Earth, Wind, and Fire (and Water)

Odd way to start off a post, right?


I guess you are thinking, "Hm, what does a funk band from 1969 and a bucket of H₂O have to do with improv?"


Well, since I'm basically reading your mind (By the way, you should be ashamed of yourself), here's the simple answer; Like the classic idea of four elements making up the world and everything in it, improv also has for elements which are crucial to it's existence.


Those four elements are:

• Truth (Fire): "God offers to every mind its choice between truth and repose.  Take which you please - you can never have both. " Truth is the first of the elements of improv. But what does it mean? It means that the story happening between to actors is real. If one of the actors denies that truth, then what are they really doing? Truth in improv is like a fire; you just enough light to show what your doing. Too much reveals the actors portraying characters. Too little leaves the audience confused. And if it is ignored, you burn the whole theatre down.

• Trust (Earth): I have a question; Do you wake up and doubt the the ground under you will hold? If you don't live in Japan, then I guess your answer would be no. Trust is key in improv. While on stage, your fellow actors trust that you will go along with what they say, and if they blank, you can help them out of their rut. If trust doesn't exist between the actors, then there is no scene, nor humor. Any laughs you get are going to directed at you, not the character.  

• Spontaneity (Wind): What has been one of the things constantly repeated in this  blog? I'll give you a hint; IMPROV IS NOT PLANNED OUT. Enter spontaneity. Your mind is full of creative, funny ideas. Don't plan what you are going to say. Let it just come to you at the moment, and the scene will fly. You never know where the wind will blow you, or how fast you will get there.

• Communication (Water): This includes stage presence, vocalization, acting ability, and probably most important, observation. Communication is key to improv. Even the most basic improv scene requires two actors on stage. The scene created between them should be able to flow, like a stream. One actor should be able to listen and react, and same goes for the other actor. However, if communication is broken—or even worse, ignored—then that is like a dam, or a giant boulder being thrown in front of a river. It stops the flow. It makes the scene turn from something dynamic, into a swamp.

Huh, that actually worked out better than I planned.

So, to end...

"See what imagination can do,

It's not hard to conceive
Love Ecstasy Imagining you, imagining me
The beauty we both can see"