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Power 2 Improv's aim is to keep growing and changing and offering new outlets for people to discover the best in themselves and others and to use it and have fun

Thursday, February 28, 2013

Be specific.

Picture a table in a restaurant. Can you see it? Chances are your image is a little fuzzy and undeveloped, the words bringing up a general impression of a place without detail, a sort of generic impression of restaurantness which may change from moment to moment as your mind wanders. Or, you may have pictured an actual restaurant from your past which may not have been what I had in mind at all, and might, in fact, have been incompatible with my vision if, say, I had asked you to go on to imagine examining the fine silverware while your image had been of a cheap burger joint.
Now, picture a five star French restaurant with starched white table cloths and stiff tux clad waiters. Or a southern bar-b-que shack with rough wooden picnic tables and a chalkboard menu. Or a Parisian sidewalk cafe with a view of the Eiffel Tower. Or a fast food stand, with plastic tables and plastic food. Or an International House of Pancakes. Or a British Pub. The more specific we are in our images the clearer they will be in our minds, and the more easily we transmit that specificity to the audience the clearer these images will be for them. And, the clearer they are, the more real they will be. It is by giving them these images in detail that the scene's reality will be shared by all.
So, be specific! This means making choices early on as to what those details will be, and sticking to them. There are no wrong decisions at this point, any specific choice will help to establish the Where in our minds, piece by piece, as we create the reality of this scene.
Suppose we have a scene that is to take place in an office. Well, what kind of office? A lawyer's office? An accountant's office? The oval office? It would be easy to simply establish a desk and a telephone and go from there, but if your conception of where you are is fuzzy it will certainly be so for the audience. Make a decision. These places will all be different in some way.
Let's make it a stockbroker's office. Before you say a word you should be able to communicate a sense of where you are through what you do. If you were suddenly transported to a broker's office you would probably be able to tell where you were just by looking around. The objects around you would give it away instantly. Just as a set designer and property master of the formal stage must decide what telling objects to include on the set, you must produce them in your space. And, just as an actor on the formal stage would never walk around the set before a scene and describe where he was and point out those objects, you must bring them to life by using them.
In our broker's office, there's probably a stock ticker or some sort of trading board. Read off some numbers. Much trading is done by computer these days, so go ahead and type in a trade. Pick up the telephone, dial, and advise your customer (Who? Detail again, "Mr. Trump, about Amalgamated Widget ...") to sell something. And, finally, open your window and invite your boss to come in off of the ledge. Now, we're in a stockbroker's office and no one had to come right out and say it. Specific details did the job painlessly.

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Start strong.

The thing about short form improv is: it's short. You don't have a lot of time to fool around, so go ahead and dive in to the scene. Don't waste your energy with waking up in the morning, getting into the car and going to your location, or making greetings to your scene partners ("Hi, Bob." "Hi, Phil. Nice day, huh." "Yep." "How you doin'?" "Can't complain...") start the scene in progress.
Start your relationships in progress, too. Nothing is more boring and gives you less to work with than a transaction scene -- the typical shop clerk and customer who don't know each other scene -- yet actors time and time again will start any scene with a retail setting with the same old "May I help you, sir?" If you were actually in a store and you heard one person say that to another, would you even bother listening in on their conversation? Why would you think your audience would be interested in that, then? Why not give yourself some emotional juice to work with by assuming a back story between these people and going from there? Same store, but: "Yeah, those jeans do make your butt look big. I'm sick of lying to you." or "Great nightgown! Why don't you wear that tonight and we can invite your sister over to join us?" or "I don't need school supplies, Mom, I'm dropping out!" Now, you'd want to listen.

Find the game.

Comedy depends on structure, and subverting structures When improvising an unstructured scene (one without much of a game to play off of) you have to "find the game" which really means just finding a structure to work within. Say you and a partner are playing two old people talking about your operations and you keep trying to top each other with a more comically horrific illness -- you've found a game of one upmanship. Or you're doing a scene with a health inspector who finds something only to have the chef come up with an outrageous explanation as to why conditions are like that -- you've found a justification game. Finding a game or structure to work within helps you set up the humor and gives you something to play. A scene without some sort of structure that's completely random usually goes nowhere.

