Honesty in Character Creation & Improv Jams - #58
Newsletter #58: Develop some realistic characters by examining honesty in their creation and reactions
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*virtual fist bump*
On that note. Loneliness sure is a thing. Oof. And is true these days for so many human beings.
If your improv group or community decides to get off social media, or something similar, I totally understand why. Believe me. It’s chaotic!
If you drop your online as a group/community/etc, one small consideration to make is to check in if any humans connected to online is relying on virtual connection. Maybe you haven’t seen them for awhile, but they’re commenting or checking in or following you there. Sometimes quietly.
If so, see if offering a non-social-media option to connect is possible (say, discord or other private community option, newsletter, email/chat group, etc). Nowadays there are so many easy and affordable or free options to set these things up. It’s inclusive and just… a decent thing to do, if you can. Check in! Especially the ones without in-person access to the community, because it can truly heighten the importance of even the smallest interaction.
In this week's newsletter you will find:
One thing to try: Connecting to yourself for honest characters
A comedy animation with improv in it about mental health stuff
Improv jams and livestreams and shows and resources you can find online
One Thing to Think About: Honesty and Character Creation
Who you really are impacts your improv. How can it not? Improv, regardless of style/form/region, involves connecting with other people… and with yourself to enable that connection. After all, you connect with yourself in some way in order to understand how you connect with others. And that ends up in your characters and personas no matter what.
Heck, I learnt about neurodivergent reactions I had through improv, and that’s can be a bit of a mindf*ck sometimes.
“Not everyone does that thing?” WHAT?!
“So… my verbatim childhood story from lived experience is not grounded enough to believe.” Huh… interesting!
Anyway.
Connecting with yourself in improv scenes, understanding yourself, in some way, leads to honesty. Truth. And being truthful and honest in a scene often leads to a better performance. You can use it to ground a wild character or wild scene. But what are some ways to practice this?
Figuring out who we really are is a lifelong project for many!
So this week’s solo improv practice is maybe part journalling project, but you’ll still get to practice some solo improv. And thinking about these elements of your practice could help elevate, and ground, a future scene.
Create a character and do that character
Most of our characters have some “real” humanity in them, even if you are playing someone fantastical, misguided, or a talking carton of oat milk. We still answer that “why are they doing this” through our actions in a scene. This helps humanize the action… at least a bit… for the audience.
Humanizing and making “it real” isn’t only for dramatic or narrative. I’d say this is even more important to practice if you are doing silly comedy because it helps ground every scene. It lets you heighten to even MORE-wild as a result!
So with that in mind:
Drop into a character — even if you are by yourself. Think as your character while you are doing an activity. Cleaning the house, or starting your seedlings in the greenhouse.
Once you have a good idea of who this person is, talk to yourself as this character.
Make observations as this person
Storytell as them…. explain some things that happened in the past, good or “bad”, and justify why they reacted that way.
Now lets analyze what you did
Ask yourself some, or all, of these questions. They can reveal a bit about how honesty is revealing itself in your “scene”.
When you justified your character’s actions and reactions, where did they come from? You and something you felt? Or something you saw/read/thought up?
What has your character learnt from these events in their life? Did if affect any of the other events you story… told?
How do you feel you (the real you!) would connect with that character you created? How would they (you!) respond to what you said?
Now, notice:
How did these stories and explanations connect to your own truth?
What was based on some element of truth, and what wasn’t - and check in about what you liked or disliked.
What are some growth opportunities connecting truthfully with your characters? What could you practice?
And if you don’t want to monologue to yourself while preparing dinner or whatever, ask these questions after a show or something.
Connecting you as a human to your character can help improve your practice and in turn help you relate with the audience. You don’t need to reveal the whole story in a scene of course, but it helps inform realistic reactions when you know who your character is.
Practicing just noticing how we use our own story in our character development can help your audience relate to that character. Even if they are the “very unusual one” or “a squirrel” in a scene.
And the best thing here? No notes. And no wrong answers.
Oh by the way, when you live on a farm out on an island, talking to yourself is such a natural thing. Join me. DO IT! It’s fun. Or so I tell myself, by myself. :)
And if you are interested in the neurodivergent side of comedy, subscribe to my other newsletter here. Neurodivergent representation in writing and shows, and maybe get in a show yourself in super low effort ways? Subscribe to StereoForest (also free).
Improv resources, podcasts & shows
Some new improv and comedy things to check out this week from the online space. Everything is free and accessible to you, right now!
Show: Episode 3 of the animated version of (the semi-improvised) Unf*ck Your Life comedy audio drama that explores mental health themes in a lighthearted way. [YouTube]
I’m doing a show about sauce. Shocking, but it’s improvised. Because this is what you do when you live out in a forest. Do you have any sauce requests? God help me if I get asked about a condiment.
Improv Jams, Events, & Livestreams
These are a fun way to get in reps, have fun, and meet new friends! They are online and free, so no matter where you are, you can attend. And at the end of this section is a button you should use to send in your stuff to me (hi - I’m Jen).
Online Improv Jams
Check out these great online improv jams from the community! These jams are organized by their respective hosts, so please contact them with any questions. Click the links provided to find out more information about each jam and sign up!
January 24th 5pm PT - Improv Jam with Jenice [Register]
February 7th 11am PT - Improv Jam with Keri [Register]
February 7th 5pm PT - Improv Jam with Jenice [Register]
Contact Jenice here on Whatsapp
Ongoing Community Jams
Audio Online Improv Jams: Mondays 4-6pm PT and Saturdays 2pm-4pm PT on oozebear.com . Open to all!
Improv & Comedy Livestreams
Comedy Livestreams that I think look pretty cool that happen to be coming up soon or available right now (no affiliation):
Perpetually avail recent show: Holy Shit Improv with Lauren Lapkus, Echo Kellum , Andrew Dismukes, Carl Tart, Ben Marshall & Casey Feigh️️️️️ [Livestream Link]
Jan 20-27: The Armando [Livestream Link]
Feb 3: Connor Ratliff presents The Acting Class [Livestream Link]
Do you have a stage show that’s livestreamed and want it added? Or a FREE jam or workshop I should add? Reach out or comment on the website for the next newsletter (every two weeks).
Fact or Word of the Week
As per usual, here's yet another fact or word of the week…. this week we have a word. Heck yeah, WORDS RULE!
Word: Nudiustertian. It means the day before yesterday. Latin nudius tertius means today is the third day.
Do you have a cool fact or word I should add to this section? I know you do. Let us know in the comments for this post! (Click the button above or below)
A real human wrote this. Not AI! And a real human makes these following things too. It’s getting more and more difficult to find real human creations online, so I’ll help you access some more things that are. Check these real human made things below!
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Warmest regards and solid salutations from my cold and damp forest domicile,
Sauce person,
Jen deHaan
ImprovUpdate.com | NeurodiversityImprov.com | StereoForest.com
BONUS SONG SHARE: Now What? Connor Price
Hey… I haven’t heard about any songs — what do you like? ARE YOU READING THIS?
Holy crap. hi. Tim bit or donut hole?
That's a fun and helpful idea for connecting to a character. It would be interesting for people without background on thinking about (or developing) "character" to hear a few examples. Like, do they have to be exaggerated? What is the line between a (truly) regular person you work with and a "character"? Am I already a character as I am? And when you try it on your own in the exercise you suggest, how do you even know if you are doing a "good job"? No pressure to answer these questions - but they popped in my mind. :)