What is it that makes or breaks a charicter?
First off, a good charicter is real. S/He has real emotions, real thoughts, and real relationships with those who are around them. A bad charicter is one who is basically a steriotype or charicature of a charicter. A good charicter can still fall into those steriotypes. But they need something different about them to set them apart.
For the record, this isn't just in improv. This is part of good story telling/writing. One of the things that makes good science fiction or fantasy good is when aliens or robots or whatever is science fictiony about them has human like qualities about them...they think...they feel (about things AND towards those who are around them)...they have wants and desires that are unique to them. This is why B-Rate science fiction pics from the 1950s and 1960s were so MST3K worthy because they were all around bad. Aliens who came to earth were a representation of the "communist threat." This means that, no matter what an alien was doing, it was evil by default. No matter what, it was..."THEM...The Other Guy...The Outsider." The evil ones were usually giant spiders or giant praying mantises...or blobs...or just something to run...not walk away gingerly from. Even the good ones (The original Day The Earth Stood Still) he was bad because he wanted earth's nations not to destroy eachother...so, naturally, he was evil and had to be shot down (I'm being sarcastic here).
But I'm going off on a science fiction tangent on a blog entry simply about charicters. What I'm trying to say is that charicters become better when they are developed 3-dimensional charicters with real wants and desires, feelings, and relationships. When I read the Second City Almanac of Improvasation, there are a section in it devoted to charicter in improv performances (workshops, rehearsals, or shows) that your charicter is so much better without the usual steriotypes and cliches that come with the charicter you're playing. The Italian doesn't always have to be a mafia hitman who eats pizza all the time...or a plumber for that matter. An Asian doesn't have to be incredably good at math while being bad drivers. I can't remember word for word. I just know those are a few of the steriotypes that exist.
Now, if you have a charicter that just follows preconceived steriotypes, all you're doing is going for the easy laugh or a joke. This may or may not be ok when writing a story...depending on what you want from the story. But if you do this in improv...well first of all, you shouldn't. You shouldn't go for the easy laughable joke in improv anyway and if your charicter is just a joke to begin with, you will loose the interest of the audience before the scene/show ends...but good luck to you if your try and pull that stunt. Hopefully, you're new to improv if you do try it. It's easier to forgive beginners with that since they are new to it.
However, like any work of fiction, if you're doing an improv scene, your charicter should have good real relationships with your scene partners' charicters as well as a real wants and real charicters.
I'd probably have more to say about charicters if it weren't after 3:30am. Maybe I'll come back to this subject sometime.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Yeah, that's what I said.
Have you been up to Lawrence for improv yet on Thursday nights?
April 14th was the first night that we performed for the Roving Imp up in Lawrence on the KU campus. We're performing in the ECM building between the Kansas Union and the new hotel...this new hotel was built where the campus bar was when I was at KU...and I only graduated in 2009.
Anyway, we continue on with the 5th episode of Maddox Family Wrestling Syndicate Saturday night. This is the one where I'm playing Harry Wallace. John provided the audiance Thursday night with a little preview by performing as Cranston Maddox giving the worse advice in Good Advice, Bad Advice, Worst Advice.
