Metaphors

[JRC]

A new friend of mine recently came to see some shows and she kept asking how much of it was planned. She wondered if even a line or two was pre-planned. She's a pastry chef so I asked her how often she used Cool Whip. Aghast, she said never. And then she understood.

What's your improv metaphor? I've heard people use jazz, math, and even comic books to describe the highs and lows, the simple complexity, the ordered chaos, the wonders of long-form improvisation....

[TommyP]

Improv is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get.

[timalimdim]

While I shy away from metaphors for improv as a whole, I do use one to deal with the question of practice.

"You have REHEARSAL for IMPROV??? Then it's not really IMPROV, IS IT???"

So I say to think less of a play rehearsal and more of basketball practice.

You learn basics of function and form, how to play as a team, and prepare to be able to meet any eventuality.

It's not perfect, but it gets the idea across. Plus it's a cheap ploy to wedge a sports metaphor into one of the geekiest pastimes out there.

[carebear]

While I shy away from metaphors for improv as a whole, I do use one to deal with the question of practice.

"You have REHEARSAL for IMPROV??? Then it's not really IMPROV, IS IT???"

So I say to think less of a play rehearsal and more of basketball practice.

You learn basics of function and form, how to play as a team, and prepare to be able to meet any eventuality.

It's not perfect, but it gets the idea across. Plus it's a cheap ploy to wedge a sports metaphor into one of the geekiest pastimes out there.

I use this same metaphor, Tim! We were destined to be friends.

Carrie
=)

[nhoj]

Y'know how you practice a speech along the lines of "next time I see _____________ I'm really gonna tell him/her that I think he/she's a real ________________________ and __________________ and ______________ and I just feel that ___________________ etc."? And y'know how that speech, at time of delivery, never quite comes out the way you planned it and the person you've practiced so hard at telling off or to whom you were going to make some great point regarding your relationship usually totally ends up winning whatever petty argument you've started and in the end you really didn't need to reharse or write out that speech word-for-word because you would have made a better point and/or won whatever argument it was if you had just winged it and saved yourself the two hours sleep the night before that you instead spent writing that speech in your head? That's kinda like improv. If it was all written down, it wouldn't come out nearly as well in most cases. (Yes, I backed up and re-worded some of this. Such a cheater, it would have made more sense had I just stream-of-consciousness-ed it.)

[Chip]

I always use team sports practice as a way to describe improv to the muggles. (hey, muggles, there's another analogy). You never know how a football game is going to go, but you practice to put yourself in the best frame of mind to know how you're going to deal with the situations that arise in a game, same as improv practice.

It's always bothered me to call it rehearsal.

-Chip

[Arnie]

I use the basketball metaphor when it comes up.

I also find the most helpful explanation is... "It's not a trick. We're not trying to trick the audience. We do it because we like it. We don't make up every aspect of it merely because we have to, but because it's challenging that way and it's fun that way."

[Frank Vu]

Sadly, not all improv shows are spontaneous. I've seen improvisers rip off sketch shows, movies and worse yet, other improvisers. And I know there have been some who've memorized lines before a show...

But at it's purest, I'd say improv is like a good conversation on a first date.

And although I agree with the Jazz metaphor, you can't equally compare any one improviser to Miles Davis.

[IreneM]

I like to use a ballroom dancing metaphor (when I talk about improv to my ballroom dancing friends and vice versa). Every step can be broken down to the four basic elements you learn (or should) the first day of a ballroom class in that way the crazy moves you see on TV are just fancy versions of things beginners learn ... and it's choreography. Not everyone who can do choreography well can lead a partner through steps in a social situation. My personal preference is social dancing. Nothing is better than seeing people learning to dance. Oh my goodness, I love it.

Your 'success' as a (social) dancer is dependant on your ability to communicate and interact nonverbally with your partner - for starters to be able to feel the music together (or if you are following and he's not on rhythm with the music to follow HIS rhythm) - while maintaining your own ability to express yourself and interpret the music. When it works it's one of the best things around.

But you always have those guys that push, pull and tug you into the dance moves they want you to do (usually you're spinning for 5 minutes straight while they pose and see who's watching and you are praying for the song to end). The ones who aren't sure how to lead yet and give up half way through (or at the beginning of) each move and either leave you to back lead or he'll spent more time stopping and starting and apologizing (No one should EVER apologize on the dance floor ... except the first guy but you'll be too busy hiding from him in the bathroom).

Oh and following doesn't mean you are a passive partner. Active following takes a lot of work, practice and trust. And it's so fun. I hardly get to follow anymore but I love it when I do.

That metaphor may have gotten away from me a little but I think you get the idea.

Why is the cloud of night hanging over Chicago at 3pm!?

[Rich]

It seems wrong to plan your improv metaphor

[buntwanter]

Improv is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get.

That's a simile, TommyP.

Improv is a testicle. There are millions of little sperms swimming around, without direction or purpose. Almost all will live tragically short lives having accomplished nothing.

[TommyP]

That's a simile, TommyP.

Improv is a testicle. There are millions of little sperms swimming around, without direction or purpose. Almost all will live tragically short lives having accomplished nothing.

Unfortunately, much of improv is teams full of buntwanters calling out other performers on-stage instead of yes-anding and playing out the scene to its full, heightened potential, thus living tragically short lives as artists having acomplished nothing, but spent a lot of money not listening to teachers and coaches with testicles.

[Fenstermaker]

It's always bothered me to call it rehearsal.

