If you take your shows seriously, they can function as practices, right? I don’t mean having a nerve-wracking, “gotta do it right” mindset. But if everyone is bringing their own personal stakes to the show, regardless of whether the venue is free and we’re in front of mostly our friends, they’re going to push themselves to perform at the top of their games.
If you perform once a week, and get notes after every show, then I’d buy the argument that you don’t need an additional practice if you are in maintenance mode. If you’d just doing the same show week to week and not learning anything new, that is a reasonable way to operate.
If you want your group to try something new, you must practice. If you have any respect for your audience, you won’t charge them money to watch you try to figure out how to do an Eventé for the first time. Even if everybody in your group knows the form, until you’ve performed it together at least once, you don’t know how to perform it together at all.
Also though, we need to do a better job of reaching outside of the improv community to grow our audiences for these independent shows. Performing for other improvisers is fun, but it starts to feel like we’re a bunch of kids putting on plays in our parents’ living room. Makes it both harder and more important to feel those personal stakes.
Agreed. I printed 500 cards to promote Fat Penguin’s USM show. I’m honestly not 100% sure what I should be doing with them.
Fact is, no indie team gets notes after performing (correct me if I’m wrong). I really don’t think doing shows, even if you take it seriously (difficult to do with the let’s-fuck-around atmosphere at a lot of these shows), can really work as practice. No exercises, personal or otherwise. A audience that will be a lot easier on you than a coach ever would be and likely will reward you for quick-laugh moves. I’m concerned that no-practice groups, fuck-around shows, etc. could possibly lead to a feedback loop in which the bar is continually lowered as far as what “good improv” is.
I feel The Creek is a mixed blessing that way. While it’s cool that more shows are happening, there’s also literally no stakes, as no money is involved on either side (audience or those running the show). Don’t get me wrong, I love The Creek. It’s nearby for me, it’s fun, and my friends are always there. But golly, does it EVER feel like there’s any consequences for a bad show? No angry audience for paying for that, no having to pay for low attendance.
Brett’s tumblarity has to be out of control right now.