Also, while speaking of Lawrence shows, Thursday night this week was the 2nd show out there. I claimed on facebook that my personal highlight was singing the last verse of a protest song about campfires. I'm one of those weird people who finds musical games very relaxing...for the most part. Irish Drinking Song, Hoedown, Protest Song...about the only one I'm not extreamely comfortable with is Beasty Rap. It's one thing to come up with a rhyme yourself...or come up with a word that someone else has to rhyme with...or knocking down a rhyme you were set up with. It's something else to have to come up with the rhyme AND drop the hints to your team can guess what it is you're wanting to say. Sometimes it's easy...the word you're rhyming with is Book. You want your team to say "hook". "I'm Peter Pan fighting Captain..." "HOOK!" That's easy provided you know who Peter Pan is and you can hear and understand the hint. Sometimes, if you are a member of the possy, you can't understand the hint because of the beat or the hint means nothing to you. There was one time in rehearsal I was on a team with John and Ashley. John was trying to get Ashley and I to say bar...using the hint to refer to the bar that a lawyer has to pass. I know this now because I was there. I had no idea what John was talking about. Fortunately, Ashley is a lawyer so it made perfect sense to her. The fortunate thing about the other song games, except for Irish Drinking Song, you set up your own rhyme. I love rhyming by the way. Irish Drinking song, you set up the rhyme for whoever is the number 4 person whenever you're number 2. Provided your word is easily rhymable, the number 4 person can come up (in theory) with anything in the world to rhyme with and make a complete sentence.
Anyway, I just really like rhyming/singing games for the most part.
Anyway, on the subject of Improv, congradulations to John and Keith for getting accepted to the Duo Fest again this year!
Now before I post this, I'm going to say that I'm going to sincerely try and keep this updated more often.
April 14th was the first night that we performed for the Roving Imp up in Lawrence on the KU campus. We're performing in the ECM building between the Kansas Union and the new hotel...this new hotel was built where the campus bar was when I was at KU...and I only graduated in 2009.
Anyway, we continue on with the 5th episode of Maddox Family Wrestling Syndicate Saturday night. This is the one where I'm playing Harry Wallace. John provided the audiance Thursday night with a little preview by performing as Cranston Maddox giving the worse advice in Good Advice, Bad Advice, Worst Advice.
Also, while speaking of Lawrence shows, Thursday night this week was the 2nd show out there. I claimed on facebook that my personal highlight was singing the last verse of a protest song about campfires. I'm one of those weird people who finds musical games very relaxing...for the most part. Irish Drinking Song, Hoedown, Protest Song...about the only one I'm not extreamely comfortable with is Beasty Rap. It's one thing to come up with a rhyme yourself...or come up with a word that someone else has to rhyme with...or knocking down a rhyme you were set up with. It's something else to have to come up with the rhyme AND drop the hints to your team can guess what it is you're wanting to say. Sometimes it's easy...the word you're rhyming with is Book. You want your team to say "hook". "I'm Peter Pan fighting Captain..." "HOOK!" That's easy provided you know who Peter Pan is and you can hear and understand the hint. Sometimes, if you are a member of the possy, you can't understand the hint because of the beat or the hint means nothing to you. There was one time in rehearsal I was on a team with John and Ashley. John was trying to get Ashley and I to say bar...using the hint to refer to the bar that a lawyer has to pass. I know this now because I was there. I had no idea what John was talking about. Fortunately, Ashley is a lawyer so it made perfect sense to her. The fortunate thing about the other song games, except for Irish Drinking Song, you set up your own rhyme. I love rhyming by the way. Irish Drinking song, you set up the rhyme for whoever is the number 4 person whenever you're number 2. Provided your word is easily rhymable, the number 4 person can come up (in theory) with anything in the world to rhyme with and make a complete sentence.
Anyway, I just really like rhyming/singing games for the most part.
Anyway, on the subject of Improv, congradulations to John and Keith for getting accepted to the Duo Fest again this year!
Now before I post this, I'm going to say that I'm going to sincerely try and keep this updated more often.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Matthew of the IHOP Restroom part VI
Captain Bill’s ship sprouted propellers from the deck which started to swing around and around like the propellers of a helicopter. This caused the captain’s ship to lift above the water and take flight. Matthew had never seen anything like it. He wanted to say he saw something similar to it in a movie but he couldn’t because he hadn’t. He was equally surprised to see that the ship covered itself in metal once it got up to about 2 miles above the planet. It the ship took on the form of a space ship. The ship was no longer a sea port ship or an air ship but a flying saucer.
“So, the ship can fly and it can go up into space?” Matthew cried. “Is this even possible?”
