C H A P T E R 8
Conclusion
Improvising a full-length play is hard. It should be! But, it’s also very, very possible and very, very amazing. Here are some things you can do to help achieve the goal more quickly and with greater results:
Practice!
Practice, practice, practice! It’s the only way to turn your intellectual understanding of the concepts into an instinctive ability on stage. It’s a lot like playing chess. You can learn the rules in a matter of minutes, but the only way to master the game is to play a lot of chess.
Read Plays
Reading plays is a great way to see how the concepts in this book are actually put to use. Make an exercise out of analyzing the plays for their dramatic structure. Try to identify the various parts of the Play by Play Structural Map. Track the flow of the Substantial Scenes. See how the playwright develops the characters and how the environment is connected to the story. Find the metaphors and figure out the symbolism.
Go to the Theater
Reading plays is an essential habit, but actually going to the theater is even more important. Remember, a written play is not the complete work of art. It’s only when the play is performed on stage, with the artistic contributions of the actors, director, lighting designer, set designer, and sound designer, that the playwright’s vision may truly be realized. Seeing plays reminds us of the full potential of live theater and inspires us to raise the bar of our improvisation.
Play Scenes
Choose some fabulous plays and read the scenes out loud as a part of your rehearsal process. If time permits, memorize, rehearse, and perform them for one another. This is an excellent way to become familiar with the natural pacing of events and dialogue in a fulllength play. It’s also great to find well-written scenes that exemplify whatever skill you are focusing on and to use those scenes as models for your improvisation.
Laura Livingston used this technique extensively when directing Freestyle Repertory Theater’s Doin’ it in Style. In this show, we improvised full-length plays in the style of various playwrights. Laura discovered that Shakespeare is particularly good at describing environments and endowing offstage characters; Tennessee Williams is great for using objects as symbols for his characters; and Anton Chekhov is terrific at using his environment as a catalyst for dramatic action. Our improvisation was never better than it was after reading and discussing the work of these master playwrights. I should mention, quite clearly, that several of the character and environment exercises in this book were created by Laura as rehearsal techniques for Doin’ it in Style.
Study Acting, Directing, and Playwriting
Improvisation is a difficult and sophisticated form of art. Not only does it have its own set of skills that needs to be practiced and mastered but it also demands that each performer be an actor, director, and playwright. We portray the characters, don’t we? We create the stage movement and stage pictures, don’t we? We write the dialogue, don’t we? Of course, we do. Wouldn’t it be wise of us to study those disciplines and develop our skills to the best of our ability? Of course, it would.
Work with Me, and Let Me Help!
Call me! Write to me! I would love to work with you. I can travel anywhere to offer classes, workshops, and custom-designed training programs through my San Francisco–based theater company, Synergy Theater. I can even work with your group to help conceive and direct an original show. I’d be eager to talk with you about how we can work together to help your group achieve its artistic goals and make a lasting and significant contribution to the vibrant world of improvisation.
Please feel free to contact me at kenn@synergy-theater.com and to learn more about my current classes, performances, and activities by visiting my Web site at www.synergy-theater.com.