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Lines: Sealed. Delivered. (That's Your Job!)
So you’ve done it. You’ve gone and been cast in your first scripted show (or second, or third, or twenty-third), and the director has said the most dreaded words an actor can hear: off book. You’ve got to ditch your script and actually have the words just IN your head, like some kind of ROBOT. What are you, A SPEAK AND SPELL?
By Chris Fortin, age 33
So you’ve done it. You’ve gone and been cast in your first scripted show (or second, or third, or twenty-third), and the director has said the most dreaded words an actor can hear: off book. You’ve got to ditch your script and actually have the words just IN your head, like some kind of ROBOT. What are you, A SPEAK AND SPELL?
Fear not, fellow human! Learning your lines seems daunting, but it’s so easy a talking dog who can also read can do it!
TAKE YOUR TIME, DAMMIT
Three general pieces of advice: learning lines takes time, so don’t be shocked if you don’t get it immediately; you’ll always remember lines better if you work them on your feet; and saying them outloud is always better than reading them. Reading it at a desk like you’re cramming for the MEAP test might put the words in your head, but you’ll get there faster walking around your living room saying them aloud over and over (and over) again. Plus, the more familiar you are with the script, the better you’ll understand the content of what you need to say, even if you aren’t word perfect yet.
PICK A METHOD THAT WORKS FOR YOU
There are a lot of different methods for learning lines, and everyone's going to have their favorites. Try them all out and see what works best for you!
Running lines with others is extremely helpful. Whether it’s the actual cast of the show, or that talking dog who can also read from before, it’s a great way to get those reps in to know the words, and just as importantly, your cues! Knowing your lines is great, but your scene partner’s gonna get annoyed if you just say them all in order at the top of the scene and then sit down, a big satisfied grin on your face. Don’t be satisfied! You didn’t do it right!
Don’t have access to a talking dog who can also read? There are a plethora of apps out there where you can upload your script, and then it acts like cue cards, showing you other characters’ lines so you can fill in your own. I’ve heard good things about this one. If you love the sound of your own voice, you’re in luck! Recording the sketch as a whole so you can hear it out loud and say your lines along with it gets you started, then recording another version with gaps for your dialogue can take you home!
Hate technology and love touching paper? HELLO! Take your script and an extra piece of paper. If you don’t make your own paper, store bought is fine. As you read the script, move the paper down to cover up your lines to quiz yourself on getting them right before showing them. If you get the line wrong, go back and do it again. Keep going until you can do a whole page right. Do it for the next page. Once you can do two, go back to the very beginning and repeat both pages before moving on to three. Rinse and repeat until you’ve got the whole gosh-dang thing in your noodle!
HONOR YOUR AUDIENCE
The earlier you’re off book, the earlier you can get to the actual FUN part of the show: acting! It’s hard to play with physicality and inflections and emotions while you’re still reading words off a page. No audience is sitting in their seats being impressed that the actors know their lines. That’s, like, kind of assumed. And you are better than that!
That’s it! At this point you’ll be beating that talking dog who can also read out for Almo commercials in no time! Give yourself time, and getting off book isn’t as intimidating as it seems. When the apocalypse happens we’re going to need something to replace TV, so having all this stuff memorized is gonna pay off eventually! Happy End-of-Days! And happy line-learning!
And if all else fails and you can’t learn lines, there’s always improv!
Want to see some memorized lines being said IN ACTION? Come check out “Don’t Google It” on Wednesday, November 13th at 10PM! Trust me, if THESE people can learn lines, SO CAN YOU! They’re freakin’ IDIOTS! Hahaha that’s not true, they’re good, kind people I respect immensely. Even Devin Jenkins.
As a Young Boy, I Dreamed of Being a Baseball.
