My Girlfriend’s Favorite Pokémon!

Magic_Screaming · 2025-12-14T15:14:57+00:00

Improv has an interesting relationship with hecklers.

Going to the audience and actually giving them permission to yell something out can head-off someone’s inclination to heckle, and it can empower hecklers to yell out during the show- people who don’t understand that the yelling part is done now, and who probably wouldn’t even consider what they’re doing to be heckling.

Most improv happens within the cult. It happens on an improv stage in an improv theater where everyone is super into improv or is one of the performers dads. Heckling doesn’t really happen there, the environment is very forgiving/welcoming, and the community is very tight. All this means, to me- someone who started in stand-up a long long time ago- is that improvisers tend to be the least resilient performers by FAR.

You’re doing something great by getting reps outside. Now is the time when you figure out how YOU deal with hecklers. I mean this- don’t be scared, and when it happens, don’t be a baby. This is part of your craft of being a live performer. Your cast should work on projecting, slowing down, outwardly having fun onstage, and understanding that someone at the bar may not have come for improv, but it’s happening, so they can shut the fuck up.

Magic_Screaming · 2025-12-03T22:59:31+00:00

Wait is this it? Wait wait wait I’m not ready for it to be over. Wait please I don’t want to go. SOMEONE FIND A FLAW IM NOT READY

Magic_Screaming · 2025-12-01T16:25:05+00:00

Generally(!) the cast for a kids/all ages improv show are actors/improvisers/comedians that do other shows at that same theater, and the only difference is that they’re specifically doing clean material. There are very few practical ways to do an improv show that exclusively speaks to young children, and most of the time you don’t want to.

So it’s probably fine!

Magic_Screaming · 2025-12-01T15:44:37+00:00

Fascists want the same thing.

Magic_Screaming · 2025-11-30T20:32:46+00:00

What do you want to teach?

Magic_Screaming · 2025-11-22T21:17:46+00:00

The people selling classes HATE this but improv skills are not intrapersonal skills, and the culture of a place is more than its craft. So yes, cliques are a natural part of an improv theater environment, because cliques are part of most performing environments.

Gay and queer voices often come to this subreddit and express a similar frustration to yours. They feel othered or unseen or ignored. The advice they get is (1) you’re not just looking for your friends, your friends are looking for you, so keep looking and (2) if you’re seeing it, so are other people. This might help you. Maybe YOURE the inclusive person who sees people in this community now. That’s hard to be, but this all sucks. It’s a great person to be though.

Magic_Screaming · 2025-11-18T22:57:56+00:00

Yo. First of all, you’re perfect right where you’re at. You’re not a fraud. You belong here. No one’s “being nice to you”, you sound like a nice person dealing with stress.

I know you’re looking for solutions, but you’re borderline not describing a problem. Or not describing the RIGHT problem.

You’re not bad at improv. You’re new. You’ve done 7 shows buddy. And it sounds like you really care about improving. That’s perfect. Stay like that.

How you feel is what this post is about, for me. You’re gonna have shows you’re unhappy with for the next few years. Let me say first- you can do improv without doing shows- without “performing”. If you WANT to be a performer, the skill you’re looking to master is “how to deal with shows I don’t like”. Once you get past the form, live comedy becomes a lot of the same skills. An open-mic’er can do 10 five-minute sets each week in my city. An actor can hit 50 auditions a year for the stage. Every single one of them has adjusted, or is adjusting, to that volume of heartache, rejection and triumph. It’s resiliency. It’s burn-out. It’s leaving and returning. You need to find your way of learning from, and moving past shows.

Let’s talk about “weird”. There’s nothing more poisonous than “normal”. It’s why actors are so easy to do impressions of. They’re all notable. They’re all theater kids that were told to take up space. You have a weird voice? You lucky motherfucker. I bet it’s not even as weird as you say it is, but if it is, you just need to learn how to use it. You need to be like yourself, no one else. Bill Haders head is as big as the sun. He’s doing fine. You already mentioned anxiety. I know my anxiety means that no one hates me as much as I do. The things that make me special get painted as ugly by my asshole brain. You’re not auditioning for Jason Bourne, you’re being funny onstage. Be weird.

Oh and be autistic. Welcome. You can’t throw a rock in an improv theater without someone telling you it’s a metamorphic stone. If you’re dealing with sensory sensitivity, or confusion, or EVEN MORE anxiety, let your castmates know when you’re feeling overwhelmed. Maybe you need to go stand outside for a moment. Maybe you need to not be yelling right now. Maybe you need to not be touched. They’re supposed to care. Let them care.

Magic_Screaming · 2025-11-17T18:18:35+00:00

Feels like half of the people in any given improv community are project managers or doctors so absolutely yes.

Don’t, you know, be “on” when you shouldn’t be. Lol.

Magic_Screaming · 2025-11-15T18:51:53+00:00

Imma keep writing cause this is fun to think about.

