Musings
an Online Journal of Sorts

By Alyce Wilson

Sunday we began to do scene work in my improv class. This means actually creating a scene from your platform, your who, where and what.

For most of the class, we worked with partners. Dave ran us through a series of activities, starting by teaching us the concept of "yes and." This is such an important improv concept, he told us, that there's an improv resources site called YesAnd.com.

The basic idea is simply that an improviser will make an offer: what's going on, what their relationship is, where they are. The other improvisers can either block that offer, by negating it, or they can build on it, which is more productive.

First I was teamed up with Colleen, and we were supposed to be creating a toothpaste. We had to negate everything the other person said. So when they said, "Let's create a toothpaste," the other person would say. "No, let's" something else. And back and forth. This exercise was very frustrating and went nowhere.

The next time we were supposed to say "Yes but". You would agree but have an objection and change it around. I was paired with Dave for this one, because we had an uneven class. This went a little further but we still didn't end up coming up with anything.

Finally, we switched again and I was with Geoff. This time we did "yes and". This is where you agree with the other person and then add onto the concept. We were developing a car, and he and I created a really big car that ran on sewage and could clean up neighborhoods. That was a lot more fun, because it actually went somewhere, and afterwards everybody shared what sorts of fantastic cars they'd come up with.

As Dave explained, that's what improv is all about. It's not about saying "no" to what the other person offers on stage but saying "yes" and building on it.

We worked with this concept further with different partners. This time we were making a sand castle, and we were supposed to use "yes and" to build it together. I worked with Carol, and we created a really intricate castle with a dungeon and a bridge and a moat.

Then we switched partners again, and I was with Ricardo. This time we were supposed to use the concept of "yes and" without actually saying it. He and I created a little village with people made out of shells and seaweed for trees and horses, and a big wall.

Then we moved onto different platforms. For one of the first, I was teamed with Lindsay. We were supposed to be coworkers in a lunchroom, making our lunch while we talked. We started by talking about audits that we had, but it turned out that I had something on my office computer that was highly illegal. Not quite sure what it was, but it involved a dog in a dress.

In another, I worked with Geoffrey and we were roommates who had just found an apartment together. We were putting together an IKEA desk. I ended up just sort of handing the parts to him for him to put together, as we talked excitedly about things like buying bagels for all our neighbors so they'd like us, and carpooling together every day.

For another, I was teamed up with Boris and we were siblings who liked each other. We were supposed to be cleaning up a child's room, who was one of ours. We decided I was the older sister and it was my daughter's room. That was kind of neat. Boris was talking about a stuffed lion he used to have and how he had a mean friend that used to destroy his toys. I said that was why none of the other kids were allowed to play with my kids' toys. We were supposed to discover something in the room. He discovered a magazine he didn't define, so I said, "That's my husband's. Why would she have a magazine on wood working?" Afterwards, he complimented me on keeping it PG.

Another time, I was paired with Boris and we were decorating a coworker's office. It was our coworker, Bob, who was returning from vacation. Though we started out with streamers and balloons, we ended up cutting his dog's head out of one picture and pasting it on top of his mother's picture, then filling the cubicle with Styrofoam peanuts.

Then, working with Carol, we were supposed to be cleaning out a coworker's office and we didn't like the task. Turns out we didn't like it because we couldn't understand why Bob, the salesman of the year, had been fired. We were supposed to discover something. We discovered a ledger that revealed Bob had been double book keeping.

Dave changed the level again by having us start deciding whether we liked the other person or not, which would influence the way we played out the scene. First, I was paired with Colleen, and we were all supposed to be couples on vacation. I decided I liked her, so when she confessed to drinking too many margaritas, I said we could just hang out on beach chairs and enjoy the day. We set up the chairs and had some trouble with the big heavy umbrella, which we accidentally stuck in her foot!

When I worked with Fran, we were factory workers and I decided I didn't like her. As the scene played out, it turned out that it was her first day there, and I'd been there for seven years. I was angry because she kept screwing up and also because it had taken me seven years to be moved to the part of the line where I was. She was all cheerful, trying to patch things up, but I wasn't having it.