“Oh please,” Mary said, who was really the only one who noticed Matthew’s peeked interest in all things ships taking flight…or whatever it would be called; “you’re just not thinking 18th dimensionally. All pirate ships can fly into the air and into space.”
“Really?” Matthew inquired. “I guess that would explain why the holy treasury is relying on captains like your uncle to fight there battles.”
“Well,” Mary said, “IHOP Restroom over here has finally figured one out on his own.”
Matthew was either flattered or insulted…or maybe a mixture of both. It was the first assumption he had made that was correct. Then, he remembered that it was already stated by Captain Bill that they were a pirate ship and they were at war. So he figured Mary was just being sarcastic with him. If that were true, he thought, it wouldn’t surprise him. But before he could fully decide whether Mary was being sincere or sarcastic, he looked out the window and noticed that they had reached space. In the distance, he saw a ship that he only assumed belong to the Shipgoes. A shipmate came in the room and said that the captain wished to see them on deck.
Matthew and Mary followed the shipmate to what Matthew assumed to be the bridge. As they got there, another shipmate said something to the captain about the Shipgoes trying to communicate as they appeared on a screen in the front of the room. This was the first time that Matthew saw a Shipgoe and the first thing he noticed was that they looked like giant rats. They said something to the captain that didn’t make any sense to Matthew. It was nothing but a bunch of squeaking.
“Rodent talk will get you nowhere with me,” Captain Bill said to them.
“I don’t have the proper translation track down, Captain,” said another shipmate, “I’ve got it…now.”
“Hopefully, now we can understand each other,” Captain Bill said. “Iiiiiieeeee am Captain Bill of sea, air and space ship ENVOY.” The captain’s ship being named after a Warren Zevon album intrigued Matthew. But what made him smile and caused him to have to hold back a laugh was how the rat-appearing shipgoes responded.
“Oh great, we got the pirate who emphasizes the I!” one said but trying to look as though he didn’t say that. “We came for the Holy Grail, Captain, where is it?”
“Iiiiieeeee have no holy grail on miiiiieeeeee ship. Nor is it on the planet. You will have to look elsewhere.” The Captain said.
One of the Shipgoes spotted Matthew and said to the other, “look, behind the captain, it’s the Chosen One! It’s Matthew of the IHOP Restroom!” All the Shipgoes in the screen looked at each other. Matthew was worried. So was the Captain because somehow, he hadn’t even seen it coming. “ATTACK!” yelled the Shipgoe who had spotted Matthew.
“FIIIIIIIEEEEEEEE-RE CANNONS!” cried Captain Bill. He turned to Matthew and Mary. He saw that Matthew had a questioning look on his face. “It’s okay,” he said to Matthew, “cannons can be fiiiieeee-red in space. They just have to be shot with enough force. Anyway, you shouldn’t be worried about that riiiiiieeeeee-ght now.
“I wasn’t worried about that. If I was home in the third dimension, I would question the science. But I’m not a scientist. All I’m worried about is getting out of here,” Matthew said.
“Matthew,” Mary cried, “you need to go back to the third dimension to get their holy grail. I saw the plans for it in Uncle Bill’s quarters. What they seek can only be found in the third dimension.”
Matthew was intrigued. Not that it was starting to make sense to him, but it was the first time that Mary had called him Matthew…just Matthew…no IHOP Restroom or anything like that. But after spending five seconds thinking about that, he realized that he had no idea what to look for when he got there, how to get back there, or even how he would come back to deliver the holy grail to the Shipgoes.
“I don’t know how to get back. Klaper never said anything about it,” Matthew said. “I don’t even know what to look for.”
“I’ll go with you,” Mary said.
“Are you sure?” Matthew asked.
“You currently own me. Remember?” Mary said. “I doubt I really have any say in the matter.”
