When people talk to me about improvisation workshops, they talk about the number of years they have been working at improvisation. They say, “We are just beginners. We’ve only been at it for a couple of years.” Or they say “We are advanced and want to push ourselves more. We want an advanced workshop on …” and then they list all the topics they should be taught.

It’s a bit frustrating to hear the titles mixed with values – “we aren’t good because we are beginners.” Vs. “We are good because we are advanced.” There is a bias with age and ability.

Confucius says, “ Respect your elders because they are old and wise.“ He never met a majority of the current politicians or financial ‘experts’. And young people are supposed to be limited, and ignorant of how things ‘should be’ done.

I would choose the idealism of those who stand for ‘ideal’ moral values over those who would benefit on the lives of the weak any time.

The Arab Spring has altered political situations in many countries. Look at the protesters. Most of them are the young students who shouldn’t know what “truth”  is. With luck, their kind will rule the earth very soon.

But I digress… In a class where I am told to teach specific things because the group is advanced… I almost always run into trouble because the only thing advanced is the ego. These groups and individuals who talk about ‘higher knowledge’ OFTEN (not always) seem to be compensating for a lack of understanding.

Give a man a bottle of aspirin and tell him to give them to people with headaches. You have taught him a procedure to affect a condition. If he then believes he is a great healer, he misses the point. He sells himself as a great doctor  but his pills don’t always work and so he asks for other pills to prescribe.

Is he a doctor? No. He keeps looking for new tricks to solve headaches but he doesn’t understand anything at the core of the problem. What causes headaches? What exactly do the medicines do?

In improvisation, those who are bored are generally those who have not discovered how to improvise. The packages that they play with have become dirty and there’s nothing inside of substance.

I just watched a taping of an improvised television show here in Santiago, Chile. Three of the improvisers are the senior improvisers who put the group together and along with a new, young improviser who is part of their group, they brought in a few guests who were their students.

The new improvisers were bright eyed and present. They saw the others on stage while the older improvisers had a look of sometimes being cool and sometimes being bored.

When I talked to them after the taping I was told that some of them had grown ‘accustomed’ to their positions. Some of them felt a little bored or tired. Some wanted the others to do the work.  Another excuse was that some were protecting their positions that they had developed over the years as the city’s best improvisers.  These are my friends and I like them very much but the pattern of behaviour is predictable.

And what does that mean? That means that their audiences start getting bored and look to the ‘younger’, ‘fresher’ improvisers for the work that inspires.

In a classroom with some new improvisers, some more advanced improvisers and some in the middle, there is a rich learning experience IF the improvisers can keep their egos aside and their minds open. Newer improvisers bring fearlessness. They aren’t trapped by rules. They lack some awareness and experience. Experienced performers bring a stability from knowledge but often bring an ego. They bring other baggage as well that makes them protect themselves from failure.

Imagine if you got laughs all your life for a behaviour that you could do whenever you want. Wouldn’t you use that tool when you felt the show was suffering or you were having an off night?  And then the danger of taking it easy on yourself by relying on that one skill becomes very tempting.

Some older ‘experienced’ improvisers are slowly breaking their bones with the weight of their own success. They use crutches that have worked before instead of going through the ‘pain’ of learning new things.

It’s no wonder we learn slower and less effectively as we age. But don’t get me wrong… I like working with all the improvisers. I get tired of being around any one type of improviser or person for too long. Variety is good.

Death and Life was a theme in Bogota.

Ahhhhhh Bogota Colombia. My time has ended here but the memories give birth to inspiration and new ideas. The International festival featured individuals from Germany, Argentina, Colombia and Canada.

One of my fondest memories was the show on Friday night.

If you have never heard an audience truly  connected in varied states of emotional reaction then you haven’t really felt the power that improvisation has.  There were moans of sadness, screams of anger, oceans of laughter and other varied pockets of emotions for the show. It’s everything an improvisation group would hope for.

The audience left with big smiles and a warm glow. Many audience members stayed behind to meet the cast and hang out with each other at the front entrance of the theatre. Creating the environment where people don’t want to leave means they will likely return.

