Archive for September, 2007
I’m in week two of Michael Delaney’s eight week Improv 504 Acting for Improvisers class at UCBNY.
I was terrified of Michael when I first arrived in class, because of his reputation as a no punch pulling instructor. I had imagined him to swagger into class, shout at every scene that we were doing it all wrong, and tell us that we were no good. That couldn’t be farther from the truth. Delaney is an amazing instructor. His knowledge and thoughts on improv are on a level I have not experienced before. Just about every word out of his mouth makes me furriously write down something in my notebook. He does give candid notes, but I love a note if it’s on point — and Delaney is always on point.
I can really feel that skillset stretching
One topic he is really stressing on in this class, is to take that initiation and not get caught up in it, instead of continuing on exploring the scene. Often I, as an improviser, will get nervous that I wont find that unusual thing and make the ordinary, unusual. This really pulls focus from what’s ultimately the most important part of the scene, the relationships of the characters on stage. He used a cake analogy which has continued to bounce around my head all week. I can’t shake it.
There is power in an archetypal cake. You can make a cake as crazy [unusual] as you want, but sometimes a cake is just a simple cake and the wedding is what we explore.
Michael Delaney
So, we had to upgrade our website software, because we accidentially erased the old template.
And by we, I mean me
So, if you see anything funny happening be sure to let me, or my huge staff of well paid interns, know about it The site is basically entirely recodded from the ground up to work on older browsers… or at least that’s the theory.
Things you may enjoy in the new site:
- Tags — a great way to cross reference posts.
- Faster Performance — we’ve streamlined the code and our amazing template Sandbox to be as lean as possible so pages get to you even faster.
- Better Compatibility — We actually have no idea if this is true, but it’s on our to-do list.
- iPhone compatible mobile site — We have a very special version of the site for all our iPhone users out there. The site has been simplified and streamlined for the iPhone and iPod Touch.
- Ability to post video formats like YouTube videos to the site… like this one:
[youtube]CsWwb5gFla0[/youtube]
Treat your audience like poets and geniuses and they’ll have the chance to become them.
Del Close
So the Upright Citizens Brigade 2nd Season was released yesterday on DVD for $19.34. I’m slow on my checking press releases. The two-disc set features all 10 of the second season’s episodes (with early live performances, deleted scenes, and audio commentary):
- Master Dialectitian (Original Air Date: 14 June 1999)
- Bomb Squad (Original Air Date: 21 June 1999)
- Mogomra vs. the Fart Monster (Original Air Date: 28 June 1999)
- Real World (Original Air Date: 5 July 1999)
- Face Therapy (Original Air Date: 12 July 1999)
- Infested with Friars (Original Air Date: 26 July 1999)
- Spaghetti Jesus (Original Air Date: 2 August 1999)
- Big City (Original Air Date: 9 August 1999)
- Hurricane (Original Air Date: 16 August 1999)
- Supercool (Original Air Date: 23 August 1999)
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This isn’t some bullshit, “I am a scientologist, so I have to buy Scientology junk” post. As an owner of Season 1, way before I started training at their training center, I will definitely buy this set. Season 1 was okay, but the commentary is like taking a $325 class with Matt Besser, Amy Poehler, Ian Roberts, and Matt Walsh. The commentary on season 1 is brilliant, but unlike the first DVD, the UCB4 put commentary on every episode including a question and answer at the Los Angeles Theater. This is huge for anyone who wants to understand the inner workings of 4 of the most talented comedians working today.
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Added into the press release is the announcement that Upright Citizen’s Brigade will be launching their third stage
which will be a comedy video website, www.UCBcomedy.com featuring performers from the theaters.
I’ve known about these plans for a while and it’s good to see the UCB pushing it forward into a reality.
(I am not a Scientologist) (Good luck Neil.)
Got Season 2 today in the mail from Amazon. I’ll be sure to review the discs on the site once I’ve watched the whole thing and drooled over the commentary. I’m converting the whole set into video files to watch on my iPhone, because I’m not home very often… plus, it’s pretty sweet to watch UCB on my evening commute.
My current Improv 501 class at UCBNY, taught by Chris Gethard, has been busily working through keeping scenes real and our reactions truthful. Gethard is a huge proponent of keeping scenes as truthful as possible and the more I follow his direction, the more I find my scenes go beyond my abilities as an improviser into something much more profound. Playing my scenes as realistically as possible has given me a lot more confidence in taking the stage because while I may not always/ever have something funny to say, I will always be able to react truthfully to a situation.
Let’s not get caught trying to be funny.
Chris Gethard
However, the impulse to be “funny” in a scene is also very tempting. As any improviser can attest, a minute on stage without a laugh can feel like an eternity. I’ve been in class shows where we have “funnied” it up for an audience’s enjoyment at the detriment to our scenes. Unfortunately a lot of this “if you’re not getting laughs, you’re failing” comes from my own insecurities as a performer. We are performing improv comedy right? Comedy is about laughs? Laughs are about jokes? Without laughs you’re just two people in a big black box standing in front of an audience right?
Read on…
Howdy improv gang. It’s been a few weeks since Decoster debuted and I have been furiously drafting new tidbits for the site, but being the procrastinating perfectionist I am, they have taken more backseats than a 1950’s chearleader. So in the interest of time here is a breif runddown on the last 3 weeks in bulleted form:
- Raynard, the all new rookie Harold team, debuted at UCB to a solid start. The group shows a strong line up of all new faces, and the return of Amber Petty formerly of Beatrice and T.R.U.C.K.S. They are made up of new performers to the theater, some of which have only just completed 501. I am expecting great things from Raynard, especially as they grow as performers. Students should be especially aware of this group.
- Twelve Thousand Dollars, the all new more seasoned Harold team, debuts the week after. Made up of experienced indie improv performers, belonging to groups from Sherpa and Machine Wash Tuxedo, the team shows amazing poise on it’s first night. Each performer is incredibly strong and has incredible stage presence.
- Sadly, one of my improv groups, Joe Loves Hobos, is disbanded after enough members decide that never having a bad show is reason enough to never have another one. RIP JLH.
- Under St. Marks cooks with weekend indie team performances of Rogue Elephant, Sherpa, Moonshine, Shark Tank, and the debut of Bad Data. I am reminded how much I love USM as a performance space.
- UCB Harold Night features the one year anniversary of fwänd, the team created with the remaining members of Mailer Daemon, who performed a death Harold.
Not a particularly interesting post by any stretch, but a post none the less. Perhaps I will expand further, perhaps not. Now that I have a blank slate to write more… expect more silence.