“Oh yeah,” Matthew said. “I guess I kind of forgot.” It was strange how Matthew had forgotten that very important matter over which they had just been arguing pretty much the entire day up to that point. But since the Shipgoes started attacking THE ENVOY, there isn’t anymore time to talk about Matthew and Mary arguing. Both sides were fighting mad.
“Iiiiieeeee’ve got a portal opener on this ship. It’s down in the cargo hold. Iiiieee never had any need for it. Someone sold it to me in exchange for a three copies of the song ‘Just What Iiiieeee Needed’; one biiiieeee The Cars, one biiiieeee Sister Hazel and one biiiieeee Poison.” Matthew agreed so the Captain took them down to the cargo hold. But as they were heading down, seven Shipgoes spontaneously appeared on the ship. They were trying to capture Matthew but the shipmates held them off. “We’d better hurry,” the Captain said.
They made it down to the cargo hold and the captain dug it out and turned it on. It started to swirl around. They started to enter when the captain said to Matthew, “take care of miiieee niece. Got it?” Matthew agreed and they step through…but not before they heard him scream in attack. It was too late to actually do anything because at that exact moment, they found themselves right outside of the IHOP restroom.
“Alright Matthew!” shouted Jim and Dan, “coming out of the restroom with a hot chick!”
Matthew looked at a clock that said it was 3:05am. He realized that nothing had changed. The only difference was that Mary was with him this time. “So he looked at her and said, “Don’t mind them, they’re drunk.”
“Hey Matthew,” Dan shouted, “I just scored a hot date with that little number right over there.”
Matthew looked over to see that it was the vacuum cleaner he tried hitting on earlier. “That’s a vacuum cleaner, Dan.” He said. “Anyway, we don’t have time for this.”
“We need that canister of red liquid,” Mary said.
“We need Strawberry syrup?” Matthew asked.
“Yes, and we need to take it to a place called Lawrence, Kansas.”
“So, the ship can fly and it can go up into space?” Matthew cried. “Is this even possible?”
“Oh please,” Mary said, who was really the only one who noticed Matthew’s peeked interest in all things ships taking flight…or whatever it would be called; “you’re just not thinking 18th dimensionally. All pirate ships can fly into the air and into space.”
“Really?” Matthew inquired. “I guess that would explain why the holy treasury is relying on captains like your uncle to fight there battles.”
“Well,” Mary said, “IHOP Restroom over here has finally figured one out on his own.”
Matthew was either flattered or insulted…or maybe a mixture of both. It was the first assumption he had made that was correct. Then, he remembered that it was already stated by Captain Bill that they were a pirate ship and they were at war. So he figured Mary was just being sarcastic with him. If that were true, he thought, it wouldn’t surprise him. But before he could fully decide whether Mary was being sincere or sarcastic, he looked out the window and noticed that they had reached space. In the distance, he saw a ship that he only assumed belong to the Shipgoes. A shipmate came in the room and said that the captain wished to see them on deck.
Matthew and Mary followed the shipmate to what Matthew assumed to be the bridge. As they got there, another shipmate said something to the captain about the Shipgoes trying to communicate as they appeared on a screen in the front of the room. This was the first time that Matthew saw a Shipgoe and the first thing he noticed was that they looked like giant rats. They said something to the captain that didn’t make any sense to Matthew. It was nothing but a bunch of squeaking.
“Rodent talk will get you nowhere with me,” Captain Bill said to them.
“I don’t have the proper translation track down, Captain,” said another shipmate, “I’ve got it…now.”
“Hopefully, now we can understand each other,” Captain Bill said. “Iiiiiieeeee am Captain Bill of sea, air and space ship ENVOY.” The captain’s ship being named after a Warren Zevon album intrigued Matthew. But what made him smile and caused him to have to hold back a laugh was how the rat-appearing shipgoes responded.
“Oh great, we got the pirate who emphasizes the I!” one said but trying to look as though he didn’t say that. “We came for the Holy Grail, Captain, where is it?”
