14th
Guest Writer: RobYn Slade (Winnipeg)
RobYn Slade is an improviser, a writer, and a performer (the script-remembering kind) from Winnipeg, Manitoba. She performs with Outisde Joke and the Dungeons & Dragons Improv Show, teaches improvisation at Prairie Theatre Exchange, and works with the Manitoba Improv League. RobYn loves improv. And grilled cheese sandwiches.
First of all, let me say, it is a thrill to be sharing this on the Montreal Improv blog. It’s like a one-stop shop for learning and laughing. So here we go!
I love improv. I love everything about it. But the thing I love most about improv is holding the key to playing any character I’ve ever dreamed of playing in my hot, sweaty little hands. If you’re a television or film actor, there are only so many characters you will ever be cast to play, and it’s entirely dependent on your height, weight, voice, and gender. You can throw on a wig and play a character with a different hair colour, or glue some putty to your face and play an older character, but that’s about it. As a stage actor, there’s a bit more freedom. Suspension of disbelief, right? An audience watching live theatre will forgive the obvious fat suit, AND the almost-Irish accent, AND the 45 year old playing a character who is in their mid-twenties. An improviser has the ultimate range: any character, any age, any ethnicity, anytime. What freedom!
There are incredible improvisers out there who are able to ground themselves in realism or story alone, and I am baffled and delighted by those who can. My brain doesn’t work that way. I find that when I lose my character, I lose everything; all of the fine details of the story disintegrate and I panic. If I ground myself in my characters, I am able to really give myself to the story because no matter what path it takes, I know who am I am. I’m talking minor and major characters alike – knowing who I am makes it clear where I fit into the story so I can spend the rest of the time focusing on supporting my fellow imp-bro-visers.
With that said, here are a few fun tips on making your characters interesting and loveable. (This goes for hate-able ones, too.)
- Make a physical choice. Maybe they’re always fiddling with the seam of their shirt. Maybe they always stand with one shoulder slumped seductively. It’s easy to stay in character when you have a physicality to fall back on. Your physical choice will also inform your character’s choices! A seductively slumped shoulder could inhibit a doctor performing surgery, but might win a president more votes during a campaign speech. Just try it. Slump your shoulder. Now make it seductive. Now you’re a bank teller who convinced a robber to leave without taking any loot, thanks to slumping your shoulder seductively. I win.
- Care. A funny voice will certainly grab the attention of the audience, but they’ll lose interest once they see that the funny voice is all your character has going for them. Your character has to care about what’s happening around them. You’ve got two options: care deeply about the current situation, or yearn desperately to change it. If there’s nothing to care about, there’s no story, and if there’s no story, your audience just paid $5 to breathe the same air as you for 45 minutes. And that’s pretty conceited.
- Be adventurous. Time for another interactive tip. Make a list of characters you’d love to play – A Kindly Mechanic, A Scottish Professor – be specific and write until your hand hurts. Talk openly with the improvisers you perform with about wanting to explore new characters. Make goals. Be open and playful.
YOU created them, so have fun with them.
xo.
Previous guests: Ian Parizot, Rachel Klein, Dave Morris, From the old blog
