Tuesday, July 22, 2008 by John Robison.

Grammar note: this post replaces all gender-specific pronouns with “them” or “they.” Many apologies to those of you whom this grates upon. 

After a period of time, people naturally fall away from your group for a variety of reasons. As the person in charge, I constantly try to make sure that the theater is an environment people love as much as I do, so when someone leaves, I always go into a mode of “OK… what could I have done better?”

The reasons people give for leaving are just like the reasons people give when they break off any relationship. “It’s not you… it’s me.” I have a tendency to not believe that reason… at first. However, taken on a case-by-case basis, I find that the reasons people give are generally genuine.

At this point in Roving Imp history, over the past year, I’ve had a total of 22 people who have at one point called themselves an Imp. Of those, I still have 13 as active members. So over the first year and a third, that’s a drop rate of 41%. I have no idea where that might be in the whole spectrum of first-year performance groups with bi-weekly performances… at most points, it has seemed high. Right now, it doesn’t seem so bad.

As examples, here are the following real-life reasons, along with my suspicion of the real reason, with all names taken away, as I still really like and respect these people.

Person A: Stopped coming, and then said they had to quit to take care of familial obligations.  I think this one was true. I knew something of their personal life, and think this one was honest. Hooray!

Person B: Said they had to quit to take care of familial obligations. I think this one was also true. It seems that having to quit because of family changes is a common one.

Person C: Just stopped coming, with no communication at all. I have no idea what the reason might be… other than the fact that this person lived kind of far away. Maybe they didn’t feel like they fit in. Who knows? I would like to know. I do know that the “let’s avoid confrontation by just not going anymore” is the most frustrating for me. Lots of people have done it… and why not? For the person not coming back, it’s a super easy way to do it. No fuss, no muss, no risk. For me, however, it sucks the Royal Teat. I realize that you’re a performer, and not necessarily organized, and not necessarily prone to good communication, but if you know you’re not coming back, just let me know so I stop wasting mental energy on you. I hope they aren’t dead.

Person D: Just stopped coming, and said they were going to come back once things settled down with their personal life. This first part was true. Their personal life was all over the place, though they still haven’t come back. I will take this opportunity to put forth my Absence Theory: In my experience, if someone that has been a regular in your group leaves and is gone more than a month, they’re not coming back.

Person E: Just stopped coming. After a couple months, I happened to run into them, and they said their job switched days, and that they’d like to come back once that changed. Probably true… but they still haven’t come back. See the Absence Theory.

Person F: Got too busy. I’m pretty sure this is true. This person is very talented, and very busy due to the fact that they seem to have a tiny issue with overcommitment, much as I had when I was in my early 20s… when I would say yes to almost anything.

Person G: Got another acting job that would take them away for six months. I have no doubt that the reason is true, but I have doubts that they will return. We shall see if Absence Theory holds up.

Person H:  Left due to the fact that they got a job with a national touring company. I’m pretty sure it was true… it was too specific of a story to not be, and there was no reason to not be truthful.

Person I: Said their schedule was too busy. I suspect this statement was masking the actual reason. I was super relieved when this person made a point of thanking me for making them feel so welcome… Another group I have performed with has lost talented folks by not making them feel welcome or included. The day one talented person announced they were leaving, I talked with them and they said, “John, you were the only person my first day that came up and talked to me and went out of your way to be friendly.” That statement alarmed me, as I hadn’t realized that I had done anything… and I hadn’t realized that others weren’t talking to them. Since that time, I’ve tried to be super aware of including new folks and making them feel welcome.

So out of the nine, only one gave a reason I suspect to not be completely true, and one just disappeared. I like to think that I have an open and communicative atmosphere with the performers I work with. Other groups I work with get the old “I’m taking some time off,” when I think they were really feeling “I’m not having as much fun as I should be,” or “I’m not feeling necessary and/or appreciated.” I can think of five such examples of people using that reason in other groups in the past year. Have any of them returned after their time off? Please refer to the above Absence Theory. It hasn’t been proven wrong yet.

I never like it when someone leaves, but I understand that this kind of crazy life isn’t for everyone. Lots of people don’t realize it until they’ve been doing it for awhile. Weekly rehearsals and performances don’t fit into everyone’s life forever. Generally, I’m glad I got to share some fun, quality time with them, and wish them luck. And secretly hope that one day they’ll return, despite any theories to the contrary.

Posted in General | Print | 1 Comment »

Thursday, June 26, 2008 by John Robison.

The importance of a group’s name… it can be summed up in one really old quote:

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet.”

To me, a troupe’s name is one of the least important things to worry about. With so many other considerations to think about during the formation period of a group, putting a great deal of energy into a troupe’s name isn’t that efficient. It is however, a little important, and worthy of at least a little thought. Gotta call it something, after all. I think that the groups I’m currently in would be just as successful with any number of different names, but a group name does help clue in your audience of what kind of experience they might expect.

