I admit it!! While holding my nose, I smelled a llama, while sleeping upside down on my head in a Tu-tu, In Thonotosassa, in a cashew processing hearse, with belly-button lint!!

Improv- Colin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood Show!!

I admit it!! While holding my nose, I smelled a llama, while sleeping upside down on my head in a Tu-tu, In Thonotosassa, in a cashew processing hearse, with belly-button lint!!

Just had the most amazing time seeing Coling Mochrie and Brad Sherwood! We had great seats!

5th row from the stage! On the aisle!!

Well, it started off like their normal show (I'm comparing to the one I saw at the Van Wezel, and the one on the DVD) where they asked if people think that they make stuff up as they go along or things are scripted. For some reason the section I was in made more noise when they said it was scripted, and Brad flipped his hand under his chin (whatever that movement is called) at our side of the stage.

Then they did an improv that I don't really remember (EDIT: I remember what they did now. They did Moving People, with two people they picked out of the audience. It was hilarious!) cause the next improv they did was one they asked for volunteers. They asked for volunteers of people that thought they were quick on their feet. So my mom poked me to raise my hand and I did and I got called up there with them!!!

So, I go on stage and Brad shakes my hand and asks for my name. Then, one of the girls that gets called starts flapping her arms and screaming “Colin! Colin! Colin!” and completely bypasses Brad and goes and hugs Colin.

I got jealous.

Anyway, so they tell us to line up behind this microphone and the guy next to me doesn't walk over to the microphone, so I walked behind him and line up in front of the microphone first. :-)

They told us to get really close to the mic so people could hear us, so I did. :-)

Then, they introduce the game. We were to fill in the line or word for the sentence when they raised their hand and asked for it. So to test it Brad started out by saying something to the effect of “I went to the store and bought a ...” (He raised his hand) and I said “Top Hat” They said not to think of something ahead of time, but instead come up with it when they asked for it.

So, then they asked for a suggestion of something a town would be known for. The World's Largest _____. And someone said Dry-Cleaners.

Now the problem with being on stage with Brad and Colin, is that they get inner-ear thingies so they can hear stuff. The volunteers onstage didn't get those, so it was pretty hard to hear over the laughter. We had to listen out into the audience over the laughter in order to figure out what was going on.

The first fill in the blank was something to the effect of, “Oh, no, they didn't build the giant dry-cleaners out of steel girders, they built it out of _____. And I said pudding!”

I couldn't hear very well, and they kept switching characters so it was hard to pay attention.

The next person said, “bacon,” for a fill-in, and someone said “breast milk,” and the person after that person, said “more breast milk.”

I remember they had to go back to the dry cleaners for ____ and I said Leprechaun festival! Then, they did an imitation of a leprechaun festival!

At one point in time, when they raised their hand, I was thinking of a filling it in with “Carnival Cruise” But I couldn't think of the word “Carnival” all I could think of was “Golden Corral” so it ended up being “Golden Corral Cruise” which Colin said didn't make sense, and it didn't but I was fine with that, because I could only half hear them to start with!

When the game was done, I decided that I wanted a hug too! So, I shook their hands and did the “hand shake” -hug thing!! I was the last one off the stage, but I got my hugs!!!

Improv- Characters through Time!

Improv- Characters through Time!

I thought this exercise in the improv class was amazing! It was a different way to look at a familiar concept.

OK, so we all know that characters in our WIPs (Work-In-Progress) will all react to different scenarios differently.

For instance:

A boy's dog got loose from the house and got run over.

Well, the father may have got the boy the dog, and feels really bad for the boy.

The mom may have secretly disliked having a dog, because she isn't an animal person, and therefore is sad for the boy outwardly, but inwardly glad the dog is gone, so she doesn't have to clean after it.

The boy's friend may be happy because the boy spent too much time with the dog, and less time with the friend.

So, we all react to things differently according to the situation, and what past experiences, and feelings that we bring to the event.

Now, in the improv class, we did an exercise, with the same basic principle, except we were telling the same story at three different times in the character's life.

For instance:

(Girl Age 5) Today, for share and tell. Last week, me, my mommy and my daddy all went to Disney World! It was amazing! I met Cinderella, even though we had to wait in this really long line, and it was hot, but she signed my book. Her dress was so shiny, and soft, and she was so pretty and nice. I gave her a hug and I got my picture taken with her. Mommy said the picture can go right by my bed so I can see it every day!

