Looking and Seeing

I have been teaching a beginners 50 years and older improv class which is so enlightening for me as a seasoned improviser of about 15 years and yes, older than 50 years of age. I am soon I will be teaching a group of all ages improv about using our five senses in improv online or as I refer to it, Zoomprov. As I have been planning this class, I realize it could be a series of classes. And as I teach these newbies in a drop-in live class, there is overlap, of course.

While teaching my new improvisers the make-believe art of improv acting, I’ve come to notice that it is not easy for some players to look the other players in the eye. It has caused me to want to start with an exercise where they line up, one player facing another and simply staring at the other in the eyes for a whole minute, then look at a make-believe object in their hand then stare at the other for 30 seconds and so on and then switch partners and do it again. This would not really be possible in the same way online due to the question of staring into the camera is not the same as looking at someone in the eye.

When my son was a young boy and now is the captain of a sailing experiential sailing ship, he came home after a week on the vessel and told me that his captain told them they should hold out their hand and look the other passenger in the eye as they boarded. Not only is it a considerate move it is a companionable, reassuring message and gesture. With improv, we try to support our fellow players and if we don’t look them in the eye, we are not assuring them that we are listening and supporting them as our scene partner.

 Also, when we do object work, it helps to really see (in your mind's eye) that object. Using the other senses for making that object real to you, helps as well. The same applies to the space you are meant to be in. Seeing all the things you are imagining makes the scene more real for your fellow players, as well, as the audience when performing.

I guess I need to explain it that way.

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