Games Idiots Play

While I think we should sometimes stick to the basics of Impro for Stortytellers I love that we try out new games. Last nights show was fun, and as always a learning expierience. Sometimes yes I am in the dark over life and improv but Swifuns in the dark scene was fun. We never burned brighter then in Jeri's Hanukah scene. And Cal's scene left me speechless except for two words . Lets continue in 2010 the decade of the idiot.

Masking Tape-We all wear masks ,sometimes they are on the inside.

The Next Phase -Beard And Body

Pan,Left Right and Center

I have become fasinated by movement. I went to our show last night as a member of the audience and was watching the actors use the whole stage. Sometimes as actors we tend to stay in one spot througout the whole scence . This is sometimes not fun to watch. I would like comments on movement as an actor and how you handle it.I am a beard i want to add body to my work.

The First Love:The Training Wheels are Off

We will soon be moving in to our new studio. I am going to miss the old studio. It was magic and mysterious. Putting in a secret code to get in to the third floor and even having a secret code to use the bathroom. I remember the time during a show we where getting a bit loud and are next door neighbor pounded on the wall. I do not remember which idiot said it might have been Swithun said you can't get in that way. The third floor was like your first love,shy and timid but once you got started boy it was beautiful. We are getting rid of the training wheels and getting a motercycle. We are are the ground floor in more ways then one. I think Village Gate will grow and i think that will be beacause people will coming to see us. We are in the Valley,but very soon we will be on top of the mountain.

Your in Hell Charlie Brown. -I have always been a fan Of the Peanuts gang and i am so glad that Robot Chicken was able to create a very funny spoof..

Wow

Has it been one week since the fest? We are an improv community and growing. Woodstock started out small and it made history. It would be great next year if we could have a speaker of some sort to discuss are unique art form. We are the bastard child but watch us grow and expand and improv. 2010 the new decade of improv.

CONTEST RULES--Rochester Improv Fringe Festival

We are holding a contest to determine who attends the most during the RIFF.

Starting Friday night, through out the festival, the audience will be indicated to text message a secret password to the official phone number. The owner of the phone number with the highest number of correct texts will win $100.

In the event of a 2-way tie, the prize money may be divided with each winner receiving half. In the event of a multiple-way ties, one winner will be randomly selected to receive the full prize.

If there is an overwhelming turnout for the festival, more prizes will be awarded solely at the discretion of the festival's producer.

The winner(s) must produce proof that they have a festival pass.

EVENT DETAILS--Rochester Improv Fringe Festival

FRIDAY, October 16th
7:00p, School of the Arts High School

"SOTA IMPROV & VILLAGE IDIOTS"
The School of the Arts' Improv Team kicks off the festival with their first show of the season with the Village Idiots them during the second half of the show. (Festival passes can only be purchased after the show.)

9:30p, Village Idiots Studio
"GORILLA THEATRE & Dedication Ceremony"
Three improv directors battle for supremacy, with the audience deciding if their comedic style "evolves" or "dies". The show is followed by a brief dedication ceremony for the Village Idiots' (still under construction) future performance space.

SATURDAY, October 17th
10am, Neighborhood of the Arts

"IMPROV WORKSHOPS"
Different improv workshops are set up through out the different locations of the festival.

• Beginner's Level Improv Course (Village Idiots' VIP Studio)
• Musical Improv Workshop (MuCCC)
• Beginner's Level Contact Improv (SOTA Mainstage)
• Advanced Improv Theory Workshop/RoundTable (Village Idiots' 1st Floor Studio)

12p, MuCCC
"ALL-STAR ALL PLAY" ROUND #1

Members from different troupes will be randomly selected to perform with each other. After each scene or game, the audience and a judge scores the performers. The points award are then given to the team they represent. This type of competition occurs throughout the festival, and at the end, the troupe with the most points, wins this year's ASAP award during the awards ceremony!