(Girl Age 30) (On a date) When I was little, my family and I went to Disney World. We had a lot of fun. I think I was just so happy to actually meet Cinderella in person. I still have that picture somewhere. It's a terrible picture. I have this messy mop of hair on my head, and this big toothless grin.

(Girl Age 70) (Talking to a Grand kid) You're going to love Disney World. When I was your age, I got to go and meet Cinderella. She gave me a hug and signed my autograph book. You know what an autograph is right? It's when they sign their name on a piece of paper, and you can remember that forever and ever. You want to see that picture? ( Shows picture) Yes that's me. I think you and I have the same color hair. It changes color when you get to be my age.

So, things that we were told in the improv class were to make sure to mention who we were talking to, instead of just generically talking to a crowd.

Also, something interesting that happened in the three tellings of the same story was that the character went from excitement for herself at age 5, to excitement for her grand kid at age 70.

How this translates into novels/romances--

I read a lot of romance novels, and a lot of them have a big event that has happened in the past to one or both characters. The question then is, how do they react to that event later on in life?

If a man and woman had a bad break up and then they see each other again, what is their reaction to one another?

If we are using the metaphor of a wound. Then how does that wound heal? Does it leave a scar? Did it fester and become infected? Was it covered with a bandage and ignored? What does it take to rip that bandage off?

People react to different situations in life differently.

Remember that the opposite of love isn't hate. Hate still shows that someone feels something toward the other person. The opposite of love is apathy.

Next- Improv- Emotionally Lead Characters! ( and Characters with secrets)

Improvisation for the Novelist- Part 1

For the improv class I'm taking, the first class was on character. As normal we warmed up.

(If you plan on taking an improv class, I might recommend refreshing yourself on some tongue twisters! Some of my favorites were:

Betty Botter bought a bit of butter.

But the bit of butter Betty bought was bitter.

So Betty brought the bit of bitter butter back,

And bought a better bit of butter

Better than the bit of bitter butter Betty brought back. 

 

        I am a mother pheasant plucker, I pluck mother pheasants. I am the best mother pheasant plucker, that   ever plucked a mother pheasant!

But I digress. )

For the class we had to come up with our own characters and do an interview with the teacher/director of the class. It wasn't a business interview, it was just a question and answer session.

Some of the characters from the class were,

a man who was really into all things surf and water sport related, even going so far as to name his dog “ski”,

a lady with a lisp that made all her “L's” into “W's” (She wanted to go to Hawaii and wearn to huwa,”

a lady that lived in a condo that didn't allow dogs and she had a dog,

a thirty year old man that was a retired gynecologist because he called a plumber when a patient said they had something wrong with their “pipes.”

Then there was my character...

I went up and had an interview that went something like this:

Director = 1, Character = 2

(2 looks around corner)

1- Hi

2- Is it my turn?

1- Yes, come on in and have a seat.

(2 walks in and wipes off seat)

2-Sorry, I had someone at school today put a chocolate pudding on the seat and I didn't notice and sat down and had pudding on my pants all day.

1. Hi, What's your name?

2- My name is Jenny Marie Miller.

1- So, do I call you Jenny or Jenny Mar--

2- You can call me Jenny Marie Miller, that is my name after all.

1- Oh, you go to school?

2- Yes, I'm in 11^th grade. But I'm only 13. They should have skipped me ahead a couple more years but they didn't.

1-Where do you go to school at?

2-Kissimee High School for the Gifted.

1-What do you want to be when you grow up?

2- I haven't decided yet, a physicist, a rocket scientist or a brain surgeon.

1- Oh really?

2- And I want to cure a incurable disease.

1-Which one?

2- Oh, I don't know, an incurable one?

1-Where do you see yourself in 20 years?

2- At least with a Nobel peace price and a Peabody.

1- At least?

2- Of course, I mean Stephen Colbert as a Peabody!

1- Not a fan of Stephen Colbert or the Daily Show?

2-Oh, come on, they are on basic cable!

1-Do you have any pets?

2- I have a fish tank. I've started a collection. I want to get the full cast of Finding Nemo.

1- Isn't there a great white shark in that movie?

2- Oh yes, I plan on having the first successful great white shark in captivity.

