Bring a Brick, Not a Wall | Second City Improv for Actors 1 Week 3

Giovanni: What's going on, you beautiful blueberries? Welcome back to Actor's and Notes. This is a podcast. This is a channel where I reflect on my notes in class. This is going over my improv class at the Second City in Chicago. And I'm just smiling because I'm reflecting on all the fun scenes that we did. And you probably are looking forward to your next improv class. Or maybe you're nervous about it, but I guarantee you you're gonna have a great time. It's just gonna be it's gonna be physical. In terms of you're gonna play a lot of improv games, but it's gonna be very fun because you get to explore those improv games with other people who probably feel the exact same way. And that's why I made this podcast. I feel like these notes, these opinions, these thoughts that I have, although they are specific to me, others might feel the same way. So this is I think this is a great way to connect, especially since every Actor's, every creative improviser, they have their own journey. And so I'm just sharing mine and the tools that I'm learning along the way. And so this hopefully this helps you. This is in the middle. Okay, we're in the middle of improv for Actor's one. This is class three. And hold on. Dang it, does someone say bless you? Because it's always like if someone says bless you right before I sneeze, then I'm like, I don't need to sneeze no more. You wasted that bless you. But thank you. Anyways, how class goes at the second city. Every class will be different because every instructor will be different. But my teacher Tom does check ins every single class before we begin. he just says, How was your weekend? Just checks in on every single one of us. We do some warm up exercises, we do our zip zap zap, we do our whoosh. It's fun. It's simple and it gets us physical. We go over the games that we will play. One that I do remember is called Coming Home. We also played three line scenes. Three line scenes is almost a universal game that you will always play and it's just called three line scenes. There's not another name to it. Well you'll have two improvisers, you'll have person A, person B, and you'll only do three lines. So person A will initiate, they'll try to establish or both of you guys will try to establish as much information as possible. So who are you? Where are you? What do you want? What's your goal? What's what's there to be discovered? So the three line scenes, person A will start saying saying something like, Cindy, I noticed that you are 30 minutes late to work. And then person B will respond by accepting that gift, saying yes, and on top of it. So Cindy could be like, yes, and Rick I just want you to know I quit. You're the worst boss I've ever had. And then Rick would go. Cindy, that makes me happy to hear. You were terrible here, and I hope you're terrible in the next place. Three line scenes, you establish who you are. Not only did you establish names of Rick and Cindy, you establish the relationship, you established boss employee. And then you established what do you want or what's going on? What are the goals? Well, you want them Uta of there. You don't want them working anymore. You're happy they're moving on. So simp it's simple the way that I put it, but when you're up there and you're improvising, it's it gets it's just not it's not as easy. it it's just to train you to establish who are you, where are you, what you want in under three scenes or at three three lines. And so we play that game. and we played scene tag, freeze tag, there's different variations. But one thing that I noticed that I was trying to understand her name, Viola Spola or Viola Spola. She's like the mother of all improv. I talk about Del Close. I talk about books that I really want to read. There are other books called Improvising at the Speed of Life. There's a book called Improv Wisdom, by Patricia Ryan Madsen. There's a book called Truth in Comedy by Del Close, Charna Halpern, and Kim Howard Johnson. Those are three books I highly recommend. But we talk about Viola Spola. If you don't know who she is, she's the mother of all improv. I didn't know who she was. I didn't know what Harold was. You're like, who is Harold? You're like, well, we're in the same boat. Harold is a long form of improv. I think I've done a Harold. I don't know. I've done long form improv, but just because you long form isn't the same thing as a Harold. It's his own thing. But there's so much to learn within improv, such as Viola Spola, how she started improv, how she started using these games for children who didn't speak the same language. But she noticed that improv games is a universal language that can that anyone can play, no matter if you know the language or not. And so she did more than just Notes what improv can do and the opportunity that it can bro provide for just people in general, but how much it can impact. Actor's, and improvisers. So highly, highly recommend looking up Violet Spola. And we just went into our games and I wrote down my questions. One thing that I noticed was avoid transactions, meaning that you'll find yourself sometimes in scenes where you are at the grocery