Cool title don't you think. I do and wish I could take credit for the phrase, but I can't. It was a phrase quoted to me, by an instructor by the name of Kerry Griffin, who was one of my teachers at The Second City Training Centre. That's right, I'm an improv enthusiast and I don't care who knows it.
All of us in the entertainment business are going to experience a lull in their career at some point or another. No matter if you're the third chorus girl from the left, or the handsome leading man whom everyone falls in love with, we're all going to have down time. It's what you do with that down time that matters.
After a great run of The Sound of Music, I had another great run of teaching workshops, television commercials, and choreographing for Theatre Sheridan, among other things. I was busy and I was loving it! Now quite often, right after a really busy period, a slow period has a way of rearing it's ugly head. That's exactly what happened to me. I was still working, but not at the pace I was used to or that I liked. Recognizing this I thought, what can I do to make use of this time? Well given my experience with the Resident Director of Billy Elliot, I felt that now would be a good time to take some improv. For years I had wanted to take a course at Second City and I thought, there's no better time than the present. I had always been a big fan of many Second City Alumni such as Gilda Radner, Andrea Martin, Martin Short,(who I happened to do a commercial with), and many others. I also felt that the training I would recieve at Second City would help me a lot in commercial auditions.
Now before I go on, I am of the opinion that dancers are control freaks, and with good reason, we have to be. We need to be in control of our facility and of the movement. We must never let the movement over take us. If it does, we're not executing it from a grounded, centered place. However, having said that, it's only when we trust that the technique is there for us, can we truly be engaged in our story telling through movement. In other words, don't show me your technique, show me what makes you special and tell your story. Trust that all the work you have done up until the point of performance is there for you so you can feel free to immerse yourself in character.
When I entered The Second City, I had the option of taking Improv For Actors or a Level A beginner class. I decided to start right at the bottom level and had made a conscious decision to not let anyone know that I was in theatre. For me this was a no brainer, I wanted the luxury of being a beginner again and I didn't want to feel the pressure of people thinking I should be better than what I was. On the other side of the coin, I didn't want my classmates to feel intimidated by having a professional actor in the room. Although I have been in the business for years, I hadn't done any improv since my grade eight drama class. I was a novice, and wore that label with pride. I was there to learn, to take risks, and to grow as an artist. In level A the exercises we would do for the most part were the foundation skills of improv. We learned about the famous "Yes And" that Tina Fey talks about in her book Bossy Pants, and about not blocking the offers our scene partner would present to us. "Every offer is a gift" our teachers would tell us, and if my scene partner came in and said "Hi Dad, why are you having an affair with my math teacher?' I have to accept the fact that I've been endowed by my scene partner as their Dad and apparently am having an affair with my their math teacher, whom if I chose, I could "Yes And" that offer and make that math teacher a male hermaphrodite from Brazil, if I chose to. So, I'm accepting the offer and adding to it. That's one of the things that makes improv exciting. You learn to really listen and to not judge. At the end of every class I felt exilerated. I was loving all the new things I was discovering and all the really gifted people, from all walks of life, that I was working with. Many of whom I can now call my friends. Now of course being a dancer, my controlling nature would often rear it's ugly head. I was the one who always wanted to steer whatever scene we were doing in the direction that I wanted to go. At the beginning, I was always trying to "write the scene." Well, improv is collaborative, it's never a one man show. You never know what's going to happen and rarely is it what you think. The more I did, the more I wanted to do. I had become an "Improv Junkie." For my whole time at Second City, many of my classmates kept up with it as well, and we moved on to the different levels together. Each level presented new and exciting challenges and I learned much from my success in class, but even more from my failures. As a class, we felt our Level C show was wonderful and that we were well prepared and right in the pocket. In our Level D show, we felt that we were mediocre at best. That's the thing about improv...nothing's a guarantee and you never know how something's going to pan out. I had gone all the way through to Level E which would finish with a show on The Second City Mainstage. Although I had been on huge stages throughout the country as well as the U.S.A, this was one of the most exilerating performances I have ever had the pleasure of being a part of. Why...because I "Jumped up and found out what happened on the way down!" I was completely in the moment because really, there's no choice. In improv every scene you do is motivated by a suggestion from the audience. So you take the suggestion and you run with it. Coming from Musical Theatre, I excelled in a scene called "Sounds Like A Song." In this scene, whomever is hosting the scene can shout out "Sounds Like A Song" and based on the very last sentence you said to your scene partner, the musical director then starts to play a musical style and basically you listen in, ground yourself, and sing. You sing a song that's totally off the cuff, in a style that your musical director picks for you. I love this scene and did this in my Level E show. The great thing about this, there's no time to get nervous.
For the most part, I had always been nervous singing in auditions. I can't recall a dance audition where I was nervous, but for whatever reason, the singing call would always be a challenge. Sometimes I'd do really well, and sometimes my nerves would get the better of me. It was always a hit or miss situation. Now, being a dancer first, I know I'm not alone in this. I know many dancers who feel the same way. In the past couple of weeks I've had two auditions, and subsequently, two call backs. Now to be honest, the dancing went well and I expect it to go well. It's never perfect, but that's my comfort zone and that's where I excell. For both auditions I had to sing and for the callbacks, I had to sing and do sides from the show I was auditioning for. Admittedly, (and I'm not exactly sure why), I wasn't really that nervous. In fact, these said callbacks were perhaps the most enjoyable callbacks I have ever had. For both shows that I was reading for, I felt invested and in the moment. Regardless if I gave the director exactly what they wanted, I was in it, and then open to change and to be directed. In fact, I welcomed any change or direction given and was able to implement the changes asked of me. Subsequently the singing calls felt grounded and in the moment also. In these callbacks, they were probably the first ever that I didn't judge every little, or big, sound that came out of my mouth, or every acting choice I made. But rather, just committed and was "In the monment."I really felt I went in and did my job. This was a very good feeling, and to be honest, pretty new. Were the auditions perfect, of course not. Were they committed, absolutely! Here's the thing, beyond what we do in the room, everything else is beyond our control. All we can do is control what we do in our audition, then after that, it's out of our hands.
At the end of these callbacks I kept saying to myself, "Thank you Second City." I truly believe that many of the foundation skills I learned at the centre, have served me well in many areas of the business and in life. One thing it has taught me for sure is to be "In The Moment." I encourage not only every dancer, but absolutely everyone to take a course there. It's truly a wonderful place and am looking forward to getting back at some point. Yes, I've done all the levels, but there's so much more yet to explore. Really, as far as improv goes, I've done levels A through E but really, I've only just scratched the surface. I may no longer be in the first grade, but feel I'm just about to enter high school.
So, if you have down time, (and you will at some point), make use of it. Take a risk, try something new, challenge yourself. Whatever you do, if it's done with good intentions, it's going to manifest a positive result.
Take care and be well.
Sincerely
Stephen Findlay A.K.A. The Oldest Male Chorus Dancer In Toronto
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