Improtastic

For those that don't know, I tend to lean towards the theatrical. I traipsed the boards in musicals for many years before giving it up for a long time due to a heavy work load and other projects popping up.

Shortly after moving to London however, I hit upon an amazing group known as Hoopla, and suddenly an addiction was born.

For those that are unaware of the delightful art form known as Improvisational Theatre ("Impro" to some, "Improv" to others), there's a tiny clue in the name.  Everything is improvised on the spot.  No script, no rehearsals.  Rather than take you through every type of what it is and how it works, I recommend you read the wiki entry mentioned above.

Impro is not as simple as taking a suggestion and running with it.  Performing a show is somewhat like cooking when you don't have a recipe book.  There are still rules you have to follow to make it work well, or the end result may vary between a delicious treat and a tasteless slop.  It all depends on your skill of using what ever you find in the cupboard (maybe I'm taking the cooking analogy too far).

Good improvisers can take any offer they are given by an audience member or a fellow actor on stage and turn into something wonderful.  More importantly they know how to serve the scene, not themselves.  Most importantly however they have a unique skill that can take a long time to sink in.

Fear of failure (a theme you will see come up often in my writing) is the first roadblock a beginning improviser has to get over.  Beginners always try to hard to be clever, funny, or control the scene.  Usually when this occurs nothing flows and the scene fails.  The beginner hesitates, gets frustrated and can feel a bit stupid when they can't think of anything.

Here's the secret knowledge that helps you to go from bad to good in impro.  Are you ready?

It's okay to screw up.

No really. That's it.

There are other helpful rules obviously ("Always say 'yes'", "Don't block an offer" etc) but improvisation is essentially about reaction and flow.  Something happens, you react and move the scene forwards.  Not much thinking is required.  Sometimes thinking is actually the worst thing you can do.  When something fails, it's okay.  You keep moving on and learn from what you did.  Often a screw up can end up making a scene even better.

If you're already involved in impro, I suggest these excellent articles on how improve your craft:

How to get Better at Improvising written by Heather Urquhart.

Fear is a 4 letter word, so is good. by Patti Stiles.

Most comedy performers are scared of making people laugh. by Steve Roe.

I actually highly recommend you put the kettle on and read the entire contents of all three of the blogs above, but this will be a good starting point.

Happy improvising.  

Creativity and Mediocrity

I realised the other day I hadn't turned on a television for 3 months. At some point my brain just decided it had had enough soft white fluffy carbs. Since then my productivity has soared and I am immensely happier.

There is a vast gap between what is comfortable and what should be strived for. I wonder how many people notice it.

Paul Arden summed it up best when he said "Why Strive For Excellence when Mediocrity is required?"

Why? Because right now we need anything but mediocrity. Arden understood it then, as most artists* understand it now: The last thing the world needs is more bridal reality television, cookie-cutter romantic comedies and magazine articles on who is slightly heavier than they were yesterday.

Of course, if we follow Arden's reasoning to completion, he also says it may be a bad thing if mediocrity didn't exist, because creatives need something to rebel against. While I agree with the sentiment, it seems that the mediocre is more common than the unique, purely because as soon as a new idea bursts through, suddenly everyone immediately has to make multicoloured copies of the same thing, and it's forced down into mediocrity once more.

The rapid growth of "Me too" is partly to blame. A desirable product, fashion or internet site catches on and everyone has to have it. Companies then take that unique idea and distort it, trying to make it their own, but still appealing to the original idea. I'm all for remixing ideas, but not at the expense of creativity.

Creativity is something that should be nutured, and yet it is slowly being educated out of children. They are taught that answers are to be learned by rote, and are given work merely to satisfy a curriculum, rather than teaching them to think for themselves and solve real world problems. Popular critics of this epidemic (Ken Robinson, Seth Godin and Chris Guillebeau to mention a few) all agree that in general the problem isn't the teachers. It's the system they have to work under.

The perception of "you won't get a job doing that" is huge. This means that many wonderful, intelligent people leave school depressed and insecure, all because their natural talents haven't been nurtured, or worse, ridiculed as being useless in the "real world".

If someone could talk to a class of teenagers and tell them that their passions are something they should follow, I wonder how many of them would listen. I wonder if it's too late. They've already been told that it's great to follow that dream of being a musician but have a back-up plan in accounting "just in case" (for those whose passion actually is accounting, I am honestly very happy for you).

A word on television: I'm not against it. On the contrary, it can be exceptionally entertaining and some great ideas are generated through it. I think I have a problem with watching it because it's just there. I still watch movies, TV series, and play games. I just prefer to watch them outside of television programming.

The point i'm trying to make is this: I'd love it if everyone finished the week feeling just as good about the week ahead as they do about their weekend. Too many people settle for less.


*By artist I mean anyone with creativity, be they painters, arborists or electricians

Ultrablast has finally arrived!

After intense development and testing in the Retroflux labs, the old-school futuristic shooter Ultrablast is finally ready for play on the iPhone/iTouch. Classic shoot-em up action at it's best, with a hint of devilish strategy to keep you on your toes.

You can go direct to the iTunes store here to check Ultrablast out and buy for a tiny, tiny price: http://itunes.com/apps/retroflux/ultrablast

Ultrablast

I've been helping out with some additional art and design on the upcoming Retroflux iPhone game Ultrablast:



Classic strategic shootery goodness at it's best!

Apologies

Sorry for the lack of posts! I recently started a new job at Imagineer Systems, so have been hell-bent on absorbing information as quickly as possible! Regular updates will return shortly.

Mushroom God

Fell out of my brain during the week. Still a bit muddy, but a little better than my usual guff.

Monday Monster - Does devil like ice cream?