store, you're talking to the cashier and you are checking Uta groceries. Or you're doing a business Del. I don't know why. We always do we always end up doing some kind of business Del. It's always funny, I'm guilty of this and I I I Almost started neglecting not neglecting it, I started just rejecting it. If it ever turned if the scene ever turned into a business Del, I immediately pivoted. I was like, I'm not doing a business Del right now because it's a transaction. What does this mean? Say a cashier and you are checking Uta, so you have groceries, you transaction by giving them your credit card, giving them a form of payment, then what do you do naturally in real life that you have to stay true to? You leave. You leave the scene. You leave that moment because that's just a transaction. a a transaction is just a simple thing to end that scene quickly, but there's so much more that could be done, but if you avoided a transaction, then you wouldn't have put yourself in that position. so it's also like I'm trying to think of other things. Avoid transactions. Like trading. I give you this, you give me this, and it's a done Del. You want to keep adding on top of it. It's not like you don't have to do transactions, but It's just you're gonna put yourself in a tighter spot if that makes any sense. We go back to avoiding questions. We don't ask questions why? Because as Del Close puts it, Del close puts it sh ask I was trying to transition there. Del Close says that questions are like a thief. You take. You ask a question, you want an answer. You d you try to take the answers for someone. Giving gifts is making assumptions. So if questions is taking, assumptions is giving. So make assumptions. Instead of taking, instead of asking, just say something about them. Because you know that to be true. And the thing is, they have to justify it, and they will say yes and majority of the time. because we did learn in our past episodes that you can say no to the scene partner and to the group, but Stella say yes to the reality. And so avoid questions and always assume. Instead of saying, you know, you and your scene partner are walking on the street, you say, Is that a lottery ticket? That looks like a lottery ticket. Instead, just get to the point. Assume what it is. You know what it is. They know what it is, even though they d absolutely have no clue what it is. But you'd be like, dang, that is a lottery ticket from Powerball 8. I've always wanted to see one of those. Boom. You already got to the point. You didn't have to ask anything from your partner. You assume. And with that little information of is that that is a Powerball ticket. I needed one of those. And then you could just add on top of that. It's not putting you on the spotlight. It's not taking anything from you. Just add on top of it. Be like, yeah, man. I heard it's one billion dollars right now. Just keep going. Bring a brick. That was so weird the way that I said that. But it means make a statement. Make assumptions. You can always think about this as statements as as well as assumptions. Questions are like thieves. Statements are like gifts. So make a statement and let it bounce off your scene partner. I talked about this in the past where and I'm guilty of this, but improvisers, some people will yap quite a bit. And even though that it's good to be specific, some people get just just not too specific, but they ramble on in their specificity. It's almost as if they're giving a monologue to their scene partner, and that's too much. This goes back to bring a brick. You're you're not trying to build a whole wall by yourself by giving so much information. You just put a brick down, give a statement, make it specific, just say, John, I really like your shirt today. That's a brick. Then John could say Thank you, Matilda, my mom knitted this sweater and then that's a brick. You don't have to say thank you, Matilda, my mom knitted this sweater before she passed away, and it really holds a lot of memory in my heart, especially since the last words that she y said before she took her last breath was If you ever if you ever get a stain on this sweater, I'm going to come back in the grave and kill you. Don't see scenes can go anywhere. There's nothing wrong with that. I mean I've had moments where I've been that specific with that, you know that amount of length. but just trust that what you say is enough. Meaning one brick should be enough. That simple line is thank you, my mom knitted this sweater, but you went on a little bit further. There's nothing wrong with that, but just one brick, then another, then another, then another, and then eventually you'll build a house together. So Just make a statement. You don't have to give a monologue. Use what's there. Work off how you feel. I wrote down use what's theirs because I I I I Stella do this even though I know not to do it, but when you're in an improv scene, you want to be funny. Because you watch other improvisers and you're like, how are they so quick witted? How are they just so funny? How do they make a joke Uta of something so silly or something simple? And it's not that they're being funny. I mean, some people want to follow. that funniness, but