On stage an Improviser comes up with an idea.  IT’S A GREAT IDEA!  But… the story on stage changes and no longer fits with the story in the improvisers mind.  The greedy improviser holds on to his personal vision and the scene dies.  The smart improviser kills his idea to make room for the birth of the new story.

One of the nice elements in the show was the balanced fight for the integrity of the scene versus the playful nature of the improvisers. It’s exciting when there is danger that the whole train might go off the tracks and over the edge of mayhem but it is pulled back just in time.

The improvised play where a man battles death and finally embraces it after a long battle had the audience emotionally engaged on many levels. Equally engaging was the gibberish play in Japanese Gibberish of a man looking for the meaning of life and finding it in love only to lose it and find it again in death.

The audience was given the choice to see the ending of just ONE of the two plays above.  They wouldn’t alow that choice to exist.  They yelled until they saw both.

During one of the workshops, one of the students came to an understanding that Improvisation can be more than gags and cheap laughs. He asked how they could re-train their audience to see the worth of a complete meal of improvisation where they had become used to evening of just candy.

I suggested they shouldn’t be scared to kill their audience.

By working towards what would inspire themselves to grow, they might lose some audience members but would eventually gain a crowd that would come back more healthy week after week after week for something that fed them on many levels rather than something that became predictable.

The Theatresports match on Thursday was a great learning experience for the audience and cast. The show built slowly and in a perfect arc that shows should have. The audience went from passive theatre watchers, to people who yelled at judges and cheered for their favourite performers.

Seeing people who have never performed before bravely risk standing on stage,  giving birth to what will hopefull be long lives of stage improvisation was a pleasure.

In the note session after the show there was some comment from people feeling they didn’t get enough time on stage.  In the discussion that followed  I hope that there was a realisation that the show was for the audience. Where the performers can kill their ego and fear to enhance the audience experience, then the improvisers will have grown to a stronger state.

Everyone involved in Lagata’s international Impro festival felt a sense of loss at the end at the same time they felt gifted with the tools of new inspiration to create new and equally inspiring work.

Now it’s done. What comes next?

For me…  Peru.

Latin Americans have a very nice quality about them.  Warm and spicy – yum.  It’s interesting hanging out with them to see how they socialize in a way that’s different from Europeans, Asians and North Americans.

Sure it’s a generalization but they seem to be willing to let moments become whatever the moment wants to be.  More often than not you will be sitting around these Colombians and hear passion and laughter but when that evolves into ‘calm nothing-ness’, there’s no panic to protect the social moment from ‘boredom’ or awkwardness.  It’s all ok.

On stage, improvisers panic when the scene and show hit the quiet moments.  We shouldn’t.  In the natural quiteness that comes in the varied states of our being why don’t we calmly accept the state and not force what is not there?  

There are a couple people in the workshops who fill all the moment all the time with all the ‘energy’ they can.  What we get is a white noise hiss of sound.  No chance to breathe, relax, sit back and take things in.

On stage, try being a little Latin.  Fill your life with passionate expression but, equally embrace calm presence.  Be aware of what the moment offers.  Be aware of what state your partner is in and let the moment guide you honestly…

If you remember, Feb 22, 2011, Christchurch was devastated by an earthquake that killed many and destroyed a large chunk of the city.

The Jester’s home at the Court Theatre (http://www.courtjesters.co.nz/) didn’t survive the quake.

Emma Cusdin, a member of the Jesters, had been living in Calgary and exploring the Loose Moose when she had the idea to put some spontaneous entertainment together to raise cash and bring the plight of her home back to the public’s attention.

We hear about the initial devastation and then we move on to the next sexy disaster, forgetting about those still in the messes of Earthquakes, famine, disease and any other disaster.

Improvisers are in a perfect position to help those in need.  We can mobilize quickly and adapt to almost any condition to put on a show that people will willingly come to.

It’s a common belief that performers are generally a self centered bunch, happy to get their time on stage and complain when their dressing room is missing a stocked bar.  We know this isn’t true (of everyone).  But it is a little surprising at how rarely we donate a show, a moment or a piece of our time and talent for a good cause.