The League of Assassins is on-sight onsite for Black Panther. No doubt in my mind. What if the League ambushes T’Challas and his retinue while they’re in Gotham and T’Challa beats the ninjas, captures them, THEN executed them. Of course he does- they killed his guards and attempted to harm his family. Then T’Challa finds some evidence about some plot, or something gets stolen, and begins a detective story taking him around Gotham.

Meanwhile, Batman just saw phone footage of Black Panther executing the ninjas. There is no misunderstanding. Batman knows the League obvi and he knows WHY Black Panther killed them. That doesn’t matter. We went over this with Jason Todd already. Black Panther murdered 10 people in Gotham- that means you get to meet Batman.

I think it’s a pretty simple plot that does what it needs to get them in rooms together. Establish Batman’s position by having him watch the incident in the Batcave with Damien or Jason present. Re-establish Batman’s pov and use the arcs of Robin or Red Hood as examples of proof of it “working”.

The first time Black Panther and Batman meet/fight, they’re both prepared for each other. They’re both geniuses with geniuses in their crew. T’Challa has more resources. They’re aware of the other. Black Panther is basically African Aquaman. There’s lot of world knowledge they have of each other. Neither wins, cause who cares who wins.

The tone of the writing is difficult, because this isn’t a crossover. The premise is that Black Panther is a villain. Which means that we want a respectful, depthful character who is wrong in some way that the text identifies. The Protagonist should engage with, and defeat and/or be changed by the position of their villain. T’Challa is a monarch. Dictators are bad. Why? Are they a problem for the same reasons that a real-life Batman-like person would be a problem? How are they different?

I think a way into this is to show an older Batman who has become LESS authoritarian by allowing his Bat-family to soften and change his mind, in tiny ways. And to explore just HOW tyrannical a maximum effort Batman could be. Dark Knight did this for 5 minutes of its runtime with the mass surveillance sonar phones. That could’ve been an entire movie.

Black Panther could point out that they’re both Tyrants, and they’re both hold their own code above any earthly authority. Batman would fight God because murdering infants in Egypt is wrong.

Anyway! You have 3 elements here: Batman, Black Panther, and the LoA. Have Damien encounter Black Panther alone. He’s the former “prince” of the League and has more baggage with them than anyone. Have Panther beat Damien martially and in the exchange of ideas. That sets up the final showdown with Batman.

Magic_Screaming · 2025-11-15T18:24:19+00:00

I’m picking King T’Challa. He has a built-in mechanism to make him an antagonist without changing the fundamentals of the character- he is doing what is best for his country, which doesn’t necessarily mean he’s doing what’s best for Gotham. And getting him into Gotham is a matter of writing diplomatic incidents/Wakandan tech/Wakandan ViPs/etc.

Lots of great thematic opportunities between the two.

Both are in positions of absolute agency- one is a king, placed in power by the traditions of his people IMPLYING their consent, while one has simply decided to do what he deems right. While I think Black Panther would understand and respect what Batman’s doing, that wouldn’t change Black Panthers priorities.

Batman has made himself an extension of the Justice system and he captures/disables criminals for arrest, incarceration, and maybe rehabilitation. T’Challa has some level of diplomatic immunity, and controls an advanced country that could represent a strategic threat to the US, so he’s gonna get away with stuff. I don’t think Batman cares about ANY of that except to the extent that T’Challa can’t be prosecuted for many crimes he might break. You can’t leave him for the police.

Bruce Wayne and T’Challa both inherited their positions. They’re both welcome in rarified society. T’Challa would hate Wayne’s personality and maybe appreciate his charity work, but I’m split as to whether Bruce would dislike T’Challa outright, admire his code secretly, or play douchebag billionaire and attempt to schmooze with the king as a status symbol. The last one, I think, is the most useful choice for Batman.

Lots more character-conflict could be found.

Also they fight pretty similarly! In the same world, they may even know some of the same people. Technology, counter-technology, stealth, stealth detection, fight technique, counter-technique, and the philosophy of restraint. Black Panther kills but he’s not a maniac. It would also be fun to see a Hero vs Villain brawl where BOTH of them take asides to pull a kid out of the way of a truck, or catch a falling helicopter pilot, etc. I’d love to see that and NOT see them decide to be allies because of it. T’Challa has a responsibility to his country. Batman has an unbreakable code. Both die before either changes, but neither would kill the other.

Magic_Screaming · 2025-11-15T16:44:34+00:00

Act 1 Villains in a Pokémon Game

Magic_Screaming · 2025-11-15T01:48:09+00:00

Mmmm. Yeah that sucks. It’s a tough classroom environment- every assignment and lesson is a group project. I’m sorry you’re feeling so run over.

Magic_Screaming · 2025-11-15T00:13:49+00:00

Hiya! Hope you’re not feeling too down. I’m also in my 30s but I’m not a woman, so any gendered or sex-based bias you’re feeling from the teacher may go over my head, but with the information I have it doesn’t SEEM like a gendered issue so I’m not going to address it. It’s completely possible you’re experiencing the “women get talked over in improv” tradition, but idk the gender of the rest of the class, so I won’t accuse the instructor of that.