1pm, MuCCC
"COLLEGE IMPROV TROUPES SHOWCASE"

• UofR's "In Between the Lines"
• SUNY Geneseo's "No Laugh Track Required"

"ALL-STAR ALL PLAY" ROUND #2

4p, MuCCC
"OUT-OF-TOWN IMPROV TROUPES SHOWCASE"

• "ComedySportz" (Buffalo, NY)
• "WuProv" (Charlottesville, VA)
• "The Francis Bacon Experiment" (Buffalo, NY)

"ALL-STAR ALL PLAY" ROUND #3

7p, MuCCC
"LOCAL IMPROV TROUPES SHOWCASE"

• UNLEASHED! Improv performs "Fernando"
  
• Geva Comedy Improv performs "TV on Demand"
  
• The Village Idiots performs "Recycled Shakespeare"
  

9p, MuCCC
"CATCH 23: TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS"
For the past two weeks, several teams have been competing in the Village Idiots' Catch 23 tournament. 3 teams emerge victorious. Each of them gets 23 minutes, over 4 rounds of play. The audience and a judge scores them after each round. Who will be victorious this year?

Team: "Broken Couch" (BJ Scanlon, Jeff Andrews, & Gavin) Last Year's Champions!
vs.
Team: "Apocalypse Ponies" (Sarah Peters & Callid Keefe-Perry)
vs.
Team: "The Curlers" (Jeri Dube & Chris Dewey)

SUNDAY, October 18th
11a, Village Idiots Studio

"CHURCHPROV"

The Village Idiots explore the spiritual side of improv with the most pretentious form of improv ever invented!

12p, Village Idiots Studio

"AWARDS CEREMONY"
The festival honors several individuals and troupes with serious and silly awards alike. This year's special award for dedicated service to creating Rochester Improv goes to: Frank Storace, artistic director of Nuts & Bolts Improv Comedy Troupe. As the troupe founder, Mr. Storace has directed the creation of Rochester's longest-running improv troupe.

1p, Village Idiots Studio

"CHURCHPROV"
An original repeat of the earlier service where the Village Idiots explore the spiritual side of improv with the most pretentious form of improv ever invented!

2p, Physikos Movement Studio

"CONTACT IMPROV JAM"

LOCATION DETAILS--Rochester Improv Fringe Festival

School of the Arts
Friday Night:

Ensemble Theatre
45 Prince Street,
Rochester, NY 14607

Saturday Morning:
Main Stage
45 Prince Street,
Rochester, NY 14607

Multi-use Cultural Community Center
Saturday 11:59AM - 11:59 PM:
142 Atlantic Ave
Rochester, NY 14607

Physikos Movement Studio
Sunday 2-4pm:
302 North Goodman St., #E201
Rochester, NY 14607
located above Selena's Mexican Restaurant

Village Idiots Presents (VIP) Studio
All Other Times:
274 North Goodman St., #D312
Rochester, NY 14607
Go to the Gate House Restaurant, and take the elevator the 3rd Floor

Emergency Cash Transplant

Dave Spiro (Village Idiot & 12 year liver transplant survivor) and Swithun No (Artistic Director) of the Village Idiots
improvisation group burst into URMC's Solid Organ Transplant's Department this past Friday and interrupted their weekly meeting to perform an emergency "cash" transplant!!!

During their August 29th fundraiser for the Patient Needs Fund, the improv troupe had raised awareness about organ donation. They also raised $1,400.10 and were now "transplanting" it into the hands of Dr. Mark Orloff who happily received the cash donation on behalf of the University of Rochester Medical Center's transplant patients.

Dave Spiro, donning his old paramedic uniform, and Swithun No, donning old hospital scrubs, brought the full $1,400.10 cash donation in small, unmarked bills traveling in an official emergency organ transplant box.

"This is the first fundraiser our 2nd year troupe has ever done," said Swithun No. "I'm honored that we could use our humor to help Strong Hospital save lives."

When asked why they didn't go with a simpler presentation of a giant, novelty check instead of dressing up, Swithun No answered, "They make giant novelty checks?"

Everyone’s got a plan…until they get punched in the mouth (and now I’ll somehow relate boxing to life and improv)

Mike Tyson is one of the most notorious athletes ever. His fights were always exciting, sometimes very illegal and the comments that he made before or after the fights were incredibly entertaining. There are plenty of videos out on the internet filled with just his quotes. A large portion of these were violent and absurd.

However, there was a moment when he said something so profound that it would leave most philosophers envious. To paraphrase, that comment was, “everyone’s got a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” At first glance, this comment might seem like another random act of vocabulary. But, when you strip away possible knee-jerk reactions towards violent speech, you are left with something deep, profound and symbolic.

