On Improv Safety

An interesting day, today.

We finished reading through the play again, but before we did that, we played several improv games as a group and I noticed something about our dynamic.

I don't have a lot of experience with doing improv.  It's never been one of my favorite things, but there's one thing I have learned and that's the longer you work with someone -- this presumes that you play your improv games with a certain group more frequently than any other, say in a class or as part of a performing troupe -- the more you get to know their rhythms, the way their mind works.  That frees you up to play more, makes you less self-conscious, I think.

Working the Pittsburgh Renaissance Festival that summer two years ago with Dave Flick, for instance -- doing the improv comedy show -- was a real eye-opener.  And by the time the summer was over, I think we had a pretty good thing going.  I was relaxed, we felt comfortable together, and I think we were pretty successful.

Today at rehearsal we had a very interesting dynamic.

Aaron put Jen and Scott in charge of leading us through some games to sort of loosen us up.  And what seemed to me to be happening is that those of us who've spent years as friends and working together seemed to jump right in with abandon, having already built that safety net; but those of us who were new to this particular dynamic were a little lost.  Inevitably, one is self-censorious (is that the right word?) in a new situation, with a natural fear that the people you don't know are going to judge you.

It made me uncomfortable.  It made me stay in my own head.  All the things that fun improv games in a rehearsal shouldn't.

I don't know.  Maybe I'm just projecting.  Maybe I'm just to anxious to be accepted by a new group of people.  Maybe I'm just on crack.

So it turns out that I have the day off tomorrow.  How about that?  I can't tell you the last time I was in a play and wasn't called for an entire rehearsal.

I had thought about making the sojourn back to New York City for the day, to pick up stuff that I'd forgotten to bring, and maybe get my hair cut, and check that my mail is indeed being forwarded.  But the more I think on it, the less inclined I am to do it.  I think I'll shoot for going home on Sunday night, and maybe returning on Monday night.  Depending, of course, on what my call is next Tuesday.  As the rehearsal schedule stands now, I'm not due back until 3 p.m. on Tuesday for a 1½ hour block, and then I'm off again until 9 p.m.  I suspect that might get moved around.

I'm frankly impressed that the schedule's been mapped out that far in advance in such detail.  It'll be interesting to see how close to it the actual schedule ends up.