Road to Terabithia

Syndicated from www.johnlangen.blogspot.com

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Bridge to Terabithia by John Langen 

The beginning of an improv show is extremely important. The team and the audience meet for the first time. They form first impressions of each other. An awkward excitement flows like an electrical current between the stage and the seats. It's a blind date with potential.

The beginning of the show is as delicate as antique Chinese porcelain. Within minutes, or even just a few lines of dialogue, a team can either draw the audience in or alienate them, making the audience feel unsafe and uncertain. This usually happens when a team weaves a world that the audience cannot understand without first preparing them for the journey.

If George Lucas just dropped us into outer space at the beginning of Star Wars: A New Hope without first orienting us with scrolling text to bridge reality to his world, we would be confused, anxious, and dislodged from our own sensibilities. We would not be drawn in and we would not believe. 

When a team starts a show with an opening scene where the reality of life doesn't apply then the audience cannot anchor themselves. They have trouble suspending their own disbelieve that what they are seeing is just a group of actors playing pretend. A team has to start with common ground that the audience and themselves can agree to. They have to construct the bridge to Terabithia.

When a team puts the work into creating realistic relationships with three dimensional characters and relatable environments the audience feels safe and can get lost in the show; realism is a powerful connector to truth.

Only when the sanctity of truth is established can a team show the audience that not everything is as it seems. At this point, the show can withstand its wallpaper being ripped from its walls to show the unexpected and fantastical things beyond. Here, talking unicorns can be waiters and everyone can fly and the audience will follow you because you've earned their trust, first.

I would love to hear your comments or questions. You can post them here or email them to jplangen@gmail.com

Life is a Harold

Syndicated from www.johnlangen.blogspot.com

 Monday, January 30, 2012

Life is a Harold by John Langen 

I recently discovered a network showing late-night marathons of Three's Company with John Ritter. The other night I was streaming episodes of Law and Order SVU on Netflix and John Ritter appeared as a special guest. Last night my girlfriend Katie was clipping coupons and found an article on John Ritter in Parade magazine. John Ritter: You're everywhere; what does this all mean?

I've always been drawn to the Harold form in improv because of the patterning it reflects in real life. Humans are amazed by patterns. We gawk over M.C. Escher drawings. We tile and wallpaper our houses with repeating colors and patterns. Our bodies respond and move to rhythms. And we live our lives, day to day, in very scheduled, cyclical ways: wake up, shower, eat, go to work, eat, finish work, eat again, sleep. Rinse and repeat.

The Harold structure builds on patterns. Three scenes are grouped into a Beat. Three Beats are grouped into a Harold. There is an opening with two additional games that support it. It naturally follows the same map that we actively follow in life.

In a lot of ways the Harold is the perfect form for improv. We seek truth in comedy. Patterning life, in form, is truth. Most great painters and sculptors use forms found in nature to structure their work; it brings truth and recognition to their art. It causes a visceral reaction. The Harold serves the same purpose for improvisation. It is the shape of life as we know it.

The Harold feels good to watch. We, the audience, subtly pick up and respond to the form. Our bodies naturally understand it the way they naturally understand a drum beat and tell the feet to start tapping.

The Harold is reverent to life. I wonder if Del Close and the Compass Players knew what they were doing when the created it, how deeply insightful they were? I bet, at the very least, Del did.

I would love to hear your comments or questions. You can post them here or email them to jplangen@gmail.com

"The Villain"

Syndicated from www.johnlangen.blogspot.com

Sunday, January 29, 2012

The Villain by John Langen 

Judgement is a villain. He's the mustached Boris tying improvisers to the train-tracks. He blows up scenes with little, round ego bombs and robs the Bank of Support and Trust. Judgement kills mercilessly.

I teach level 3 at the Improv Shop which is the introduction to ensemble work and group mind. By the time students reach my level their minds have begun analytically thinking about improv. They understand the rules and have seen enough shows, done enough scenes, and formed enough ideas to start categorizing them into good and bad filing cabinets in their heads. But along with the critical thinking comes the categorical judgement--that mustached little bastard.

It is possible to be critical and non-judgemental at the same time. Although the two run parallel to each other they are not the same. Critical thinking comes from intelligent observation. Judgement arrives through the ego.

I encourage analytical thought from my students. I want them to observe and make note of choices they make in scenes and the results that shake out of them. But early on, it is hard to separate from labeling choices: "good" or "bad", "weak" or "strong",  "dumb" or  "smart". But there are no weak choices or dumb choices--there are just choices!

What we do with the choices is what is important. If we judge them then what we are doing is eliminating ourselves from being part of them to save our own skin. That is antithetical to improv. Improv is about creating something together. It is about support. It's collaborative art. Even the most seemingly insignificant idea can become significant with careful coddling and nourishment.

So there is no need for judgement if everything is always in a potential state. And if you still are judging a scene in your head as weak, then give it strength. If you see it as dumb make it smart. If you perceive it as bad make it good. Taking this approach is the magic bullet in assassinating judgement from your improv.

Every scene starts with potential so judgement can go right out the window. It serves no purpose other than to be a villainous thief in the night.

I would love to hear your comments or questions. You can post them here or email them to jplangen@gmail.com

10 Reasons

10 Reasons why you should come to tonight's Thursday Night Lonform at the Improv Shop.

10. To Support St. Louis Comedy

9. Bartender Terry Mixes STRONG Drinks

8. It's FREE Entertainment

7. St. Louis is a Founding City of Improv Comedy

6. There is an Awesome After-Party

5. You can Participate in the Show

4. The Tin Can Food Menu Rocks

3. Laughter is Good for the Soul

2. Round Table and Ted Dangerous are Performing

1. It is Fun and Funny

Mike Enriquez



Today the improv community lost a teacher and a friend. Mike Enriquez exemplified what it means to be positive and giving. Mike taught in Chicago and was influencial in my improv development and if you have taken a class from me, then you have learned from him too.

It is tragic to lose someone so beautiful. In Mike's passing I am reminded just how important our job of helping people to laugh is.

Corey Boothby and Katie Nunn wrote this. This is why the improv community is so amazing. I would like to share:

St. Louis improv: Last night the improv community lost one of its finest. Mike Enriquez was a performer, a teacher, and a... coach. Much of what you learn and how you learn it comes courtesy of Mike's dedication to this craft. You would be hard pressed to find anyone who better exemplified the tenets we hold so dear; to trust, to listen, to make the positive choice, to be real, to be vulnerable, to be fearless, to NEVER judge, to follow the fun. Dance more, smile more. - Katie Nunn

I didn't know Mike, but just by googling his name and seeing the outpouring of sympathy from so many folks I know he was a good man. It truly is a tragedy that someone so full of life, and with so much to offer, would be taken so soon. Hope...fully, this serves as a reminder to us all that life is shorter than we realize. We need to monopolize on every moment. Take time to reflect on the things that are most important to you. On stage, be fully present and thankful for the opportunity to share this art form with so many great people. Off stage, love and respect everyone. Most importantly, never forget that the people around you matter more than anything else. Not the material goods, but the people. Keep your heads up. We're gonna make it through and then some. - Corey Boothby

Now everyone go hug someone.

I.S. first show of 2012

Tonight is the Improv Shop's first show of 2012. Come check out the new flourishing improv scene in St. Louis. Laugh Local! 8pm at the Tin Can on Locust Street. Free!

Tonight's Acts:

Magic Ratio

Ted Dangerous (@teddangerous)

2011

On behalf of the Improv Shop: thank you performers and most importantly, students and fans, for the best year yet. We are looking forward to even bigger things in 2012!

Happy New Year!