If I ever get into a deep conversation about Improvisation and the overall values and rewards I get out of it, I sometimes share one of the ways I deal with the worries of doing a good show. Which I guess is just that ‘want’ or hope of getting a laugh while trying to do right by your peers and the art itself.
I think a lot of performers get that worry or nervousness before a show and have their own way of approaching that sense of fear and or excitement. More often than not, if you let the fear and nervousness take over your concentration and preparation for a show, it will lead to you not being able to have fun on stage because you’re too worried of the pressure of making people laugh.
This seems to affect ‘younger’ performers a lot more than seasoned performers, which is not surprising or bad. It’s just part of the process. Because of this, seasoned, or “veteran”, performers often get asked how they deal with this nervousness before a show.
I’m nervous the moment I walk into the theater. Sometimes that pressure and nervousness is lifted way before I get on stage or shortly after. And once it’s gone, it’s a lot easier to have Fun.
For me, it’s the first laugh of the night. And it doesn’t matter how it happened. Maybe the first team up created that response, or maybe the second team, or maybe even the host for the night. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that it happened, but even more important, what ELSE happened along with it.
To me, one of the biggest rewards of doing this work is that you often get to be a part of a night that helped at least one person in the audience forget about their worries for a little bit. It doesn’t matter how big or small their worries are, what matters is that at least for a fraction of a second, they were able to forget about those worries and Smile. Maybe that’s the only time it will happen that night, but it happened. After that, you already were part of something special and any other laughs you hope to help create can only be considered a bonus.
That’s what makes me relax and happy to be where I’m at with the people I’m doing this with; knowing that I was or am part of a night that helped at least ONE person out there forget about their problems even if it was just for a fraction of second.
You don’t have to know what their worries are, you just have to know you were part of a night that helped.
This past weekend I was witness to a night where the worries of an audience member came to light.
For the 10:30pm Saturday night shows at iO, two improv teams perform for about 30 minutes each. One team goes up, and before the second team goes on, both teams perform an audience participation piece called “The Dream”, where they ask for a volunteer from the audience to come on stage and tell them about their day. Whatever they share is then performed as an improvised piece presented as that person’s dream or nightmare.
During the interview of the ‘Dreamer’, it was revealed that he came to the show with a friend, that just so happens to be married to Euna Lee, one of the female reporters currently being held in North Korea and sentenced to a labor camp.
This revelation obviously created a somber mood that I’m sure made both the audience and the performers wonder how this piece would go with such a big nugget out there in the open.
The groups did what they were trained to do, and using the information given, performed a smart funny piece that generated laughs of the husband as well.
Afterwards the two friends hung around until the husband got a phone call that seemed important and they both had to bolt.
These two guys were out looking to escape some of the turmoil they were going through and found that small escape with the help of some of the finest performers in the city. I, for one, felt pretty proud of being part of a community that was able to help these two guys forget about the worries their loved ones were going through even if it was just for a moment. I can only imagine how proud the performers must have felt. I know I’m proud of them.
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Tim Meadows is back to performing his weekly improvised show Sunday nights at the iO Theater, “Uncle’s Brother“.
This past Sunday he did something I hope students and or performers in the house took note of.
Now, Tim Meadows is obviously a well respected actor and comedian, not to mention great improviser. So when he showed up wearing a baseball cap and then came on stage wearing the baseball cap, nobody batted an eye or thought of it as something ‘inappropriate’. It’s Tim Meadows and he can do what he wants in this place because it’s his home too.
Mr. Meadows brought on stage his team for the night (regulars Joe Canale and Brad Morris along with guest Greg Hollimon) and before starting the show, he told a story about how he was in the middle of filming a movie with some of his old SNL friends. He said they invited him to play the role of an old coach, and rather than wear make-up, they all agreed to shave the top of his head and leave the sides intact to make him look like an older character. He then took off his cap which created a great laugh and gasp from the audience and his team that night.
I happen to work at the theater most of the nights he performs, so I can tell you that Tim Meadows has a sense of style. He dresses nice and cool, and like most people, of course cares about his looks. The guy doesn’t look anything like his actual age and is a pretty cool cat.
But because he knows the ‘rules’ and etiquette of the stage, he did the entire set without his baseball cap on. Nobody in the cast or the audience would have cared if would have left it on because not only did he rock it, but he was also freakin’ Tim Meadows!
So my dear young grasshopper, (and some of you fellow old cats), take note: He respected the stage and fellow performers, so should you.