“Everyone has got a plan until they get punched in the mouth”. This statement describes everyday life all to well. “I was going to ask my boss for a raise, but once I heard him speak, I caved”, “I was going to tell Becky Sue how I really feel about her, but when I looked in her eyes, I lost my will to speak”, “I was going to do well on the test, but once I sat in that chair, I froze”, etc. What does the boss’ voice, Becky Sue’s eyes and a cold chair have in common? They are the metaphoric “punch in the mouth” that Mike Tyson speaks of.

You can practice and prepare all you want, but until you learn how to take that punch to the mouth, your plans will vanish and you’ll revert back to what is familiar or safe.

This is true when you’re trying to evolve in improv. There are plenty of games that can be performed better when utilizing learned techniques and strategies. But, "the heat of the moment" punches you in the mouth and this strikes you with the urge to perform well. It is at times like these that you have to train your mind to pause a beat and stick to the game plan. Otherwise, you’ll be relying on habits that keep you safe, you’ll inhibit your evolution as a human being and Mike Tyson will probably want to eat your babies.

Regeneration and Change.

Last night in the final scene in our Catch 23 we where dying. We had to change and regenerate like Doctor Who. In the 30 plus years of the show the actor leaves the show but the charecter and intent remains the same . We had to change we had to be bold and fearleEmbedding disabled by requestss. In anything in life or improv if you can,change it regenerate become new.

Learn,Learn,Learn

Alpha,Beta,Gama and Delta. I think i would like to choose A little from all four. I love going to Delta rehearsal's because you see enthusiasm and wide eyed wonder over this magic called improv i never want to lose that. I am now a Gamma myself and i am still learning and so much potential where to go. When i am good i am very good, When i am not so good more to learn. Beta going in to battle on any front and ability to lead if called upon something to strive for. Finally Alpha Will my son or daughter grow up to be an Alpha hey you never know. The main point here is each group must learn from the other. Sometimes in baseball a major league player must sometimes go down to the minor leagues to learn and get better and come back stronger then when they left. That is how i think Of Alpha,Beta,Gamma and Delta learning from each gaining for all.

Improv Garden

There is no Special
Go, you are not important
So do what you want

It’s a sad day in the world of MMA (and now I’ll somehow relate this to Improv)

Technically, it’s not a sad day for MMA (for those who don’t know what MMA is, just think of UFC and that’s close enough), but it is a sad day for me because my favorite fighter lost last night. The fight itself was relatively even for the majority of the time. However, the way he lost was so disappointing that it left me wondering why he was even there.

Let’s give a little background on the fighter in mention. To start off, let’s call him Mirko…cause that’s his name. From 2002-2007 Mirko spent much of his professional career kicking people’s heads off into the crowd (figuratively speaking). Image Mike Tyson style of explosive knockouts.

When Mirko was knocking people out on a regular basis he was mainly doing it with Left High Kicks. Left foot says “hi” to opponent’s head, opponent’s head meets ground, opponent takes a nap and everybody wins, yay! However, during the matches, he was doing a lot more than just throwing a high kick. He threw jabs, crosses, leg kicks, body kicks, pushing them away, the occasional hook, etc. Although, most people tuned into his fights in hopes that they would see one of those signature kicks, it was everything else that helped set it up.

That explosive strike always seemed to come out of nowhere. It seemed to come out of nowhere because he set the attack up the same way a magician would. He has you look over at the right because of a few jabs, you forget to watch his feet and all of a sudden his foot is at your eye level. Then you’re left wondering how the hospital food will taste when you eventually wake up. Very Houdini like if you ask me.

Unfortunately, when he finally came to Vegas (that’s where most UFC fights take place), he seemed to have forgotten his bag of sleight-of-hand magic tricks elsewhere.

So last night, instead of doing:
jab-jab-hook-cross-leg kick-push-jab-jab-Left High Kick-Win-Celebrate

He did:
push-push-push-left high kick-miss-nothing-nothing-repeat-Lose-disappointed fans.

One formula of attack seems to have worked better for him than the other and now I’m one disappointed fan.

Improv is a lot like fighting (I knew I’d find some way to tie this into improv). Most of us have our special attack. Some people can “ooh ahh” the crowd with cartwheels, some are excellent singers and others are great at the one liners. Mirko had his one liner – it was his left foot. Show after show he relied on it to get the reaction from his opponent (and the crowd) that he wanted. Eventually he became so focused on that one attack and one crowd response that he lost sight of everything else he needed to be a complete performer. He stopped doing all the little things to build up the special attack and now he is predictable.

