...I say that Troupe second home because I spend most of my down time there either to work on a show or to participate in the classes they hold at the theatre. The first class I took there was and still is called Juniors, it is a class for five to nine year olds, teaching them acting skills. We played games, made up skits, read scenes from books, etc. That class showed me what I needed to work on the most to become a better actress. When I was ten I moved up to the program to the Seniors class which is the class for ten to twelve year olds. We basically did the same thing as Juniors did, except they expected a bit more from the kids since we were a little older. While in my final semester of Seniors I was able to join the improv team. Being a member of the improv team has allowed me to not be afraid of making mistakes or looking completely ridiculous doing something that seems abnormal. When I turned thirteen I joined the TAG program, TAG stands for teen actors guild, the acting program for teenagers. TAG focuses more on the emotion and heart of theatre rather than just the basics of staging and projection. This program has also allowed me to understand the importance of focusing more in school. When I joined, my parents told me if they saw my grades slipping because of Troupe they would have no hesitation to pull me out until I got my grades back up to satisfactory. I have been in this program for almost ten years, in that ten years my parents have only pulled me out once, because...
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...The Assscat is a group a professional improv actors who truly know the art of improv. While watching Assscat I was able to notice many of the things we have discuss in class. The main points of the improv that stood out were the chemistry of the group, the structure of the Harold, and the commitment of the performers. Watching the Assscat performance, the improv seemed flawless but in reality the performers are going through natural human struggle like any other improver. Watching the group I could tell the group had excellent chemistry, they work as a well oil machine. As a group they have much respect for each other, they never talk over each other giving each other a moment to add information to the scene. Also, if a performer is adding information the whole group will go along with the new information. If someone was to deny the information that was given the scene would mostly likely have an awkward moment of negativity. The performers were also great at saying no but, still adding information that kept the scene moving. However I feel that some of the scenes move a little too fast not letting them get to the climax of the funny in the scene. Overall the group understood each other allowing the scene to...
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...cool jazz - mood low tranquil, medium tempo. lyrical solos. arrangements. not improv gerry mulligan-bariton sax, chet baker, a little collective improv Dave Brubeck-piano/composer. west coast scene, album TIME OUT. Take five famous song Hard Bop-gospel and blues, simpler harmony than bebop. trumpet, tenor sax, piano, bass. - power ful explosive. horns: hard edged. rhythm section: groovy. IMPROV Art Blakey- most powerful drummer. jazz messengers. schooled young musicians. jazz messngers were the prototype hard bop combo. Sonny Rollins- Tenor sax of the hard bop style. influenced by Coleman Hawkins. rhythmic experimentation. repetition of a riff with variation Jimmy Smith- Hammond B3 Organ- made organ respectable, organ trio- organ drums guitar playing the bass on the organs foot pedals. both hands and feet Bill Evans- piano composer, lyrical sensitive and swinging. piano trio- equal play trio included: Scott Lafaro - Bass, Paul Motian - Drums Free Jazz- Atonal, No form, Dissonance, High Energy, Collective Improv, Unusual ensemble, Ornette Coleman -Alto,trumpet,commposer- free jazz, no set solos or form, double quartet. Cecil Taylor-explosive pianist, aggressive. Drawn to percussive and physical aspect John Coltrane- Tenor, Soprano Sax. Miles Davis Quintet-Hard Bop. Joined Monk Quartet. influence by Monks unorthodox recorded album Giant Steps. didnt play cool jazz, Kind of Blue, formed Coltrane Quartet -McCoy Tyner- Piano, Jimmy Garrison-Bass, Elvin Jones-...
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...783-7626 or Fax: (617) 783-7658 Permissions For permission to copy or republish, please write or call: Permissions Department Harvard Business School Publishing 60 Harvard Way Boston, MA 02163 Phone: (617) 783-7587 For a print or electronic catalog of HBSP publications, please contact us: Harvard Business School Publishing Customer Service 60 Harvard Way Boston, MA 02163 Phone: U.S. and Canada, (800) 668-6705 Outside the U.S. and Canada, (617) 783-7474 Fax: (617) 783-7555 Web: www.harvardbusinessonline.org HARVARD MANAGEMENT UPDATE • HARVARD MANAGEMENT COMMUNICATION LETTER • BALANCED SCORECARD REPORT HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW • HBS CASES • HBS PRESS • HBS VIDEOS AND INTERACTIVE MEDIA Stand Up and Throw Away the Script How improv can improve your team’s performance BY SUSAN G. PARKER clauses in...
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...Did you hear the one about the boss who was asked how many people work in his company? About half of them on a good day, he replied. While the worlds of comedy and business may not initially appear to have much in common, a growing number of firms are in fact turning to comedians to help them boost staff communication, performance, and creativity. And to enable senior bosses to improve their public speaking and presentation skills. For businesses who want their workers to be as happy and productive as possible, it is no laughing matter. Except when it is. Companies that are now using comedians include internet giant Google; social media firm Twitter; soft drinks business Red Bull; and German engineering group Siemens. And if those four firms ever walked into a bar together, Red Bull would be the best mixer... Image copyright Ecole nationale de l'humour Image caption Participants at the National Comedy School's training days are asked to embrace their inner clowns At Quebec's National Comedy School in Montreal, Canada, its team of comedians has been offering training courses to businesses since 2009. It currently has 30 clients on its books, including insurance group Sun Life and Siemens' Canadian division. Rather that teaching people to tell jokes, the visiting workers are typically asked to put on red noses and behave like clowns. They are asked to practise pratfalls, pretend to bump into things, and even mock-slap their colleagues in the face. "These kind of games...