A student asked me recently: “What is meant by having grounded scenes?” I realized that I don’t think I’ve ever said in a class “make this scene more grounded.” What I have said - over and over - is to make a relationship between the characters who are present, and this creates grounding.
by Chris Petersen
A student asked me recently: “What is meant by having grounded scenes?” I realized that I don’t think I’ve ever said in a class “make this scene more grounded.” What I have said - over and over - is to make a relationship between the characters who are present, and this creates grounding. This gives us a point of human connection that engages us with the human beings onstage, making us more likely to care about, pay attention to, and enjoy whatever activities they do. I do not care about two people on a stage pretending to be lizard robots in 14th-century France. I do care if they are played as two human beings with the range of emotions and motivations that I know human beings to have.
For a more concrete example, I’m not going to refer to an improv scene. I’m going to refer to The Simpsons:
This video tracing one man’s view of the trajectory of The Simpsons (that trajectory is downward, by the way) touches on this idea nicely. As far-out and ridiculous as the scenarios on the show got, there was a solid framework of human relationships. Homer had very clear motivations for his behavior: he’s a glutton, but a glutton who loves his family. This backbone helped make any flight of fancy (monorail, talking coyote, Japanese dish-soap, what have you) compelling, engaging, and, yes, funny. Moving away from that backbone has made any weird occurrences just, well, weird.
Grounding is being able to see the ground no matter how far you’re flying from it. How else would you know how high up you are?
All Right Class...
At some point in your intro improv classes, you’ll have an instructor tell you to ‘avoid teaching scenes’. It’s an odd piece of advice out of context. Does this mean you should never have an improv scene take place in a classroom? Should you never have one character imparting wisdom to another?
by Chris Petersen
At some point in your intro improv classes, you’ll have an instructor tell you to ‘avoid teaching scenes’. It’s an odd piece of advice out of context. Does this mean you should never have an improv scene take place in a classroom? Should you never have one character imparting wisdom to another?
The quintessential terrible teaching scene that you’ll often see beginning improvisers do has one performer telling the other how to do something: make a pizza, do yoga, build a killer robot, whatever. And that’s it: one person (of unknown identity) gives another (also unknown) instructions which they then follow. And there’s the problem: we end up watching two unknown people with no personal connection to one another. You’re essentially watching a recipe for bread reenacted onstage.
So what’s the easy fix to turn this into a compelling scene? Like most (read: all) improv scenes, we need to have some sort of relationship between the two people up there. And remember that ‘relationship’ in this instance is more than just a definition of their roles (ie: “Teacher and student”); we need a bond between these individuals beyond occupational obligations. Maybe this student has been studying under this great bread master for years and is ready to break out on their own. Maybe the teacher is a parent, trying to pass on the family recipe whether their kid wants it or not. Fundamentally it comes down to: what do these people want from one another? Why are they here with each other? Why would I watch these two when I could watch anything else in the world?
If you find yourself in the midst of an impersonal teaching scene, make a relationship. Call someone else in the scene by name and give them a life beyond just teaching. Otherwise I will throw something at you from the audience.
Do You Have Any Notes for Me?
“Do you have any notes for me?”. It’s perfectly understandable that improv students ask this all the time. The performing arts are difficult for self-assessment. As reasonable a request as it is, it can be an effort for a coach or teacher to fulfill it.
by Chris Petersen
“Do you have any notes for me?”. It’s perfectly understandable that improv students ask this all the time. The performing arts are difficult for self-assessment. As reasonable a request as it is, it can be an effort for a coach or teacher to fulfill it.
So perhaps a performer could do a little homework before reaching out for feedback and ask some questions of themselves:
What’s the problem you’re trying to address? Is it a few bad sets in a row? Not getting cast in a troupe when you thought you should be? Is it a general sense of improv malaise? There are always things to work on with improv, but you need to address specific issues to make any progress.
Have you gotten notes before related to this problem? If so, you’ve already gotten feedback on this. Ask yourself honestly (and I do mean honestly) if you’re just asking around to prove yourself right, or if you just didn’t understand the feedback you got.
If you didn’t understand the notes you received before, get to the heart of that. Is it confusion about a concept (like ‘game’, for example)? Is it confusion about when this problem comes up for you?
What do YOU think you need to do? The ability to effectively self-assess is crucial for growth as an artist (and yes, improvisors are artists). This is what people do once they’ve taken all available classes and workshops. Of course it’s legitimate to pull in a coach or director for help, but the first analysis should come from you.
