It’s almost time to experiment.  It will probably be a typical Wednesday thing–Weird Wednesdays.  That’s tomorrow.  (Duh.) Segments are what to aim for now, yes, so I probably don’t have to put pressure on myself updating every day.  It gets tedious sometimes, but–often times than not–you just gotta.  Believe it or not, I have priorities.

This past Sunday in improv class (through the Syracuse Improv Collective), the past two classes were reviewed/summarized/ covered by Steve due to two peers being unable to attend and the attendance of another collectivist, who missed the first two sessions.  Steve, in these seven weeks, is covering and passing along what he learned through The Annoyance Theater in Chicago.

Nothing against New York City, because there is a distinguished improv scene there, bringing attention to the new associates from The PIT met on my last trip in June.  That was a wicked fun weekend, and my recollections can be found here:

The Queens Quadruple

Part 1 (Arrival) / Part 2 (Introductions) / Part 3 (Chicks, man) / Part 4 (The Last Round)

Reviewing these has only made me even more excited for the trip to Brooklyn in December.  I’m nervous, because I need to focus on looking for jobs, and they can be a couple part time jobs.  This feels as if I am starting my life over, kicking my self-esteem in the sense this should have been tried seven years ago, but there is no regret.  I’ve held four jobs since I have been able to work, half of which were part-tiime jobs.  Each of these jobs show longevity in the sense I have worked for the companies more than two years each.  I’ve travelled abroad, which is very important to me; aside some people telling me that I blew time and money doing so, and I just want to give those people the finger because they’re probably reacting out of jealousy.  Despite my disapproving of my time spent after college, there are bursts of hope for my coming around to accepting the fact that I’ve been living.

Where the hell was I?  Oh, improv…

We’ve been working on emotions, expressions, and exaggerations–the essentials when it comes time to performing on stage, consistency, upping the ante, and just committing to your role.  The past couple Sundays have been filled with ridiculousness, breaking decibel levels with laughing, yelling, screaming, howling, sounds, and cartoonish antics.  There has been a lot of screaming actually, and I hope that people have been wondering what the hell we’re doing.  The classes and exercises will help me gain confidence in being comfortable to perform like this:

…because I want people to react…

This week Steve incorporated the Alexander technique, which focuses on strengthening performance abilities.  I’m not going to get into too much detail about it, but it focuses on posture and breathing and awareness.  The breathing portion allows you to practice and focus on using your diaphragm more than straining your vocal chords.

We covered degrees of emotion, portraying emotional concepts (joy, fear, sadness, anger,

This personal awareness can be help when you consider certain health issues, but I’m not going to get into this since there is no medical expertise in my background.  However, the breathing and the awareness going along really well with meditation practices.  Feeling at ease while we were participating in this activity was reassuring, and it was easy to commit and stay with the character development.

When you exercise, you have to push yourself.  You have to exhaust yourself when striving for intensity to build endurance or strength.  After a workout, feeling tired strained is so good.  If you don’t feel uncomfortable–in my opinion–when doing these exercises, you’re not doing it right.  Just because you don’t like something it doesn’t mean you stop.  Pausing a scene kills the opportunity to build on levels; it feels like a rug being pulled from beneath you.  Whether it’s a practice or a show, the point is to see things through.

Like everything in life:  commit or stop.  Lingering is not feeling something out or seeing how something unfolds.  If it isn’t working out for you, and you’re making yourself miserable, taking your frustration out on others… just bail.  You’re not giving up, you’re just accepting that something is not for you when staying.  Misery is blatant, and it brings everyone else around you down.  You have an agenda, so see to it.

I’m just babbling.  Amidst of nothing happening there is so much happening, and my head feels like it’s been consistently hitting a wall.

Our next show is November 29th at the Central New York Playhouse, which is located in Shoppingtown Mall (8 PM / $5).