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...At the behest of my older sister, I enrolled in an introductory improv class. Eventually, I found myself somewhat reluctantly auditioning for the highly selective and competitive improv team, who would compete in a national “improv-a-thon”. That year, my team didn’t take home the trophy. However, that event inspired me to flourish in a way I never had before. Not only did I grow in my faith from being surrounded by so many believers of varied backgrounds and perspectives, but I also recognized that I was a social creature. My entire life’s focus shifted; I was now less concerned with the isolation of video games and more fixated on the wonderful friends I had gained. I participated in every musical that I was able to, fostering a sincere appreciation and fondness for both visual and performing arts, I became a member of HYPE, a community service program that helped me to embody servant leadership, and without hesitation, I returned to my trusty improv team, serving as team captain. Christian Youth Theater had become not only an opportunity to revisit my first love, but it also served as an outlet for the start of my journey of...
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...some popular restaurant, meet an agent, get "discovered" and then it's nothing but champagne and caviar from there. Uh...no. Acting is first and foremost a craft. The best of the Hollywood actors understand this and no matter how far they have come in their careers, they are constantly looking to improve upon their craft. They take classes, work with acting and dialogue coaches, they study life experiences, etc. They know full well that even after a lifetime of work and study, they may never reach absolute perfection. So, for you, it's imperative that you take a wide variety of acting classes. Work in a wide variety of styles with a as many different groups of people that you can find. Try it all. From Shakespeare to comedy, from improv to cinema verite -- the more you know, the more well rounded you'll be and ultimately, the better prepared you'll be for whatever roles...
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...Social Justice Week 2014 is student-organized event sponsored by the New Legacy Committee, Beyond Diversity Club, Native American Club, Project Unity Club, Puente Club, and the Associated Students of Sierra College. All events are free and open to the public. Calendar of Events (For more information please contact Jennifer Kattman at jkattman@sierracollege.edu.) MONDAY, OCTOBER 13 9:30-10:50am in the Fireside Room: “Brief History of Protest Music” by Professor Jason Roberts In this presentation, Professor Jason Roberts will look at protest music from the early 1960s to the present with such artists as Joan Baez, the Rolling Stones, Marvin Gaye, Public Enemy, and Rage Against the Machine. 11am-12:20pm in the Fireside Room: “The New Native Intellectualism: Social Media, Social Justice and Native American Studies” by Cutcha Risling Baldy Cutcha Risling Baldy (Hupa, Karuk, Yurok) is an instructor and PhD candidate in Native American Studies. Her research is interdisciplinary (feminist and literary theory, politics and California Indian theory and methodology). Author of “Why We Gather: traditional gathering in native Northwest California and the future of bio-cultural sovereignty” and numerous related publications. Her dissertation (translated) is “To Grow Old in a Good Way” is about the revitalization of the Hupa Women’s Coming of Age Ceremony. Ms. Risling Baldy founded the Native Women’s Collective. 12:30-1:50pm in the Fireside Room: “Louder than Words” by Billy X Jennings...
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...Purpose and Audience Assignment Baljot Deol Gotta Share Description: The prank “Gotta Share” was done at the GEL conference, which is conducted by the “Improv Everywhere” every year. This annual gathering allows voices of technology, social media and businesses to be heard in the New York City. According to Internet articles, this company “Improv Everywhere” is based in New York City and their main goal is to fulfill certain missions in order to cause scenes of chaos and enjoyment for general public. Gotta Share is a musical that emphasizes the fact that social media has become a significant part of people’s daily lives. Some applications that are used to share information are: Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Intended Audience: The...
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...Better Public Speaking and Presentation Ensure Your Words Are Always Understood Think of the last really memorable talk or presentation that you attended. Now, was that easy to do, or did you really have to rack your brains to remember one? Sadly, too many presentations are easy to forget. And that's a big problem because the only reason the presenter gave the talk was to communicate something to you! However, there are three basic things that you can do to ensure that your verbal messages are understood – and remembered – time and time again. Although somewhat obvious and deceptively simple, these are: • Understand the purpose of the presentation • Keep the message clear and concise • Be prepared • Be vivid when delivering the message Understand what you want to achieve Before you start working on your talk or presentation, it's vital that you really understand what you want to say, who you want to tell and why they might want to hear it. To do this, ask yourself: Who? What? How? When? Where? Why? Who are you speaking to? What are their interests, presuppositions and values? What do they share in common with others; how are they unique? What do you wish to communicate? One way of answering this question is to ask yourself about the ‘success criteria’. How do you know if and when you have successfully communicated what you have in mind? How can you best convey your message? Language is important here, as are the nonverbal cues discussed earlier...
