Inside the Cube Ideas

[staceyrebecca]

Kuriboh,

Since you're in NY, you might want to look into getting some improvisers to help out. I'd head over to the PIT (or UCB, but I'm more of a PIT girl, myself) & either sign up for workshops, or just find out if there are any mid-level students in want of playing with some puppets. I've found that most improvisers jump on the chance to play with puppets....considering I and everyone in my group began as improvisers and all of our friends from our improv lives are begging to be involved, its definitely worth a shot.

Have fun with it!

 

[CBPuppets]

Where is this PIT anyway? or what does it stand for?

 

[CBPuppets]

Sorry for Double Posting but....I got another Idea for an episode. It could show when a character buys useless stuff off the Internet.

 

[staceyrebecca]

Its right by Madison Square Garden

154 W. 29th Street

Stands for People's Improv Theater

My suggestion as an improviser is to, rather than have situationally based sketches, have relationship-based sketches. You'll get way more out of your characters and your audience that way.

 

[CBPuppets]

Do you have any Examples of Relationship based sketches? you mean like someone playing cupid?

 

[staceyrebecca]

You've opened up a floodgate. I teach improv...

A relationship based sketch focuses on developing the characters' relationships with one another, rather than a situation that random people get into that have an ambiguous relationship.

You could also say that they're emotionally based. Where the major investment in the sketch are the emotional bits behind it (relationship between the characters) rather than the "guy walks into a bar & stuff happens to him.." it focuses on the relationship between the guy walking into the bar & the people he encounters within the bar.

That's not to say you can't have the situation there, but making your drive to develop the characters being your priority will always make for a better scene and one that won't crap out on you before your time is up.

And keep in mind that their relationship doesn't have to be boyfriend/girlfriend or husband/wife. Everyone on this planet has some sort of relationship with every other person on this planet. You and I have a relationship...we both post on the same puppetry forum & know very little about eachother. Add to that our individual backgrounds (ages, jobs, emotional past) that make for a much more rich character. Now, what if these two people were to find themselves at a bus stop together, what might happen? What if they're all of a sudden forced to be roommates? What are the situations that might come about because of their relationship?

Really, I could go on forever and ever.

 

[CBPuppets]

Thanks for the Info Stacey. That really helps a whole lot! I really appreciate It.

 

[staceyrebecca]

Anytime! If you've got the funds, taking an improv workshop or two at the PIT might really help with your writing of sketches. I coach a team that does both improv & sketch comedy, and a lot of the time they'll take their sketches directly from characters & scenes they've discovered in practice. (and we're actually moving forward to include puppetry into the mix...It will be awhile before they perform. They'll have to get over the novelty of having a puppet on their hands..not to mention all of the proctologist jokes.

 

[CBPuppets]

How much money is it to take one of those Improvs anyway?

 

[staceyrebecca]

It really depends on the school and the duration of the workshops (weekend vs 8 week class).