On Improv and Awareness

On Improv and Awareness by Chris Pierce
When I think about how improv has affected my acting and, more generally my life, the first thing I come to is listening. Listening is an oft-overlooked art that is critical in our day-to-day communications with others, and absolutely without a doubt one of, if not THE, most crucial building blocks of improvisation. Without it, we might as well sit on stage, drool for 90 minutes and call it art. What is said? Is that what is meant? What IS meant? Is that all that is meant? What is hidden? What is revealed? Even the non-verbal communication requires that we listen. We listen to movements, the things people are telling us without saying a word, the things they cover up by staring too long at the mixing bowl or casting nervous glances to the clock. We listen to the scene and let it tell us where to go. We listen to ourselves, to our feelings, to our subconscious, to the sounds in the audience, to the music in the theater, to the squeaks in the stage, and it all affects us to some degree and changes what we do, the choices we make. Improv won't save the world or make you a better person, but the improviser, fully in the moment, is alive and bristling with awareness.
In our day-to-day lives, we get by with a lot of assumed information, information we take for granted. Think about it. I get up. I know the sun is up there somewhere, maybe behind a cloud, but up there. I know I’ll have a hot shower. I know I’ll get in my car, start it, and drive to work. I know I will unlock the door at work, go to my desk, and try to look busy for 8 hours. What did I miss? Details – the progressive shift of the seasons, the smell in the air outside my apartment, the stranger who dropped a box in a neighbor’s trash can, the cat stalking a squirrel, the distraught look on the face of the secretary from the office downstairs… Maybe I saw it, but did it affect me? To stay sane and get to work on time, maybe my mind filters things out that would interrupt my routine.
Now, think about things that change your day-to-day humdrum feelings and charge you. When do you feel that all your senses awaken, your brain ordering extra chemicals dumped into your bloodstream, your heart rate increasing or maybe even decreasing? More often than not, those things occur when there’s a change in your routine, you allow yourself to appreciate the yellowing of the leaves on the tree, or there’s an unexpected interruption that requires full physical, mental and emotional awareness…preparedness…for what? Anything could happen. On a larger scale, the hot water is out; my car won’t start; I get cut-off or sideswiped on the interstate; the door to the office is busted open; or maybe the office building is just gone. Something a little more subtle…I notice the distraught look on that secretary’s face and I ask her about it. Her reply somehow saddens or angers me…injustice.
In our scene work, each moment, every detail is critical. Listen to it. Process it. React to it honestly. If you don’t, it could be another humdrum day at the office.

Poker

My continuing interest in poker has turned into a mild obsession. As a kid, I remember my dad trying to get me into chess, which he had played all the time in previous years. I played, but never was that good at it. In fact, I don't think I've ever beaten my dad at chess. Poker fills that same competitive/strategy/guts and glory spot in my soul right now. When I first saw it on TV, it seemed like the equivalent of golf...sort of surprising anyone would sit and just watch. After playing a few times though, I suppose I can understand why people who love to play golf often love to watch golf. Same sort of thing.

My old hamstring healed up quite nicely within a week. So, I'm back to the basepaths. Slow-pitch softball is an exercise in patience when you're batting. The ball takes so long to get to you, you can change your mind 15 times about whether or not to swing. I guess that makes it quite the opposite of improvisation.

Softball and hammies

Lately, I've been doing all sorts of things with some free time. I've been taking some Spanish classes, playing poker everywhere, taking dance lessons and playing on a softball team. Funny...when you fill up your free time with electives, your time suddenly feels like it isn't "free" anymore. Last night, I pulled a hamstring during a softball game. I even ran through some stretches before the game. Despite playing sports through high school and a lot of recreational sports in college, I've never really had a sports-related injury. This one serves to remind me of my own mortality. You forget sometimes that your body won't always do what it has done in the past without a lot of extra preparation and caution. Never underestimate the power of a good stretch.

Show: BBIF, JaCKPie turns 3

Had a great time performing and watching the other teams at the Black Box Improv Festival. I also had a fantastic group who braved the relatively early morning hours on Saturday to take my workshop.

Major kudos to Babies mit Bearden with Mike in for Kasey. They made me laugh until I cried. "I sense whales ahead." "Well, you know, where there are whales, there are squid." Also really enjoyed the Dad's performance. Thanks also to Sean and Duke who came to see the show, and to Tom who came to my workshop. Had family commitments on Saturday evening, so I didn't get to see those shows. Maybe Jim can post some thoughts.

This was another great experience for Atlanta audiences and some of the college improvisers in the South.

On a JaCKPie specific level, Jim and I hadn't performed in a while. Jim mentioned afterwards that he had been nervous. That's usually my role, but for some reason, I felt like I was picking up on details and information all day long. I was confident that predator mind was going to be there for me in the show too. We ended up with a pretty cool show involving life behind the PO boxes, two people with a desperate need to open or not open something, and an organically developed silent scene (our second ever) involving the "hang-loose" sign and the history of telecommunications. The show felt tight and we were definitely connecting to each other and the audience.

JaCKPie is officially 3 years old now. Jim and I started discussions and workshops in late August of 2001. So much has happened in that time, so many people have crossed paths with us, I have learned so much. It hardly seems like a moment has passed, much less 3 whole years. There will be some changes ahead for JaCKPie, but we've been adapting and evolving since we started. I'm amazed by each new phase and thank Jim for continuing to be a fantastic, enthusiastic, creative partner and all of you who have played with us or just watched the shows for teaching and inspiring us.

Relationships in Scenes...

I've had talks or classes with some of you about how we know Who is who in the real world of relationships without name tags. Relationships are about relating (emotions, wants, needs, behavior, spatial relationships) not about talking about relating.

"Dad, you know, with it being my 16th birthday AND the prom AND my first real date, can I borrow the car even though the roads are really icy?"

"Aw, cousin-o-mine, we've been cousins ever since my mom's sister brought you illegitimately into the world behind ol' man Tate's pool hall, whilst I was curled up with The Notebooks of Davinci and a baby bottle full of fine Scotch."

In my opinion, the player's reliance on words alone to set up relationships and actions stems from the crunch time style of short-form games that give a scene 2-3 minutes of life. The training was always...spit out as much of the critical Who, What, Where, When, Why in the first few lines so you can be funny two-thirds of the time. That kind of training may or may not result in funny stuff, but I believe it is a program that inherently breeds distrust. Don't get me wrong, a lack of trust can exist independently of that kind of background for any number of reasons.

How can we truly be free to play without trust?

Trust the other player(s). Trust the audience to be intelligent enough to understand what they see perhaps even more than your application of a verbal 2x4. Trust that your own practice, reading, training and life experience have made you capable of communicating with your whole being, not just your mouth.

Chris
2004/01/06 - 11:15:28