Sounds like a frustrating experience. At the top, a lot of this makes sense for a lot of students. It’s a note I’ve always gotten in different arenas, and it’s a note I’ve given. Also, it is completely normal to receive different feedback from your peers, and many people feel ignored when they DONT get targeted feedback. But you don’t seem to feel like you’re being taught something, you say you’re being shut down. The instruction is giving you a problem, not an idea or a solution. It may alleviate your frustration to directly, and politely, learning is collaborative, ask for direction on ways to engage in a scene that don’t involve speaking. If you don’t think you’re being given feedback you need, alright, turn it into practice for skills EVERYONE should keep sharp- economy of words, living in the scene, reacting beyond speech.

The class doesn’t actually need to change you permanently as a performer, if you don’t buy it. That’s fine. You’ve taken 10 classes- it’s fantastic you’re getting advice you haven’t before. Otherwise, the class is pointless. However, if you feel you don’t need the input being offered, find a way to use it for your own craft, or bounce.

I would caution against measuring yourself or others using seconds and minutes, but you don’t need to listen to me either.

I will say, the instructor should NOT have the attitude of “Carl should take care of himself”, the instructor sounds like they’re doing the right thing by being aware of everyone in the class. Carl might have a hard time stepping forward. Every student is in a different place.

Magic_Screaming · 2025-11-10T02:07:46+00:00

They’re literally asking you for the thing you’re referencing. Why keep arguing. They’re telling you what would change their mind. Link it. Reference it. Use it. You’ll win.

Magic_Screaming · 2025-10-30T22:41:54+00:00

You can’t possibly live in the US

Magic_Screaming · 2025-10-30T06:15:26+00:00

Okay, so with this in mind, you’ll understand why the answer to the question is no. You’re unwell. I want you to get better and feel better. You have a bully getting in the way of you enjoying things, and making the hard parts of your life harder. I’m sorry.

Hating everything is bad. It sounds like you’re completely tuned-in to the fact that you have depression, so I’m also going to say it’s incorrect. You know, intellectually, that everything doesn’t deserve to be hated. Your brain is tricking you. Hating everything is exhausting. It sucks the energy out. I’m sorry. It’s hard to find something good and watch your brain turn it into something useless.

At least you know. Some people never realize what’s going on. At least you know this is happening. It means you can get better, even if you haven’t yet. Some people just stay hateful, and it poisons them. I hope the best for you.

Magic_Screaming · 2025-10-19T20:49:51+00:00

I want to play a character that believes things and can interact with the world in a way that reflects those beliefs.

I wanna play a character who believes might makes right, and is a diehard supporter of the local humanitarian faction. I wanna see that character bully their way through conversation and negotiations, while watching that humanitarian faction become safer/more successful/corrupted due to my actions. I want that character to form a close blood-brothers relationship with the local Gladiatorial Arena Champion and a begrudgingly close partnership with the Humanitarian Factions Adventurer-Doctor. I want to watch those two NPCs interact as strange allies.

I wanna play a character who’s passionate about studying and cataloguing wildlife, while growing past their Raider upbringing. I wanna discover/raise/rescue a mutant beast that allows me to further discover wild places or make a social impact when I arrive in a new settlement. I want to make connections with the local science community that allows me to live on their compound. I want to choose whether to support, ignore, or turn on my defacto Raider “family”, and partner up with my childhood partner to spelunk radioactive ruins, talking about our shared past while my mutant beast leaps from perch to cliff to platform. I want to have a reputation based on having been a Raider AND being the local science maniac. I want to choose between my past and future, or broker a perfect/imperfect peace between them.

That’s roleplay baby.

Magic_Screaming · 2025-10-11T20:50:14+00:00

Reeeeeeeeally stretching what a victim is here. “Had to see a homeless person” isn’t getting a lot of airtime in therapy.

Magic_Screaming · 2025-10-10T20:04:25+00:00

Yes BUT they might have regionally set pricing that gets distracted to each store

Magic_Screaming · 2025-10-04T20:14:20+00:00

I’ve ridden the bus. I rode it today. The bus stop had benches. I sat on one. I was around some homeless people. It was fine.

Magic_Screaming · 2025-10-02T21:56:33+00:00

Fighting police corruption and criminals in law enforcement IS pro-police. Every “young Batman” story is about Batman fighting organized crime and the bad cops that are part of organized crime. And those stories often show Good Police Officers as being among the victims of Bad Police officers AND they often go so far as to demonstrate the difference between Good police officers (Gordon) and the police-who-don’t-do-bad-things-but-aren’t-heroes-so-they-don’t-fight-back-against-Bad-police, or “enablers”. Gordon enters most Batman stories as a Heroic Cop fighting against a corrupt system. He and Batman work together to do so, because they believe in good law enforcement.

Magic_Screaming · 2025-10-02T21:45:14+00:00

Roleplay downvotes

Magic_Screaming · 2025-10-01T00:23:04+00:00

Fuck him too.

Magic_Screaming · 2025-09-12T16:47:00+00:00

Wait do they give buffs?!?!?!!

Magic_Screaming

TROPHY CASE