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...Memoir Writing If I could share one memory with any person, I would share the memory of seeing my older brother’s first improvisational comedy show. I didn’t know it at the time, but this memory would change me as a person and shape my personality forever. I would share this memory with my older brother, since he was in the show and I would want to show him the impact the memory had on me. I would share this memory with him by writing a story about it, since I like to write down my thoughts rather than speak them aloud. The memory of seeing my brother’s first improv show had a major impact on me. I remember it like it was yesterday. I’m sitting in the back row of seats to the stage in the Sadler Center at the college of William and Mary. It’s my brother’s freshman year at William and Mary, was accepted into the IT (Improvisational Theater) comedy group at the college a week ago. People cram into the room, filling all the seats and even standing to see the show. The smell of food from the food court and the sound of people chattering makes the room seem like a carnival. I’m bursting at the seams with excitement to see the show. I’m bouncing around in my seat like a kid in a candy store....
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...were obvious necessities such as items for hunting and shelter but there was a large stress on the mental well-being of the travelers. I was completely surprised by the need for a happy crew, especially in the 1910’s, when that was not a common belief. Now, mental health is widely talked about and thought of, so I found his thinking very progressive. In the future, I am going to be extremely aware of the mental wellbeing of teams, as I find this fundamental for everything else. I should put more importance on checking up on all team members to make sure they are doing okay mentally, to have successful collaboration and produce solid work. Finally, the improvisation workshop was a great experience and learning opportunity. I realized that improv does not have to be a comedic performance, which was honestly relieving. Any class where we get to walk around, move and yell is always a great class! These exercises were really interesting and eye opening, the biggest thing that stood out to me was the listening portion. I really resonated with those exercises, reflecting that it is something if like to practice and work on. I have found myself interrupting people or finishing sentences which can give the impression of poor listening. Now, I can use these exercises to focus on the whole sentence, to ensure that they have said everything needed. Then I can formulate and speak with purpose, after completely listening to my peers. Personal Plan of Action to Improve my Effectiveness as a...
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...Discuss the use of instruments and instrumental textures to convey Drama in two extended sections of Chicago The musical vaudeville Chicago tells the story of a couple female criminals in Chicago during the 1920s; men, crime and their search for fame, using specific instrumental techniques and their different characteristics to convey drama. The overture opens with an unconventional monophonic texture in which a trumpet solos. The trumpet solo features many characteristics of the jazz style such as growls and the wa-wa effect, immediately presenting the audience with a dark, gritty timbre which forebodes the general mood of the musical. This monophonic solo is also tonally ambiguous which creates a feeling of tension, especially as the solo doesn’t seem to resolve when it plays its last note. Following this we have a big contrast in texture as the full orchestra play a more typical overture musical theme playing chords in a homophonic texture. The glissando played by many instruments as well as the use of wood blocks, Chinese tom toms and cowbells add a slapstick type quality to the overture as they can be seen as comical features/instrumets when used in an unconventional manner as this highlights the comical aspect of the instrument. Bar 17 onwards uses Big Band like instrumentation with brass and reads playing together which helps to further emphasize the syncopated melody as well as the 3,3,2 rhythmic feature. At this point the trumpet drops out which helps to make room for...
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...20/02/2012 Inventor Management Review: McDonald's, a guide to the benefits of JIT Inventor Management Review Charles Atkinson on inventory management topics. Nov ember 08, 2005 McDonald's, a guide to the benefits of JIT Just-in-Time (JIT) inv entory is the big thing right now in operations. This, along with lean operations and six sigma are the buzz words being talked most about. But what ex actly is the deal with JIT operations? First of all, JIT is a form of prov iding supplies for customers, as the name suggests, just in time. For ex ample, Dell, whom I wrote about, has become famous for its JIT model which inv olv es not ev en being in possession of the raw materials needed to fulfill an order until that order is placed and y et they are still capable of filling orders in a short period of time. McDonald's is another ex ample of a JIT sy stem wherein McDonald's doesn't begin to cook (well, I should probably say reheat and assemble what may or may not be actual food) its orders until a customer has placed a specific order. What used to be the case was McDonald's would pre-cook a batch of hamburgers and let them sit under heat lamps. They would keep them for as long as possible and ev entually discard what couldn't be sold. The only way to get a fresh hamburger under the old sy stem was to make a special order. Now, due to more sophisticated burger-making technology (including a record-breaking bun toaster), McDonald's is able to make food fast enough to wait until...
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...This play is up there with the strangest things I’ve ever read. The story is about two pre-teens and a talking sheep that build a ‘two-speed’ clock that transports them to a planet called ‘Crestview’. All in all it is a fine setting for a wacky low grade comedy. Their goal is simple enough. Binky, Bob and Vivian need to get home in time for lunch or Bob’s mother is going to be furious. The antagonist was immediately recognisable as the evil dictator of the planet. When he discovers that the trio is from earth he keeps them prisoner on the planet. The two humans await execution by way of a giant pumpkin guillotine while Bob the sheep is to be sheared and made into a sweater. There are no sheep on Crestview, just Pandas. They children (and sheep)...
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