I have been shadowing Susan Messing at iO in preparation of teaching level 2, and I think I have learned more shadowing and figuring out how to teach the class than going through it as a student. The focus of level 2 is group mind and character work. I have coached various groups and taught different classes that focus on the same things, so I thought I’d be okay just jumping in. Boy was I wrong. Not that I was teaching the wrong thing, but I wasn’t teaching as much as I could. Think of it as a tool belt with only a set of pliers and an allen wrench. I was missing so much. Here are some gems that I have learned so far. We can call them Messingnature: * Don’t just fart & run. * Believe in the power of agreement * The asshole is the person who stops the wave * Remember your shit. There is no “He will remember is for me” * Enjoy where we are right now * Play the game. You don’t have the right to call that game good * The first 3 seconds of a scene is a promise to the audience of who you are * Plot will emerge as things happen * If you don’t have fun, recommit and don’t be the asshole * Heightened fun = funny * Audiences want to sympathize, empathize, or be educated. * If the group does something crazy together, they are protected by pattern * You have every right to tell a character what their deal is * Be specific * In life, we figure it out in our head. At iO, we figure it out on stage * Your body says more than anything your mouth says * The more you hold onto your shit, the better others can latch onto you * Don’t invent things to stir things up, use what is right in front of you * We don’t fix your problems in comedy * The more you commit, the more cool it is * Specificity kills ambiguity * We don’t judge you, we get mad if you drop it * Everything feeds into everything else * When you need to find out what to say, use what you have and make an analogy * Scene is a conduit between characters * Don’t ambiguously do things. It all means something. * Monologists aren’t supposed to tell us funny stuff. Make it interesting * Don’t be self conscious. Be conscious of self * People are fascinated and on your side * Don’t drink before shows. The audience doesn’t pay to see you drunk, they pay to get drunk * Be a collective awesome * Enjoy hell more So much gold here. I can’t wait to shadow more and then teach this class!
Posted on: Wed, 19 Nov 2014 00:37:48 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015