it's more important to be true to improv than it is to be funny. But while you're doing improv, you're actively listening. You're listening to the next statement, that brick that they give you. You see it, you hear the details, the specificity. There'll be moments where I'm this is so me, I'll blank. There'll be moments where I want to actively listen, but I don't know, that first Fey words or a first phrase, I j it kinda goes over my head and I get the tail end of what my senior partner or the group said. I'm not really in that moment a hundred percent, maybe like seventy five. And speaking of which, it takes me five hours to get to this improv class. From Kentucky to Chicago, that's how long I drive for. It's a three hour improv class. I do spend the night and then I'll drive back the very next morning. So it's a ten hour round trip, so I'm exhausted by the time I get there, but I do you know, I do like to explore Chicago. It's the best city In the US, just I mean, it was voted best in the US, but I get to explore Filipino foods and Russian foods because I'm half Filipino, half Russian. and so going back to listening at seventy five percent, sometimes it's at ten percent. I'm literally just hearing the last word you say and trying to justify whatever that is. But use what's there. Meaning that if you just Listen to whatever fifty percent of someone said or ten percent or you barely heard anything that they said, just the last word, use what's there. Maybe you didn't hear anything at all what they said. Everything just flew past your head and you're not listening, you're not in that moment, you'd forgot where you were, you don't know the environment, the relationship, who you are, where you are, what do want? You're just there. And everyone's watching you. What do you do? Use what's there. How do you feel in that moment? If you feel embarrassed, look at your scene partner and be like, you know what, that makes me feel embarrassed. Or I'm feeling I'm pretty I'm feeling pretty antsy right now after your last comment. Always try to lead back to them. You know, this is a scene this is a scene about you and them, not about you know where you actually are in terms of I'm in an improv class, everyone's looking at me, I'm going to talk about how I feel about what's going on. No, I'm gonna talk I'm gonna use this. You know, a lot of Actor's say turn your nerves into excitement. Use that. Don't speak about why you're getting it, but use it To continue what you're doing. So if you feel nervous, because you don't know what's going on, use those nerves and look at your senior partner and be like, dang. I just gotta admit that makes me pretty nervous that you said that, or I'm nervous that we're doing this, and then regardless of how whatever they said beforehand, I mean they'll add on top of that, and then you listen. Like if you just put yourself back in that moment. You know, you said you were nervous, or you said whatever it is around you is making you nervous, they'll say yes, and on top of that, you listen to that yes and and you continue from there. Ooh, this is a good one too. Sometimes you'll argue in a scene or you'll have conflict. Now this is personal opinion depending on how you feel how you how you How you would describe those two words to mean. But Tom said there's a difference between having an argument and having a conflict. And he asked the class, he said, What do you think the difference is? I didn't really know. He said, An argument or having an argument is you want to win. Majority of the time in improv scenes, when you're having an argument, one person wants to win. They want to one up each other. They want to one is gonna lose, one is going to win. There's nothing wrong with that. Some people have power dynamics and scenes and improv scenes. excuse me, naturally. But one person wants to win in an argument. When you're having a conflict, you're working together to find a solution. So it's not just you versus them, it's both of you trying to solve something that you may disagree with, but you're trying to find a happy medium or a medium at all. And so you're working together. And think of this more as a conflict, not an argument. Because an argument you almost have this feeling towards. of of of resentment of like I don't like what you just said, so you're more prone to rejection. You're more prone to reject what they say. But having a conflict is I Stella don't like what you said or I don't agree with it. But as an improviser, as a good improviser, I'm gonna say yes, and on top of that, and see where we can go from here. And so you allow yourself to discover. And that's a big one. This goes to just being open minded. I mean if you think about The specific the specificities of improv of being of remain of remembering don't ask questions, say yes and why don't we ask questions? it's a thief. Okay, make statements, just don't say too much, but say enough three-line scenes. How do I do all that? It could seem like a lot, yes, I know. But if you take it down to its core, improv is just listening, being real in that moment, and reacting truthfully. Sanford Meisner definition is Being truthful under imaginary circumstances and improv