Latest Podcast Episode
This week’s podcast is on a subject I’ve thought about a lot over the years - how do we make ‘slice of life’ scenes work? Someone who performs this style of improv with incredible elegance is Louis Kornfeld as part of the Magnet Theatre duo Kornfeld and Andrews (with Rick Andrews as the other half of the pairing). Louis and I had a conversation last weekend which forms the bulk of this episode. The episode also features a collaborator of mine, Jenny Rowe, who came to mind while making the episode, mainly due to a scene we did together where almost nothing happened, but where we could barely contain our laughter on stage.
Why do we sometimes avoid feeling?
This week, while talking with other improvisers, I’ve been thinking about owning feelings on stage.
I’m always interested in why we make the choices we make on stage. One thing I know I’ve been guilty of sometimes, especially when I’m trying to play in shows where I am guesting or ‘trying to impress’ is my characters stop owning their emotions.
I see this a lot with improvisers who are dead set on being funny. They will often bail on any emotion they have shown or been endowed with in order to push for a laugh.
Maybe it’s just me, but I feel like attention is best held when we can see some humanity in a scene. For me, an emotion owned can be one of the ultimate gifts we can give our scene partners and audience.
Owning an accusation hurled at our character can be really delightful to me. Faced with “You’re the worst father ever”, I would much rather reply “Yes, I am” and give a reason than just argue back and forth.
Similarly, if I’ve shown that something makes me sad, I’m keen to keep that and use it in a show rather than bail on it when a new shiny thing comes along in a scene.
I know I’ve been guilty of bailing on emotional choices because there is the chance to do something ‘funny’. Frankly, I still sometimes do this, and I’m not sure why. I guess ‘funny’ is seductive. Yet my best moments on stage are when I own my emotions, have a good reasoning for them and refuse to bail on that choice.
Shows and workshops
Torch Songs
Come learn how to sing your heart out in New York with this one-off elective I’m teaching at The Magnet Theater on Saturday 16th March. This emotion-filled workshop looks at songs of unrequited love. A torch song in musical theatre (and beyond) is a song about a someone you can’t be with or something you can’t have. Picture yourself lying across a grand piano in an underground bar at 2am with a scotch in your hand and a picture of your unrequited love in the other!
Rhymes Against Humanity At Leicester Comedy Festival
Leicester Comedy Festival is one of the largest festivals of its kind in the world, and it happens in my part of the world - the East Midlands in the UK. My team Rhymes Against Humanity will once again improvise an entire musical. All you have to come up with is a title for us. There are now only a handful of tickets left to see us on Friday 9th February.
Got something exciting happening? A festival? A new format you’re putting on? A big bit of news you want to share with the improv community? Email newsdesk@improvchronicle.com
Have a great week,
Lloydie