Monday

Well, the weekend ended and Monday came...Monday night being the last night of improv for me for as much as 3 nights...sometimes as much as 5 nights but this week, I'll go back on Thursday.
But that's not the point to the blog.
Tonight's improv class was lead by Nifer. At one point we played Super Hero Wedding (simular to Super Hero Funeral only more fun than depressing). I started as a charicter that was mostly myself.
Let me take sometime to say that I usually wind up playing "myself" on stage when I'm not stopped and reguided. I put quotes because I'm not really myself...I'm a character. But for some reason, I keep playing charicters who are very much like me...in stance and speaking quality...they just don't have the same personal history.
Anyway, back to the Wedding. Nifer stopped me and told me that she wanted me to play a charicter who had an Irish accent. Honestly, the only way I can get an Irish accent is after I've listened to The Elders for a while. I told her that I couldn't guarentee an Irish accent...it may be a Mexican Irish Pirate accent (or whatever was the phrase I used). She told me that it's quite alright to be wrong with an accent and infact extramely funnier to the audience if you're off on an accent. So I gave the Irish accent a go...
I have a couple of fears when I play a charicter outside of my personal physical/genetic disposition (if that's an acurate phrasing). I'm worried about playing someone who's female, homo(bi)sexual, from another country, migit, or any number of charicters unless I've done it before. My main fear is actually offending someone in the audience. So far, the only thing I can think of that could have actually offended someone with what I said was when I brought up H1N1 and someone in the audience had had it...and the last time they were there it was mentioned...I place it under current event rather than offencive. But that's just me. But part of the reason that some people have been turned off of improv is because they have been offended. Recently, improv in KC got a bad rap for doing gay steriotype jokes in a "scripted" show. It's associated with improv because apparently everyone involved is from an improv troupe. I also have some friends who perform improv...but saw a show in Chicago and then said that they were offended saying if that was their first idea of improv, they would be turned off of improv for life. So I have a fear of offending someone. This is more likely when you play someone of a different gender or sexual orientation or physical handicap. But depending on where they come from, a bad accent may be offensive. That's my main fear.
I also fear being ridiculed for having a wrong accent. I don't mind getting a laugh. I'm just not wanting it to be something that get's called out like "wait, by that accent, you can't be from Russia, you're obviosly from Austraila." This is like building a pyramid with your improv and then removing the lower block...and it all comes tumbling down.
In improv, we're told we can do no wrong. We can wind up doing no funny...which is why we take classes...but we can do no wrong. So I'd like to be able to choose for myself to play a character with different things like I stated without feeling like I am wrong...or without fear that I will do something offencive.

By the way, I succedded in being funny with the accent. It was completely horrible and sounded more like a Mexican-British pirate. But everyone found it funny.