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Make graceful and lasting change

Here we go a Harolding


Cindy Tonkin - August 7, 2008


This is one of my favourite photos to do – reflections in buildings (actually reflections in anything – tea pots, lamp posts, sunglasses).

It was taken on the Chicago River
Architecture tour on Sunday afternoon.

This afternoon’s workshop was Harold-flavoured.

We did transitions from group game to 2 person scene to group game, aiming to make this as organic and seamless as possible. Jet has this theory about the tao of improv – that after a group game ends the last 2 people on stage start the next scene. It makes things a lot easier, although doesn’t cure stage-hogging.

Jet-isms:
– inventive and clever is not a compliment in this work; investing and discovering is
– building tension doesn’t happen with words, it happens with silence
– do you have the courage not to be funny for 5 minutes, so that you can have the huge laugh at the end of 5 minutes?
– scenes alone are not risky enough – group games are risky (and they don’t always work well) – they are there to bring ideas, brainstorm, make new ideas, lower the pressure
– when working in a group on stage people need to be scattered like chocolate chips in a cookie – not all together
– group games are when everyone commits and drops their own ego – which is different to everyone doing their own thing and checking in
– joy is what transforms scenes most quickly
– good shows happen when you know how you feel about your scene partner and you can see your world
– heighten scenes through layers, not complexity

Still having fun, although had to have a nap after class today; all the emotional stuff this morning was exhausting!

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