Improviser !

7 responses so far ↓

• 1 Jill Bernard // Oct 1, 2009 at 5:37 pm

  Yes. And you can play a character with a dumb voice and dumb opinions but a smart brain for the satisfaction of still having dumb characters.

• 2 Ian // Oct 2, 2009 at 2:28 pm

  Yes!

  I am just bored by the number of doctors in improvisation scenes that are like: “I will take this… thing… and put it… hum… somewhere. Hum, I’m not so sure about this.”

  Boring! If you want to play an incompetent, do it by choice. And it’s very likely that the character himslef will not be aware that he is, in fact, incompetent (or he wouldn’t be in that position anyway). So you can play on that as well and this opens up new scene choices.

  So many possibilities open when conscious choices are made instead of giving in to the fear.

• 3 Ian // Oct 2, 2009 at 2:29 pm

  Also, a lot of people think “incompetent = funny.” I don’t know why…

• 4 Beth // Nov 10, 2009 at 9:54 pm

  Hey Ian, I noted your Roosevelt quote looked really familiar. Realised I wrote an article with it as my base point 5 years ago. You don’t have to post this, just wanted to send it to you. Please bear in mind the 5 years ago aspect… I thought it was longer than that… guess was 18.

  Beating Idealistic Contradictions:

  ‘The only thing we have to fear is fear itself’

  A famous statement that we are all quite familiar with- But if we set our moral beliefs alongside such ideals as failure only being a mindset, inevitably leading to failure… What sanction is there then, for those who spend their whole lives asserting themselves, and never getting what they want?

  President Roosevelt made this statement when his people had hit rock bottom. 1933, America’s worst economic collapse, unemployment a whopping 25%, ‘The Great Depression.’ Doubtless the American people were in dire need of inspiration at this time, but what in the name of truth, is society’s business in naively accepting sweeping moral assertions, that are blatantly untrue?

  One could argue that it is about growing-up. Part of maturing along the road to adulthood is about finding out that people aren’t all who they said they would be. Parents don’t just dole out love, they also want to hand you their baggage. Teachers aren’t necessarily going to help you get through an exam, just because teaching is supposed to be their job. And you’re friends, quite often, may stab you in the back.

  It sounds grim, doesn’t it? So what happens to us when the morals that were imprinted into us as children, are flipped, skewed, and trampled on?

  Well first of all we rebel. We go through that disturbing period ‘adolescence,’ which is hopefully well done and dusted with by the time you’re in your twenties. But as we progress out of that, we slowly start to accept. Accept that we will have to rely only on ourselves for most of the time. Unfortunately, most people then start to play the game in the same backhand fashion that crushed their dreams in the first place. Bitterness is an ironic motivator.

  But then, why should we all give up hope?

  There is an upshot to this glinting field of aspiration, that we as humans set before ourselves so early on. We may sometimes be naïve, we may sometimes be coldly calculating, but as beings we are 50-50, and we can make the choice to harness that freshness of mind whilst we are still youthful. Being an optimist isn’t about being blind to wrongs, it’s about accepting them without reciprocation.

  Many of us are broke, worried, and insecure as students. Yet, it is possible at this age, to have reached philosophical maturity. We are fast becoming acquainted with the evils of our society, and hence realising more fears. How we react to those fears, is key in how we end up living our lives.

  [For those of you who are familiar with ‘Sophies World’ (Jostein Gaarder) The idea of the white rabbit may ring a few bells. If not, it’s a recommended read.]

  Basically, we are talking about that sense of wonder at the world you are gifted as a child. We want to know ‘What this is,’ and ‘How we do that.’ Can you recall being completely and utterly mesmerised aged four, by a lolly-pop that had an in-built whistle? Or that joke where your uncle says he’s ‘got your nose?’ Ahh.. those were the days. But those can still be the days, and life can be even better.

  It is important to realise what makes you happy first and foremost. Most people find that their most peaceful time is found often, either with nature, or with other people. It’s not pathetic to truly believe that such simplicity is where your foundations lie, it’s just honest. And accepting such truths, rather than always complying with peer pressure, or academic pressures, can set you on the road to being content.

  We are also in a time right now, whereby were it the 60’s, our peers would be setting about trying to change the world. Getting your future mapped out seems to be the principle engagement, and the immediacy of it’s importance continues to be amplified to extremes, by everyone around us. But what has happened to the youngsters who used to challenge unreasonable authorities? And take time out to fight for their true beliefs in what is right?

  We are the generation for whom nuclear threats, global warming, and not to mention our wavering status as a country, are going to start taking real effects for, and as a whole, (due to debt and the de-valuation of the academic degree,) simply joining the rat race and trundling along post-war, might prove quite tricky. These examples maybe seemingly, a little extreme, we aren’t after all, on the brink of collapse. However, extremity tends to be the nature of Idealism, and that is what we’re all up against when we make life decisions.

  One way to perceive it, is that you can morally be at your best, as a young adult who hasn’t yet been overly downtrodden, and who is still in touch with the moral ideals they were set out as a child. Maybe you can get a grip on the measure of life early on, by inwardly accepting the good and bad inconsistencies which make up your reality, rather than surcoming to the fear of them. There must be more to worry about than how you are going to react to the disruptions that will shortly be coming your way. Roosevelt was talking about strength during hard times, I’m talking about harnessing your ability to be that strong all the time.

  Open awareness of simplicity in the love of good food, good wine, and good company, can actually make you stand out from the crowd. You may have exactly the same worries as everyone else in life, just be more in control of yourself, and happier from day to day.

  Good food, good wine, good company: No Fears.

  03 October 2004, 20:11:37

• 5 Beth // Nov 10, 2009 at 9:56 pm

  ah, it posts itself directly…

• 6 Echouer… sans perdre la face | Spontanement // Mar 18, 2011 at 12:04 pm

  […] En improvisation, on voit très souvent ce type de comportement. C’est aussi pour ça que nos improvisations sont totalement peuplées de personnages absolument incompétents. (Voir l’Astuce #1 de Ian) […]

• 7 Ian // Mar 23, 2011 at 3:07 pm

  THIS! http://blog.montrealimprov.com/post/4042965715/wednesdays-with-kirsten-be-an-expert

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