| | I haven't blogged since August, but in October I started taking improv classes at a local theater. Anyone who has combed the archives of this very blog knows that improv is one of my oldest and most precious dreams, and my obsession with it in high school was really only a shadow of the passion I feel towards it now.
I actually looked up the classes on the internet after remembering how much I had wanted to do it so long ago, and I surprised myself with my own enthusiasm once I had gotten registered. Maybe you can tell from my last entry here, but I'm not the kind of person that believes in pursuing childhood dreams; rather, I prefer to concentrate almost solely on self-improvement and will take whatever path I feel gives me that. However, I have to admit that it has been thrilling so far to embrace this passion as well as very enriching to my development.
The first few classes were fantastic; I learned a lot very quickly and was proud of myself for pushing into my fears. It does take guts to get up on stage with nothing planned out ahead of time and launch into a comedy performance using only what comes to the top of your head first. It also stresses the importance of being in the moment, listening and reacting to your partner and then giving them something to work with in return. In a lot of ways, I think improv can be a useful metaphor for life. When you break it down, it's much better to release your control over what's happening in the scene and just go along with it, rather than attempting to drive it into something specific. In recent years I've realized there is value in letting go of expectations in life and allowing others to act and think as they will. By learning not to manipulate my environment and by living for the moment, you can be present in reality. This is the only way to make improv look like magic, and it's the only way to breathe excitement and fun into the mundane parts of life.
There is a student variety show every 10 weeks or so at the theater. Myself and a few of the other students from the improv class made two appearances in the show; first for a short-form game called Foreign Film, in which translators provide dialogue for two players onstage mimicking a foreign language; and then for a long-form set of scenes with an open structure (our suggestion from the audience being "don't make that face or it will get stuck that way!")
It wasn't a perfect show by any means, but we got laughs. It was actually my first time doing both that game and doing long-form in general, so it was extra improvised for me. But you know what? I did it. The house was packed, definitely over 200 people in the audience, and I did it. Of course we got feedback from our teacher in the next class, but positive or negative observations aside, the only thing that was important to me was that I was able to get onstage with nearly nothing and make comedy.
Since then we've been doing long-form in class which is, for the most part, mind-blowing. Some of the students in class could stand to show some restraint, which just emphasizes the importance of having a "group mind" and sharing the glory of the scene, but overall it has been awe-inspiring watching people walk into the void of an empty stage armed only with strong character choices, then unravel a story.
I've day-dreamed enough about improv over the last few months to make me realize that even once classes are over, this is an art I want to dedicate myself to. Again I'm surprised by my own enthusiasm for it, but I can't think of a stronger signal for something that I need to make a bigger part of my life.
Additionally, I'm becoming deeply embroiled in the goingson at the theater after auditioning for the part of Fred in their production of A Christmas Carol. We're actually in dress rehearsal right now, and we open next weekend. I could write another complete post about how trying on an actor's shoes for a while has been, or still another about how acting and improv both have colored my perception on character work and what that has done for my fiction writing.
In case I don't post again for a while, I have to briefly reflect that it's been a very good year. I'm 21 now and things are starting to go my way. Working at the Ritz-Carlton is still one part fascinating and one part harrowing, even though the culinary craft may not play a major role in my life for much longer if my love for performance arts "upstages" it. Either way, both have enriched me as a person. I place no expectations on the next year or the distant future, but I can only hope I live a long life.
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| | Posted 12/5/2008 6:43 PM - 12 Views - 2 eProps - 1 Comment
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