Lately, I've noticed that we've been focusing too much on the rule of threes in our improv. People are focusing more on doing things three times than on doing the things that make great improv. I think that our focus should be on game of the scene. In improv, the rule of threes is just a tool for to gain more laughs on the parts of scenes that aren't what the scene is truly about. I feel that the rule of threes is binding other parts of improv.
For those who might not know, the rule of threes is a universal rule in comedy. Things are funnier when they happen in threes. If someone make a notable gesture in a scene, typically the 2nd time they will get a small laugh, and the 3rd time they will get a larger laugh. The laughs drop of sharply after that. The rule of threes can be applied to most things, and its effects are very apparent, which is where I think the confusion comes from. Although the rule of threes is an excellent tool for getting laughs, it is not the pinnacle of improv humor. I believe that honor lies with game of the scene and reincorporation(for longform).
Game of the scene is, in essence, what a scene is really about. If someone plays a character who has two refrigerators, the scene is about the kind of guy that would have two fridges. In order to further the game, you shouldn't play 'a day in the life of a guy with two fridges;' you should play 'what else is true about a guy with two fridges?" Maybe he has two of everything, two dogs, two coffee makers, two beds, and two wives. Maybe his wife works for an appliance company, and he has another six toasters, eight ovens, and fourteen vacuums. The point here is establish a pattern off of something unusual in a scene. Once you find the pattern (found by asking yourself the question: "If this is true, what else is true."), then you can build the game on top of that.
The whole point of this long-ass trek into improv territory is to give a warning. Know the rule of threes but don't be bounded to it. When you have a game of the scene going, it is not correct to cut it after three instances of the pattern are shown. The pattern continues to be funny by taking it in unexpected directions and by heightening it. The rule of threes should be seen as a tool, not a law.
~Dan E.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Monday, December 10, 2007
The Art in Urban Improv
We Agents use the term "urban improv" (or simply "urban") frequently and in conversation, but does the rest of the world? Are we even so certain ourselves about what it means to put on an Urban Improv? Improv itself, as a larger genre, is going through a period of rebirth, redefining itself both for the general public and for those intimate with the art. That being the case, can we possibly hope to write a definition for what urban improv is? Where is the line between urban improv and pranks? How much should be prepared? Should we capitalize it? I hope that I can answer these questions.
For those of you already blamelessly confused, I will do my best to briefly define urban improv. Urban improv is a field of improv play that involves the playing out of unusual situations or the displacement of usual situations in public locations, with an audience previously unawares of the purpose or plan of action. Wow. That felt fantastic. I could almost leave it there. Wait, actually, I have a lot more to say, because if you are not used to reading the dictionary (as I am, being an English nerd) then you might still have no idea what I am getting at.
Up until very recently, improv as an art form has been defined and described using one of two terms: "short form" or "long form." These nicknames, spelled with and without a space between the words, refer on a basic level to the length of the improv scene unit, but have a world of difference in theory and application. That is a topic for another day. Urban improv may either fall under long form or it may be its own category altogether. I cannot pretend to have the community authority to place it under either one, but the uncertainty here illustrates the ambiguous nature of urban improv as a form.
How about examples? In my own blog, I once critiqued and highlighted urban improv at other schools around the country. My favorite independent acts include the UmPatriot's PacMan and Prangstgrüp's legendary Lecture Musical, but the powerhouse of urban improv is without a doubt NYC's ImprovEverywhere. Their site is constantly updated with new missions, ranging in size from a five person team to literally hundreds of participants. As for us, you can check out our own web site's urban improv page and read some mission reports.
Is it improv? Each event is carefully planned, sometimes even with scale diagrams of the setting detailing the walking path of an individual player or discreet collections of costumes and supplies. No player enters the urban improv scene not knowing "what to do." Where improv comes into play is primarily in the absolute acceptance of the reality of the scene. In our Moebius, where eleven simple actions and conversations were repeated sixteen times in a library café, each player knew they had to respond realistically to their environment: if anyone asked what was going on, they had to categorically deny anything strange was occurring, claim they had not been around for more than five minutes, and maintain these interactions on each following cycle. All that is not to mention that they had to invent their response on the spot. Even as detailed as planning was for that mission, it still sounds like improv to me.
How do you refer to an individual act of urban improv? Our group, lacking anything else, has opted to call them "urbans," though this irks the occaisional logophile. Others call them events, stunts, goons, acts, and even pranks. I hesitate to use the last, because the connotation of "prank" implies that it is destructive or mean in its nature. Urban improv, I argue, is quite the opposite. The major objectives for any urban improv idea should always be fun, smiles, and a break of routine. Pranks cause inconvenience and discomfort, and in some cases may even be dangerous (e.g. using rope to tie two doors together). Urban improv should, in the end, delight, impress, and inspire its audience.
Modernism. Impressionism. Method acting. These and other styles of art are capitalized. However, they are very specific in meaning, and those well versed in their history can readily categorize any example. Can the same be said for urban improv? Yes, it is a more specific form of improv (which itself is not capitalized), but is it a school of improv? Or is it a specific set of improv ideals? Well, no, it is not a set perspective on improv, not a particular form, but it does have its own ideals. So, because it does not meet all of the requirements, I do not capitalize it. Perhaps what causes the difficulty here is the fact that urban improv is in many ways not improvised, so it becomes difficult to call it, strictly speaking, improv. Purists will disagree, but I think that being relaxed about the categorization is OK. Second City already blurs the line between sketch and improv, so what should prevent us from blurring the line between street performance and improvisation?
