SET IT UP! How do you teach a game in class, or set up a show or scene in front of an audience successfully? Are you connecting or confusing your audience? An effective beginning to the show or exercise can make all the difference. Here are some tips and tricks to help you and your audience move forward efficiently in the classroom and on stage. — OPEN WITH ELEGANCE — As a teacher or performer, elegance is Read more…
CHRISTMAS BALLS! Here’s a character exercise for moving like an old person. I’ve heard this nugget of character development repeated countless times from Dennis Cahill of the Loose Moose theatre. He learned it from Keith Johnstone and it’s easy to understand why it sticks in the memory. Many people play elderly characters with unrealistic or cliched behaviours. As most of us have yet to experience the real-life truth of ageing into our 80’s and 90’s, Read more…
Susan’s fabulous insights to online -improvisation – Susan Serrao Susan Serrao along with JamieMatchullis, are the two halves of a comedy duo known as the Sketchy Beavers bringing comedy sketches to life from the Canadian female perspective. Hello, hello! Hello from Calgary, Canada! I’m Susan Serrao, a performer with a background in acting, dance, choreography, writing, sketch, character and IMPROV! I am a single mother of four gorgeous boys; Jace (14), Kade (12), Rhett (10) Read more…
Kaivalya Plays – India Improvises! The positive side of the Covid epidemic has been the connections it has made between performers and teachers in the improvisation community. During an online discussion arranged by the Nursery Theatre in the U.K., I was introduced to an Improviser from India. For those of you who haven’t had the pleasure, I would like you to meet your brothers and sisters in India from a group called KAIVALYA PLAYS and their artistic Read more…
EVERYTHING IN ONE MOMENT “The Dragon flew with fierce intent towards the castle on Mount Lyre” You read that line and you’re pretty certain of what kind of story you are getting into. You have a fairly clear image in your head. You see the clouds in the sky. You hear the beating wings of the dragon. You know things that haven’t yet been written. Your brain doesn’t need to apply much effort to know Read more…
ARE YOU CREATIVE? A DUMB QUESTION asked too often! one red You were born “creative”. Then you were taught not to be. We should be asking “are you still aware of your creativity?” The number of people who avoid writing, drawing, improvising, and creating because they were told at some point they were not creative is astronomical. Really. From an early age, we are taught how to suppress ideas that fall outside of accepted reality. Read more…
SCIENCE and EDUCATION under threat Improvisation’s part in the War being waged Dr. Kate Lapane, PhD In February 2020, Dr. Lapane attended one of my classes while I was visiting Rhode Island, USA. The course was ‘Teaching teachers to teach with Improvisation.’ I have little doubt that Dr. Lapane probably didn’t need the class but, because of the demoralizing state teachers and scientists are experiencing, I can understand how any positive supportive environment would come as a Read more…
IMPROVISE WHAT YOU EAT U R What U EAT It may surprise you that the food you ingest an hour before the show can make you calmer, quicker, crazier or smarter. Eating specific food alters attitudes. If you know what mood you need to adjust, just eat your way to a good state of mind! And be cautious of what you “know”. For example, while most of us presume that the consuming sugar will make Read more…
SCORED!!!! In the world of “competitive improvisation” there’s a simple need for scoreboards. “BORING!!“ …you might say. And you would be right. But come on! There are a lot of tedious details in the work we do on stage to make a show happen. It isn’t all show biz and buttercups. Yes, I said buttercups. Here are some suggestions and GIFTS for you via three companies who have looked at ways to deal with scores Read more…
TIPS FOR A NEW REALITY PART 2- POV and Perspective MOST of these ideas have been used by cinematographers, Directors, and Filmmakers for years. The same discoveries and re-discoveries are being made by improvisers all over the world to enhance their online work. Zoom, Twitch, OBS, and other forums have become the new improvisation stage for performers during the Covoid-19 pandemic. This means we need to refresh what we know. Here are some more tips Read more…
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