Improvoker

Dear Improv Diary,

Although I am a few weeks late, I thought I would reflect on my 201 class at the Upright Citizens Brigade New York.

The Whip at Drury Lane in 1909

As I alluded to earlier, things over at UCB had definitely become more interesting. Jon Daly, our instructor, was called away for a writing gig out in California and was replaced by Neil Casey of Death By Roo Roo. At first I was very nervous about the instructor change 5 weeks in to an 8 week class, but Casey proved to be an excellent instructor.

Part of what made Neil such a wonderful compliment for the class, is his ability to diagnose scenes and give detailed notes on opportunities, technicalities, and problems. This was very different approach to Daly who guided us through, much like a psychiatrist, asking us what we thought of our own scenes. This change in teaching style allowed me to recognize points which Daly had mentioned but I hadn’t fully understood.

One of the hardest parts about level 201, I found, is the complete gear change from thinking about scenes which happen organically, to becoming aware of the game in a scene.

At UCB, Improv 201 focuses on second beats, pattern game, and game work. All of these principals are the building blocks for performing a Harold, a type of long form improvisation. 201 marks the distinction, in my mind, from learning the basic principals of improv (agreement, character, object work, environment work) to long form.

First to define the terms for those who may not understand what I’m talking about.

Second beats are the continuation of improv scenes through a performance. Think of them like acts of a play, acts repeat to move the story along (Act 1: Family eating dinner, Act 2: Family clears dishes, Act 3: Family sitting in living room - Fascinating example huh?). This allows us to develop a story, through time and location. (as definned by Cin Wiki)

A pattern game is an opening game used to generate ideas from a single suggestion from the audience (ie - car, steering wheel, wheel, inventions, caveman, Fred Flinstone, drive-n, car) The pattern game continues until it comes back to the original suggestion. It then repeats for a total 3 times and on the third completion of the game coming back to the original suggestion, a group of scenes begins based on the ideas generated.

Game work is by far the most complicated of all the concepts and is something I wont be able to get into in this post. In principal, every scene can be boiled down to a game the characters are playing (I seek adventure from everything I do, including getting my lunch. Everything is therefore Indiana Jonesian in complexity). (as definned by Cin Wiki)

As I said, it’s a difficult concept.

UCB is big on game work. As is apparent from talking with improvisors in UCB harold teams. Good game play is a very important part of the UCB philosophy and is heavily stressed. Excellent game play is also what sets UCB’s teaching apart from other improv schools. However, game play is also very difficult to comprehend, in relation to the concepts that were laid out in 101. It wasn’t until week 6 that I began to understand game play and it wasn’t until after my class that I realized how to incorporate games into my scenes elegantly.

All in all, my 201 class was an eye opener. I learned a completely new improv skill set. I now am able to see my scenes in a larger whole. Next stop 202 Advanced Game Study with Joe Wengert.