Consider an idea being developed at the moment at the Loose Moose.  “Thursdays for a Cause”.  One day of the month would be given to a cause to aid in benefitting the community at large. In reality it takes little effort on the theatre’s side because the benefitting organization will take up the administration and the performers just need to drop in for a couple of hours and entertain.

There is a movement growing that looks at the win/win mentality of idealistic partnerships in the corporate world.  Altruism is not all that it appears to be.  When we give to others, the obvious outcome is a financial boost to a needy group and a focus of attention on their cause.

The unseen benefits include a broadening of the theatre’s audience base. (Consider the massive mailing list that the Cancer foundation or Alzheimer’s society advertises their programs to.)

There’s also the media possibilities as your company benefits from the ‘altruistic’ connection you are creating. There are other hidden benefits that make this more than a “freebie” but in fact turn it into a beneficial marketing venture.

And in the end, the idea of building a strong relationship with the community will only benefit you in the long run.

“Improv Meets Autism”  was a successful  fund-and-awareness raising Improvisational event put together by two German improvisers Christiane and Deniz Döhler whose son Luka has autism.  http://www.artistsmeetautism.org/English/index.html

Reading about the SonRise Program which had great success with autistic children, Christiane and Deniz noticed that the program had similar qualities as improvisation; support, seeing offers and adding to them.

“After having overcome an initial shyness, I started by telling one workshop participant about the parallels between the pro-gram and improv and she immediately volunteered to come and play with our child. Two months later, it was ten improv players and we always explained the program in improv lingo. We kept looking for appropriate improv games and techniques that could help us reach our goal. And Luka’s development skyrocketed.

Search the internet and you will find numerous improvisation groups tackling issues and concerns to make the world a brighter place for everyone. Consider reaching out and offering your skills to a cause.  You might discover that your own benefit is greater than the expense.

There’s a final note about the Christchurch fundraiser.  Unexpectantly,  Emma’s father passed away a few days ago and Emma was on the first flight home.  She tossed in the towel for the benefit show.  There was too much to do and she understandably wanted to be near her family.

Before her plane set down in her home of Christchurch, a group of improvisers in Canada had already taken up her cause.  The show will go on for Christchurch.  Take care Emma.

What we usually expect from an improvisation festival is a partyfest of shows, groups and get togethers, with a smattering of workshops.  I don’t mind these things but I always leave feeling like I didn’t meet everyone I wanted to, nor did I get enough time with the people I met.  On top of that, where some festivals program so many shows on top of each other, you rarely get to see everyone work… especially when groups perform only once or twice.

LaGata’s get together will be focussed a little more on the mixing and sharing of ideas, concentrating on the relationship of fewer people. 

In 2010, the Loose Moose hosted a similar event at “The Summit”.  It was a two week event with La Gata and Teatre Isenkram from Oslo, Norway.  It was great.

The focus was on exploration and workshops.  Keith Johnstone was in for a couple of days and we all hosted days of workshops with each other.

The thing I like about these gatherings is that you  get to play with each other.  You learn some skills and you get to work with each other multiple times on stage.

In a reality of increasing costs for flights and accommodation, this might be a reasonable alternative to the multi-group events that see each group perform only once or twice per visit.

Is it Latin America or South America?  Is there a difference?  And why do I feel bad saying one and not the other?  (Did you ever have a guilty feeling about inanimate objects and concepts when you don’t use them equally?  Hmmm… that’s insane.  )

Where was I?

Shawn Kinley will be teaching improvisers and performing in Lovely Latin America

Oh yes.  I was booking tickets to:

Colombia
Peru
Chile
Argentina
Brazil…

Check out my schedule at SHAWNKINLEY.COM -

One thing I like about Latin/South America are the people.  When I was first in Chile (and by no means was I the first to be in Chile.  Oh no…  Others have been there before me.  Many others.  So many in fact that I feel almost embarassed to be going on about this.  Almost.)

