February 26, 2020 Workshop

March 5, 2020

Well, this was quite the interesting class. I believe we had 13 new players. My uncertainty is because I only got a chance to meet 8 of them before we started (Welcome William, Selone, Noah, Caroline, Riley, Syndney, Conrad, and Sam) plus William’s sister (who came late and I didn’t write her name down), along with 4 others who came in a bit later and I didn’t get a chance to meet. There may have been others, or I may have lost count.

At one point, there were 31 people in class, so we were just under half being made up of folks who hadn’t done improv before.

We started with Character Intro, Pass the Box, and One Word Story. Our exercise was Gift Giving. Then everyone did a 5 Letter Word scene. Our musical exercise was Beasty Rap, and then we did Entrances and Exits. We filled the last minutes with Freeze Tag.

It was amazing how enthusiastic all the new folks were. Those who were brand new as well as those who’ve only been to one or two other classes were all eager to jump up and participate in the games. It was a very fun class.

February 19, 2020 Workshop

February 20, 2020

A very fun class with 25 people, two of which were new, so welcome Christina and Allison.

We warmed up with Character Intro, Three Part Narrative, and One Word Story. For the exercise, I gave folks a choice and Story-Story-Die was selected by popular acclaim. Even those who didn’t know the game were enthusiastic (I guess the name was enough to sell them).

Everyone did Changing Emotions and we finished with three rounds of Hook Up-Break Up.

February 12, 2020 Workshop

February 19, 2020

Sorry for the delay getting this posted. Let’s see what I can report from my rusty memory and my notes.

We had 29 people in this class, with two new to us. Welcome Robert and Sam!

We warmed up with Character Intro, Zip-Zap-Zop, and One Word Story. Our exercise was Class Photo, and we played Alliteration, Irish Drinking Song, and World’s Worst.

And here are the photos I’ve got from the night:

February 5, 2020 Workshop

February 19, 2020

We had 20 people in class, and nowadays that’s a small class. With smaller classes I can either do more large group games or focus on two person games, and tonight I tried to split it between the two.

There were six new players joining us, so welcome Souheil, Bassem, Sam, Rob, Leilani, and Christine.

Our warm ups were Character Intro, Enemy Defender, and One Word Story. Our exercise piece was Three Headed Conversation.

Then it was Pillars and Irish Drinking Song. We ended with a couple of rounds of Park Bench.

January 29, 2020 Workshop

February 4, 2020

We had 20 people in class, and nowadays that’s a small class. With smaller classes I can either do more large group games or focus on two person games, and tonight I tried to split it between the two.

There were two new players joining us, so welcome Madeline and Jake.

Our warm ups were Character Intro, Red Ball, and One Word Story. Our exercise piece was Standing, Sitting, Bending.

Then it was Emotional Zone and Beasty Rap. We ended the night with Three Line Drill.

January 22, 2020 Workshop: A Smaller Night

January 23, 2020

It was a smaller class than usual with 18 people, two of them were new players (welcome Nick and Lindsey).

Our group warm ups were Character Intro, Slap-Clap-Snap, and One Word Story. We started our exercises with Mutant, and then we played Create an Object to Speak and Entrances and Exits. Our song was the Irish Drinking Song which left us with just enough time for a couple sets of 185.

This week my “Intro to Improv” topics were Chivalry and Reincorporation. I talked about losing an argument for the sake of a scene, since no one really wants to see an argument on stage. The point of Chivalry is to be willing to give up your ego.

Reincorporation is about focus. Rather than introduce new concepts, our job is to keep exploring the initial ideas in a scene - reincorporating the people, plot, and relationships - to avoid losing focus and letting the scene wander aimlessly.

A few memorable moments:

Competitive complementary drinks
The worst science class
Eye worms (eew!)
Blake’s room (never gonna happen)

January 15, 2020 Workshop: Finally Back Into a Routine

January 18, 2020

Although every class is its own special snowflake, this night followed what has become a fairly typical pattern.

We had 24 people in class, this time with four brand new to us (welcome Joanna, Leon, Angelique, and Tim) and two additional players who I hadn’t met but attended a workshop in December (hello to Harmon and Sierra). Also, welcome back Angela, who’s been traveling the world for several months.

Our group warm ups were Character Intro, Whoosh-Bang-Pow, and One Word Story. The exercise was Machine, and then we played Changing Count and Irish Drinking Song. We ended with Sound Effects as a rotation.

