Thank you Moes
You inspired me
I never write poems.

Thank you ego
Having my back.
I got yours

Thank you awareness.
There’s more
in the universe
Than this

Thank you mountains
For staying put
Lead the way
In being

Thank you me
For trying anyway
Might get messy

Thank you world
You challenge me
To keep connected

Thank you elegance
I only use
3 word sentences

Oh, I didn’t
Well, perfection isn’t everything
Thank you improv

Elegance, not my middlename

I’m a little bit raw, a little bit much, a little bit loud and a little bit messy.  Lots of text.  Lots of emotion and expression in my face and little volume control.

Calling me fat now? Noohoooow…

Yah.. this. It’s no big deal.  I find it fun as well.  They don’t find that very fun here.  They find it a bit overwhelming.  In the scene.  I get that.

Right. Back to Elegance.

 We filled a lesson with assignments that we designed specifically for each other.

 It started with a round of feedback in the group.  What qualities does someone have and what maximum 2 skills can someone still learn?  Fast and elegant.

 My strengths

 – Energetic

 – Physical expression

 – Big characters

 – Intimacy on stage

 Work on

 – Elegance: Slow down / less intense

 – I tend to create trouble in the platform

Elegance is a word I heard before here.  And they came up with 2 great assignments, which allowed me to practice that quality in a playful way.

Volume button

 My co-player Kash varied in volume and intensity in the scene.  My job was to turn my intensity and volume down just a notch.  It fit perfectly with what I could practice in.  I was allowed to do what I like to do (following) and practice using my volume knob at the same time.

3 words

 The exercise that came with it was that I was only allowed to use 3 words from the last sentence of the previous player.  If he says: “I saw you yesterday on the beach. You were sleeping.”  Then I can respond with, for example: “on the beach?”.  It made me more thoughtful of my words.

 �

 Since that went well, Shawn used another idea.  He made my character, expert in the scene.  My status went up with that.  I was given more guidance, which meant I followed less.  And with that I also lost my awareness on tuning.  Right on the edge of challenging and fun.

 Molasses

 Move through thick syrup and have a thrifty mouth.

 I played a mother of an adolescent son.  Whatever I did, I had to move, like I was moving through molasses.  In other words, a sensory offering for my acting that slows me down.  Smart huh?

 Playful

 The teacher does not say, “Move slower.”  You are then busy fixing what you did wrong.  Through the molasses, I playfully discover what it does when I move slower.  This was further adjusted with 50% less thick syrup, for example with my arms.  I was also challenged to tune in different intensity per body part.

 That mouth, call it an anus-mouth, ensures that you are focused, despite your slow movements.

 Elegant

 Very smart and elegant way of teaching.  Without literally giving feedback, you put someone in a playful situation that challenges them.

 It requires a lot of insight into the player and their improv skills and what you do in return to practice a skill.  Nice, isn’t it?

 Both as an improviser and as a teacher – an educational lesson in elegance!

If you want to read more about my adventures? www.facebook.com/cpimpro