Sometimes Gael and I are can read each other’s mind. As the students are doing the exercise I look over to him from across the room. In a short moment of eye contact I know he is thinking the exact same thing as I am.
“They just get it.“
Last week we were in Victoria, Canada to visit our improv friends there. Dave and Missie run Paper Street Theater with which they explore improvisation that feels like theater: a super inspiring company and couple. Well worth a visit on our tour.
In Victoria we had lovely 5 days of hanging out, talking improv, playing with toddler Milo, working on their kitchen table, playing a cool show and eating Thanksgiving dinner. Before we left, Dave took us to Salt Spring Island to teach a workshop to high school students.
“They’re good. They get it”, he told us.
The banners on the wall showed: 1st place at Canadian Improv Games 2017, 2nd place at Canadian Improv Games 2018, 1st place at Canadian Improv Games 2019. Quite the track record.
Their fame didn’t show in the workshop: these six teenagers were very open to learn and attacked our physical exercises with full force. In one of the more challenging exercises about positions, their stage pictures were all very strong. To us, that is unusual. Gael and I developed that exercise to compare different stage pictures. By making many, we see which ones work and which ones work less.
But there was no comparing. They were all interesting and strong.
Frustrating? Maybe.
My 15-year-old-self wishes she was as experienced as these kids are today. However my 35-year old trainer gets very excited about opportunities to geek out about staging. Exploring possibilities of eye contact, timing, status, diagonals and silences with a bunch of talents, regardless their age.
Because when you just get it, you get it.
