About “Improvisation”
Start here with this idea: We often make the mistake of thinking that “improvisation” is just that – totally spontaneous! Look beneath the surface and you find that the speaker, singer, musician or performer doing the improvisation has had long practice with the subject matter, the style, the instrument or the theatrical discipline. They didn’t really just walk on the stage, pick up an instrument and blow “Take Five” or “Kind of Blue.”
In order to confidently perform what appears to be “Spontaneous Comedy,” the actors at Second City spend weeks practicing, blocking, rewriting, editing, experimenting and polishing their incredibly flexible brand of “Managed Improv.” Stand up doesn’t just materialize. It evolves.
Our contribution to this mix? We provide the “Matrix for Ideas” that allows the speaker to “Post a Concept” into a “Mental Diagram,” then evolve it into an entire monologue. Once the speaker learns the matrix, the posting and idea evolution, they can move with great speed through, around, up and down the process – to the astonishment of listeners. It’s not difficult, but it does take practice. In the words of one old pro,
“It takes a lot of hard practice to make
the un-natural appear effortless.”
– J.R. StJohn
Once you’ve learned the technique, you evolve the skill through long practice. The monologue becomes a series of dialogues, and the outcome is an individual who can create an interchange.
Bon Voyage!
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