Also, in addition to general announcements, I’m going to start formally presenting improv concepts: defining terms, discussing rules of thumb, and ways to approach scenes. Tonight I talked about questions and why to avoid them (they don’t add to a scene, but require our partners to add information), and why we try to avoid crazy, drugged, and child characters (because those characters and anything they say can be discounted from what’s happening in a scene). I also like mentioning how you can effectively break these rules of thumb, if you know the reasons behind them.

January 8, 2020 Workshop: The dog ate my homework!

January 9, 2020

Normally, I make these entries based on the notes I take during class (yes, I’m actually taking notes, not just doodling). However, one of my dogs (who’s only been here for 2 weeks and still getting the hang of things) actually tore up and ate my brand new 2020 notepad! So, this entry is based on my memory (uh oh) and the photos I took.

We had 24 people in class including 3 brand new to us (welcome Malachi, David, and Burgundy - I hope I got those names right) and an additional player who attended a few workshops some time ago, but started again during December (welcome back Shannon).

We warmed up with Character Intro, Sound Ball, and One Word Story, then did a round of Tag Out Story as an exercise. We played the game Counting Words and then Beasty Rap. We did a couple of rounds of Panel of Experts and then ended with a little Freeze Tag.

Darn it! I wrote down several lines that stood out for me as the night went on, but now that the notes are gone, I can’t remember them. <sigh>

January 1, 2020 Workshop: I'm Back!

January 2, 2020

Quick recap of our class on New year’s Day, 2020: the start of a new decade.

First of all, I want to apologize for missing all of December workshop classes. It wasn’t my intent, and the schedule got away from me. As I understand it, Austin started a variety of rumors regarding my disappearance, so at least you all had that (thank you Austin)

I want to especially thank Lindsey for stepping in and covering three classes! I hope you all love her style as much as I do, and that she pushed you really, really hard (miss me?)

I didn’t know what to expect from a class on the holiday, but we had 16 people and it represented a wide range of experience, from a new player (welcome Nick) to some old timer’s (nope, not calling them out)

We warmed up with Character Intro, Enemy Defender, and Samurai, then did a round of Hitchhiker as an exercise. The games were 5 Letter Word and Repeating Scene, Changing Genre. We sang The Irish Drinking Song and for advanced work we did a 3 Line Drill. That left us with enough time to end with Freeze Tag.

Special Intro to Improv Workshop

April 24, 2017

Intro to Improv We have a special Into to Improv workshop coming up.

If you are new to improv, are curious about improv, or just want to try it out then this is a great option!

The particulars:

Date: Sunday April 30, 2017

Time: 2:30 pm to 5:30 pm

Location: Jefferson Hall, 1525 Santa Barbara Street (near Anapamu)

Price: $30

Improv Workshop March 11, 2015

March 25, 2015

Class continued its slow increase to 27 people tonight, with one who is brand new to the workshop. Our games tonight: Character Intro, What Are You Doing?, Tag Out Story, Animal Transform, Irish Drinking Song, and 3 Line Drill.

Improv Workshop March 4, 2015

March 22, 2015

Tonight's class had 26 people, including some faces we haven't seen in awhile. No brand new players, but the return of a few for their second class. Some pretty basic warm ups, starting with Character Intro, then on the Whoosh, Bang, Pow, and One Word Story. Then came Counting Words, Party Quirks, and Beasty Rap.

The header image is from one of the Beasty Rap scenes, and shows Mark, Cora, Brian, Debbie, Steven, and Eric.

Improv Workshop February 25, 2015

March 22, 2015

We took some time from tonight's class to remember Ben Woolf. A previous post gave some of Ben's history with the Santa Barbara Workshop, and I wanted to give those who knew him a chance to say a few words. This is the first time we've had a memorial for anyone who attended class, and I think it was an appropriate tribute. I don't have many pictures from this night since I didn't bring out the camera until the end. They're all from the 185 scenes.

There were 25 people in tonight's class, none of them brand new. We warmed up with Character Intro and One Word Story. Our short form games were 5 Letter Word and Switch Dubbing. We did the Irish Drinking Song and ended with 185.

Improv Workshop February 18, 2015

March 11, 2015

I'm a bit behind in postings, so I'll make this quick (you all just want to see the photo gallery anyway). Two new players joined us this week for a total of 25 in class. We started with Slap, Clap, Snap, then came One Word Story in two groups. Our short form work consisted on Club Photo to Scene and Emotional List. Everyone did Beasty Rap, and we ended with two Montage groups.

