Every year, when I start the workshop season after summer and see new people at te workshops, I can’t help to see the patterns, that we have in our brains. Especially, when it comes to using your body, even in this basic game of Freeze. Of course, when you are just starting your improv adventure, every scene is new and exciting. And in some time you start to dig dipper than your first thought.

So, I can bet, that especially in Freeze played by beginners, you will find those 5 scenes – obviously, everybody needs to play them at least once in a lifetime:

1. Do what I do.

Doing things together is fun! And when make other person do something, oh man, we have the power and cotrol over the scene. Our partner is listening to us and do what we say. Oh, but there is no thought attached to this “doing” thing, so we get bored after 5 seconds.  So usually one of the players break the thing, saying something like “I don’t want to do it anymore”, “I can’t”, or whatever stopper they can find.

a) And with me, one, two, three, step touch, move, that fat won’t burn itself!

b) One, two… your step… we’ll never win this dance copetition if you don’t pay attention!

c) Hey, you’re destroying our choreography, Britney is already on stage!

d) Breathe in, and breathe out. And now welcome the sun.

2. The Artist and the model.

It doesn’t matter in what pose the other person is, we can always make her our model! And start painting, photographing, sculpting her. Or, when we panic and have no idea, we can always freeze and be a model, right?

a) How long do I have to stay in this position? My arm hurts.

b) You are posing great, more sexapeal and we’ll have the cover!

c) Do you think it’s a good idea for me to keep my legs in this position?

d) I’ll make you a star, just pose.

 

3. Sport.

Here, again, we have two options – be in one team with our partner and do something together, or make him a higher/lower status and make him our trainer/player. And when you look closer – every position can be sculpted into sport figure, even when it’s curling, or darts.

a) Jump, Adam! (Adam Małysz, Polish ski jumper)

b) You can do it boy, concentrate, you will knock him out!

c) You’ll never get me, I’m faster, the medal is mine!

d) The Olympics in one week, how do you feel?

 

4. Concert / a rehearsal.

Together again. We are hitting the instruments (no, not playing), and we’ll get bored in 7 secons, so we’ll stop and say something about problems with a concert. And we never see the start of this concert, because we were focused on “who’s fault is that” and “where is my guitar”.

a) I’ve lost my voice! I can’t sing!

b) Nobody came.

c) Something sounds bad. Michael, learn how to play!

d) We are starting in 5 minutes and we don’t have instruments!

 

5. What are you doing?

My favourite escape from any situation. On one hand, I don’t tolerate it in classes, on the other hand it touches my heart. Sometimes your head is empty. It can happen to anyone. There are two easiest ways out. One – trusting your partner, working both ways – you can be sure, that he will save you no matter what, and he knows, he can iniciate anything and you will follow. And the second – you can be totally charming, and openly lost. The audience loves mistakes, when they are honest. The audience doesn’t like being fake, and pretending.

a) What are you doing?

b) What are you hiding there?

c) You want to tell me something?

d) What have you done?

 

When it happens to you, and you play one of those scenes – don’t blame yourself. Have fun. And next time try to dig a little deeper. Take a risk. Don’t be clever. Don’t try to be original. Use any simple idea, or activity. Just throw away the first one, and take the second. And if it doesn’t work – in the end you will feel better anyway, because you risked and tryied something new. Anyway, every of the starting sentences above can transform into action like from Tarantino movies, when you put ideas into those activities. And we won’t have to worry, what to do, when playing drums bores us.

As said one of my film directing professors – “it’s not the heart surgery, we can make mistakes”.

What are yours cliché scenes?