11th
Wednesdays with Kirsten: Pointing Fingers.
Sometimes you leave an improv scene and think… ”Where the hell did that audience come from… a graveyard?” or “Could my scene partner have been a bigger boob? No!”
Sometimes an improv scene you do sucks the big one! And you really feel like it couldn’t possibly have been your fault. There you were, saying yes, and yes and, and endowing and justifying.. and then “so and so” just poo-pooed the whole scene away, or the audience was deader than that mouse that dried up on the trap weeks ago. (gross)
Well, in these moments, I challenge you to not point fingers. Just as your mother taught you when you were young, “Don’t point fingers” and “Don’t be a tattle-tale.”
Look to your own work. How could you have supported your scene partner more? Or inspired them more? How could you have charmed the audience, or slowed down the story to include them more? There is always more you can do and learn as a performer, and let it be a journey about yourself. It is not, though it often feels like it, a competition between others. It is a journey for yourself.
A journey that consists of this process. Yesterday I made this choice, what choice will I make today?
This also applies on and off stage. No one has control of your actions and choices but you. No one has control of your growth or stagnancy but you. If you choose to continue learning and growing then every time you step on stage you will be learning something. Even if it’s just as simple as… the audience doesn’t like it when I kill kittens.
Don’t point fingers, just look into your own work. And strive for betterment in your work. And know that if you work this way, you will always find people wanting to work with you, and supporting your journey.
So next time your scene blows chunks. Don’t point fingers. And just ask yourself… what choices did I make in that scene? And what choices will I make tomorrow. A shit scene is not the end of the day, but it is an opportunity to learn.
Happy Wednesday.
