A little bit louder and a little bit more intense. Another 12 hours of improv madness straight today (actually a little longer as I started improvising at 11am and left the theatre at around midnight). The real big difference this time is I was actually improvising in workshops instead of just watching it this time.
Got a chance to take two pretty kick ass workshops from two amazing gurus (if I dare use the term) this morning. The real interesting thing was these two workshops were just about the farthest things away from each other you can get in improv (well at least on the surface).
The first workshop was all about playing from Gut reactions and lead by Kevin Mullaney. Really a very interesting workshop that I wished was about an hour longer as with the number of people we only got to scratch the surface. It was all about observing your scene partner and reacting instantly to whatever feeling you got from them and then playing off the new feelings that arose from that initial reaction. Interesting stuff.
Next was a workshop on power improv by Joe Bill. If you ever get the chance take a class/workshop/whatever with this man do it. The class really focused on starting strong and playing stronger. The basic idea behind the workshop was immediately snapping into character once your foot touched the stage. Everything in improv in funneled through your character's point of view: How you do things (How you do what you do is who you are). Some of the better improv I've done in a while and loads of talented people in the class. Also really about not dropping the shit you start out with scene - everything your partner does and offers still allows for change, but it's more about adapting what you have instead of abandoning it.
All in all both were absolutely great.
I have to say the Marathon this year has been pretty fun and watching the sheer number of shows has really crystallized for me the type of improv I enjoy watching the most (and want to end up doing).
First and foremost I love watching ensembles who seem to be literally playing with/for each other on stage. It's a hard think to describe if you haven't seen it, but basically it's the people who are clearly having a blast improvising with the other people on stage. You can tell by the smiles on the faces of the people on the back line (and sometimes even in the looks of the people in the scenes) as they are actually enjoying watching their teammates play.
Honestly this is the big thing for me right now - I can list other things - committed character, players in the moment, taking risks, crossing the line again and again and loads of other "technical" things, but honestly - if the ensemble is having a blast performing together it's hard for me not to enjoy myself. When I see a group playing just as much for themselves (not meaning inside jokes and what not) as for the audience it's awesome.
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