It’s been a few weeks but I gotta talk about my visit to Hanoi.

I first met Lê Kim Thanh online during the pandemic and then met her in person last year (Thank you, Oslo Improv Fest!). So when I knew I was headed to Manila, I figured: who else can I visit in Asia?? Thankfully, Thanh and the Improv Hub welcomed me with open arms.

At first glance, Hanoi seemed chaotic to this first-time-in-Asia visitor. But after spending time there, I realized it’s all a big dance and everyone else knows their moves. Like a good improv show, there’s a flow to it all. And once you learn to move with it, it all makes sense.

Based on the Improv Hub, the local scene is welcoming and growing. Their work is grounded, emotional, and hilarious. I got to teach and perform with some amazing people (friends? friends forever?). We did a show, ate ice cream, and played board games. Can’t beat that.

Also: bún chả?? Where have you been all my life?

A Variety of Things

[BLOG POST] So You Want to be an Improv Festival Teacher

Speaking of Oslo, Aree Witolaer wrote a fantastic and honest guide about how to become one of these supposed “Improv Festival Teachers”. You know the type: travels around the world, meets wonderful improvisers, learns from amazing teachers, talks a lot about eating ice cream.

Well, if you want to be one of “those people”, this is probably the best advice I’ve read on how to do that.

[VIDEO] Radio waves into light

Do you want to see radio waves? This engineer built a beautiful light installation that does just that.

[WEBSITE] Cursor Camp

Your computer deserves a break after everything you put it through. Well, one part of it does. Specifically, the little arrow that does all the pointing and clicking work. Why not take it to Cursor Camp?

There’s a LOT for your cursor to do there. Explore, collect, dress up!

Improv Tip

(Adapted from an ancient blog post lost to the mists of time)

There are many spectra and continuum in improv. I find players fall somewhere on a line between two (or more) contrasting ideas. No one is 100% this or 100% that.

One of those gradients is how improvisers approach doing improv and/or learning improv: they often prefer structured play or unstructured play.

Structured play has rules and and goals. Board games and sports are two familiar examples. There is flexibility and spontaneity but it's always within a defined framework. Short-form improv games like Alphabet or Forward/Reverse have a high-degree of defined gameplay. Many improvisers love to do improv within these "heavily-regulated" structures because what is asked of them is clear and straight-forward while still allowing room for creativity and play.

Unstructured play is open-ended and has no goals. Adults rarely do this but kids love it. Years ago, my daughter would line up her My Little Ponies in a specified order (known only to her) and have them walk up to the top of a play garage. My job was to walk them back down so she could put them back in line. We’d keep adding things like a song they might sing as they are going up or down and we'd sing it together.

Unstructured play often starts with no structure but a framework is layered onto it, one step at a time, spontaneously and in collaboration. Any “rule” becomes disposable if it impedes the fun. The "goal" is always in flux. We are finding and discarding structured play at will without working towards any particular end other than enjoying the play itself.

Some improv students want more structured play and some want more unstructured play. Everyone falls somewhere in between the two. And it can evolve over time! There’s no right or wrong way to do it, but thinking about the kind of play you enjoy can help you find the right teacher/coach, the right format, and the right troupe for you.

Events and Things

[SPECTACLE] Notre dernière spectacle J’aime l’amour avant notre pause pour l’été est le 18 juin @ 20h, Aux Angles Ronds
Billets ici. Code 2-pour-1: 2POUR1STAGRAM

[TRAVEL, WORKSHOP] I’ll be visiting Victoria, BC in June and giving a workshop on Subtext: Improvising Between the Lines (rapidly becoming one of my faves to run). Details and registration info in the link. Big thank you to Dave Morris and Paper Street Theatre.

An Interesting Wikipedia Page: Akinetopsia

Break hearts and legs,

Vinny