Clay Shirky makes some great points about some of the terrible side effects which are likely if something like SOPA is passsed.
I know this may feel like this problem is over. But it isn’t.
I know you may think this fight is about piracy, it is in part. But really it’s about all of us who want an internet where it’s easy to produce and and share our own content. If it becomes too expensive for Youtube or Facebook or Tumblr to police what people post to their websites, then there won’t be places for us to share our work with each other.
Mike Enriquez was one of the first people I met when I moved to Chicago. On a whim and without really knowing anyone, I went to a ComedySportz audition. Afterwards, as I stood alone in the corner, Mike introduced himself, bought me a beer, and took the time to introduce me to EVERYONE. I didn’t know him much but he was the NICEST guy I’ve ever met and will undoubtedly be missed by many. Thank you, Mike!
We would be laughing so intensely, it was sometimes hard to breathe. Often the simplest thing could spark this laughter. One person would walk on stage with a mask on. Another would join them and they would simply look at each other and then look out at us and we burst out laughing. What the hell was going on?
I was talking to someone who was looking for advice for teaching improv and it reminded me of this journal.
I’m really enjoying the musical acts that have been a part of our show at Sunday Punch. This week we have Kate Diaz. This is how she describes herself on her Facebook page:
I am 14 years old and live in Chicagoland. I ♥ soccer, guitar, songwriting and singing.
She’ll be playing several original songs with her guitar.
The punch tonight at Sunday Punch is going to be very tasty. Join Joy Joy Tragedy for comedy and music featuring Phillip Jones, Sauin Choksi, Brian McGovern and music by Amy Mud Butler.
I can’t even tell you how special last night was to me!!
Two years ago, I came to the UCB for the second time (I had been to an ASSSSCAT in September that year, and I liked it - I had been drawn to the UCB because I wanted to see more of Amy) to watch what was described as an “Improv…
Thank you, Pat Bear, for all the work you have done over the years to keep the 3x3 Tourney going at UCB. I’ll see you all on Thanksgiving weekend!
Some improv thoughts
As, I tweeted a while back, almost every teacher and coach (including me) talks too much. We should all talk a lot less and let our students get more reps in class. If possible, we should give them a chance to try it again immediately after getting a negative note. If your students can keep track of how many scenes they have improvised in your class, you have failed as a teacher.
Research on the effects of cardio vascular health on neurobiology seems pretty clear. The fitter you are > the fitter your brain will be > the better you will be at learning and the better you will be at the kind of executive functions that make good improvisors. So get your ass out there and exercise every day.
Exercise also has immediate short term benefits in learning environments, which means I’ll be starting rehearsals that I coach with active warmups that get people moving and their heart rates up. Be ready for it.
Keep things simple and focused. Work one muscle at a time in rehearsal. Repeat exercises from rehearsal to rehearsal or class to class. A student must practice a given skill many times for it to become second nature and useful on stage. Also, you can’t really practice two things at once and certainly not three. Let students practice something over and over and until it becomes at least partially unconscious, before you add other layers on top of it.
Let students practice things slowly. Too often we are pushing people to do things fast before they have succeeded in doing them slow. In fact, force them to go far slower than they are used to sometimes. Then speed them up. Then slow them back down again.
For the first time in my life, I’m doing movement/physical theater classes. It’s silly and ridiculous and queer, but it’s also fun and playful and ultimately quite useful. I recommend it.