1- Well, I think that is all we have for today...

2- That's all?

1- That's all.

2- (walks off) Wow, that was a waste of time.

------- By doing the interview, I realized that this character.... although a gifted child... was also a bonafide B. I. T. C. H... By learning this while doing the interview, I knew where to go with this character on the next stage of the class.

In the next stage of the class we were told to put this same character into a monologue that would be a scene. So, they had to be talking to someone.

Things to remember for the scene were. 1. They needed to be talking to someone, and 2. They needed a reason to be there at that time.

For my scene, in contrast to what I did... Jenny Marie Miller was quite snotty to an adult that was interviewing her... I wanted to put her with her peers.

For my scene, I also wanted to bring in elements of what was brought up in the interview.

The monologue that I came up with was Jenny Marie Miller addressing Kissimee High School for the Gifted Einstein Club::

I would like to call to order this emergency meeting of the KHS Einstein Club and I would like to remind everyone hat next week is the vote to change the name from “Einstein Club” to just “Science Club” because let’s face it Einstein wasn't really that great...

I called this emergency meeting because I want to announce that I've decided on the incurable disease that I'm going to cure.

Today in class, Bobby, put a frog down my shirt...

so, after looking into his genealogy, I've decided that I'm going to cure...

male pattern baldness! Thank you, thank you!

And I'm not going to give the cure to him!

Thank you so much for attending this impromptu meeting. I realize that most of you have probably missed your bus by now, but I know that announcement was worth it.

Thank you.

Dismissed.

In my mind this character really became fleshed out in these exercises. I see her right beside the guys on the Big Bang Theory.

Taking this into the world of the novel, I think the interview process would be a very useful tool to accomplish characterization within the text of the novel.

I've seen interviews recommended before, however, I think they need to be done within the context of the story. The hero and heroin don't feel the same way about each other, their surroundings, their circumstances throughout the entire story. Therefore, they need to be interviewed to see how they are really feeling, during stopping points in the story.

At the moment, I'm writing a paranormal novella, and I came to an abrupt halt in writing, because my characters were being just too nice to each other. After going back and digging into their characters once more in the middle of the story, as I had done at the beginning, I realized that the fight in them was still there, but the circumstances of the story were making them nice to one another. They both had a lot of bark and bite left to them (figuratively and literally) but it wasn't naturally coming out in them where they were at. (a life and death situation) So, by calming the situation around them down, the inner turmoil could come to the surface, and there was my missing alpha and his spitfire of a heroine.

Coming Soon- Improv for the Novelist – Part 2- Character's Through Time

Theatre for the Novelist

I've read a lot of blogs that help writers write.  Tips, tricks, hints, cheats, basically everything that would or could be thought of as helpful to the aspiring novelist.
What I haven't read, is the thing that I have found the most useful for writing...
Theater! 

In college, I was a Theater and Creative Writing major, and graduated with a dual degree.  I can not explain how helpful both were to one another. (But I will try!)

For my theater degree I had to take Play Analysis, in which we broke down parts of the play and analyzed them, and then for my English classes we took Shakespeare/Eighteenth Century Plays and Restoration Theater and had to analyze that. It was the same.

Analyzing a character on stage was the same an analyzing a character in a book.

I noticed in the short stories I was writing for class, that my characters were becoming stronger when I asked myself the questions that we were asking ourselves when analyzing the characters in the play.

When looking at a play, we would ask ourselves in class and discuss, things like,

Why now?  Why is this story/play starting now?  What makes this moment so special?  We would look at things like are we setting up what is normal, in order to make what is not normal more important, with more emphasis on it?

What is this character's motivation? What do they want? Everyone wants something, even if it changes throughout the course of the play/book.

What is the point of this character being there at this time?  Even if the character's point is to be a confident of the hero/heroine, then they still need a reason to be there.

What is the rising and falling action of the play/book?  Is there a denouement at the end?

When writing I ask myself the same things, and I find that my writing is better.

So, if you get a chance take in a play, go see a reader's theater, or better yet, take a class at a local theater.  Any of the theater classes, play-writing, acting, improvisation (this is for a later blog post), reader's theater, play analysis, etc would be a great way to supplement your writing, and any other of the wonderful classes that writers offer online.

Coming Soon --  Improvisation for the Novelist