Aside from my personal aversion to having a number as part of the group’s name*, any group name is on the table for me. When I look to name a new group, I try to get something either fun, badass, historical, descriptive, or some combination of said descriptors. Which of these I choose depends on the circumstances that surround the group.

Evidence the groups I have personally named, and reasons for such names:

Better Than Fair Players - my original theater group, so named as a group of us were sitting around at our original venue, the Wyandotte County Fair, wondering what name we should give ourselves. Fun, Historical, and Descriptive… just in case we had a less-than-stellar show (which only happened once in eight years, to my recollection).

Roving Imp - the current theater group and improv troupe, which came from a huge list of about 150 possible names. This was the only one my wife and I could agree on… and she wasn’t that big of a fan of it at first. We settled on this one for not only Unusual, Fun, and Subtly Descriptive reasons (since improvising is the main activity, which some people call “improving,” it’s a small leap to separate into two parts - imp roving - and then reverse - roving imp), but also because there were a lot of possibilities for marketing and logo creation (which has been described by journalistic professionals as “badass”).

Game Show - This one is completely Descriptive. Maybe I would have had better luck with a better name, but I doubt it. It seemed important to me to distinguish this from an actual improv show, which make up the majority of the rest of the RI schedule.

Movie Prov - Also completely Descriptive. Since it’s not an improv show per se, I owe it to my audiences to let them know.

Trivial Prov-suit - a little Fun, but mostly Descriptive. The play on words spoke to me.

Omega Directive - The newest group at RI, I chose this one mainly for Badass reasons. However, it’s also Subtly Descriptive. OD will use the one-sentence episode synopsis as the basis for its shows, and Omega Directive is the title of a particular episode of one of my favorite series.

Red Rubber Ball - Another RI group that will premier soon, RRB was basically chosen for its Fun connotations. The name implies energy and good times, which would be great for an audience to expect.

Others might have different ideas, but to me, it’s much more important to put on a good show, regardless of name. It doesn’t matter if you have the coolest name on the planet… if you suck, it won’t matter.

* - not to say I shudder when I see groups with numbers in their names… but if I had a group called, for example, Omega 6, I would tire of people asking things like, “If you’re Omega 6, why do you only have five people?” or “Are you part of the Omega 8s?” There’s a group from Washington called onesixtyone… I think. They might be oneeightyone or oneseventyone or something.

Posted in General, Background | Print | 1 Comment »

Friday, June 13, 2008 by John Robison.

One of the main, long-held tenets of improvisational comedy is the concept of “Yes, and.” This is the notion that whatever happens on stage, you accept, and then add to. So, you build onto the pyramid that your fellow actor began, rather than beginning your own skyscraper. Two competing jobs aren’t entertaining for audiences.

This is a basic rule because it tends to really help out scenes. If I say, “Your mother and I have been really worried about your drug problem,” and then you respond with, “You’re not my parents. I’m your father, and I’m worried about your drug problem,” you’ve failed to build on the scene I started. Instead, you’ve started something completely different. Yes, there are ways to make it work, and even to make it funny and emotionally connected, but I’m going to bet that you won’t be working with me for very long if you make this kind of thing a habit.

What if you “Yes, and” your “Yes, ands?” You’d get “Yes, Of Course!”

To me, this is an even better concept. Instead of simply agreeing, then adding and moving on, you are agreeing that whatever your scene partner(s) say(s) is THE MOST TRUE thing you have EVER HEARD.

Let’s take the same scene from above and apply “Yes, and:” Me: “Your mother and I have been really worried about your drug problem.” You: “It’s none of your business, Dad. Just let me live my own life.” Just two lines so far, but it has the makings of a really good, solid, grounded scene.

What if we “Yes, Of Course!” the same scene? Me: “Your mother and I have been really worried about your drug problem.” Actor from the back line: “The wall of this room is lined with bongs and needles from floor to ceiling.” You (as you tie off your arm and begin injecting yourself with heroin): “Fuck off, you ancient piece of shit.” Holy crap. All of a sudden, the stakes are WAY higher. A good, emotionally connected scene can still happen, and we’ve also got one heck of a picture of what’s going on in this room.

It’s picking up on one detail like this and running with it that will really help further your goal to transcend the average improv. You’ve also immediately found a game to play. Since the initiation of the scene was a good strong one, helping define characters, injecting emotion, and providing a good framework, you can now dive in and out of games, all while preserving the emotion and relationships of the scene.

It’s just a subtle mental change, just as the concept of “Predator Mind,” however the difference between “Yes, and” and “Yes, Of Course!” is another small step towards improv nirvana.

Posted in General, Out of Town | Print | No Comments »

Tuesday, May 27, 2008 by John Robison.

Some people don’t like ‘em, but I think warmups are an important improv tool for several reasons:

1. Leave the Past Behind

When you’re just getting into your rehearsal or show,  everyone is coming from vastly different days that may have been filled with winning glamorous prizes, an argument with a loved one, a traffic ticket, or a really good sandwich at lunch. A little warming up before you begin helps everyone to forget (or at least postpone the remembering of) their day. Everyone can start on a relatively clean sheet of paper.

