Where You Can Find Characters

Recently, I took a sketch workshop, and it was fun. It was also an eye opener. I need more characters. I realized I was trotting out familiar characters. Oh yeah, that kid character. I've done that before. And, oh yeah, that old man. Been there.
I need some something fresh and unique. I need some inspiration.
Off to Starbucks! Or Origin! Or insert-local-coffee-dealer-here.
The coffee places are great, but they tend to pull the same sort of clientele. It's a familiar and well tapped, um, well.
Where do you go to get new inspirational characters?
I found a place. A magical place where you find nothing BUT quirky, morose, happy, and always honest characters....podcasts.

There are so many podcasts out there. iTunes lists over 3 million. That's a lot of words and time. You're a busy person, and don't have time to listen to three million podcasts.
I have you covered! There's a podcast I listen to ALL the time. 99% Invincible. It's a great podcast produced in Oakland California. Roman Mars is a wonderful host. They produce a great deal of work, and also curate and find the best for listeners. Over the last year, I've listened to the majority of the episodes. Here are some of the ones I loved the most that are packed with character inspiration.

Episode 175: The Sunshine Hotel  
    The Sunshine Hotel comes to life over the course of thirty minutes. The time will fly by, and you'll have met over a dozen strange and beautiful people. The Bowery sounds like an interesting place before the transformation.

Episode 167: Voices in the Wire
        Tony Schwartz had a passion for recording. And, he recorded everything he could. It's an awesome time capsule. 

Episode 158: Sandhogs 
         The Sandhogs are tough, and the voices gruff, and honest. They are a family, and you'll want to learn about the family.

Episode 153: Game Over
         What happens when the dervers are shuttered? The end was documented, and the stories are interesting. I sat in my driveway for 10 minute listening to the whole piece. I couldn't turn it off.

Episode 66: Kowloon Walled City 
                       I had never heard of Kowloon Walled City. I couldn't imagine living here. The stories stick with you. You have to see the pictures online to understand the complexity of the site.

Blacktop is Kind of a Big Deal in Norway

You meet a lot of incredible people when you improv. Sure, yes, you meet a lot of incredible people throughout life, but improvisers are.... unique. We're driven to entertain... but we don't like doing it alone. We like having a family of support around us. We like stepping onstage, and knowing there's an expectant audience in front of us, and a great support system behind us who will yes, and us to success.

So. Yep. Improvisers = Awesome.

And...awesome people find awesome opportunities

A few months ago a new improviser, Tess, joined Blacktop. She is a wonderful actress with extraordinary range. We were happy to have her with us. And, then, she was cast on a tv show.

What TV show? I'm glad you asked.

Alt for Norge. Yep! That Alt for Norge. On TVNorge! Don't worry. We hadn't heard of it either, but it sounded like such a great opportunity for Tess. We are really proud of her. She was off to Norway, to discover the country in a The Amazing Race style adventure. Alt for Norge is only for those who have Norwegian blood, but have never been to the country. I don't know if they have a Irish version of Alt for Norge, but I'd do it!

You'd probably like a longer description of Alt for Norge. Here you go:

I dag bor det over 4,5 millioner amerikanere med norske røtter i USA. Vi har hentet 12 av dem tilbake til "The Mother Land". Deltakerne kommer fra hele USA. Ingen av disse norskamerikanerne har vært i Norge før, men alle har et brennende ønske om å finne tilbake til sine norske røtter. Men for personer som har vokst opp med Hollywood, drive-through spritutsalg og ost på sprayboks kan imidlertid veien til den norske slekta bli lang. Nå venter nemlig bygdefest, polferd, friluftsliv og smalahove. For dette er en konkurranse om å mestre livet som nordmann - og hver uke møter deltakerne nye utfordringer. Én etter én må amerikanerne forlate konkurransen og reise hjem - inntil vi står igjen med Den Ekte Nordmannen som vinner 50 000 dollar og sitt livs første møte med sine norske slektninger. Men for å komme så langt må deltakerne først bevise at de er villige til å gi Alt for Norge!

Crystal clear?

Fantastic!

Before she ventured to Norway, she shot a getting-to-know-Tess segment for the show and invited Blacktop Comedy to perform improv with her. They wanted clips of us improvising for the show.

Well, we did it. And, the video is out! Watch me clearly know nothing about the wonderful Norwegian culture. I imagine polar bears make up 35% of the population. I'm kidding. I know more about Norway. (can I be honest? I will. I didn't know the capitol of Norway and asked the videographers. Turns out it's Oslo. Don't hate us Oslo. Just shake your head and mutter, "ignorant americans.")

Personally, I loved Betsaida, Jess, and Tess speaking 'Norwegian.' Of course, we didn't think we were really speaking Norwegian. Did you see the comments on Youtube? This might be our favorite.

Hilarious! Breathe Lassi117! We know at minute 1:14 was gibberish. Yes. We have the utmost respect for Norway. Don't send your polar bears on skis after us. We're vulnerable to your naval attacks. We know you have a cruise line.

Push the Door for Characters

Last week I was talking with a friend who is a fellow improviser. He admitted having trouble getting into characters, and staying out of his head. I'm trying this thing where I empathize more...you know... be a better human being an' all...so I responded with a very deep, and insightful, "Yeah. That can be hard. I've been there too." Oh man! What wisdom! I was making it rain empathy! Though, it wasn't super helpful. So we kept talking.

We continued talking about improv, and letting go of fear. The conversation curved all over the place, from improv characters, to scene commitment, to yes, and, etc. Then, we talked about scene starts, and where to begin.

We realized scene starts, and particularly, beginning in the middle, can solve a lot of issues. Since our first improv class we've all been encouraged to, 'begin in the middle.' I teach my improv classes and players to begin the scene' "five minutes later." Begin the scene five minutes in, make the audience work, let them figure out what's happening. They're smart. It's good to challenge the audience. They'll appreciate the challenge.

And....

In our discussion, we realized a whole new reason 'five minutes later' helps. An improviser appreciates the distraction. The start in the middle improv suggestion isn't just for the benefit of the audience, but for the benefit of the improviser. It helps everyone. If we begin 5 minutes in, those are five minutes we don't sit around doubting pour choice, or fearing our scene initiation. The "getting out of your head" issue really dissolves when you're in the middle of an improvised robbery, instead of carefully planning the heist. It's easier to be a cop when you start the scene busting a drug ring, and not beginning a scene doodling on your space work desk at the precinct (aside: I misspelled precinct, and Google Keep autocorrected my spelling to 'precenjnt.' What is a precenjnt? It looks Scandinavian).

We start a scene 'late' and we can just be. We start a scene 'early,' and we have a higher likelyhood of getting chased around by doubt.

Idle hands are the devil's playground, and an idle mind is an improviser's hell. Ultimately, it'll be a great day on the improv stage when we can let go of the doubt devil, and just tell ourselves, "OK. This is the scene I'm in. It's a great scene. I just have to listen and respond, and it'll become even better!"

Until then, jumping into a scene, pushing that door open, instead of planning on pushing the door, will help us get out of our self inflicted critiques, and into living in the moment.