Improvisations
How important is this chapter? Emotions, Objectives, Activities, Character. There’s nothing new here. We’ve been through all this. Shouldn’t we be moving on to something new?
Well, it’s like this. There has been so much to learn so far, that as each new technique is being explored, the previous techniques are often forgotten about and abandoned. What’s new is best. Forget yesterday, let’s concentrate on today. That’s like saying that you can forget about steering when you are learning how to change gear or you can forget about arithmetic when you are studying algebra. Well, you can’t. You have to use all the techniques at the same time, you have to be able to use them instinctively. When a painter puts paint on a canvas, that paint becomes part of the composition as a whole. It adds colour. It creates shape and dimension. It’s part of texture, of light and shadow. It helps to create an object or it is the object itself. It develops the mood. It affects the emotion. One brushstroke does a number of things, and although the painter has studied how to use paint to perform all these tasks, he or she is not aware of the separate effects that the application of colour will have. Instinct and practice are guiding the imagination, and that in turn is guiding the brush.
Similarly, the improviser must let each of the techniques become part of their instinctive process. They must remember to bring emotion to an improvisation. They must remember to have an objective and an activity. And, of course, they must think about character. And they must be able to do that swiftly, creatively and instinctively. So that is why there is the need for consolidation.
Why not include Trusting Yourself, Being There and Adjusting the Scenario in this session? Why are we not consolidating the sessions that dealt with these things? Well, the purpose of those sessions was slightly different. Those were not techniques as such, they were more like sparks that light the creative fire; they should be practised all the time.
Everyone should work on being able to trust their own creativity at all times; everyone should learn to ‘be there’, to be in the moment; and, of course, everyone should understand the rules and then adjust the scenario to allow their individuality to shine and do it their way. These are lessons for everyone and should be practised and consolidated all the time.
Applying the Techniques
AT THIS STAGE OF THE IMPROVISATION TRAINING, THE improvisers should focus on the principal components that should be part of any actor’s exploration: Emotions, Objectives, Activities and Character. They should be reminded of these and they should be encouraged to apply them each and every time they embark on an improvisation. The improviser is like a juggler who has to practise keeping his clubs in the air until he juggles instinctively. Each of the improviser’s components, or techniques, is like one of the juggler’s clubs and they have to allow their instincts to keep all the techniques working without having to think about them. And in order to do that, they have to train their instincts by regular practice.
It’s time to start using the Complex Scenario Cards. Remember, the improvisers should strive to be just as truthful when they use these, even when the scenarios are not necessarily part of their personal experience. They have probably never been in a successful band arguing about their future direction; they may never have been stuck in a lift or lost in the woods; but it isn’t too hard to stretch their imaginations into the truth of these scenarios. They should use their own personal experiences to create an ‘emotional memory’ of similar feelings and then use that ‘emotional memory’ to explore unfamiliar situations.
One whole session can be used to practise each of the techniques until they remember to employ them all swiftly and instinctively. That’s all they have to do: practise, practise, practise.
(But in fact this repetition doesn’t have to be confined to just one session. The improvisers need constant practice to train their instincts and the more they do it, the better.)
Emotions, Objectives and Activities
Divide the group up into pairs and ask each pair to pick a Complex Scenario Card. When they have done that, they should give each other roles if necessary, before picking their Character Cards.
Then ask everyone to think about each of the following:
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An EMOTION they could bring to the scene |
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An OBJECTIVE they may have coming into the scene |
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An ACTIVITY they could be doing during the scene |
Give them a minute or two of thinking time and then ask all the pairs to practise an improvisation at the same time.
When they have done this, ask them to get into new pairs and repeat the whole process again with new Scenario and Character Cards. This time they should be given a shorter time to think about emotions, objectives and activities before they start.
And then again ask them to get into new pairs but give them an even shorter thinking time.
And then again and then again. But for each improvisation they should be given a shorter and shorter thinking time.
Finally, it is worth letting them improvise in front of the group. Let them find new partners and give them only a few seconds of thinking time before they embark on the improvisation.
RATIONALE By making the thinking time shorter for each improvisation, they get used to making quick decisions, so the whole process starts to become instinctive.