CORE Improv

A student once told me that the most valuable phrase they heard me tell them was "Trust Yourself." Don't get me wrong, I'm not bragging about inventing a"Just Do It" phrase. Trust Yourself isn't exactly bold new territory. In fact, I was a little fed up at the time because the performer - who is very talented - was worrying over the details of a new game he was learning. When he committed to trusting himself, he rocked the scene. It was a breakthrough for him. 

That "Trust youself" moment reso...
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I am very glad a few more members of the local STL improv community had the chance to be exposed to the phenomenon that is the Missouri Thespian Conference this year. If there is anywhere in the world where the interest level on the improvometer gets further into the red zone than at MST, I am not sure I want to go there. MST is about as much as I ever want to handle. Anything more would be riotous. 

The key is that high school students have this time set aside for them to delve into something...
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Great article, but again it takes a leap to get it back from musical improv to theatrical improv. One day, some grad student is going to call me and say, "We want to study the mind of an improvisor." That will be a great day,

http://seedmagazine.com/content/article/the_improvisational_brain/


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I found this fascinating, considering what we do. This neurologist studied the differences between of memorized rap and jazz versus improvised versions. The scientist admits that is all preliminary research, but watch it anyway and see if you think you can make some logical leaps to theatrical improv.

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162 games in the regular season. The game ends either after nine innings, or after a tie ends, whichever comes first. And what do the innings consist of? 90% of the game is an interaction between a batter, a pitcher, and a catcher that goes like this: Pitch. Catch.

Occasionally, there is a swing. Only about 1 out of 4 at bats result in a batter getting on base. According to the ERA or the average starting pitcher, each team will probably score 4 runs or fewer, per game.

People call this a bori...
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August is approaching and with it, new improvisors. Would you please comment here with some advice for the beginning improvisor?

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We're in the home stretch towards SLIC Fest...

As we been plugging away at SLIC Fest, we have been impressed by the people who have offered their unsolicited assistance. This is wonderful for these reasons:

A) One of the goals of SLIC Fest has been to contribute to and bolster the St. Louis improv community. So having people other than us so such interest was a big deal.

B) We learned a little more about what is going on around town.

C) It's always heartwarming to see people get excited about a ...
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So, you want to know what a Shortform Show will look like to the audience? Here are some basic components. The order and timing of these should be jotted down and walked out, from point to point, well before the first performance by all the performers. You cannot possibly assume every contingency just by using paper. You need to feel out the issues in real space.


Preshow
- Call Time?
- Warmups?
-Presets: What items need to be where? Pens? Paper? Whiteboards? Erasers?
- Preshow: What will the audie...
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So you want to put together a shortform show? Here's a list of questions that should help you get going.

Practical Issues:

• What is the budget?
• Is this a one-time event or are you hoping to turn this into a regular performance?
• Do you have a space and the agreements to support that?
  
• How many audience members can the space seat?
• Are you charging for tickets?
• Are you getting money for charity?
• Who will sponsors or patrons be writing checks to?
  
• How will you market and publicize?
  
• How many performers? 
• Uni...

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A friend of mine, Matt, is a fan of all things interesting. He brought this to my attention. It's a theory adopted by military fighter pilots.

OODA Loop

O = Observe
O = Orient
D = Decide
A = Act

The loop goes in that order, but always repeats for the person engaged in conflict. Here's the massive quote: "An entity (whether an individual or an organization) that can process this cycle quickly, observing and reacting to unfolding events more rapidly than an opponent, can thereby "get inside" the op...
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