Well its kind of like this.. but not really.. yes.. no.. erm.. sorry.

On Tuesday I lead my first Improvisation workshop at school. In the past I have only lead workshops for 12-18 year olds so this was a first. I sat up on Monday night trying to re-write my exercises for participants my age and older. However two glasses of wine and ten minutes into the task I fell fast asleep, out cold, gone. Woke up Tuesday morning rather panicked and when the bus was late (due to a school boy being sick on the upper level) I ended up running to school in a right fluster. I still managed to get to school on time (just) and after all that worrying the workshop actually went quite well. I think the class really understood what I was trying to achieve and overall it was very light hearted and comic. The improvisation style that I am interested in is all based around your own personal experiences. Not to hide behind a character and a stereotype as people often do. The youth group I taught last year was a perfect example of this. In every improvisation they would play a postman or a teacher, usually one would have an affair or give birth and that was that. I tried to encourage them to find truth in their improvisations, what would they personally do in a given situation or space. Once they came round to this idea I could see it starting to excite them, they felt ownership over the work as it was completely personal to them and their life. They liked the fact that their unique story was happening at a unique time and place and would never be repeated exactly the same again. Back to Tuesdays workshop... The class gave me feedback on my exercises. They all had lots of lovely positive things to say and I felt quite pleased.. My main criticism was that I overly explained myself.. Couldn't quite articulate what I wanted and as a consequence 'vomited instructions'. Something to work on. Which brings me back to a memory from the youth club when one day one of the girls said "Howay Miss.. Can we just do it" (in a Geordie accent).