When I was first in Chile, I remember meeting people who gave me that look of “HEY, OLD FRIEND – It’s been such a long time since we’ve seen each other.  I’m so glad you’re here now.”  (Yes, there is a look for that).   I was certain that these people knew me and I had somehow forgotten their names.  But of course we had never met.  They are just so warm.  All that Chilean sunshine oozing from them.

But then… you try to kiss them and they run away.

It’s a lovely culture and I am looking forward to seeing some old friends and improvising with some new ones.

No Habla Espanol Senor!

Nope.

The Einstellung Effect is the state of mind where your previous knowledge gets in the way of your ability to adapt, learn and think in the moment.  It’s a great thing to keep in mind because it affects us all and it always affects us.

SO…  Einstellung is a German word.  In English it translates simply as ‘attitude’.  The Einstellung Effect means a little more.  It explains our tendancy to hold onto ideas we’ve learned and lose the ability to see things outside of the original context.

See the picture below?  In Italy they have these crazy Christmas Cakes in a box.  Mmmm tasty. We learn that the box is for the cake.  We see the box and know how to use it.  We put a cake in it.

Imagine one day while it’s raining, you are looking around the house for an umbrella and can’t find one.  A child might see  the box and put it on his head for protection whereas the adult with the knowledge of “Umbrellas” and “Cake Boxes” would not see the applicability of the box to have any use.

The good side of it this effect is that it makes us fairly speedy in our ability to solve problems.  You learn a game, you get some tactics, you beat the pants off your friends every time you play.  YA-HOOO! You are brilliant.

The down side of learning this great new technique and branding it in your mind as a rule is that it gets in the way of better things.  The idea of brain plasticity and the flexibility of the mind is defeated by hard rules.  As you apply the lesson in that game over and over again and start to lose, you get stuck  with your once succesful information that no longer works.

EVGENY MOROZOV, author of The Net Delusion writes

We constantly experience it (Einstellung Effect) when trying to solve a problem by pursuing solutions that have worked for us in the past – instead of evaluating and addressing it on its own terms. Thus, while we may eventually solve the problem, we may also be wasting an opportunity to so in a more rapid, effective, and resourceful manner.

This past couple of months I hit a few walls with the 6 or 7 German improvisation groups I ran across In many situations the question, “How do I play this?”  Or “What are the rules?” popped into conversations.

Let’s be clear about something; this is a human condition and not just the behaviour of those smiling faced, efficiency minded, rule abiding Germans.  We humans create safety by knowing what to do in given circumstances.  We are taught this to a fault in school.  If we can follow the rules and apply the lessons, we excel in the institutions of society.  BUT reflect on how often we hear about the rule breakers, those who behave contrary to practiced behaviour and succeed beyond expectation.

I think it frustrates many participants in workshops to hear that they are not being given something that works all the time.  The ideas they are learning don’t apply in all circumstances but might apply at the right time.  And when is the right time?  Well the right time is when the tool will work.  The wrong time is when it will damage the story or inhibit the particular success you are looking for. Practice playing with your tool (giggle giggle… immature laughter) and you will find when it’s best to use.

Example:  In an Improvisation course, you are told not to start with negative comments at the beginning of scenes.  So you learn to be Mr. Positive.  Everything is daisies and daffodils.  The first few times you use this new tool you experience something you haven’t before.  It feels good.  Your partner seems happy and the audiences like the outcomes of the scene.  You have the secret of great improvisation!!! YA-HOOOOO!  You use it all the time.  You teach these ideas as gospel!  You write a book and gain followers and the cult of smiles grows…

Then… your shows start feeling predictable.  Other improvisers rebel, they say “there must be a better way”.  They start begin a few scenes being cruel or mean and to everyone’s surprise, they  create a memorable piece of improvisation.

You say THEY are wrong but you can’t deny that something in their work sparkles where yours is now a little grey.

What’s changed?  Nothing.  The rule was only meant as a “rule for now”.

You would have been well advised to look at your show as a big picture.  Maybe recognize that there have been too many Unicorns and Butterflies and happy monkeys to start your scenes and you needed a wart faced little troll swearing and kicking the innocent children to start a scene.  That would be fun once and a while.

