Class August 2, 2006

Pretty big class on Wednesday night with 16 people. Five were new to the class, and most of those came with no improv experience, so we had a night of good, basic work. Andy grabbed the camera, so we have pictures from actual scene work from this workshop! This first one shows Jim and Allegra during a Switch-Dubbing scene. Andre was off stage dubbing Allegra, and Patrick was dubbing Jim. I believe this was a Paraguayan film, involving a beauty shop and a barber. I'll let you figure out the roles from the picture.

The second shot shows Mike, Allegra, and Eric (one of the new players) in an Entrances and Exits scene. I don't have many notes on that scene, although I believe there was a ficus plant, a knife, and a light involved.

Unfortunately, most of the other shots were pretty blurry. I selected thesetwo as the most interesting of the acceptable shots.I think the new improvisers did remarkably well. They were all willing to get on stage and try whatever I threw at them, so there was a lot of trust between the players. We held off of any of the more advanced, open scene work, but that had as much to do with it being such a large class as anything else. We'll try to work in some of the open scene work next week.

Class July 26, 2006

Look! A picture from the class! If only it were an actual picture from an actual scene. No, I have to admit that this was posed. Thanks to Ben and Karla for taking pity on me when, after the class had just ended, I once again realized I had no pictures. Damn. Anyway, we had a fine class, with 12 folks making a bunch of improv goodness.

For the three line drill, my instruction was that the opening line had to be something that the player had actually said or heard in his or her life. We were to start with that bit of reality and see how the scene would open. VERY COOL! Some of the best scene starts occurred, with really powerful lines and strong reactions. And the wants that the players found were great choices. I'd say that I wanted to see every scene all the way through.

We'll try this exercise again sometime.

Oh, here's another candid shot.

Class July 12, 2006

We had a fairly big class last night; 15 people total. With that big a group, we don't get a lot of open scene work done, but I think everyone is really improving on the three line drill. I find myself wanting to see more of the scenes fully played out. Depending on time and size of the group, I'll do more of the three-line-drill to full-scene exercise. Once again, I brought the camera, but did not take a single picture DURING the class. I snapped a few with people after class, but someone made a very good suggestion that I hand off the camera at the beginning of class. Let someone else shoot pictures. Next time.

Actually, speaking of next time, I'll be out of town next week so Victoria will be teaching the July 19 class. I hear nothing but good things after she teaches (uh-oh...) so plan on attending.

Class July 5, 2006

So, last night the class started off with a surprise birthday celebration for me. Thanks to everyone who participated in setting that up. It was very thoughtful and a complete surprise. And, the Kettle Cake was particularly tasty. Out of the 12 players, we had one brand new player, and one who was last with us a couple of years ago. We tried to convince them that we don't have cake every week, but I think WE all started to wonder 'why not?'

One of the new players from last week returned this week, which is comforting. I don't think we're all that intimidating.

Once again, no photos this week. I tried some shots with my cell phone but was unimpressed with the results. I'll try again next week.

No particular line of dialog stood out for me, but all in all it was a good class. I was getting a bit tired at the end - crashing from a sugar high?

Class June 28, 2006

A fun class with three new people attending. I always like having beginners, because it forces us to go back to basics, and gives the more experienced folks the challenge of really supporting a fellow player who may be struggling. One of those improv basics - Save your fellow actor, don't worry about the piece. I planned on taking some pictures for the new website (still in process) and even brought my camera. After warning everyone that I'd be taking shots, I promptly forgot the whole thing and never even brought the camera out. Drat - next time.

My favorite line of the night came during a 5 letter word scene. The suggested word was CRUDE and at one point Allegra used the line Unctuous Bastard! For everyones edification, I got the following defintion from Dictionary.com

unc�tu�ous (ngkch-s) adj.

1. Characterized by affected, exaggerated, or insincere earnestness: �the unctuous, complacent court composer who is consumed with envy and self-loathing� (Rhoda Koenig).
2. Having the quality or characteristics of oil or ointment; slippery.
3. Containing or composed of oil or fat.
4. Abundant in organic materials; soft and rich: unctuous soil.

We learn so much from our fellow improvisors.

Caught in the Act Show Coming May 15th, 2006

Okay, it's been some time since I've gotten back to this, but it's not for a lack of class activity! We've continued to meet each week, and the turnout has been great. The last couple of weeks, we've been averaging 9 players. The big news is that Caught in the Act has a show scheduled for Thursday, May 15th. We'll be at the Loise Lowry Davis Center starting at 8:00 pm. That's at 1232 De La Vina, at the corner of Victoria. $5 at the door. Should be fun, and it sounds like it will be a big crowd.

