Notorious B.I.G. Requests the Pleasure of Your Company
#RISDWCFNM
I don’t know why, but I just love this one. GC was a really amazing talent.
Kim Kardashian Dating Chocolate Easter Bunny
Move over, Kanye, Kris, Miles, Reggie, Nick, Ray J, Damon and T.J.
Kim Kardashian’s got herself a new man: Chocolate Easter Bunny.
On Friday, the brunette bombshell appeared on The Today Show to defend the relationship.
“All over the world, but especially in the U.K., people are calling you Kunny,” snickered Today host Matt Lauer.
“It’s short for Kim-Bunny,” Kardashian replied. “Super-cute, right?”
But Hollywood insiders are calling the pair a “showmance” - a publicity stunt to break through a busy Easter news season, sell more candy and divert attention from her painful divorce from basketball player Kris Humphries and recent tryst with rapper Kayne West.
“Kim is not some media whore who exploits others for financial gain. Their love is real,” says Mom Kris Jenner. ”Also, Kunny perfume is available at QVC for $49.99. It will leave you feeling fresh as a summer’s eve.”
But not everyone in the family is so supportive.
“I don’t know why she doesn’t like white chocolate bunnies like most people,” snapped stepdad Bruce Jenner.
Said Kim, “They’re just not as filling as the chocolate ones.”
Freeze Tag Fun
Having a lot of fun with variations of freeze tag at @TheSecondCity 3-day improv intensive:
Classic - Two players start a scene. Another player says “freeze”, taps out one of the first two players, gets into the same position and initiates a new scene.
Props - Same as Classic Freeze Tag, but the players incorporate an object and pretend it’s something else. For example, in one of our scenes, an umbrella became a rope for Britney and Charity to pull during the Greek Week tug-of-war. Once a player is tagged out, the object becomes something different.
Mimed Objects - Same as Props Freeze Tag except the object is imaginary. The player who initiates the scene names the object.
Big Pimpin’ - Same as Classic Freeze Tag except one of the players on the back line chooses (pimps out) another player who then tags out one of the players on stage. Hopefully makes you pay attention and act without thinking.
Relationship - The way we did it, players on the back line paired up and took on some sort of relationship (husband-wife, boss-employee, teacher-student, etc.). Two players step forward to do a scene. One of the back line players says “freeze” and another pair steps forward, tags out the first duo, assumes the same physical positions as the first two, then starts a scene of their own. If a duo makes it back on stage a second or third time, they keep the same character and relationship but continue the next episode in the life of these two characters.
As a bonus, our teacher @JohnnieHildreth also added a little “Should Have Said” to the above games. Two players start a scene. Sometime during the scene, when one player says a line, the teacher rings the bell and the same player says a different line.
A simple way to play is to either change one word or say the opposite. For example:
Line 1: Jesus, Mom this lasagne is disgusting!
Line 2: Jesus, Mom this puppy is disgusting!
Line 3: Jesus, Mom this puppy is delicious!
Anyone out there have any other variations they’d like to share?
Have Fun,
Yes Man
Jill Bernard’s Small Cute Book of Improv
I did one of @jillybee72’s workshops at @ImprovBoston last year.
Jill’s a great teacher and she wrote a really useful book if you want to learn or be better at improv.
It’s only $5 plus $2 S&H. Buy it here.
And if you ever have a chance to take a workshop with her…do it!
Have Fun,
Yes Man
You Like Me. You Really Like Me. Or Not.
Took a workshop with Micah Sherman (@profdork) last weekend at the Women in Comedy Fest (@WICF).
There are lots of ways to inspire yourself as you get on stage - emotion, physicality, word association, etc.
Micah showed us another technique that was really helpful.
Before you go on stage, ask yourself, “Do I like the other character?”
Whatever the answer, try and stay with that feeling for the entire scene.
Play with the intensity. For example, if you dislike the other character, you could be sad, angry, scared or any of the minor variations of these. And even if you dislike them, you could still be happy because you take delight in “torturing” them.
Have Fun,
Yes Man
P.S. - Sorry I haven’t been posting as frequently as I would like. I’m taking a comedy writing class and the workload and deadlines are pretty intense.
Yeah! Good points MNIB!
What follows in the quoted post is a list of labels. These labels define the social moors or settings or trappings that people might find themselves in, but they are not relationships. That is just how they know each other, or happen to be talking to each other. A relationship cannot and should not be defined only by the occupations your characters happen to have.
A relationship is how two people relate to each other. Perhaps a clearer word is dynamic. What dynamic do two people share? How do they treat each other?
Two people might happen to know each other because one is a psychiatrist and the other is her patient. But if all we play are the labels of psychiatrist and patient we will never find ourselves approaching anything resembling the truth. Does this patient love the psychiatrist like a mother? Does the psychiatrist despise the patient like an ex-boyfriend? Is their dynamic caring, spiteful, cooperative, rote, or lustful? Yes, the trappings of psychiatry will inform and influence the scene. But the real inspiration of the scene will be in the dynamic.