What show/class/audition do you want to get feedback on? It’s never very helpful to ask for ‘general’ feedback on your work as a whole. The person you’re asking probably hasn’t seen it all, and certainly hasn’t been watching it with an eye towards critiquing. Yes, it’s true: sometimes that person you’re asking for feedback wants to watch improv without being a teacher or coach.
This is not meant to dissuade anyone asking for notes. Do! Growth and development comes from observation, analysis, and then taking action. But useful observation and analysis (and a clear plan of action) comes from planning and answering questions like the ones listed above. And once you have that feedback, take action. And buy your observer a drink.
Seems to Me it's Chemistry
A question that always comes up from students is: “How do I form a troupe?” (answer: find the people you like and like playing with and eventually come up with a name. Congratulations: you’re a troupe. The incomparable Jess K. has written on this very subject).
by Chris Petersen
A question that always comes up from students is: “How do I form a troupe?” (answer: find the people you like and like playing with and eventually come up with a name. Congratulations: you’re a troupe. The incomparable Jess K. has written on this very subject). It seems like an easy question, but consider what’s inspiring them to do it: the best troupes make the difficult and improbable look effortless and inevitable. Surely there’s a great deal of black magic required for assembling a group capable of this?
The chemistry between people who like each other and have fun together is extremely difficult to contrive. By comparison, skill at improv is much easier to develop. After all, that’s what classes and practice are for.
Practicing/rehearsing with your troupe (and ideally a coach) is important for improving as a group, but let’s say you can’t manage a rehearsal one week. Someone can’t make the full practice time, or your coach is in a show, or there’s no space to play, or what have you. What to do? Get everyone together and go to the bar (or coffeeshop, or get dinner, or whatever. Just as long as it’s something where you can talk and hear each other. So not an improv show.). Hanging out and shooting the shit (on anything, not just improv) is invaluable for building that chemistry. If you don’t enjoy talking at the bar with someone, odds are good you’ll struggle onstage with them.
In honor of Go Comedy co-founder Gerald Knight, I give you this example of group bonding off the stage. You can’t fight that chemistry:
Go Back, Enhance
Q: How do you make an improviser cringe?
A: Ask them to watch a video of their last show.*
by Chris Petersen
Q: How do you make an improviser cringe?
A: Ask them to watch a video of their last show.*
As uncomfortable as it can be, watching videos of your performances is one of the best ways to assess your strengths and weaknesses as an improviser. That objective camera-eye view shows you how you present yourself to an audience. Do you do object work? Can you be heard? Are things happening too fast or too slow? Are you making use of the environment? Are you doing anything at all?
Lest it all sound negative, watching your performances is equally good at providing a realistic assessment of what goes right in your improv. There have been a number of shows that I felt terrible about where watching the video after gave me a better perspective: sure, the show had problems, but it wasn’t nearly the disaster I imagined.
The lovely and talented Mr. Bob Wieck has been regularly filming improv sets, sketch shows, and class shows at Go Comedy for many years. His YouTube channel is an overflowing library. And he does it for free, so perhaps following his page is a good idea? Also, buy him a drink when you see him.
* Runner-up punchline: “Ask them to tell you a joke.”
Eugene is Eating Pencils Again
This is an improv set by some of the cast of House of Lies, a show I never watched. It’s probably a good show. Of the group, Ben Schwartz, Lauren Lapkus, Eugene Cordero, Josh Lawson, and Ryan Gaul have had improv experience. Don Cheadle and Kristen Bell have none (as far as I know).
by Chris Petersen
This is an improv set by some of the cast of House of Lies, a show I never watched. It’s probably a good show. Of the group, Ben Schwartz, Lauren Lapkus, Eugene Cordero, Josh Lawson, and Ryan Gaul have had improv experience. Don Cheadle and Kristen Bell have none (as far as I know).
I’ve watched this video several times and I’ve realized there’s a lot it articulates about improv for me, particularly about when something works against the rules, or when the improv is falling apart and how to recover. “Recover” isn’t the right word: they simply work with what might be a problem as if it wasn’t a problem in the first place (and it wasn’t). And my watching it over and over hasn’t been just for educational scrutiny; I find this set genuinely funny.