Class March 19, 2003

Well, although we were scheduled for Classroom B last Wednesday, we ended up in C (we traded with another group), and it was probably just as well. It keeps us further from the bookclub, and less likely to disturb them (they said both nights of our workshops were fine for them). And so, we have passed our probation and have reserved our place there at least through September! That's right, we have a semi-permanent home at the Unitarian Society for now. Although I took pictures Wednesday, there were only two which weren't blurry, and both were of Jim, Mark, and Dave (those photogenic guys), and both were from the same game. I decided not to post them yet, but will start collecting these one-off pictures for a collection page. Despite our lack of photographic documentation, it was still a pretty fun night. We even got through a couple of one-acts. Okay, they weren't the best of the genre, but it's been awhile since we've even attempted a one-act, and it was nice to try and get through the form. Much like the song, this is something everyone will get better at with some practice.

Class March 12, 2003

Last Wednesday's class was at our new location, the Unitarian Society. Although a bit small, and I don't know that we've got the layout quite right yet, it will be nice if this can evolve into a regular location for us. Before I talk more about the last class, this next one (March 19th) will be at the Unitarian Society, but we will be in Classroom B. It's closer to the main entrance area, and for those that came on Wednesday, you passed it just before going into the back. I'll post signs again, but it will take fewer, since you will probably see us from the sidewalk. The bookgroup in classroom A said we weren't a problem, but that was when we were in Classroom C. Classroom B is right next to them, and so we'll see what happens this time.

I posted some pictures from the class at the web site, but the quality is much lower than the original set. I suspect the camera, so I'll go back to the original one, next time.

We had a good mix of pieces, warming up with Character Intro's, then Pantomime Box, and One Word Story. We played 5 letter word, Standing-Sitting-Bending, Assigned Quirks, and 1st Line-Last Line. And the two Songs we did this week were great! We got a fair bit of long-form in also, with a 3 Line Drill, Montage, and even a bit of a One Act. A pretty good class, actually.

And welcome to Susan, who was new to our workshop, but clearly experienced with doing improv. Some good work, and she was the first one up for just about every piece! Also, welcome back to Chuck who we haven't seen for about a year now. He's still got game. Rounding out the group was Andy, Chris, David, Jim, Mark, and Mike.

New Location For The Class

Okay, some breaking news. We now have a site for this coming Wednesday (March 12), and perhaps a more permanent location. It's at the Unitarian Church (1535 Santa Barbara Street), in classroom C. Their manager and I decided that we'd try it this week first to see if it works out. It's a classroom for kids, and it's in the back, so it's not visible from the street and a little tricky to find. There's another classroom that I would have preferred (classroom B), but a book group meets next door, and our concern was the noise we generate, and whether that would disturb them. And so the "trial" week. Classroom C is reserved on the 19th, but is available after that, so we may be in another location for just next week. It may be that we are in a different classroom but on the same site. Again, we'll see how this works, and decide whether we want to keep looking. I'll be positing the address and directions to this classroom on the web site this weekend, but I wanted to post something here, as sson as I had it confirmed (I've got the key, gave them the check for this week, etc.).

I'm sorry we had to cancel on the 5th, but I'm glad we've got something this week. And, even better, it will be nice if it turns into a permanent site.

Class April 28, 2003

Two major points in this update. First, class last Wednesday was pretty good, despite an exercise that was tough. We warmed up with Character Intros, then Slap-Clap-Snap Association, and a One Word Story. We then did some good, basic exercises: Hitch-hiker, Mutant, and Gift Giving. The tough one was Scene in 2 locations. It's a mind twist, but it's an exercise that really challenges your ability to justify offers. We did a couple of Irish Drinking Songs. In the advanced part of the night, we got the chance to do some Long Form work, starting with a 3 line drill, then doing a Montage that was stopped after 3 lines to establish wants, and the scene continued until the end. That had some great work. There were 9 people in class class this week, but I didn't bring the camera, so no pictures this time. Okay, the big issue right now is our lack of a meeting location. The Louise Lowry Davis center is only available one week in March (the last week), and so far the Carrillo Rec Center and the Westside Community Center don't have space available on Wednesday nights. I'm still checking out other sites, so be sure to check in for the latest updates on locations. I'm starting an email list just to let people know the plans as they are made.

Class February 19, 2003

The class last night class was fun with 7 folks besides myself attending. You can check out some pictures I've posted. Jim, Mike, Andy, Mark, Tawnie, Chris, Peter, and I warmed up with a Story Introduction and Big Bootie. Then a pretty good session of short form games, including Last Letter, Emotional Mirror, Movie Review, Evil Twin, and a Song (the Irish Drinking Song). After that we moved on to some long form work: a three line drill and then Mortgage in London (a montage form) with the laundromat as our location. A pretty good night.