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Andy does welcome all
questions and will answer whatever he can thoughtfully and
respectfully. Write him at improvandy@improvreview.com.
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Dear Improv Andy-
Our group draws audience-written suggestions from a box. Occasionally, the
suggestions are so blue and disquieting that we feel the rest of the audience wouldn't enjoy hearing them or seeing scenes based on them. We
don't want to publicly reject the suggestions and make the audience think we
pick and choose, but is it right to use an audience-given suggestion we have
seen before? -Squeamish, New York, NY
Dear Squeamish-
Now you ask me to determine right and wrong? Oh, Andy, remember that you're
just the quintessential improv guru, not an improv god.
I have answered similar questions before, and my position is no different
here. Because it sounds like you're playing games (as opposed to a single
long-form), I will broach your answer from that angle. The point of getting
audience suggestions is not to prove that we are making it up, but instead
to inspire us, hoping that this new fodder will trip something in our brains
that wasn't previously tripped, and is thus original and interesting.
When we get a suggestion that we find offensive, or we think the other members of the audience will find offensive, it is not only our right, but
our duty to throw it away and pick another one. Feel free to publicly
discard them. (We have an obligation not only to entertain, but educate our
audience as well.) You may also take that opportunity to mention to the
audience that you find that sort of humor distasteful, and will not perform
scenes based on it. Your obligation is to perform a show worth watching,
not to prove you're making it up by accepting everything the audience decrees as gospel.
There is no bible and no true dogma, so right and wrong falls into the hands
of the group performing.
Dear Improv Andy,
I'm a fat guy. As a result, I get all the fat guy jokes. If an opera singer is needed, I'm it. Now while I think anything I bring on stage,
including my girth, is fair game, my fellow players are turning me into a
one-dimensional actor. With the encouragement of my director, no less.
When I try to turn a fat joke around and play for something beyond the obvious, it distresses the other players and I get a note from the director
that I'm not agreeing. (They're all thin.) Short of quitting, what do I
do? -Fat Guy, Boulder, Colorado
Dear Fat Guy-
Trust is a decision, but with that decision comes a responsibility. That
responsibility is to yourself as well as to others. Therefore, you should
probably take a few minutes out of rehearsal to mention that you're not keen
on fat jokes, that you can play a thin guy from time to time, and that your
weight does not always need to be a component of your character. Ask your
colleagues to respect your wishes the same way they would want you to respect theirs if they had to perform with their arm in a cast and asked the
group to be careful of their arm.
On your end, you might want to take this opportunity to ask the group to
help you "play thin." As we all want to fully explore all types of characters, remember that a big part of that is your character's carriage:
how they carry themselves and distribute their weight. Even a large person
can observe and duplicate the manner in which a skinny person walks, moves
and holds himself or herself up. The same way a bald guy might ape a full
head of hair for the purpose of a scene. Once these traits are mastered, it
will be easier for you teammates to discern when you are playing thin, fat,
short, tall, male, female, etc.
While you might say that anything you bring to the scene is "fair game,"
please take into consideration that once you are in the scene, it is more
important for you and your fellow players to play off of what your character
is bringing to the scene. And you are all doing your show a great disservice if you are not.
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To
pose a query to Andy, please e-mail him at improvandy@improvreview.com.
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