Coaching Help

[POPS]

Well it seems some wrestlers are very pumped about learning improv. at least they are around midnight every night at my apartment when they start asking about how it works.

So obviously I can give them all of the basics and warm up exercises, and basic improv theory, that they could ever need.

I was mainly looking for some advice on teaching "Yes and" in a Conflict. Wrestling isn't agreement and friendship, it's about 75% pitting two guys against each other. So how can we heighten and explore the arguements and conflicts while still teaching them to stay on the same page, keep playing the game, and to yes and each others ideas while still arguing.

any theories, practice games, or advice is welcome.

WrestleProv-
POPS

[Hawkins]

Annoyance Style have your idea down before starting a scene

I mean the give and take in an interview/promo even if it is "arguing" is still agreeing on the reality, so it is still "yes-and" ing the scene

lots of heightening and overemotional responses

[Biddle]

Howzabout going into a scene or argument KNOWING ahead of time that someone is going to have to choose to be the loser in the situation. Once you know that you're going to be that person, drive as hard as you can, argue, fight, defend and attack as hard as you can (which forces your opponent to drive their shit even harder to counter you) and then make a choice to lose and head towards that outcome as hard and as fast as you can.

Sometimes in scenes, it's hard to make the decision, "I am not going to get what I want here." It goes against our very competative natures.

But once an actor knows that his character is going to do that, he can set himself up for an even greater fall, after raising the stakes and making his eventual comeuppance that much more satisfying for the audience.

Choose to lose.
Just do everything you can before then, to raise the stakes as high as you can.

Maybe that's useful to your project, Pops.

If not, try this word of advice, "Watch Vince McMahon and do the OPPOSITE of what he's doing." That guy couldn't act surprised, if you kicked him in the balls.

Cheers,
COB

[POPS]

If not, try this word of advice, "Watch Vince McMahon and do the OPPOSITE of what he's doing." That guy couldn't act surprised, if you kicked him in the balls.



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awesome suggestions so far. keep em coming pleez. SHOTTS OR MANLEY please post some knowledge.

ball kick-
POPS

[Biddle]

I like thinking about this question, Pops, so forgive me if I'm all over this thread. It's an interesting challenge to take one performance style and mold it to fit another one.

I'd think that the simplest warm-up would be to have them face off, stare each other down and begin trading back and forth, the meanest, nastiest, cruelest, most violent shit that they can think of.

Make sure that when they're not speaking, they're actively listening to what the other person is saying. By listening to each other, they'll pick up on phrases, terms, threats and vocal patterns that they themselves don't have in their inventory.

Once they've absorbed a faceload of bile, have them take a quick breather and then fire back at the person who just gave it to them. Free them up to reference what was just said at them and to go out on a limb and explore stuff. If they're going to sound silly, or WAY TOO over the top or a little bit gay, you'd rather that they try it in practice, than when the cameras are rolling.

Just try that. Passing it back and forth. Encourage them to rip each other off and rip off movies and comic books and anywhere else that they can find anger and bile and threats and tweak it a bit and then add it to their arsenal. All of us are ripping each other off, all the time, free them up to do it, too.

Come to think of it, they probably should be reading comics. Anything by Frank Miller (especially the Sin City books). Comic writers have been exploring aggresion, conflict and violence in a literary way, since the first time Superman dropped a guy off of a building in the 30's. Use their stuff. Crib from them. Some of, even a lot of, what they have to say and how they choose to say it, will be directly useful to your guys.

(And unless they choose some really well known phrases, the original authors will not be aware that they're being cribbed from, either.)

Hope that helps.

Cheers,
COB

[Captain Bob]

Back in the day (3 years ago) I coached a 2 person group who's whole premise was an argument.
It worked really well because each of them were trying to out-do the other, with each side of the argument.

They had to go back and mention/flesh out their relationship while arguing - which, in turn only fueled the fire of the arguments.
The more specific you get with the relationship -the more there is to work with in arguing against/for something.

Also - there is not a whole lot funnier than hearing Jason Shotts say "Go Fuck Yourself" at the top of every scene.

[mulhern]

Is " have your idea down" really an Annoyance philosophy?

[Omega]

I think it's great you have open dialouge with these guys about improv. Get them into a show here in the city, just to fuck around, I'd pay whatever to see that.

I'd say think of scenework like a wrestling match. Your trying to hit your opponent with something emotionally driven and it's the other person's responsibility to sell that emotional shot. Give and take, that sort of thing. But have fun doing it, listen to what the last person said, react and then leap from that point. So many parallels, use the lingo, and then when you figure out how to communicate improv to wrestlers in wrestling lingo... write a book.

Or just toss Improvise or Truth in Comedy in their face and hold a book club, don't all the OVW guys have to do homework anyway?

[ghostbar77]

I think you can talk to them about improv as a form on it's own.

I would say stick to your gigs and alway have them further action. You know they can argue but talk to them about always moving forward in the argument forward and never back tracking. Never rehash talking points. That just my thought off the top of my head.

I want ot hear more though

[stonelake]

If I find myself in an argument in a scene, then I just proceed as I normally would, except: my goal (as a player) is not to win the argument. My goal is to prolong the argument.

[Omega]

If I find myself in an argument in a scene, then I just proceed as I normally would, except: my goal (as a player) is not to win the argument. My goal is to prolong the argument.

I would also add onto that, a great way to end an arguement scene is a stiff chair shot. Or the Van Terminator, whatever the space can manage.

[Biddle]

Please, please, please bring your wrasslers to Open Court.

Thursday Nights at 10:30pm.

I just want to see what will happen to the fresh crop of new improvisers that we regularly see, when they find themselves doing "a seduction scene" with a big, beefy, wrassler.

Please do that.

Also, it will be fun. I promise. And, they MAY win prizes.

Do it.

Please.

God, Please.

Do it.