I just pleasantly remembered one of the highlights of this last term's improv acting class I taught.
I was trying to give the students help with how to create successful scenes, and I was telling them all kinds of rules and guides, but they seemed to still have questions. Ultimately, I told them that improv was all about playing with others, and all the guides and rules I was giving to them could be broken or not followed at any time as long as the game the players were playing with each other was fun, not only for them, but for the audience watching. And all the guides and rules I was giving to them were, basically, rules on how to not be a dick when playing with others. So, ultimately, all I was saying was, "don't be a dick."
This phrase, and the intention behind it, seemed to stick with them. For the remainder of the term, they often repeated it, always with smiles, even when they were being serious.
"Hey, don't be a dick," they would say to each other, which would always bring a smile, as well as an adjustment in the way the folks were playing with each other. Or the phrase would present itself like, "I'd say fill-in-the-blank-here, but I don't wanna be a dick." And again, smiles would happen and they would play nicely with each other.
They're a good group of kids (read: adults who I call kids, because they're the "kids" I'm teaching), they're hungry and ready to be pros.
I can't wait until they get good enough at *not* being dicks that I feel I can introduce the concept of *being* a dick, and how much fun that can be, sometimes, too!
I was trying to give the students help with how to create successful scenes, and I was telling them all kinds of rules and guides, but they seemed to still have questions. Ultimately, I told them that improv was all about playing with others, and all the guides and rules I was giving to them could be broken or not followed at any time as long as the game the players were playing with each other was fun, not only for them, but for the audience watching. And all the guides and rules I was giving to them were, basically, rules on how to not be a dick when playing with others. So, ultimately, all I was saying was, "don't be a dick."
This phrase, and the intention behind it, seemed to stick with them. For the remainder of the term, they often repeated it, always with smiles, even when they were being serious.
"Hey, don't be a dick," they would say to each other, which would always bring a smile, as well as an adjustment in the way the folks were playing with each other. Or the phrase would present itself like, "I'd say fill-in-the-blank-here, but I don't wanna be a dick." And again, smiles would happen and they would play nicely with each other.
They're a good group of kids (read: adults who I call kids, because they're the "kids" I'm teaching), they're hungry and ready to be pros.
I can't wait until they get good enough at *not* being dicks that I feel I can introduce the concept of *being* a dick, and how much fun that can be, sometimes, too!
No comments:
Post a Comment