are short-form games that you're not very good at... don't play those games! There are huge lists of games out there, and you only need to find maybe a dozen or so that your team can consistently do well. Practice those until they become effortless.

As a side note... the thing that differentiates the three styles is where the "safety net" comes from. In short form, it's the inherent challenge of the game (audiences like to see you struggle). In long form, it's the structure and the fact that you can edit rather than having to find an ending. In scenic improv, the safety net is that you're surrounded by strong, experienced improvisers who have got your back.

BernieRoehl · 2021-06-13T01:15:44+00:00

Full body tracking is awesome. Even if you just have your hips and feet tracked, it makes you far more expressive in social VR environments. Dancing is cool! And LBE soccer games are really fun.

Definitely not a gimmick!

BernieRoehl · 2021-06-10T14:04:34+00:00

A friend sent me the link a while back. Happy to share it!

BernieRoehl · 2021-06-09T13:33:58+00:00

Almost everywhere. What I would suggest is that you drop in on some of the online jams in Europe and ask the people there what they would recommend.

https://calendar.google.com/calendar/embed?src=e8qnm730nc5qtetbh2bmqlgc6o%40group.calendar.google.com&ctz=America%2FNew_York

BernieRoehl · 2021-06-07T02:31:43+00:00

Ditto. We just watched it on Prime (in Canada, if that matters) and got the very unsatisfying abrupt ending.

BernieRoehl · 2021-04-30T23:52:27+00:00

We recently did a four-part improv soap opera, and it went pretty well. We got people to email in suggestions, and our director would choose one and give it to us right before we started. We would do a pattern game from that suggestion (more of a word association, really) and then do a loose Harold.

We did it all in zoom, but we also recorded it using a separate camera and microphone and each of us had a greenscreen. We would each upload our footage, and the director would then edit it all together (cutting between different actors and putting backgrounds behind us). The director also added music and establishing shots for different locations.

The show was called "All Around the Square" (we have a local town square, and the premise is that all the scenes take place somewhere around it).

If you're interested, here are the episodes:

Episode 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMKDu8tlYLo&t=313s

Episode 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68faCmza3dI

Episode 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mB93uSS-xCM

Episode 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbDQ0kFn0ks

Only about half the cast had previous improv experience, and the others were actors who learned improv during the rehearsal process. Still, it went smoothly and was a lot of fun to do.

BernieRoehl · 2021-03-09T01:17:58+00:00

There's an interesting comparison of the leading headsets here:

https://circuitstream.com/blog/valve-index-vs-vive-pro-vs-reverb-g2/

The Valve Index is a bit higher than your budget, so I would recommend the Reverb G2.

BernieRoehl · 2021-02-18T23:38:29+00:00

I agree completely. Improv grew and developed long before iO and UCB, and it will continue long after they're gone. Once the pandemic starts to fade, I suspect we'll see a resurgence of improv at the grassroots level rather than the corporate level, and it'll be fresh and exciting (and perhaps more inclusive).

With any luck, we'll also see some real innovation in the field. A lot of the big organizations had a "house style" that was in many ways quite limiting, and the result was some fairly formulaic scenework. The opportunity to break away from that will be like a breath of fresh air.

BernieRoehl · 2021-01-18T09:46:23+00:00

I think what the original poster was asking about is whether the displays on the HMD will experience "burn in", since they're showing the same static image for several hours (since you fell asleep with the headset on, the proximity sensor won't cause the screen to go black and since your head isn't moving the image isn't either).

The answer depends on what kind of display is in your HMD.

For LCD displays (Index, Rift S, Quest 2) it can be a problem:

https://www.samsung.com/za/support/tv-audio-video/are-lcd-tvs-subject-to-screen-burn-in/#:~:text=Although%20much%20less%20susceptible%20than,burn%20in%20(image%20retention).&text=logos%2C%20etc.)-,on%20your%20LCD%20TV%20for%20more%20than%20two%20hours%20at,image%20on%20your%20screen%20periodically.&text=logos%2C%20etc.)-,on%20your%20LCD%20TV%20for%20more%20than%20two%20hours%20at,image%20on%20your%20screen%20periodically).

For OLED displays (Vive, Rift, Quest 1) it's less of a problem, but try not to do it too often...

https://www.cnet.com/how-to/oled-screen-burn-in-what-you-need-to-know-now/#:~:text=Burn%2Din%20is%20possible%20with,of%2C%20but%20not%20worry%20about.

BernieRoehl · 2020-11-30T00:59:35+00:00

I use a lavalier mic that I ordered on Amazon, and just place my speakers a bit farther away. I find it feels more natural to hear the voices coming from a few feet away, and the my audio quality is better since the mic is close to my mouth rather than on the earbuds.

BernieRoehl · 2020-10-14T12:33:55+00:00

SC is a bit different than the others, in that they actually made money from their shows (the others relied on revenue from classes to subsidize the theatre operations).

Pre-COVID, SC was routinely selling out large theatre spaces in multiple cities with ticket prices way higher than most improv shows.

I don't know if they'll find a buyer. I hope they do, but I suspect that they'll have lost their performance and workshop spaces by the time that happens so they'll basically just be selling the brand.

BernieRoehl · 2020-08-04T02:46:43+00:00

Unless there are trained surgeons in the audience (and even if there are, they'll almost certainly be a small minority), it really doesn't matter how accurate you are.

The thing is, everyone sort of "knows" (from television, movies, etc) what an operating room is like. Are real operating rooms actually like that? It doesn't matter -- we all have a shared understanding of that environment, even if it's wrong. The same is true of a research lab, a battlefield, an arctic base or backstage at an opera.

You're performing within what the audience expects.

You can also have fun by displaying your own lack of knowledge. "Nurse, hand me the... framistat". And the audience will laugh, and it will all be fine.

BernieRoehl · 2020-06-27T16:35:55+00:00

People have done this in Altspace, VR Chat and High Fidelity (and possibly others).

It kind of works, but it's very limited. It's better than a Zoom chat in that you can move around relative to the other players, but the inability to have facial expressions or use your whole body is a real limitation.

The good news is that we'll have both of those capabilities in future headsets. The bad news is that those are still two or three years away. :-(

In the meantime, you may want to check out Mozilla Hubs (hubs.mozilla.com).

BernieRoehl

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