They make mistakes, miss details, run over each other, but somehow these things never remain awful, glaring issues. Part of that is being skillful at getting things back on track, but I’d say a bigger reason is their focus of having fun with the show. ‘Having fun’ doesn’t mean lowering quality and not taking it seriously. In an improv show, it means understanding there will be unexpected moments and not only allowing them, but celebrating them and seeing if they’ll take you to interesting places. “Getting into good trouble” is how I like to describe it.
You’ve no doubt seen improv shows where the players are all firmly toeing the improv rule line, all to the detriment of any expression of fun onstage. This is not a call to break all the rules, set fire to the opera houses, etc, but I offer this clip as evidence that willful rule breaking (and adjusting to the results) doesn’t automatically sink a set.
Below are some on-the-fly observations:
Any fuck up that happens (saying ‘kitten’ instead of ‘kid’ in the first scene, for example) gets jumped on immediately. There’s the game.
No waiting around. If an idea has run its course, they get out of there, good ending or not. It’s interesting how they don’t seem too concerned about good endings (by which I mean: there aren’t any).
During the restaurant scene, they are clearly trying to find a game and trying every game under the sun. Bunch of waiters, to Kristen afraid because she didn’t tip, to different kinds of water, to Ben is about to propose, to bringing out champagne poorly, back to proposing, to everyone has a musical instrument. What a mess. Everyone has been in those scenes where nine people are throwing things against the wall to see what sticks.
I think Eugene Cordero just wanted to stick his Luis Guzman impression in somewhere. Even the pros want to force bits into shows.
Don Fucking Cheadle. Man’s a national treasure.
And so is Kristen Fucking Bell.
Thank You For Coming In
Auditions are a terrible process that provoke stress in those auditioning, thereby ensuring that they will not perform at their best at an art form that is buffeted by the whims of chance more than any other. The mathematics of auditions are not in any individual’s favor. Many more people do not get the part than do. But they also provide a fantastic way to see how an improviser performs in an incredibly awkward and unnatural environment. My, doesn’t that sound like an excellent learning opportunity?
by Chris Petersen
Auditions are a terrible process that provoke stress in those auditioning, thereby ensuring that they will not perform at their best at an art form that is buffeted by the whims of chance more than any other. The mathematics of auditions are not in any individual’s favor. Many more people do not get the part than do. But they also provide a fantastic way to see how an improviser performs in an incredibly awkward and unnatural environment. My, doesn’t that sound like an excellent learning opportunity?
The very wise Marc Evan Jackson (here with the equally wise Paul F. Tompkins) has some very interesting things to say about the audition process. Here he’s referring to auditions for scripted parts, but it’s true of any audition. Specifically to about 5:30, but the whole interview is worth listening to:
It’s that quote at the end of this clip that provides a very good reframing of how to think about auditions:
“I’m going to make a memorable day of this for them and for me, and I’m probably not going to get this role, but two years from now when they go ‘Who was that guy who was totally wrong - and a little weird - for that one thing that might be perfect for this next thing?’”
Auditions are a showcase: a moment of stage time in a controlled environment. They are not final exams, nor dissertation defenses, nor your last hope for making a career in comedy or show business. Enjoy the opportunity and the process.
Improv Can Help People With Anxiety and Depression
An article from the Fix.com talks about how improv can play a role in making a judgement free zone for others. "...It’s important to set up an environment where people can make mistakes without judgment, which makes them more adventurous and less afraid of failure."
An article from the Fix.com talks about how improv can play a role in making a judgement free zone for others. "...It’s important to set up an environment where people can make mistakes without judgment, which makes them more adventurous and less afraid of failure."
A part of our philosophy is creating a safe space. Go Comedy strives to be safe, supportive, and inclusive. Everyone has different reasons for immersing their lives in improv. We welcome the opportunity to help, and there is no obligation to disclose your reasoning to be here. So if you're still on the fence, consider taking a class and see where it takes you.