#68 Wring-world right foot rock
Issue #68 Wring-world right foot rock
28th June 2023
Keep your seats, everyone!
This week, in the wonderful Improv Discussion and Resources Facebook group, this image was posted with the accompanying suggestion that we might think of equivalent things for improv posters.
I was in the middle of writing something very serious and important but I immediately stopped doing that so I could create this poster.
Let me tell you, it works. I've had more inquiries about this show than anything I've worked on in the last year.
So it goes.
Rule of three
[TV] Poker Face
From the brain of Rian Johnson, Poker Face harks back to the glory days of Columbo and Murder She Wrote - I've rarely had this much fun watching a TV show. Every week, Natasha Lyonne's drifter Charlie Cale gets a job at another glorious slice of Americana - BBQ joint, dinner theatre, retirement village or merch seller for a metal band - and then has to solve a murder using her uncanny ability to know when someone's lying. It doesn't take itself seriously, the guest stars are stellar and it's structured and shot with beautiful, cutting-edge flair. But at its heart it remains Saturday afternoon comfort food TV.
[Poetry] Gerard Manley Hopkins
I've been reading some of Hopkins' Terrible Sonnets, written when he was in the grip of depression in the mid-1880s. Amazing how such beautiful things can come out of the depths of despair.
Carrion Comfort
Not, I'll not, carrion comfort, Despair, not feast on thee;
Not untwist — slack they may be — these last strands of man
In me ór, most weary, cry I can no more. I can;
Can something, hope, wish day come, not choose not to be.
But ah, but O thou terrible, why wouldst thou rude on me
Thy wring-world right foot rock? lay a lionlimb against me? scan
With darksome devouring eyes my bruisèd bones? and fan,
O in turns of tempest, me heaped there; me frantic to avoid thee and flee?
Why? That my chaff might fly; my grain lie, sheer and clear.
Nay in all that toil, that coil, since (seems) I kissed the rod,
Hand rather, my heart lo! lapped strength, stole joy, would laugh, chéer.
Cheer whom though? the hero whose heaven-handling flung me, fóot tród
Me? or me that fought him? O which one? is it each one? That night, that year
Of now done darkness I wretch lay wrestling with (my God!) my God.
[Newsletter] Failory
As improvisers we need to get comfortable with failure. Not seek it out necessarily, but make friends with it. We need to know in our bones that failure is not the opposite of success but rather another step on the journey towards success. This is why I like Failory so much. It's a newsletter that celebrates the startups that fell flat on their faces at the same level as the ones that went on to make millions. Fascinating reading and super helpful for anyone building a business too.
Spotlight
I've sadly had a few students drop out of my next Mockumentary NOW! course - there's a fair few places available now. So if you have Saturday afternoons free in July and August, I would love to share this new class with you.
Here's what previous attendees had to say:
"Chris creates a wonderfully warm and engaging atmosphere to all his classes and this is no exception. This class is a wonderful extension for experienced improvisers wishing to try out their skills through a different lens."
"I was worried that this format would be heavily premise-based. I think with any other teacher it might have been. Instead, Chris taught us to tap into characters and unlock details intuitively. In the end, we all looked very very clever and hilarious, nearly effortlessly. Very satisfying!"
"Chris’ passion and enthusiasm is so infectious, I knew his Mockumentary Now! course would be an absolute winner and it exceeded even my own expectations. I’ve particularly loved the way that Chris has taught the format, allowing us to explore the various (hilarious) elements of the genre. I’ve also met some wonderful and talented new improv friends who have made me laugh until my face hurt. On the whole it’s been an incredibly freeing and joyful experience."
"Chris is such a fantastic teacher. He brings the benefits of his experience as a performer and helps us to see what works well and, alternatively, what gets in the way. He stresses the positive and he is always excited at what the group achieves. His clarity of vision and guidance spurs us on to do more and to try to improve. Do this course. It will bring joy to your life."
That sounds like a fun time, right?
Longform thoughts
Here’s a visual metaphor about acquiring new skills that Vinny François taught me.
I think about it most days.
Gaze in awe at Vinny François' hand metaphor.
Radio contact
Quite literally.