The Einstellung Effect means that your brain will harden with rules.  Your flexibility will vanish and life will be a big bore. The lessons you learn might still work but they will seem over used and you will become predictable.

Understand what you learn might hold you back.  Be willing to see that all rules have a weakness along with the benefits.  Be willing to break a rule occasionally in aid of better work.  BUT… be aware of why that rule worked in the first place.  If you go around saying I am breaking rules because that is GOOD improvisation… then you have made a rule of working against the Einstellung Effect and your brain will explode just trying to think about that paradoxical little mind f***.

Think for yourself.  (but don’t listen to me…. )

Some people say you should plan nothing.  That’s impossible.  If I learn to juggle and then I happen to be in a scene, I’ll use that skill right?  We can agree that is not “wrong”.  And we are built with bias, prejudice and ignorance right… I bring those on stage and they become part of the work.  WHY would I not consciously incorporate, wisdom, knowledge and inspiration on stage?

This idea that having a thought before you open your mouth to speak is somehow cheating as an improviser is absurd.  IF you planned all your work and stuck to all your ideas then maybe you would have swung too far to one side in what is healthy for an improviser.  But don’t confuse thoughts and ideas as wrong improvising.

In some formats for example (Micetro or Gorilla) it’s beneficial to walk into the work with inspiration.  I like the idea of knowing my partner and bringing some of their story into the work.

Sandy was feeling uninspired about life and not sure of her direction.  She was torn between making lots of money in a boring job or struggling with an artistic path.  She was a talented girl and my vote was the happy struggle towards passion… Soooo.. near the beginning of the scene where I was a street person and she was an uninspired business person, the theme of her life came out and the story that I had thought about before started to play out.

It was fantastic.  At one point I had a five dollar bill (I think it was a fake, but it looked real).  I started teasing her about how much the money meant to her and how little it meant to me because there was nothing to spend it on.  I had friends, food came from toss away restaurants and I lived in a warm place under a bridge with other homeless friends.
It got to the point where I ripped the money in two.  The audience let out a loud and distinct gasp.  It was one of those moments that you remember for a long time because of how unified the audience was.  Together they had an emotion that was not laughter in an improvised show.  And it was easy to use their experience to continue the scene’s theme about the importance and worth we put on this piece of paper.

The plan was worth it and the experience was memorable.  It was not 100% planned nor unplanned.  But WHY NOT?  If I scripted the piece and rehearsed it, I could see the problem.

That’s insane.

3 Swissies and 1 Canuck were on stage on April 8 in a little Swiss bar turned into a little Swiss theatre.  Probably 100 Happy Swiss folk came to see us on a lovely spring night.  Only 6 reservations to start and then they came in like air through the holes in Swiss cheese.

Something interesting happens when people feel pressure.  They lose their abilities – piece by piece.  Maybe it was me that put pressure on the gang or maybe it was the staring eyes of the foreieign audience.  No, wait, that can’t be it.  I was the foreigner.  It was my fault.

Michele set up a “speed dating” game.  Character’s were given a short time to meet each other, afterwhich  they would be tagged out and two other characters would get to know each other.  It went through about 8 rounds of pairs.  EVERY ONE was NEGATIVE NEGATIVE NEGATIVE…

“I hate this place”

“You look like an idiot…”

I finally gave a very direct onstage note.  I sat down with Andy and in character said, “I’ve been to these speed dating things so many times in the past and it amazes how NEGATIVE everyone is.  It seems like the place where you would want to be a pleasant person”.  The audience laughed because they knew what was going on.  I heard Michele in the back making a sound like she recognized what I was doing and recognized they had been negative.

So those two characters went to a positive state.  The audience liked them BUT someone tagged Andy out and the audience went “ohhhhh” because they wanted to see more.  The next character  started going weird and negative so I stood up and said, I think there’s someone over here I would rather be with.  And that’s how it ended.  And the audience laughed because that’s where they would have gone too.

On stage notes are interesting.  Probably should only be used as a last resort to clarify and find connection I think.  But sometimes… they are so necessary.