“Iiiiieeeee have no holy grail on miiiiieeeeee ship. Nor is it on the planet. You will have to look elsewhere.” The Captain said.
One of the Shipgoes spotted Matthew and said to the other, “look, behind the captain, it’s the Chosen One! It’s Matthew of the IHOP Restroom!” All the Shipgoes in the screen looked at each other. Matthew was worried. So was the Captain because somehow, he hadn’t even seen it coming. “ATTACK!” yelled the Shipgoe who had spotted Matthew.
“FIIIIIIIEEEEEEEE-RE CANNONS!” cried Captain Bill. He turned to Matthew and Mary. He saw that Matthew had a questioning look on his face. “It’s okay,” he said to Matthew, “cannons can be fiiiieeee-red in space. They just have to be shot with enough force. Anyway, you shouldn’t be worried about that riiiiiieeeeee-ght now.
“I wasn’t worried about that. If I was home in the third dimension, I would question the science. But I’m not a scientist. All I’m worried about is getting out of here,” Matthew said.
“Matthew,” Mary cried, “you need to go back to the third dimension to get their holy grail. I saw the plans for it in Uncle Bill’s quarters. What they seek can only be found in the third dimension.”
Matthew was intrigued. Not that it was starting to make sense to him, but it was the first time that Mary had called him Matthew…just Matthew…no IHOP Restroom or anything like that. But after spending five seconds thinking about that, he realized that he had no idea what to look for when he got there, how to get back there, or even how he would come back to deliver the holy grail to the Shipgoes.
“I don’t know how to get back. Klaper never said anything about it,” Matthew said. “I don’t even know what to look for.”
“I’ll go with you,” Mary said.
“Are you sure?” Matthew asked.
“You currently own me. Remember?” Mary said. “I doubt I really have any say in the matter.”
“Oh yeah,” Matthew said. “I guess I kind of forgot.” It was strange how Matthew had forgotten that very important matter over which they had just been arguing pretty much the entire day up to that point. But since the Shipgoes started attacking THE ENVOY, there isn’t anymore time to talk about Matthew and Mary arguing. Both sides were fighting mad.
“Iiiiieeeee’ve got a portal opener on this ship. It’s down in the cargo hold. Iiiieee never had any need for it. Someone sold it to me in exchange for a three copies of the song ‘Just What Iiiieeee Needed’; one biiiieeee The Cars, one biiiieeee Sister Hazel and one biiiieeee Poison.” Matthew agreed so the Captain took them down to the cargo hold. But as they were heading down, seven Shipgoes spontaneously appeared on the ship. They were trying to capture Matthew but the shipmates held them off. “We’d better hurry,” the Captain said.
They made it down to the cargo hold and the captain dug it out and turned it on. It started to swirl around. They started to enter when the captain said to Matthew, “take care of miiieee niece. Got it?” Matthew agreed and they step through…but not before they heard him scream in attack. It was too late to actually do anything because at that exact moment, they found themselves right outside of the IHOP restroom.
“Alright Matthew!” shouted Jim and Dan, “coming out of the restroom with a hot chick!”
Matthew looked at a clock that said it was 3:05am. He realized that nothing had changed. The only difference was that Mary was with him this time. “So he looked at her and said, “Don’t mind them, they’re drunk.”
“Hey Matthew,” Dan shouted, “I just scored a hot date with that little number right over there.”
Matthew looked over to see that it was the vacuum cleaner he tried hitting on earlier. “That’s a vacuum cleaner, Dan.” He said. “Anyway, we don’t have time for this.”
“We need that canister of red liquid,” Mary said.
“We need Strawberry syrup?” Matthew asked.
“Yes, and we need to take it to a place called Lawrence, Kansas.”
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
I don't know what's going on.