Urban improv is in its infancy. This entry is an exploration, but it is by no means dogmatic. Please post comments with your own thoughts about urban improv!
Best,
Nicholas J. Carroll
Master of Ceremonies
Agents of Improv
For those of you already blamelessly confused, I will do my best to briefly define urban improv. Urban improv is a field of improv play that involves the playing out of unusual situations or the displacement of usual situations in public locations, with an audience previously unawares of the purpose or plan of action. Wow. That felt fantastic. I could almost leave it there. Wait, actually, I have a lot more to say, because if you are not used to reading the dictionary (as I am, being an English nerd) then you might still have no idea what I am getting at.
Up until very recently, improv as an art form has been defined and described using one of two terms: "short form" or "long form." These nicknames, spelled with and without a space between the words, refer on a basic level to the length of the improv scene unit, but have a world of difference in theory and application. That is a topic for another day. Urban improv may either fall under long form or it may be its own category altogether. I cannot pretend to have the community authority to place it under either one, but the uncertainty here illustrates the ambiguous nature of urban improv as a form.
How about examples? In my own blog, I once critiqued and highlighted urban improv at other schools around the country. My favorite independent acts include the UmPatriot's PacMan and Prangstgrüp's legendary Lecture Musical, but the powerhouse of urban improv is without a doubt NYC's ImprovEverywhere. Their site is constantly updated with new missions, ranging in size from a five person team to literally hundreds of participants. As for us, you can check out our own web site's urban improv page and read some mission reports.
Is it improv? Each event is carefully planned, sometimes even with scale diagrams of the setting detailing the walking path of an individual player or discreet collections of costumes and supplies. No player enters the urban improv scene not knowing "what to do." Where improv comes into play is primarily in the absolute acceptance of the reality of the scene. In our Moebius, where eleven simple actions and conversations were repeated sixteen times in a library café, each player knew they had to respond realistically to their environment: if anyone asked what was going on, they had to categorically deny anything strange was occurring, claim they had not been around for more than five minutes, and maintain these interactions on each following cycle. All that is not to mention that they had to invent their response on the spot. Even as detailed as planning was for that mission, it still sounds like improv to me.
How do you refer to an individual act of urban improv? Our group, lacking anything else, has opted to call them "urbans," though this irks the occaisional logophile. Others call them events, stunts, goons, acts, and even pranks. I hesitate to use the last, because the connotation of "prank" implies that it is destructive or mean in its nature. Urban improv, I argue, is quite the opposite. The major objectives for any urban improv idea should always be fun, smiles, and a break of routine. Pranks cause inconvenience and discomfort, and in some cases may even be dangerous (e.g. using rope to tie two doors together). Urban improv should, in the end, delight, impress, and inspire its audience.
Modernism. Impressionism. Method acting. These and other styles of art are capitalized. However, they are very specific in meaning, and those well versed in their history can readily categorize any example. Can the same be said for urban improv? Yes, it is a more specific form of improv (which itself is not capitalized), but is it a school of improv? Or is it a specific set of improv ideals? Well, no, it is not a set perspective on improv, not a particular form, but it does have its own ideals. So, because it does not meet all of the requirements, I do not capitalize it. Perhaps what causes the difficulty here is the fact that urban improv is in many ways not improvised, so it becomes difficult to call it, strictly speaking, improv. Purists will disagree, but I think that being relaxed about the categorization is OK. Second City already blurs the line between sketch and improv, so what should prevent us from blurring the line between street performance and improvisation?
Urban improv is in its infancy. This entry is an exploration, but it is by no means dogmatic. Please post comments with your own thoughts about urban improv!
Best,
Nicholas J. Carroll
Master of Ceremonies
Agents of Improv
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Ribbon Cutting Ceremony
Despite what the title states above, we have neither a ribbon nor anything to cut it with. What we do finally have is a website (sorta). For those of you who don't know us, we are the Agents of Improv, a comedic improv group based out of the University of Connecticut since Fall '06. For a good long while we've attempted to update our website, but unfortunately we never had someone with the time/abilities to keep a website going. Taking inspiration from Wilhelm Comedy, another UConn based comedy group, we decided to dabble in the world of blogging.
So what can you expect to see in this blog? There will of course be Agents related news, ranging from upcoming shows to social events to our Urban Improvs (more on that to come). We'll also likely post news related to associated groups, improv resources, and likely our own musings on the world of comedy. I also have a love for photography, so don't be surprised if you see photos of us up here.
If you're interested in seeing us, we can all be easily contacted here or at agentsofimprov@gmail.com. We also have weekly meetings in UConn's Student Union, room 304 A 9:00-11:30 on Thursdays.
The six group officers will likely post often here. If you are an agents and would like to submit a post let one of us proof read it first and that should be that. Hope you all have fun and find a chance to relax with finals coming up.
All the best,
Jake Lucas
Social Chair
Agents of Improv
So what can you expect to see in this blog? There will of course be Agents related news, ranging from upcoming shows to social events to our Urban Improvs (more on that to come). We'll also likely post news related to associated groups, improv resources, and likely our own musings on the world of comedy. I also have a love for photography, so don't be surprised if you see photos of us up here.
If you're interested in seeing us, we can all be easily contacted here or at agentsofimprov@gmail.com. We also have weekly meetings in UConn's Student Union, room 304 A 9:00-11:30 on Thursdays.
The six group officers will likely post often here. If you are an agents and would like to submit a post let one of us proof read it first and that should be that. Hope you all have fun and find a chance to relax with finals coming up.
All the best,
Jake Lucas
Social Chair
Agents of Improv
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