Improv Classes

Instructor: Nancy Morrison

Basic improv rules:

* Don’t deny.  Take whatever your partner tells you as true, and add your own story to it.

* You don’t have to be funny. The harder you try not to be funny, the scene might become funnier!

* Don’t ask open ended questions.  Open ended questions like “who are you” put the burden of developing interesting stories to your partner, while you yourself are not  contributing ideas.

* You look good when you make your partner look good.

As a general rule of thumb, what happens in class stays in class.  So we won’t disclose activity details in the minutes.

Minutes for each class:

First class:

Time: February 8, 2018 6:30-8:30 PM

Minutes by Yang

Participants: Aaron, Agnes, Annie, Ellen, Fiona, Jenny, Lishan, Sophia, Wendy, Yang

What I can tell is, we “brought” quite some plants, rains, a city, a wild story, laughters and a lot more to our classroom!

Next class: March 8, 2018

Second class:

Time: March 8th, 2018 6:30-8:30 PM

Minutes by Yang

Participants: Aaron, Agnes, Ashley, Eric, Jackie, Jefferey, Juvally, Lishan, Wendy, Yang

Brought in animals, random words, and mirrors?  Became magicians and turned things into other objects?  Conversed in questions?  Talked with an alphabetical order about milk?  Thanked buddies for   their wild gifts?  Watched a skit designed and acted by ourselves?  Yes, we did all those in our second class!

And here’s  a message from Nancy:  “No swear words, rude bathroom talk or related words and nothing to do with guns, weapons, and violence. The only time these are appropriate is when it is written in a scene. I will not ever be bringing anything like that kind of material to our classes. My hope is to rise above that sort of thing and spend our time together having fun, laughing and enjoying each other’s company with each individual’s contribution of their creative imaginations.”

Next class: April 5, 2018 (4 seats available so far!)

Third class:

Time: April 5th, 2018 6:30-8:30 PM

Participants: Aaron, Agnes, Eric, Jackie, Jeffery, Juvally, Lishan, Wendy, and Yang

We did the alphabetic story-telling, and that was the only old game we played tonight because it was fun!  A lot of new games there to stimulate our brains: acting to every syllable of a song (and trying not to forget the lyrics!), collaborating to make stuff (within 10 seconds!), acting scenes framed by 4 pieces of paper (and giving a logic to connect the frames!), expressing sub-text emotions in a dialogue (with only one line!), doing things as per another member’s instructions (and praying this guy would not be that silly!)…Finally, do you know why clapping for budddies could be a negative reaction in an acting or an improv acting class?  What tricks could you do if you forget your lines in an audition?  Well, now you know the good of having a professional (and kind) actor, producer, and acting teacher as our facilitator!

Next class: May 3, 2018 (3 seats left for RSVP)

 

Fourth class:

 

Time: May 3rd, 2018 6:30-8:30 PM

Minutes by Yang

Participants: Aaron, Agnes, Ashley, Eric, Jackie, Jefferey, Juvally, Wendy, Yang

 

The alphabetical story-telling was so fun we did it again.  Nancy brought  a bag full of bizarre things.  They were perfect props to make stories!  It turned out to be a collection of Nancy’s grandma’s household gadgets.  We were intrigued by their delicate designs, imagining the daily life of a housewife in Canada a hundred years ago.  While the memories Nancy carried with her added warmth to the past, whether and how to keep and pass on the items revealed a dilemma facing us in this fast-moving, modern age…

 

Thank you, Nancy, for the fun and creativity the improv classes have triggered, and the kindness you have shown!