Whether your special talent is cartwheels, head kicks or the power of song, don’t let it control you. The more attached you are to the reaction, the harder you’ll try to force it and the less people will care because you will have become predictable. Then I’ll be left feeling disappointed again and really…no one wants that. So remember your jabs, your hooks, your knees to the mid section and save that left high kick for the best moments…metaphorically improvisation speaking of course.

Paradox

In the movie, The Matrix, there is a famous line when Neo asks how a young child was able to mentally bend a spoon.

The answer: "There is no spoon."

It's an illusion. To those who really know the true nature of something, the answer is in the paradox. And improv itself is all about paradoxes. (Listen carefully while talking over someone. Being impolite is kindness to your scene partner. Being obvious make you look brilliant. Etc.)

I was once explaining to someone about how--in improv--you have to lead and follow at the exact same time. That person asked, "how do you do that?" I thought about giving a long explanation about the intricacies of doing both with numerous examples from nature and technology.

Instead, I answered, "You just do."

I realize that my answer is a paradox. That there is no real answer because the question assumes that you can't do both. Even though directions be paradoxical, be comfortable with the conflict. Assume that the audience doesn't care what you do, but that you attempt it with the best of your training, fearlessly. You create the illusion by understanding the true nature of improv: it's all about being comfortable with paradoxes.

The Improv Edge - I can't hear you...Speak Up!

The "Improv Edge" is what I like to title my list of small ideas and tricks to improve one's Improv Game. Unfortunately, I only have one trick at the moment, so this better be good...

Normally, I have no problem being loud. Hell, a lot of the time I have no problem being TOO LOUD. However, when I have to be quiet for long periods of time and then be loud for short periods of time, it could becomes difficult to stay at the right volume. So much so, I almost feel hesistant speaking at a whisperer's voice.

Improv puts me in this kind of situation pretty often (like, every time I perform or practice). So I needed to find a way around (or over or through, why are people always trying to go around problems anyway?) this problem. Luckily, I've found one way that helps me stay at a constant high volume.

Every improv scene starts with, "And we'll see that scene in 3...2...1". In the past, this would be around the time I start zoning out and daydreaming. However, I've recently realized that this is the best time to let my obnoxiously loud and beligerent voice out to say "And we'll see that scene in..." because:

1. It's the short window of time I can still be obnoxiously loud when I'm not in a scene

2. Letting out my obnoxiously loud side is fun

3. Being obnoxiously loud keeps my volume up

4. Having fun keeps my creativity up

So with that short sentence I gain all kinds of benefits and expend very little energy doing so. It gives me that improv edge (blantant title plug) for when i'm performing and keeps me going throughout the night.

The Fab Four & The Incredible Idiots.

The Beatles and the Village Idiots where do i start. Two very talented groups who at the beginning where not noticed. The Beatles many hours of hard work in Hamburg ,Germany improved their skills and went on to become one of the greatest rock groups in history. Many times in Hamburg they ran out of songs they knew and had to improvise. The Village Idiots after one year have been written about in local newspapers and been on television. The Beatles after Liverpool and Hamburg went on to conquer the world. I remember new years eve 2009 three people at one show. The last Micetro show we did close to one hundred people and look how much we raised. The Beatles just remastered and released all of their hits it sounds great. This next phase at the Vip let us remaster, release and surpass .

Failure Is Your Friend

There's nothing more demoralizing for an improv ensemble when one it's members has performance anxiety or is afraid of looking stupid in front of people. I've heard over the years things like: "I don't want to go out there and look stupid" or "I'm so nervous I could throw up" or "Let's only do things we've practiced in rehearsal." Supportive ensembles will try to play therapist for that anxious person right before a show, but they really shouldn't have to. In the long run, the anxious alienate themselves from the rest of the troupe. It's better that the anxious learn to drop their anxiety in rehearsal. But how you ask?

And article in REAL SIMPLE had a list of "10 things that will make you instantly happy", but #4 really stood out as note-worthy:

4. Realize that anything worth doing is worth doing badly. Challenge and novelty are key elements of happiness.

The brain is stimulated by surprise, and successfully dealing with an unexpected situation gives a powerful sense of satisfaction.

People who do new things -- learn a game, travel to unfamiliar places -- are happier than people who stick to familiar activities that they already do well.

I often remind myself to "Enjoy the fun of failure" and tackle some daunting goal.