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UPCOMING EVENTS
Improv/Sketch Competition
Wednesdays, 8 PM
June17-August 5
at Matilda
3101 N. Sheffield
Coming in July
Work(shop)-in-Progress
Improv
Theatre Lab
Every Sunday 3-6PM
Cornelia Arts Building
Theatre Momentum has lots of news!
Auditions to take place at the Theatre Momentum Studio, 1800 W. Cornelia Ave, June 25th and June 29th.
Email auditions@theatremomentum.com to sign up!
Wednesdays, June 17th-August 5th at 8 PM, Theatre Momentum presents our Improv versus Sketch competition. A $400 prize awaits your improv or sketch team. 16 teams enter, one team leaves!
Audience vote determines the winner, so get all your friends out to cheer you on!
All shows will take place at Matilda, at 3101 N. Sheffield.
A new space! TM is taking over the rehearsal space at the Cornelia Arts Building in July. This space will be available for rental for just $10/hr. Email rentals@theatremomentum.com for more details.
And, as always, Work(shop)-in-Progress continues. We will be bringing new coaches to WiP, every 4-6 weeks.
Please note, there will be no WiP session on June 14th, the day after The 15 Hour Project.
Please meet our coach for the next 6 weeks, Regan Davis.
Regan will be coaching WiP May 17-July 5, 2009.
We got Regan to answer a few questions about himself and his take on improvisation and theatre.
Tell us
a little about your background- education, personal history, performance
history, etc.
I'm originally from St. Petersburg, Florida, and I have a background in
acting and improvisation, having trained at Florida State University for
Acting and Directing, and training at the Second City Conservatory and
Workshop-in-Progress (among other places) for improvisation. I have
performed at the Chicago Improv Festival and Chicago Sketchfest, Miami
Improv Festival, and directed groups for both the Miami Improv Festival and
the Dirty South Improv Festival in Chapel Hill, NC. I'm currently a company
member of WNEP Theater in Chicago, and I've performed theatre across Florida
and on tour, and in Chicago with New Millenium, Bailiwick, WTA, WNEP and
others. In addition, I'm a professional graphic designer, I've performed in
independent films, shot an ill-fated TV pilot, am a contributing writer to
Big News in Los Angeles, and co-created and directed the 24-Hour Projects
for La Cosa Nostra Productions in Florida, building a series of one-acts
from improvisation over 24 straight hours without sleep.
What are some of the basic tenets of your personal improv philosophy?
To me, the two most important elements in improvisation are
emotion and objectives. Improv is about reaction to your scene partner; and
an emotion is a gift to them. Everything else - wordplay, object work,
staging, the humor - stems from the emotion you give to your partner. The
objective that you discover in the scene is the roadmap and gives the scene
purpose.
What are some experiences you think have shaped your outlook on theatre
and improv?
I think my background with scripted theatre really instilled in
me the importance of objectives and dramatic action in improvisation.
Working with teachers and coaches like Michael Gellman and Don Hall really
pushed me to create characters that live beyond a 3-4 minute window and are
interesting enough to watch for a full hour.
If you had one nugget of advice to give to budding actors and
improvisors, what would it be?
There is no singular technique for acting or improvisation, and
anyone who tells you otherwise is selling you something. The most important
thing anyone can do is be open to new ways of learning, to sample a bunch of
teaching styles and find the ones that connect with their own sensibilities.
I think every single improviser should take at least a general acting class,
a scene study class, and perform in at least one scripted play.
Improvisation is about creating spontaneous theatre and it's important that
we all have a knowledge of the theatre we're trying to create.
What do
you think, outside the usual, are some useful tools that improvisors should
have in their toolbelt?
Read a newspaper or magazine in full, cover to cover. With the
internet and blogs, etc., we've all developed shorter attention spans, and
it carries over to our scene work. Become familiar with how others tell
stories that last more than two minutes, and I guarantee your scenework will
improve.
What elements do you think separate a decent show from a truly great one?
Do you have any favorite companies that you think really hit the mark?
The best shows have an efficiency to them wherein nothing is wasted.
Anton Chekhov once wrote "If in the first act you have hung a pistol on the
wall, then in the following one it should be fired. Otherwise don't put it
there." In improv, our jobs are easier, because we don't have to worry about
foreshadowing, we just have to remember where we hung the pistol.
What do you
think is a good book, movie, or piece of art an improvisor should
experience, to become better at their craft?
At the absolute minimum, improvisers and actors should be familiar with the
American Realism classics (O'Neil, Miller, Williams, Shepard, Mamet). Most
improvisation is American Realism, and every coach and director you have is
going to make some reference to these playwrights in a rehearsal and it's
essential that you know what they're talking about. Also, see theatre, not
just improv and sketch in Chicago. Seeing theatre gives you a whole
different take on objectives and characters that are compelling and can last
for hours, and can open you up to new ways of telling stories. I'd also
suggest watching the Director's Series label of music videos made by Chris
Cunningham, Spike Jonze, and Michel Gondry. These music videos are perfect
improv lessons -- they go to unusual places by using "yes, and..", they play
the game of the scene really well, and they create really unique
storytelling structures.
Any parting thoughts, hopes?
I'm looking forward to working with everyone at WiP. The goal of
creating new forms each workshop is really exciting to me, and I hope that I
can continue to make this workshop a safe place for improvisers to do
dangerous things.
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