July 24, 2002
Quick-witted workshop
Second City improv sessions held on stage at State Theater
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
With grunts, growls and gestures, members of a Second City Touring Company improv workshop let it rip Monday morning on the State Theater stage.
During a three-hour workshop on the basics of setting a scene in improv, the 16 students played games such as "Zip, Zap, Zop" and "Ach, So, Co." They also created a short solo piece and a two-person, three-line scene.
The class began with exercises to help students overcome their self-consciousness at being on stage and performing in front of others. These games are also designed to help people think on their feet.
"Be confident, if you mess up be confident in your choices," exhorted Kiff VandenHeuvel, the leader of the class and a member of the Second City Touring Company for four years. "We're just pointing at each other and making sounds, there are no lives at stake here."
In town for a week of performing at the State Theater, members of the Second City troupe also conducted two introductory to improv seminars last week. This week's workshop features a five-session course that culminates with an improv show presented by the students on Friday. Topics covered during the week include setting the scene, building character, using literary and theatrical references and political and social commentary.
For Will Arnold, 13, the week is a chance to hone his craft on stage - on of his favorite places to be. Arnold just completed a month-long session on improv at a summer camp at the Interlochen Arts Academy. Taking this class with two of his buddies, Arnold is in his element.
"The most enjoyable part of improv is the stuff people come up with off the top of their head," Arnold said. "After a while you get comfortable with improv - you just have to learn to trust your impulses."
Monday's class also had the students creating short skits, which VandenHeuvel used to teach the basics of setting up who, what and where. He also taught students about the rule of three, a standard comic tool that means something done three times is funny. Students also practiced creating situations with conflict and humor, using gestures to communicate information and working with objects.
Timing on stage is key, as the novice improv actor often tends to rush when portraying something. VandenHeuvel coached students to do things in real time, not to speed up their work with objects. For example, if they were mimicking pouring a glass of milk, do it at the speed it would really take.
This was a difficult task for some students.
"The most challenging thing was the part where we had to act things out because it was hard to imagine the shape and size of the object in space," said Justin Rivard, 13, of Traverse City.
VandenHeuvel said that in improv, getting into the zone is crucial. Professionals do this by letting ideas flow and listening closely to what the rest of the cast is doing. They also learn to harness and convey emotions to enhance the comedy.
"You need to commit 110 percent, the more you commit the more the audience will believe," he told the students. "Add emotional content because that makes it funnier. That's what comedy is, a shared emotional experience."
VandenHeuvel has been working in improv for 14 years and paid his dues for years doing shows in schools and commercials and voice-overs before getting tapped for Second City. He has seen improv become increasingly popular nationwide because of the television show "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" This show has spread the word about the genre, which he said is technically not just comedy.
"Improv is theater and the games they play on that show are games to teach about acting," he said. "We could get up there and do a two-act serious play."
VandenHeuvel said doing improv does not require someone to be a genius, just a great listener. He compared improv to martial arts for the mind and said that part of the training is to realize that bits will fail - about 90 percent of the time.
"You have to live in the moment," he said. "It is lifelong training because improv teaches you how to listen and react. It is very mental, like golf."