Improv in Chicago - End of Week 4

Pat O'Brien was our teacher for Level 4. Level 4 is learning the Harold. Pat is a member of one of the iO house teams, the Reckoning. The Reckoning are the fashionable house team of the moment. Their Harolds' are the ones that lots of improvisers go to watch. They are known for their group work. Therefore it was fascinating to get Pat's perspective on the Harold. It gave me an insight in to how the Reckoning approach the Harold and explains why they make the decisions they do on stage. In essence the message was use the Harold to explore things that make you excited, don't simply go through the motions of a story for the sake of it, simply take elements you like and be inspired by them. I watched the Reckoning last night and the most notable thing was how much fun Jake and Pat were having, it was infectious.

I found Level 4 the most difficult so far. We spent much of our time running through openings and games. While I appreciated this for understanding and improving our Harolds I would have liked to have done more scene work. Next week Level 5 involves learning different long forms and developing our own for our final performance on Friday.

My class had another performance last night. It was pretty good if a touch chaotic. The group work is extremely committed and people catch on to patterns very quickly. It is an interesting experience performing with 12 players in 25 minutes.

I saw TJ and Dave again this week. Last week's show was funnier but that doesn't mean that this week was any less entertaining. TJ and Dave seem to be able to discover real characters and stories on stage which you can immediately relate to. Everything they say and do is simply the next logical step. It is also good to see how much fun they are having doing it, at times making each other laugh. The support from the audience is phenomenal.