Compass Checking

Last night I had a rehearsal with Improv-Abilities. I’ve been a member of IA for a year and a half now, and have a really great time. It’s tough in more than one way to be a part of another group when you are running your own troupe, teach high school classes, and are organizing eight to ten shows a month, in addition to trying to have a life, but it’s terribly important.

I’ve always felt that if you exist solely in your own world of performing, you’re losing out on the wealth of experience that others can bring. I personally love to see how other people run rehearsals. I love to play games that I don’t have to run. It’s good for me to get notes (both positive and ‘work on this’) from others. Many times I’m looking at others’ performances and I tend to neglect my own performance. If you’re actually on stage, you can’t give your all to a scene and be critical at the same time.

Last night, for example, I was in a scene during the game “Blind Date,” and my scene partner got a note that her character wasn’t clearly defined; that if she had grasped onto a particular characteristic and played with it, she would have an easier time in her scene. What a great note… and one I would have never given, because from within the scene I was completely unaware that her character was a little nebulous.

The comment also helped confirm that, in that scene at least, my character creation instincts were correct. To me, this is the biggest reason not to isolate yourself, no matter how big your ego might be. Being in a situation you’re not controlling is a great way to make sure that your barometer hasn’t been corrupted in some way, and that you’re still presenting yourself in a way that’s at least moderately entertaining.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 12, 2008 at 12:09 and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.

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