4/30/02 12.16.55 AM
I'm starting this document to keep tabs on what I'm trying to work on with improv.

This past month, I've been focusing on imagining location in my scene work. I thought this would help me believe in my scenes. It didn't help.

So, I'm shifting gears and concentrating on more technical things. Right now I'm working on changing in my scenes. I'm also trying to figure out ways I can rehearse on my own, since rehearsal time with others seems hard to come by.
5/6/02 11.26.55 PM
The plan for the next coupla weeks: make every reaction bigger. Now, I loathe broad caricatures (see the "Nuanced Characters" section of The Limits of Improv), but there are other things to consider. Broader plays better to the audience. Broader is something that you have to be able to do -- sure, you can scale back from it later, but it has to be by choice, not necessity.

Mainly, though, this is to help me with changing in my scenes. Playing big forces you to have an emotional state, and makes it much, much harder to 'cheat' into never changing that state in a scene. So for a while, at least, I'm playing it big.
5/14/2002 11.32.16 PM
I'm continuing on playing things big and remembering to change, but I'm starting to get annoyed with how I start scenes. I do some space work, and I kind of have a location. I usually have a vague emotion and body language, that sort of passes for a character. What's utterly lacking is objective. I've gone through too, too many scenes where I want nothing but (eventually) to get off the damn stage, and I've got this icky feeling like that's not going to get any better. So pretty soon I'm going to have to switch gears and start hitting objective again.
6/10/2002 11.46.42 PM
Well, after our "Night of the Long Knives" session, I've decided to work on character. I know that I still need to work on objective, but I'm using my fellow performers' opinions as a barometer. Specifically, they say that my characters all tend to be the same buttoned-down, gruff oldish guy who is never quite affected by the action. It's especially bad in shows, and it needs immediate attnetion. So I'll spend a couple of weeks trying to bring a variety of more vulnerable and emotional characters to the stage. Later, we go back to objective.

For this week's Micetro, I'm going to work on screwing around with the setups and formats, and I'll try and get into a character-range contest with Shelly.
6/17/2002 11.07.22 PM
After working on the Endowments page, I'm wondering if I can take care of the character angle by working on the 'simplifying' angle. I really want to try shooting for minimalism.

So, in a scene, I am... (one adjective); I want... (one thing); I'm in... (one place). Try saying these things verbatim, along with endowing the other characters sans subtlety. If it works, great; if it doesn't work, oh well... it beats kind of flailing around the way I am now.
7/1/2002 10.00.05 PM
My current strategy is to spend the Micetro performances just trying to enjoy myself, and concentrate on becoming a better improvisor during classes and rehearsals. So I'm just going to kind of go with the flow for now, and see if Fast Forward forces me to take care of some technique problems.
7/21/2002 2.44.30 AM
A quick Micetro post-mortem.
7/28/2002 2.13.21 AM
Micetro post-mortem.
8/1/2002 8.31.37 AM
Solo Show post-mortem.
8/6/2002 11.48.30 PM
Hi-Octane Workshop post-mortem.
8/11/2002 2.50.39 AM
Micetro post-mortem.
8/12/2002 12.11.18 AM
Fast Forward Show post-mortem.
8/13/2002 3.34.40 PM
Docs to work on.
8/15/2002 12.57.51 PM
Warm-Ups for this Saturday's Micetro.
8/18/2002 9.52.22 PM
Micetro post-mortem.
8/22/2002 5.17.59 PM
New page for this Saturday's Micetro.
9/8/2002 2.33.14 AM
Micetro post-mortem.
9/15/2002 2.05.39 AM
Micetro post-mortem.
10/6/2002 10.49.31 AM
Micetro post-mortem.
10/13/2002 11.19.02 AM
Micetro post-mortem.
11/2/2002 9.40.50 AM
I feel like I've sort of "hit the wall" with improv right now. I think I've gotten as good (or as non-sucky) as I'm going to get at this, without putting in some serious (say, 30 minutes to an hour per day) time working at it. Frankly, I'm not prepared to do that right now -- I've got music and National Novel-Writing Month clamoring for my attention. I suppose I'll focus more on this in December, when I'll have more chances to play, and I won't have choir distracting me. For this month, I'm content to tread water.
11/11/2002 4.59.32 PM
Putting up a first draft of Keith and the Magic Penny.
3/4/2004 9.31.03 AM
Last night I attended a workshop on directing.
6/16/2004 8.56.40 AM
Last night I attended Mac Antigua's longform workshop.
6/16/2004 8.56.40 AM
Last night I attended Mac Antigua's 'truth' workshop.
6/20/2004 9.43.33 PM
Yesterday afternoon I attended Dan Klein's workshop.