And yes, in this example, like a psychiatrist is how you can treat a person. But we don’t watch drama or comedy to watch a psychiatrist just act like a normal psychiatrist. Like a psychiatrist can be interesting if played in an unusual setting; any label can be interesting when played in a different and unexpected context. For example: Play your psychiatrist in the middle of a boyfriend/girlfriend break-up scene. Or have your child-who-didn”t-turn-in-homework character psycho-analyze his teacher. It’s much more fun.
Relationships: Play the dynamic, not the label.
Who are you to each other?
Improv teachers ask this question a lot because players commonly forget to establish relationships during scenes.
The audience wants to know who you are to each other. When you don’t establish a relationship between your characters, the scene rambles and the…
(via improvisorsimprovisor)
This sentence has never been said before:
A man in Elmo pants dropped his iced coffee on the ground in a dirty parking lot, screamed “FUCK!” as it spilled, picked it up, looked around, then drank the rest with his mouth on the rim of the cup.
101 Improv Relationships
Who are you to each other?
Improv teachers ask this question a lot because players commonly forget to establish relationships during scenes.
The audience wants to know who you are to each other. When you don’t establish a relationship between your characters, the scene rambles and the audience loses interest.
The audience also wants to know how you feel about each other. They want to know why they should care.
One improv challenge is to broaden the types of relationships you create. Personally, I tend to play husband-wife, parent-child and boss-employee a lot.
So, to help you (and me) generate some new ideas, I’ve created a list of 101 relationships below.
Think about the conventions associated with each. Master them but play with them too. Make new combinations (e.g., husband-wife who also happen to be superhero and sidekick). Add emotion. Say or show how you feel about the other character. The possibilities are endless.
Please comment and add your own suggestions.
1. Husband-wife
2. Boyfriend-girlfriend (or girlfriend-girlfriend or boyfriend-boyfriend)
3. Father-son (or Father-daughter)
4. Mother-son (or Mother-daughter)
5. Grandfather-grandson (or Grandfather-granddaugher)
6. Grandmother-grandson (or Grandmother-granddaugther)
7. Bride-Groom
8. Groom-Best Man
9. Bride-Maid of Honor
10. College Roomates
11. Friends (Old Friends, Kids, Girls, Guys)
12. Neighbors
13. Officer-Soldier
14. Admiral-Sailor
15. President-Aide
16. Senator-Senator
17. Clerk-Customer
18. Waiter-Diner
19. Chef-Assistant
20. Master-Dog
21. Dog-Dog
22. Cat-Cat
23. Dog-Cat
24. Chief-Indian
25. Kung Fu Master-Student
26. Teacher-Student
27. King-Queen
28. Driver-Passenger
29. Bartender-Customer
30. Boss-Employee
31. Co-Workers
32. Artist-Model
33. Mad Scientist-Assistant
34. Cowboy-Indian
35. Cowboys
36. Coach-Player (Football, Baseball, Basketball, Hockey)
37. Boxer-Trainer
38. Boxer-Boxer
39. Fellow Soldiers
40. Sergeant-Private
41. President-First Lady
42. Brothers (or Sisters or Brother-Sister)
43. Priest-Parishoner
44. Bandmates
45. Lawyer-Judge
46. Lawyer-Client
47. Knight-Lady
48. Cops (Partners)
49. Cop-Captain
50. Detective-Dame
51. Robber-Victim
52. Fellow Witches (or Ghosts, Vampires, Werewolves)
53. Blind Dates
54. Fellow Politicians
55. Rival Generals
56. Captor-Prisoner
57. Fellow Gods
58. God-Devil
59. Jesus-Apostle
60. Fellow Coal Miners
61. Pilot-Flight Attendant
62. Flight Attendant-Passenger
63. Passenger-Passenger
64. Ship Captain-First Mate
65. Knight-Dragon
66. Wizard-Apprentice
67. Magician-Assistant
68. Landlord-Tenant
69. Mafia Godfather-Henchman
70. Fellow Assembly Line Workers
71. Car Salesman-Customer
72. Mechanic-Customer
73. Barber-Customer
74. Yoga Master-Yoga Doer (?)
75. Trainer-Trainee
77. Carpenter-Assistant
78. Doctor-Patient
79. Doctor-Doctor
80. Doctor-Nurse
81. Missionary-Potential Convertee
82. Catchter-Batter
83. Salesman-Prospect
84. Actor-Director
85. Santa Claus-Easter Bunny
86. Transformers
87. Creator-Creation
88. Billionaire-Servant (Maid, Butler, Chauffer, Assistant)
89. Boss-Secretary
90. Fire Chief-Fireman
91. Co-Pilots
92. Guards
93. Warden-Prisoner
94. Cop-Criminal
95. Mentor-Mentee
96. Genie-Wisher
97. Fellow Explorers
98. Loanshark-Victim
99. Fellow Astronauts
100. Lovers
101. Winner-Loser
Have Fun,
Yes Man