-Chip

Really? Its always bothered me to call it practice. I'm not sure why.

[jillybee72]

"Practice" reminds me of "play practice" which makes it sound like I'm in high school instead of a professional.

I'm in the middle of taking classes instead of teaching improv, which I've done before. The metaphor I use to explain it is, "If you're always the tour guide you never get to see the view."

I don't think I use any metaphor to explain what improv is to muggles, they just have to come to the show, there's no use explaining until they've seen it.

[kremidas]

I use the basketball metaphor to explain types of players and how teams work well. I like metaphors, they deepen my own understanding of the art when it is viewed from a unique perspective. I really appreciated the ballroom dancing one.

A version of this is in my blog, I took names out...well...I dunno. Because.

Ideally, you want the improv ensemble to work as one cohesive whole just as you would a good basketball team. It's the Phil Jackson approach to improvisation. Out of many become one working unit. One could argue that the best ensemble work can be seen with either The Reckoning or The Detroit Pistons.

Every person on the team has their role that the need to play. The best players can switch up their role in the absence of another, to keep the chemistry and balance their team. Some people are point guards who set up plays and lead the team on the court, they are great passers but aren't offensive powerhouses by any stretch. Think John Stockton. Great point guard, pretty good shooter. Some people are great "straight man" players. These people are usually seasoned actors, who can react with honest emotion and live realistically in the scene. Their role is to be the conduit through which the audience understands the eccentric situations and characters that live in our imaginary improv world. Some people are big support players. They color the scene with sounds from offstage that aren't a distraction, they are the person who comes on their hands and knees to play the stool, the person who works with lab equipment with their back turned to the audience just to color the scene, to give context to the action. These people are like the rebounders of improv. Think of Dennis Rodman. We have our big man centers, our go to point scorers. Think of Shaquelle O'Neil. These people are usually naturally funny people who can keep a scene entertaining, even if it is dramatically lacking, yet at the same time they can keep the scene grounded and still live in the world, because they are great defensive players, too. The improvisors who are basically all bits remind me of the players who play in AND-1 basketball games. More flash and than substance, and hugely entertaining and impressive. There's our big three point shooters, the smart ones who can make a great callbacks, connections, and patterns. They're the ones who drop lines so smart and so savvy, that they illicit not just laughs but great deals of applause. Set ups and gifts for fellow players are like ally-oops.

I was once in a scene with 'A' where in there was a dead body on a table and my scene partner and I were doctors explaining how the two other player's, B and C, father had died. A was explaining things to them, while I played with the dead bodies mouth. A saw what I was doing and said, "And this is what he would say if he were alive..." at which point I sat the body upright and made it say "I love you!" or something like that. Huge response from the audience. B and C acted just like two kids would if they saw that, shocked and disgusted. We then continued down this path of talking dead dad, heightening it and pushing it untill the body fell off the table.

In the previous scene, A played the point guard. He intiated the scene and let us know where we were going and what it was about from the very top, he gave me an ally oop to the slam dunk with the talking dead dad. Huge laugh. B and C set the pick by acting so shocked, and being the conduit through which the audience understands this horrible man who makes people's dead parent's talk to them through impromtu cadaver puppetry. Nothing in this scene would have worked if the other players hadn't been there to support it.

We all like funny players, but the best players are balanced. Reggie Miller is a great shooter, but a team of great shooters would have no strength and they would suck. Shaq is a great inside scorer and defensive player, but a team of Shaqs would never be able to set up a play for one of them to score. Improv teams are just the same. Some of the funniest players in Chicago simply would not work on a team full of people who played just like them. I'll take two female improvisors I know of in Chicago, both of which are among my favorite people to watch, each for different reasons. One of them is a really good actress, and is always supportive and honest in her scene work. However, she is not so well known and hardly gets any credit because she hardly ever gets laughs. And yet she is a joy to watch, for me anyway. Very underrated player. The other woman is the opposite. She is absolutly unique and hysterical, and makes strange and wonderful choices. She is a joy to watch and she always gets TONS of laughter. However, if you had a team of only either of these women's clones, it would not go so well. They need each other. And if these two women haven't met, they should do scenes together, they would be fantastic.

The lesson here? Be well rounded, and master your fundamentals. This is why the improvisers we are most impressed with are so great, they are so well rounded and like the Michael Jordans of improv. I can't decide which one the one Michael Jordan of improv is, so they all win. They could play with anybody. They can all get laughs as easily as they can add color with environment work, support, be the straight man, see patterns and connections, set up their other players with gifts, initiate a great scene comedically and dramatically, act with honest emotional reactions, anything. Another lesson, be a team player. If you want to be the funniest dude on stage all the time and always, do stand-up. If you want to be the most impressive person on the court, play in the AND-1 leagues. No shame in either of these. Both are actually really cool.

Go team.

[Tommytime]

I have a metaphor for improvisors in the audience of an improv show.

I always say "it's like magicians watching a magician."

We can appreciate the trick but we know the secret to how the trick works so it's not as mystifying as it is for those who do not.

[Eckart]

I use way too many sports metaphors... especially basketball. I drive the team I coach crazy with them. Basketball, football, baseball, boxing, tennis...I also use poker and fishing a lot.

Here's another one I love from Mitch Hedberg:

"As a comedian, you have to start the show strong and you have to end the show strong. Those are the two key elements. You can't be like pancakes-- all exciting at first, but then by the end, you fuckin' sick of 'em."

[Rich]

George, what is your overuse of sports metaphor like?