Tuesday, July 21, 2009

No Stage Required.


Do you remember when you use to play pretend? I grew up in the country of central Illinois and my favorite game was creating a world with many characters and complex adventures with little or no props. I don't want to stop playing.

Viola Spolin, the Mother of Improvisation, used improve to "Shut off the mind. When the rational mind is shut off, we have the possibility of intuition." She wrote in her book Improvisation for Theater, "Intuition is often thought to be an endowment or a mystical force enjoyed by the gifted alone. Yet all of us have known moments when the right answer 'just came'...Sometimes at such moments the "average" person has been known to transcend the limitation of the familiar, courageously enter the area of the unknown, and release momentary genius within."

Give yourself permission to fully engage in the ten suggested improv tasks. Allow your intuitive genius to play and have fun!

Improv task 1
- Playing the other you: Buy a magazine you wouldn't buy and then excitedly talk about the topic as if you live/breathe it w/ the cashier.

Improv Task 2 - Pushing your comfort zone: Have a conversation with an intimidating stranger.

Improv Task 3 - Playing with family: Ask your child for an animal & create a bedtime story. Be specific: name the animal, describe location

Improv task 4 - Listening/presence: Use the last letter of a partner's sentence as the 1st letter of the word starting your sentence. Enjoy!

Improv 5 - Creating Character: Pick a person you know. Without words, walk around as that person for 1 hr. What is their mannerism? What are they wearing?

Improv task 6 - Playing with Who/What/Where: Open any book and randomly select a word. Use that word to create a monologue.

Improv task 7: Space work - Practice your morning routine exactly. Think amazing mime work. Use specific movements and placement of objects.

Improv Task 8: Space Work

Improv Task 9: Product Placement

Improv Task 10: Two Characters and One Actor - Practicing your Who/What/Where.

What did you discover during your improv tasks? What task did you struggle completing? What task was the most fun?

I would love to hear what you and your intuitive genius explored.

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