Thoughts from this week of Monologue Workshopping

It is hard to put your work out there, and it is also hard to find things (positive and constructive as well as critical and constructive) to say as feedback to someone who shares in front of the class.

This week, we have begun that process in earnest and are off to a good start. Remember that you may have your own preferences and style of delivery, but it's always worth it to try out someone else's suggestion...just to see how it goes, even if you just end up reaffirming your original choice.

There is a game that we will play next week that helps practice taking someone else's ideas and running with them:

"Yes, And..." (taken from 101 Drama Games and Activities by David Farmer -- www.dramaresource.com)

One person begins by making an “offer” (putting forward an idea) and the partner replies with a sentence that begins "Yes, and…". Try not to block your partner’s ideas, which can so often happen in improvisation. Instead, try and build on each other's suggestions. 

Example:

A: It's raining

B: Yes, and I've got a large umbrella

A: Let’s shelter under it

B: Yes, and the wind is blowing us into the air

A: We are flying over the sea

B: Yes, and we have landed on an island…

And so on. It can be a very liberating game, especially as we don’t often get the chance to say “yes” to everything! Participants should avoid trying to push their own idea at the expense of their partner's. Use the space as much as possible.  The literal “Yes” can be dropped completely as soon as acceptance of each others’ ideas begins to become more automatic.

Looking forward to next week! Until then, I leave you with this image: