Wednesday, March 7, 2012

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!!!



Tuesday, March 6, 2012

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)