Okay, so it's been a while since I updated. I've been wanting to post a video but for some reason, my new computer won't let me load video to blogspot...or blogspot won't let me post video from my new computer. Either way, I don't know what's going on.
Also, with the new computer, (by the way, have I mentioned on here that I got a new computer recently? Because if not, I did.) I'm wanting to transfer my music to rhapsody so that I can use my new lap top for my mp3 player. Unfortunately, it doesn't know how to load my music that I transfered over from my old computer with the data transfer. Anyway, whatever it is, I don't know what's going on.
Starting last Thursday, (April 14th) the Roving Imp started doing shows in Lawrence on the KU campus in the ECM building. At first, it was going to be in the Carnagie Arts Center which it's not called that anymore. Then there was going to be a show at the Union Station/Visitor Center. But it's now taking place in the ECM building. I have a realitive idea as to what's going on.
Last week, I accidentally washed my memory stick in the washing machine and didn't find out until the end of the dryer cycle. Turns out it doesn't work now. This is the memory stick I use for the powerpoints at the Roving Imp. So I had to get a new memory stick. It just so happens that the new memory stick has 4GB of memory availible. But the computer at the Roving Imp doesn't want to read it. Also, the new powerpoint - PowerPoint 10 - saves files as a pptx as opposed to ppt. It's kind of screwy and I'm going to be doing some more expieramenting with what my options are. I have an older memory stick that holds 64mg and I can save it as a '97-'03 ppt file which I learned about Saturday night from Chris. Didn't know about that before hand. Also, I'm going to try and save a version of it and e-mail it to John, to see if he can save it on one of his memory sticks and load it from there. Here, I've got an idea as to what is going on.
Also, with the new computer, (by the way, have I mentioned on here that I got a new computer recently? Because if not, I did.) I'm wanting to transfer my music to rhapsody so that I can use my new lap top for my mp3 player. Unfortunately, it doesn't know how to load my music that I transfered over from my old computer with the data transfer. Anyway, whatever it is, I don't know what's going on.
Starting last Thursday, (April 14th) the Roving Imp started doing shows in Lawrence on the KU campus in the ECM building. At first, it was going to be in the Carnagie Arts Center which it's not called that anymore. Then there was going to be a show at the Union Station/Visitor Center. But it's now taking place in the ECM building. I have a realitive idea as to what's going on.
Last week, I accidentally washed my memory stick in the washing machine and didn't find out until the end of the dryer cycle. Turns out it doesn't work now. This is the memory stick I use for the powerpoints at the Roving Imp. So I had to get a new memory stick. It just so happens that the new memory stick has 4GB of memory availible. But the computer at the Roving Imp doesn't want to read it. Also, the new powerpoint - PowerPoint 10 - saves files as a pptx as opposed to ppt. It's kind of screwy and I'm going to be doing some more expieramenting with what my options are. I have an older memory stick that holds 64mg and I can save it as a '97-'03 ppt file which I learned about Saturday night from Chris. Didn't know about that before hand. Also, I'm going to try and save a version of it and e-mail it to John, to see if he can save it on one of his memory sticks and load it from there. Here, I've got an idea as to what is going on.
Friday, April 1, 2011
AF1 - April Fools Day
Good evening. All day today jokes went far and wide around the world. And you were probably laughing at something that was deemed totally frickin' hillarious. "Freakin' Hillarious." That phrase just isn't gramatically correct in the English language. We really don't care though because it's a holiday. We will be united in the bonds of laughter. Perhaps it's fate that today is the First of April, and you will once again be fighting for our laughter... Not from knock-knock jokes, fart jokes, or bad puns... but for your health. We are laughing for our high cholestoral and fat content. To belly laugh. And should we laugh beyond today, April Fools will no longer be known as a jerk-off's holday, but as the day the world declared in one voice: "My gosh, that was really funny!" My belly will shake like a bowl full of Jelly! We're going to laugh on! We're going to L-O-L! Today we celebrate our April Fools Day!
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