Then we brought emotions into it. I was working with Geoff, and we were supposed to be detectives at a crime scene who discovered something. I was photographing the body while he took notes, and I discovered he had three arms. "Another one?" Geoff said. Then Dave had us reenact it, this time in intense fear. That worked out really well, especially given the strange thing we'd discovered.

I felt good about all the stuff we did with partners, because we had a clear goal and focus. It's also easier in small groups or with partners, because you don't need to worry that anybody but Dave might be paying attention.

We moved onto a game called, I believe, Replay. Dave would give us a platform: who and where you were and what you were doing. Then we would act out a very short scene, which he'd then have us replay with a different kind of emotion.

I started out first with Boris, and though I hadn't been doing that in the group setting, when I was one-on-one with people, I fell into my old habit of talking too much. We were supposed to be cops on a beat, and we were going to go check out some punks but Boris suggested the donut shop instead. At the end of it, Dave reminded me to let the other person talk: "Shh."

I was a bit embarrassed, because I'd intended not to do that again. But once I'd been reminded of it, I was really careful about it the next time. We replayed the scene as angry.

Some other people got up, and there were some interesting one. Ricardo and Fran were surgeons preparing for surgery. Ricardo started by saying, "I hate when it's little kids."

She said, "I know, and we don't even know what's wrong with him."

He said, "Well, I guess we'll do the operation anyway. I mean, the insurance is covering it."

They were supposed to replay it like they were really happy, which was hilarious. Then they replayed it depressed, which wasn't as funny.

Colleen and Lindsay were archeologists who discovered a giant cell phone that smelled like gasoline. It was ticking, so they decided to take cover. They replayed that twice: once in intense fear and then in boredom.

Colleen also did a good one later with Fran. They were supposed to be a pit crew at a racetrack, getting ready for the car to come in. Then they replayed it with suspicion and finally with laziness, which was the best.

We were actually allowed to make changes in dialogue during the replays, which she did. At the end, she just took a chair and waved at the driver. Too bad!

Ricardo and I were supposed to be chaperones at a dance. The conversation started out and we were not agreeing on things. Dave stopped us, and Ricardo apologized right away for blocking. He actually seemed to feel pretty bad about it, which made me feel better about my own goof earlier. I realized that I wasn't the only person who had habits they needed to break.

We started over with more direction. Dave said that there was a slow song playing and we liked each other. We went back and forth kind of awkwardly, and then Dave told me to spill my punch on him, so I did, and then I said, "You should take this off" and unzipped his sweater. That got a few laughs.

We replayed it angry and then hyper. I had problems with this, because I was having trouble remembering exactly what we'd said. I think Ricardo was having the same trouble. It might have helped if we'd done more that stood out, rather than just talking the whole time. Still, I think for a first time at this sort of exercise, we did fairly well.

Geoff and Carol were street cleaners in one scene. He found a $100 bill, and she gave him a sob story about how she needed the money to pay rent, so he agreed to split it. When they replayed that suave, he made everyone laugh by sweeping down to scoop up the $100 bill gracefully.

In another scene, Geoff was with Lindsay in a library. They were working together on a project. Turns out they were in the Sexuality section, and Lindsay sidled close to him and said, "I'm glad we can work on this project together." Then they had to replay it with disgust and finally with shame. It was fun to see how they justified the same body language.

Carol and Marlene were maids in a hotel room cleaning up after a rock band. They couldn't even find the bed because it was covered in so much stuff. Carol got off a good line in this one. Marlene said that it looked like a cyclone hit, and Carol said, "No, it was the Tornados," as if that was the name of the group.

At the end of the class, Dave called us all together in a circle and told us how proud he was of us. He said this was really challenging stuff and that we'd all taken risks, which was good.

I felt a little bit like I did on some of the other weeks where there was more of a learning curve, such as the second week, when we started actually trying to just come up with stuff off the top of our head. Or the week when we learned how to create a space. As I know from experience, it's always hardest when you first learn a concept. So I'm really excited to find out what we're going to learn next.

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Copyright 2005 by Alyce Wilson

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