Chaos Attraction

Improv 301 3.0 Week 6: Charisma Beats Out Craziness

2016-08-18, 2:51 p.m.

Previous week here.

Brian on the UCB rape drama: he would have kicked the guy out and called the police. Comedy Spot is 40 percent women. He runs a very nice shop where that shit does not happen like in bigger schools. I am very proud of my comedy school.

Brian’s notes:
If you are enthusiastic and commit to it and sell it, it’ll work out.
Don’t be in your head. Pick what piques your interest, think of unusual character (really fast) and who to go with as partner, test it in your head fast, justify, 2 hit test, then he stops. Does not worry about future beats.
Put pattern in middle of stage and throw things at it. See how it changes. You don’t think ahead at all, do a 2 hit test and done. Come loaded with justification. If you can justify it, you can get it to work.
Kevin McDonald when writing sketches, comes up with characters and gives the unusual thing rules.

After that, Brian went to do a surprise check-in on the rest of the Spot and had Corky subbing in for the rest of the night. This was interesting because instead of waiting until the end of a Harold to do notes, he’d interrupt after the first beats to go into great detail, then have us start over/continue.

Corky’s notes:
You learn your moves and how you deal with shit while doing Jam
Make a choice coming out. Be interesting. Come out swizzling a drink or whatever. But don’t come out matching someone.

Dance party warmup

Harold 1
Monologue 1: cheating at golf camp
Monologue 2: me, bad at mini-golf.
Monologue 3: creepy neighbor hints the cat will leave her.

Be more descriptive with the pattern stuff. Give us something we can get pattern off of. Every little detail that you drop in can be picked up.

Beat 1a: neighbor wants to steal cat. World built. Use what you describe to make a hit on it.
Beat 2a: life and death golf game.
Beat 3a: I initiate, person who zones out during bowling game. Should have been more like, I can’t focus but would have been better if I was competitive instead. Bad doctor scene.

Group 1: election where people made up their votes.

Beat 1b: “you stole my cat to make thunder cats?” too plotty. Is FBI true?
Beat 2b: Trying to stop her from committing suicide while minute rice cooked.
Beat 3b: ridiculous bowling rituals. I did great physical comedy. More focused on ritual than game. Why is that important to you? Claire uses earwax on ball. She should have been more normal. What does a master bowler do? Great physicality.

Group 2: douche neighbors, drums and chickens and trash, I just peed.
HE loves big broad silly building scenes.

Beat 1c: thunder cats took over, get laser pointers
Beat 2c: double suicide pact while tying shoes
Beat 3c: I use lady lube on the ball. Just went for it.

Harold 2:
Monologue a: any long a sound sounds like Nate’s name. Kept hearing it at work while covered in jewelry. He couldn’t go, so he turned around and yelled “what?” wasn’t being called. Customer thought he was nuts but he still made the sale. Finally “charisma beats out craziness.”
Monologue b: selling tv’s and not being professional.
Monologue c: Chinese restaurant busboy, all drinking and smoking hookah. I hit it like a bong.

Beat 1a: people call my name and bad shit happens. Animal attacks. Depends on the back line to fill in.
Beat 1b: sliding on socks at the grocery store. Ridiculous situation but no pattern. If you can’t describe it as a character, it’s not a scene. Needed some reality. More of a group game. “Don’t make the works crazy, you’re the crazy one.”
Beat 1c: Chinese cook hookah at work. I just smoked crack?! Brian’s rules: don’t play high, drunk, crazy.

Group 1: Walmart does crazy shit. Bowie, bionics, pole dance. Too talky.

Beat 2a: at concert. It’s a George Michael show!
Beat 2b: fingerprint art at mervyn’s. “I am so glad I brought the puffy paint!” needed to listen better
Beat 2c: “sorry I got us arrested and shit.” Let’s continue our criminal ways! Soap, the good shit. Unfocused but still funny.

Group 2: jewelry store. “we just found it like that.” Dripping in blood. “Listen, I’m gonna speak for all the goonies.” “When nobody knows what’s happening and someone drops a good line, cut!”

Beat 3a: shooting. “It’s morse code for George!”
Beat 3b: it’s soap day at the prison!” blend

Don’t call yourself out on shit, breaks fourth wall

Corky said we have it and we know what we’re supposed to be doing.

At Improv Jam, I played a scared waitress waiting on super intense guy, and a kid being forced to stay in bathroom long enough for dad to get into a concert.


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