I have to confess, I was late to class. Eep! But, in my defense, I was only late because I was getting things going at our first-ever BNW bike rally! Check out the photos on our Facebook page. Next one is one June 27, so mark your calendar.
Once I sprinted into the classroom, it was our standard warmups, then a circle exercise building on an initial statement with “yes, and” statements.
Then we went on to the new activities, introducing the theme of the class. This week, it was characters, how to develop them and stick with them.
First, Corey had us start walking around and focusing on a body part (leg, arm, etc). Then, he asked us to accentuate or exaggerate that part’s movement as we continued to walk around. After that, he asked us to begin leading with that body part out ahead of us as we walked. Lastly, we had to attach a particular emotion and a character name inspired by that emotion, all inspired by that one exaggerated body part. Once this was all established, Corey asked us questions, one by one, like “What’s your dream in life?” or “Why are you sad?” Some people had a hard time being specific because they didn’t know their characters that well, which highlighted how hard it is to be in a scene with someone who doesn’t give you any info or jumping off points. (It reminded me a lot of the stereotypical teenager, where when Mom asks “what did you do in school today?” he answers “nothing.”)
The second part of that exercise started the same way, except we had to choose a different body part to emphasize and exaggerate while walking. This time, though, you had to come up with a noise to go with it, instead of an emotion. Lastly, we had to make up a word or line of dialogue that we would fit within that noise. Once everyone was yelling/laughing/caw-ing their line, Corey would stop two people, who would then have to yell/laugh/caw their lines to each other the way they’d been doing it in the group, and make a quick scene out of it using “yes, and” statements.
For the last part of class, we shifted gears and became “experts.” In an improv scene, it’s not helpful or entertaining to not know anything (at least, it usually isn’t). When someone asks you a question within a scene (or in life, for that matter), it’s pretty hard to continue the conversation if they don’t hold up their end, right?
To get ourselves in the right mindset, we went around in a circle and each said 1-2 things we were experts at, in professional or personal life, big or small. Then we assembled a “panel” of five people who were an expert on some random thing the rest of the class suggested. Then, each of the panelists would have to introduce themselves and their area of expertise. Then the rest of the class would ask the panel specific questions about whatever it was (our three panels were on drilling oil on asteroids, male Kenyan rhino mating rituals, and Peanut M&M production) and they just had to go with it and fake like they knew the answer.
Whatever they made up, it was understood that they were the expert and no one could question them. When I was on the panel, I realized that it was really freeing to always be “right.” Without having to worry about whether someone else was going to call you out or say you were wrong, I felt relaxed and free to be creative with whatever I thought of saying. I don’t think I”ll be doing this in my everyday life, but I do realize how much it must help people in improv scenes when they’re able to trust that the other person(s) on stage will support them.