Billy's Improv Notes: Post 3

Sincerity.

Here’s a quick post about Sincerity. In whatever character I play or whatever situation I find myself in I want to react from a place of sincerity. Sincere reaction is noticed and appreciated by an audience. (To react sincerely an improviser must be vulnerable!) Keeping in mind the improv tenants of saying yes and accepting the reality and supporting your scene partner, reacting sincerely adds realism and weight to what’s going on. I often think that what separates a “naturally talented” actor from someone who “tries real hard” is the amount of sincerity the actor brings to their work. An example is when an improviser makes a BIG offer to a scene; something like, “I want a divorce.” or “I’ve been sleeping with your sister.” Regardless of the choice you make in responding to this offer, if it’s done with sincerity, drawn from your emotion, it’ll be the right choice.  A common impulse here is to be funny and offset the depth of meaning in the divorce offer with a nonchalant response like, “Okay, who is going to get the dog?” This bypasses the strength of responding sincerely, never touching the emotion it may bring out in you. I’m not saying that to respond to this offer with sincerity you need to be an emotional wreck, but caring that your wife/husband is telling you they want a divorce will lead you to discovering how to respond. Caring about what your scene partner is telling you is the key to reacting sincerely. Don’t assume that I’m saying you should care more or less in relation to how big or small the verbal offer your scene partner makes, rather everything your scene partner says to you has meaning so it is up to you to determine how much you care about any offer. By that, I mean even an offer as simple as “I saw that the mailbox was empty.” is something that you, in your character, could care about hearing and be affected by. I try to open my ears to my scene partners offers with the thought why is it important that they are telling me this. This is a gateway thought to caring about what my scene partner is saying to me.

Get sincere people, it’s much more engaging and REAL. Be vulnerable, start to care, get sincere, enjoy what happens!

PS And as fake-Alastor Moody once said, it takes "CONSTANT VIGILANCE!"