2. Burn out the Bad

Many times, even though you’re working from a place free of outside stresses, you may not yet be in “the improv zone.” With warmups, you can burn out those first few scenes that aren’t quite up to your own good performance standards. Personally, my first scene of the night is never my very best one. I think this is true of most people. Why not get that first scene out of the way early, when there’s no audience watching?

3. Get the Cells in Motion

While I’m on stage, I move in many varied ways like I never do during the rest of the day. On stage, there’s a lot more crawling, rolling on the ground, crouching, squatting, faux humping, walking funny, wild arm undulations, and head bobbing.  A good physical warmup gets the dust burned off your muscles, and you’re ready to do some moving around. Nobody likes an entire evening of talking heads, after all.

It also gets your energy flowing. I’m a lot more apt to do an energy-filled character if my cells are buzzing with some good, warm movement energy. This is also good for your audience - energetic characters are usually harder to do, and therefore more rare. We owe our audience those kinds of characters once in awhile, and a physical warmup can help bring those characters out.

4. Forge the Group

In most groups I know, the warmup is the only activity in which each and every person in the group is up and actively participating at the same time. Most games don’t use everyone, so everyone playing at once really helps build your sense of group, and helps further develop group mind. At Roving Imp, every rehearsal starts with circle warmups, where we can all look into each others’ eyes, do our exercises, catch up on each others’ lives, and get focused on what we’re about to do together.

Whether you realize it or not, warmups are accomplishing all these extremely important tasks. I think that unless you’re the Chosen One of Improv*, and you’re performing with more than one or two other close friends that you’ve been with for at least five consistent years, you need a warmup. Otherwise, you may as well flush the first half hour of your rehearsal down the toilet, and while you’re in there, just hope that your group will manage to cohesively gel without getting some up-front face time.

*If you are the Chosen One, I would like for you to come perform with me.

Posted in General | Print | No Comments »

Monday, April 28, 2008 by John Robison.

Question: What makes a good troupe?

1.  You must be comfortable with one another.

Improvisers are constantly exposing parts of their brain that may not get exposed on a regular basis in everyday life. To be truly creative, you can’t be afraid of those around you. You should be able to talk about absolutely anything. You should be able to touch each other without recoiling. You should have the kind of relationships where you don’t have to censor yourself for any reason.  I am successful to varying degrees in the groups I participate in. With people coming in and leaving, and group dynamics constantly shifting, accomplishing true “comfort” is always a moving target… but I’m always trying to get there. Also related…

2. You must have a positive environment.

In my troupe, this is terrifically important. You can be super talented, but if you don’t have a positive attitude, you don’t get in. It’s our culture, and is vital to establish a basic level of trust really quickly. If you’re scared of being teased or derided because of some stage experiment you tried, you’re not going to ever grow, because you’ll be scared of being talked about behind your back. Plus, life is just too short to deliberately bring a sourpuss into your life. Which leads into…

3. You must have an open mind

Some people I know would have some trouble performing some of the scenes I’ve been in. If you have a certain mindset, and aren’t at least a little open, you’re going to have a hard time with these “non-traditional” social roles that might happen on stage. Some of the recent highlights from this category: a NASCAR family that keeps physical love amongst themselves, shunning those that find outside partners; a gay male trying to find his place in a small town; a political debate over the wisdom of voting for Ralph Nader; a man whose wife struggles to fit in with his existing girlfriend and boyfriend; a boy that is trapped in a grocery store and after many months is forced to eat people and people by-products… and so on. I don’t personally currently take part in any of these situations, but with an open mind, we were able to create some really interesting and funny pieces. For crying out loud. They’re not real.

4. You have to rehearse and/or perform on a regular and frequent basis.

In general, I hate comparing any art to sports, but in this case I’ll make an exception… if your football team doesn’t practice, they’re not going to be good. Even if you are a team that’s currently at the top of your game, then you stop rehearsing for six months or a year, it’s going to affect you. When you start up again, you might still be better than any of your competitors, but you won’t be as good as you used to be. Performing is also important… keeping in touch with your audience is essential to being a good troupe. Staying in touch with your base helps keep you grounded in reality.

5. You must have some basic improv training.

You can only be successful up to a point without having some basic ideas about how to make a compelling scene, create interesting characters, and support your scene partner. These things happen all the time by accident, but you’re really increasing your chances of them occurring if you train. This also implies that you’re willing to learn, which is extremely important. No matter who you are, you still have room to grow.

6. You have to be talented. Duh.

You can train at the best places,  get together a lot, be comfortable, and have a positive environment, but if you don’t have the talent, you’re just drinking buddies. You can’t really learn this, but some level of attention, timing, and quickness has to already be there.

Reaching some of these is pretty easy. Some of them are constantly moving, so you will never reach 100% (everyone has some hangups… you’ll never get to a 100% open mind, for example), but if you get everyone in your troupe as high as possible on these things, I’ll bet you’re a good troupe.

Posted in General | Print | No Comments »