Sunday, February 24, 2013

The students were Amazing in their showcase!



We had an Awesome Improv show today!  The students we so full of energy and attacked the stage with so much fearlessness and teamwork the Audience love all of it.  I am very proud of them for 8 weeks of watching, listing, and learning and trusting and jumping in has made them better students and performers.   GREAT JOB! GREAT SHOW!




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Thursday, February 21, 2013

I find that people say "NO" or turn down opportunities many times before they even see what it really has to offer them.   It is so easy to just say "NO,  I cant do that,"  Saying  "YES, or i am going to looking to that or try it "  can be scary !     Remember this   you can do anything you put your mind to. The only one that can truly stop you or block your path is you.     Trust that if you Yes And it and you go full energy in to it  you just may surprise yourself and raise your personal limits.

 Be better then you think you are!   You can do it!

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Some time you need to stand on your own two feet and look around and see how you can add to it.  Life is what you make it , so Life is Improv!   so there is no reason to not make it up as you go along!

Monday, February 18, 2013

What's the Main Difference Between teaching Kids versus Adults?

The kids have an advantage because they have yet to lose their ability to play.

Their life is still all about playing. When you tell a kid to play, they simply do. When adults think about playing, they want to analyze the game first. They think about what they’re doing, why they’re doing it, whatever. When they play the game, they want to make sure they’re playing it right. It’s actually a little harder for them to let go and have some fun…and that’s all I want them to do. Let go and play!

Think of when you were a kid. You would play cops and robbers, house, cowboys and Indians, school, etc.  If you tell a kid he’s going to be a mobster, the kid says, “Okay, I’m a mobster.” And in that moment, they believe it. He IS a mobster, he’s not playing one. Adults want to know about this mobster, who he is and why he’s that way. They feel a grown up need to be more thorough.  They want to analyze and sometimes that can work against them, especially when it comes to improv.

The way I teach is by experience. Kids are naturally curious. If you tell a kid a candle flame is hot, there’s still a good chance he or she is going to touch it. They need to know, to experience for themselves. When they experience something, that experience becomes a fabric of their being. They don’t have to think about it anymore. Now they know, they have their answer because they’ve experienced it.

It’s the same with improv. I teach them all these life lessons through playing. If you simply tell them about things like communication, trust, confidence, etc. they might not get it. But if you let them learn it from an experience, the lesson sticks, even as the kids think they’re simply having fun and playing a game. They are young and open to these experiences, which is something we lose a little later in life. But not kids, they play, they learn, they experience.

Sunday, February 17, 2013





Power2Improv and The Students of the FUNdamentals of Improv would like to invite you to their Improv showcase on  Sunday February 24th   2pm at the Orlando Library.   This show is packed full of fun and s fully interactive. So bring the family out to this  FREE show for all the giggle and laughs you can handle. 


Today is the Launch of the NEW Power2Improv.com.  All bright and shinny for the new year, New plan, and More FUN!   Find out about our shows, improv classes, Corporate Training, School mentoring and couching,  This is a Fun exciting time as this is step one with many more to follow, With coming announcements of new corporate partnerships and a School based Coaching program to help students be the best they can be.  So Join, Click, Link and follow our New site, Blog, Twitter, and radio show.   Its all about FUN and opportunities for players, our Audience and our Fans!  Remember  Improv is always just a click away. Now you have the power! The power 2 Improv.   www.power2improv.com

Students learn improv for upcoming showcase

Teaching new students and watching them grasp the fundamentals of improv and watching them stand on their own on stage is exciting and pure magic.  This is the eight week and they have their showcase this coming Sunday Feb, 24th at 2pm and the downtown Library.