A few years ago I bought two compilation sets of Django and it has been very helpful to have these in my cell phone to listen to whenever I get the chance. I’ve listened to the track at least a hundred times.

Three Years ago I was attending a commercial auditioning workshop and found quickly that my Improv skills were lacking. So after looking around at all of the Improv theaters and schools in Hollywood, I decided to take classes at the Improv Olympic (IO). [The Olympics Committee actually threatened to sue them for using the word Olympic in their title, so they are called "IO West"now].

They have a 7 level program that teaches improv. I was working my way through the program up to level 5 when I changed jobs, (I went from driving a taxi to working as an assistant editor again). Because they had stopped doing the higher level classes on the weekend, and my job has been at night, I wasn’t able to continue the program.

But my desire to do Improv never faded and I’m back now at IO taking classes.

WARM-UPS:
We stretched a little bit.
We played a name passing game.
We played Red-Ball.
We played Zip-Zap-Zop.

MIRRORING
This was a partnered exercise that involved standing in front of a partner and following his/her every move.

SILENT SCENES
This was a partnered exercise where two players improvised a scene, but didn’t use words or gestures to communicate.

GIBBERISH
This was partenered exercise where two players improvised a scene, but used only gibberish to communicate.

WORDS ARE NOT IMPORTANT
The point of all these exercise was that words are not important,.

GESTALT
The class got up on stage and worked an exercise to develop “Group Mind”.
We gathered in a circle and closed our eyes and attempted to count to twenty. If one person cut off another person we had to start the count again.

LONG TWO PERSON SCENES
The class did two person scenes. The class has 14 people and there were seven scenes.

DISCUSSION OF THE GAME
Derek’s class outline handout has this listed but we didn’t get to the discussion of the Game. Maybe next week.

OPENING GAME
We ended the class with a word association game that could be used as an opening. It was a pattern game and one person would start with any word, look at another person in the circle and that person would pass an association to another, and so on. Then at a certain point it would go in reverse order, only in reverse the same words were used. (This game made me realize that either my listening skills, or memory skills are off and I need to work on both).

NOTES:
Derek’s handout has a quote by Del Close regarding the difficulty of living in thereal world and summing up “You’ve been doing human behavior, now we’re going to take human behavior and turn it into an abstract art form.”

Don’t be late
Leave Judgment Behind
Funny is not important, yet…more important honesty.
TRUST AND LOVE YOUR PERSPECTIVE. IT’S UNIQUE, VITAL AND IMPORTANT.

Reading List:
Guru by Jeff Griggs
Improvise from the Inside Out by Mick Napier
The Second City Almanac of Improvisation by Anne Libera
The Compass by Janet Coleman
Art by Commitee by Charna Halpern
Blink The Power of Now by Charna

See Shows!

He also quotes Mick Napier that says: “The funny” in the improv comes from holding onto the the thing that you discovered in the scene. Not changing it.

Now my notes:
(mostly what was discusses in class mixed with my own perceptions)

I took notes based on Derek’s comments after a scene or exercise was performed by a set of partners. What I need to work on is a shorthand system for noting the specific scenes.

Everything in Improv is discovery in the moment/reception/awareness/relaxation.
Create space specifically with details organically. We, the audience, automatically frame things.

Use the mirror exercise to generate the scene work.
What are we doing? Now? Where?

Too many no’s, don’t deny, just find the scene togehter and play the environment.

Details matter. There’s a difference between a fancy drink and beer bottle.

There’s safety in #’s (this is regarding mirroring a partner at the top of an improv versus trying to do something different).

Argument kills the creation.

When we did partnered scenes my notes became to sparse, I was concentrating on what the players on the stage were doing and less on note taking.
(I have notes and will try to revise this entry later).

To sum up:
Improv techniques we worked on-Mirroring, Silence, Relationship.

Discover, Heighten, Intensify.
Listen, Remember, Concentrate.

Today I spent part of the afternoon attempting to record the Django Reinhardt tune, Minor swing into Garageband, and then with the video from the web cam.  I tried to marry the two in Final Cut Pro, but that didn’t work, so I put them together in Avid.  It’s played really slow, I had the idea that I could give a lesson on how to play Minor Swing.  But after really looking at the video, I’m going to have to redo it.  The background features a toilet and a printer on the floor next to a futon (not to attractive), and my headset wires were swinging too much, causing a distraction.

So I’m posting Djangology which I recorded the other day, no video: Djangology

Enjoy!

After graduating from Louisiana State University with a B.A. degree in Creative Writing, I moved to Los Angeles, where I have worked primarily in Television Post-Production.

1990-1993: I first worked as an aupair for my aunt and uncle, babysitting my cousin (four nights a week babysitting in exchange for rent)..  This afforded me time to figure out what I would be doing after college (I took acting classes, worked at ICM Agency in the mailroom, worked as set P.A. on the feature Single White Female, worked in Post-production on an A&E WWII series, and then in Post on another feature film).

1993-1997: While completing the acting training program at the Joanne Baron/D.W. Brown Studio, I worked as a taxi-driver, waiter, and breakfast caterer.

1998-1999: So, that I could gain entrance into the Screen Actor’s Guild, I worked as a movie extra.

2000-2005.  After working as an office assistant to a reasonably unsuccessful movie producer, I found myself working in post-production, as a production assistant, as an assistant editor  and free-lancing as an editor. While free-lancing as an editor, I spent most of my free time learning photography and how to skateboard, and writing.

I returned to acting classes in 2005-2007 at Improv Olympic, working through their program up to level five.

2007-present: I have been working again in post-production as an assistant, all the while pursuing acting in commercials (I have an agent and have been getting out on auditions.  I recently returned to IO, and hope to complete the program).

All the while, through the years, I have maintained a regular practice of playing the guitar and singing songwriting.