Improv Workshop February 11, 2015

February 17, 2015

Class was back up to 28 people this week with 5 new to the workshop. We didn't get to as many scenes as I would have liked, so the next time we get such a large class I'll switch to games which use more players. We started with Character Intro and moved on to Whoosh, Bang, Pow. One Word Story ended the warm ups, and we moved on to short form work. I only got us through a complete round of 5 Letter Word scenes before it was time for the Irish Drinking Song. After that we did a few rounds of Four Square.

I did write down one line. I think it was delivered by John in his 5 Letter Word Scene - "this kettle ain't going to fill itself!"

It was probably funnier in context.

Improv Workshop February 4, 2015

February 8, 2015

This week we were down to 19 people, so we did some 2 person scenes. And although I brought the camera, there are only a few pictures from the end of the night. This first picture perfectly captured the sadness class feels when we have to stop. Our warm ups consisted of Character Intro, Zulu (sometimes called Categories), and One Word Story. All were done in one big group.

For our stage work we started with a full round of Hitchhiker. Then we moved on to No P, followed by Pillars. That was done as a rotation, with word givers becoming performers in the following scene.

This week the musical piece was Beasty Rap, and then we finished with 185. We divided the class into only 2 groups for that piece and it went particularly well. Somewhere on Facebook is a video of a group doing "185 bras walk into a bar...".

January 28 Class CANCELLED

January 27, 2015

Sorry everyone, but I'm going to have to cancel this week's class (January 28). Unfortunately, our usual facility is being used for the annual homeless count, and our usual alternative locations already have other scheduled activities. The Unitarians were most apologetic, but they were constrained by other obligations.

Other alternative locations didn't pan out, which has been my past experience. Facilities like we need are expensive and often booked up.

I decided to make the call now so that I've got time to get the word out. I'll be posting to the Facebook sites, making a Twitter announcement, and emailing those I have addresses for. I'll also post signs at the location.

We will be back the following week (February 4) at our usual time and location.

Improv Workshop January 21, 2015

January 23, 2015

Wouldn't you know, last week three people brought cameras and took pictures. This week we had none. So, no pictures this post. Class was smaller, counting in at 21 people (yeah, that's a "smaller" class), and that included two people new to the workshop. We started with Character Intro, and then did two rounds of Enemy Defender. Next came a simple version of Pass the Clap, and then right into One Word Story, this time everyone in one big group.

Next came the Short form stage work, and we started with Story, Story, Die. We switched to Story, Story, Shame when we had new folks trying it out, which is a version without the competitive elimination component. When someone misses a transition, the audience shouts out "shame" rather than "die", and we then identify the problem for the player. People familiar with the game prefer the competitive elimination version (DIE!)

Counting Words came next which went pretty well, followed by Irish Drinking Song. After that we had about 20 minutes left, so I decided to finish with a 3 Line Drill. We haven't done any open form work for awhile, so it was time to bring it back, and introduce the newer players to this way of starting scenes. It's also a way to hone the skills of experienced players, and yes, okay, right off the bat I screwed up and never established a relationship! DO AS I SAY, NOT...

Improv Workshop January 14, 2015

January 16, 2015

Another big class this week: 27 people all told with 6 new to the workshop. Big classes are always fun with lots of energy, but I need to change some of the exercises around so that we can get in a few more games. Speaking of which, we started the night with Character Intro, Limericks, Ball Transform, and One Word Story (two groups again). Then on to Standing-Sitting-Bending and a new one for us, Decreasing Scene. That one was done in groups of three, and started with a 30 second scene. Then the scene is replayed as a three word sentence scene, and the final round is replaying it with no words. It was a good learning piece, challenging for everyone, and was quick.

We finished the night with Beasty Rap, Switch Dubbing, and Freeze tag. Now that I see the whole list, we got quite a few pieces in!

This week we had better cameras, so here are a few pictures.

Improv Workshop January 7, 2015

January 9, 2015

Our first Wed. night workshop of 2015 was well attended with 28 people including 6 who were there for the first time. We also had a few returnees whom we haven't seen for quite a while. Big classes are always fun, even though we don't get as many games in. There's a lot of energy, and you get the opportunity to work with different players.

Warm ups consisted of Character Intro, Whoosh/Bang/Pow, and One Word Story (divided into 2 groups).

I got to do my favorite Improv 101 talk (with the lovely vase of flowers), and then right into 5 Letter Word. Next was Entrances and Exits, followed by Irish Drinking Song, and we ended the night with Freeze Tag.

And yes, that is a Christmas Tree on the side of the stage.

Also, I need a better low light camera <<ooph!>>