is no different. You're being truthful under whatever scene you create in improv. Allowing yourself to discover goes to being open minded. So yes, active listening, reaction, being open minded. These are all basic things that don't take a lot brain power to understand. One little how would you say it? Strategy to help you if you struggle establishing who you are, where you are, what do you want as in like what do what do you mean what do I want? What's my goal? I mean my goal is to make sure I listen. My goal, I don't really have a goal. one thing is that you can come in with a goal. You can come in with a POV. Don't get this confused with preconceived ideas because you have to be willing to drop it in an instant. You don't know where a scene is going to go, so if you have an idea pre-planned Doesn't make any sense. It's not gonna make any sense if you're staying true to the scene, even if you feel like ooh, this is a perfect moment for my plan B joke that is gonna get a lot of laughs. No, it doesn't you you're not being true to him, bro. Come in with a POV. Meaning when you go into a scene, be like, I love this person. Regardless if I if I know the relationship, regardless of where it turns Uta to be, I'm gonna think I'm gonna have in my mind that I love this person or I hate this person. Or this person just pooped on my lawn. And I'm a little scared and I really want to confront this person, and you go into the scene with an idea, a suggestion, a gift. You could initiate, or maybe they initiate before you. It doesn't really matter, but you initiate with this, with this point of view. You already have a goal in mind, which is great because that's better than not having anything at all. So you go in having a feeling towards someone and body language reads a lot so they could see, you know, potentially how you feel based on how they look at you. Or vice versa. You could get an understanding of how they feel about you based on how they're looking at you and you can make a statement on that. Like you're looking at me pretty funny. Or you got that same look in your eyes. Don't look at me like that. And it it begins something. It begins something. And that's all it takes. It's one little step and another step and another step. So have come in with a POV and if it's I love you and you look at them with like this very endearing way and they say, Jackson, you're fired. I'm like, mmm loving them or me looking at them in a loving way doesn't really make sense here. Then pivot. Be like, Alright, my name is Jackson, I just got fired. Why did I get fired? Well, sir, I'm sorry, but I think I thought every pencil in this establishment needed to be replaced with permanent markers. It's just a more solid way to get things done. Boom. You just you y you dropped your preconceived idea of s of having this feeling of I love you and just went with the gift that they offered and add on top of that. you see what I do there? I mean the relationship. Just give them a name. Giving them a name does so much. not even just an occupation, just a name, a simple name, goes a long way. and then you know, obviously environment, where are you? If it's a boss employee, you're in the office, are you in the break room? Are you at your desk? Where are you? These are other questions you have to ask yourself. Take a risk. Ugh Take a risk. I had difficulty doing this with accents. That was the biggest thing that I had difficulty with because I wasn't confident enough to commit. I felt like if I did an accent, a British accent, a Jamaican accent, a Russian, whatever it is, I didn't feel like it was accurate. So I just didn't commit to it. But what I learned from my past classes is that animals, celebrities or public figures, or someone you personally know with a With a unique personality, embodying them is is a great tactic to use, especially as an animal. If you want to act more confident, okay, how how would a gorilla stand? Or maybe a lion, they would be more sleek, but they they were low-key powerful. Low key. or someone you know. There's so much power in that because someone you know, like say your your friend or a coworker or your your sibling that just has this weird tick. Or a unique phrase that like they like to say, be like, I'm just gonna apply that to my character. I'm gonna take a risk and just do that. It gives it gives it something interesting. You made a specific. And it's not you, you're it's the character that you're embodying, and it's just you can't be wrong with that. Because no one else knows your sibling or your friend or this one tick that you're referencing that that you're putting into your character or an animal. They don't know what animal you are, they just know you're walking a little bit more with confidence. And that really helps to take a risk, especially for me, to apply accents or embody a character in a physical way as well. Are there rules that change if you follow in a scene rather than solely improv? Ooh, this was because I asked myself this question. This is improv for Actor's. Improv for Actor's one. And I thought, we are almost learning the same thing I learned in improv 1. I mean, I thought we would be potentially getting scripts, breaking