<aside> 📓 Bob’s notes:

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What is improv? A shared spontaneous communication discovered one moment at a time.

Check-in are bullshit.

You are not miming. You were doing object work.

Don't touch your face.

Play two people who know each other. From Del Close more than six months but less than seven years. And like each other.

In a comedy club you're going for laughs. In a theatre you want to be engaging

<aside> 📓 Athreya’s notes:

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Athreya’s Notes

Jonathan Pitts - Taking care of the now.Listen to not only the what is said but also how it is said and the body language associated.Examples - Did they walk towards you or away from you.Did they raise their eyebrows.Did they pause before saying something.Was the pause filled with emotion (more words coming after) or deflated (they've finished what they had to say). Did their tone change? Did it move upward or downward? The Marty DrillTwo person scene. The two characters know and are fond of each other.Get a suggestion of a location.Start doing object work. Do not do a check-in on your partner (the quick glance to see what the other person is doing)Use the object work to inform how you are feeling. Are you bored, tired, frustrated, elated, excited? Reflect this in the object work.When you are sufficiently invested you may say the first dialogue. When your partner says their dialogue, you walk out to the front and answer 3 questions:1. What did your scene partner say. This is objective, did you catch every detail of the words uttered. Examples - did they give you a name? Did they give you an occupation? Did they tell you how long you've been doing this? Did they reveal your relationship?2. How did they say it. This is subjective, what is the emotion behind it? Examples - exasperated, frustrated, suggestive etc. Were there eyebrow raises, a click before saying it, did they move closer to you?3. When someone gave you that emotion in real life how would you respond, which body part would you feel that in?Remember you are answering these from the perspective of the improviser and not the character. The challenging part is you are not aware of what you are not listening to. It helps to have a coach or someone in the audience to point out things you missed. The goal of this drill is to make this whole process unconscious. You don't want to be doing this during an actual scene because it takes you out of the moment. But if you drill this enough you should be able to do it without thinking. Aside: object work is for yourself. Use it to inform your character and how they feel. Use it as something to do when you're lost.Another aside - if you're asking a question add a "because" to make it more of an offer. Don't think about the rest of the scene or how it's going. The only thing that matters is how you respond to this moment. 1/10/100 - is this the first time they've said this, the tenth time or the hundredth time? This completely changes how you would respond.

<aside> 💡 Aileen’s Notes

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Don't glance at ('check in' with) your partner on stage- either look intentionally as the character or not at all. Object work is for YOU- take your time, believe in the reality, dial up the emotion, and see what that reveals about your character. Then speak from that place.

Object work is a great way to start a scene, allowing gradual revelation & dramatic interest. Include your legs in the physicality. Avoid touching your face (it's a self-soothing response to anxiety).

Listen to your partner with ALL of your senses & to every word- consider all they have revealed about the characters and the relationship. Don't pre-plan, just let the characters and relationship reveal themselves in the now, one step at a time- simply listen and respond in the 'now', seeking only to understand where the scene is right now (& trust that the rest will take care of itself organically).

Distinguish between yourself as the improviser & the character- think "if in real life someone showed that emotion towards me, how might I react? Where would i feel it in my body? " It may be context-dependent (e.g. depending on the type of relationship history). Then make a decision about how your character will react & with what emotion. Let it happen in the moment. Take your time- there is NO RUSH to respond! Ask a Q adding a 'because' statement at the end of it. There will be points in a scene where the opportunity/need is there to name the relationship- take that offer when it is there.