We cannot move forward unless we see where we came from:
2013 saw the forming of our company and we rehearsed 50+ times and performed 10 shows at a variety of locations and under varied circumstances. We lost some valuable members and gained new valuable members, lost a rehearsal/performance home, and are in the works to gain a new one. Many people gave up their homes for our rehearsals and/or get-togethers and all sacrificed their time. We started playing short form games and ended performing three styles of long form games. It was a great first year for the Sid Homan inspired and Norma Homan driven improv company and I want to thank you all for your time, dedication, and creative spirit.
Below are some ideas I would like to share with you. Please use this blog to respond, ask questions, and to make suggestions. If, for some reason, you are having problems registering to get on the blog, let me know. This is a much easier way to discuss than emails are, so please take advantage of this blog - it's yours!
Moving forward, we are going to change the structure of how we rehearse, I will suggest some ideas on how we perform our shows, and am opening the discussion of group get-togethers (field trips, movie nights, etc.). A lot of these ideas and/or suggestions came from you folks, so thank you for sharing them with me. I think we are at a spot where we can take our performances to the next level and I believe this because of how the company evolved last year.
Performance Ideas
Now that we're performing both long and short form, I'd like us to continue delving deeper into long form by spending as much time as possible on the Harold long form. It is a lot of fun once you get the hang of it and can really take us and the audiences to some amazing places. To me, performing the Harold in a show is my #1 goal for 2014.
In addition, we'll try new games, work on old ones that need tinkering, and I'm hoping we can finally start working on the musical aspect of improv, meaning we perform an improvisational musical. I can support musical improv, but don't have the knowledge or talent to run it, so I need someone to step up to take the lead on this (if this is a direction we want to take). If you have musical knowledge and can play an instrument or 3, and can research on how to format music into improv (please, do the research), let me know and I will set aside rehearsal time for it.
We will also begin performing non-improv bits/skits into shows. I didn't want to do this last year because I wanted us to focus on learning improv before we went anywhere else. I think we can start incorporating some of our other talents. These bits may include 10-30 second wipes between games (2-4 per show) that could be dance routines, fake boxing matches in slow motion, fake commercials, fake songs/raps, etc. I'm open to stand up/dramatic monologues, but they would have to be well rehearsed and tight bits 10-30 seconds long (no more). I'd prefer these bits to be created and rehearsed in the informal rehearsals so that we focus on improv during the formal/performance rehearsals. Videos are another avenue we could venture into as we could make short videos that the audience could watch before the show, during intermission, and/or during the show between games. I'm wide open to all of this now, but will tell you that quality of these non-improv bits is vital. Remember our audience.
Non-Rehearsal Get-Togethers:
Don't be afraid to send out an email to the group for karaoke nights, movies, hiking/camping, art walk, bbq, dungeon and dragons - basically anything. I know we're all busy, but I think once a month or something like that it would be fun to get together outside of improv. This will help bond and form trust within the group as well as just being fun. If you can make it, great, if not, no worries. These would not be mandatory, but they would be fundatory.
Rehearsal Structure
I am proposing the below rehearsal structure changes because we are a year-round performance group and I can't expect everyone to make all the rehearsals. That's just silly. So, the informal once a week rehearsal format is when we're not rehearsing for a show and we're experimenting and just having fun at rehearsals. These are non-mandatory rehearsals, but I do encourage you to make as many of them as possible. The formal/performance rehearsals will be a 6 week series of once a week rehearsals in which the 6th week is the performance. These 5 rehearsals are mandatory, but you are allowed one unexpected absence and, if you tell me before the 6 week series begins that you have a scheduling conflict due to work, travel, or other life events, then that is fine, too.
The non-mandatory weekly rehearsals we could use to cover the basics of improv, new games, old games, and an open idea-exchanging dialogue between everyone to just have fun. If you miss an informal rehearsal or a series of them, no worries, they're simply informal. The informal rehearsals will be year round and the only thing I request is to keep an open dialogue (via email/text) when you can/can't make the informal rehearsals. I only ask this because it is good for the person hosting (or opening/closing the venue) to know who is coming.
Formal/performance rehearsals will be set up in a series of 6 one a week rehearsals with the last week being the performance. During this 6 week set, you are allowed one unexpected absence, if you have more than one unexpected absence, you will not be able to perform in the show. When the 6 week rehearsal structure is set in place, the players will inform the director what rehearsals they can or cannot make. We all have lives and work and travel and all that good stuff, so as long as you let the director know before the 6 week set begins, it's all good. Once the rehearsal period begins, you are allowed one unexpected absence. Emergencies do arise and that is what the unexpected absence is set up for.
Formal/performance rehearsals will be 2 hours and 15 minutes long. The first 15 minutes will be free time to chat, catch up, get water, use the facilities, etc and then we will begin. I urge everyone to make it on time because you've all seen how fast rehearsals go. After the first 15 minutes, the doors will be closed and no one will be admitted to the rehearsal (unless previously discussed).
The 6 week structure: Weeks 1 & 2 we will get our improv basics back in shape by doing a lot of warm-ups and exercises that support the basics. We will also try new games that we want to try out for possible inclusion in the show. Week 3 we will use the warm ups and exercises that specifically support the games we are playing and narrow down the games we want to play in the show. Weeks 4 & 5 will be show rehearsals where we perform a show during rehearsal. Week 6 will be the show where we will rock the audience!
We will not use rehearsal time to choose who plays in what games. You will email the director after week 3 what games you want to play and the director will set the show line up. Changes, of course, may be made. This gives us more rehearsal and play time and less administrative time.
I am curious to hear your feedback on these proposals - please respond to the blog and let's get a conversation going. If you have any questions or need further clarification, please feel free to call me or use the blog response.