down the script, understanding subtext. We kind of do that in improv for Actor's two, but we're not there yet. This is only week three of Improv for Actor's 1. and there are seven weeks in total. Both of those terms. And so I asked myself, I was like, are we ever gonna learn things about improv for Actor's? Like, how can you apply it into a scene when the director says, okay, just improvise this scene and you're alone? How do you improv alone? But the point the principles of how do you feel like where are you? What do you want? And how do you feel? How do you feel about where you are? What is going on? Even if you're by yourself or your your partner is to get those context clues. Where are you physically? If it's in a scene or a physical location, where are you? How do you feel about it? Is it cold? Do you like where you are? Are you nervous? Use those nerves. Apply that to your scene. And then take a risk. Trust that what you say is is enough. where are you? What do you want? How do you feel? Yeah, how do you feel about the scene that you're in? Use it. Use that. Listen. Be open-minded. Be willing to discover. These are all the principles that we're learning at improv, regardless if it's improv one, improv for Actor's one, conservatory. You can Stella apply it anywhere you go. And so, ooh, yes, I'm gonna end off with this because Coming Home was a game that we played, and this will really help you understand what it means to be confident in an improv scene. Coming home was a single person game where you wouldn't say a single word, no dialogue, you would simply reenact coming home. So you would mimic opening your door to your apartment. To your house. Maybe you go through the garage. You would put in your number in your keypad. Maybe you start the scene off by an exiting your car. But you would walk into your home and then put your keys up, take your shoes off. Maybe you place your bag somewhere in a specific spot. Maybe you start making food. Maybe you just go straight to the TV, hop on your phone, whatever it is. You're coming home like you usually do. That's what coming home is. So you do that. And you just watch them. Sometimes it takes two minutes, some people will do it in about six or seven. And so one person goes up, then the next, then the next, and then my teacher Tom said, Okay, what did we learn? And I enjoyed it because it was it was very personal, it was very intimate. You're watching someone do something that they do on a daily basis that no one ever else sees. Other people say, I was trying to figure Uta what you were doing, you were washing the dishes, or as soon as you got home you started eating, or you put on the T V and you started relaxing. You know, what were you doing on your laptop? It's curious. Were you even at the laptop? you were cut you were actually washing your dog? that's not at all what I thought. It doesn't really matter. But what matters is as you were doing this game, you were confident. But it was almost unconscious because you do this on a daily basis. You were like, This is what I do. This is just what I do. You can't tell me I'm wrong because I know what I'm doing is what I'm doing. I do it on a daily basis. So an improv You take that or in an improv scene, you take that same confidence. It doesn't have to be subconscious or conscious. It's just that what I'm doing, this is just what I do. This is the reason why I'm so confident. This is why you believe what I'm doing, because I believe what I'm doing. Such as coming home. You can't tell me I'm wrong. In an improv scene, you commit to something, you can't tell me I'm wrong, or this isn't the way to do it, or an accent isn't the right accent. It's because I'm committing to it. You don't know what I'm trying to do. I know. And that's what matters. So I love this game because that level of confidence, that level of detail. Especially he said if you're gonna open up the cupboard, you know, where do you grab it? Is it a handle? Grab the handle. How you grab the handle? Is it a cup? Is it a mug? You know, are you writing in your journal? Is it a pen? Is it a pencil? Think about these things. and the more detailed you are, the more specific and interesting the scene is, even without any dialogue. Because if you can believe it, the audience will too. Yeah. Thank you. In case no one has told you today, I love you, you matter, you have value. And let me say something I haven't said before. I'm gonna say something my teacher Tom said here, at the end of class. He said it takes a lot to stand in front of a group of people or just one person without knowing what will happen. Improv specifically takes a lot of courage. You stand up in front of however many people and you do not know what's going to happen. That is scary. Like, I don't know what's about to happen, but I'm volunteering for it. I'm an Actor's or I'm an improviser. I'm about to sh perform. And I don't know what's gonna happen. But I'm willing. I'm willing to discover. I'm willing to be open-minded. I'm willing to listen to another human being. and support them and say yes answer them. And that is a beautiful thing right there. That takes a lot of courage. I love you. See you in the next one.