What is Reddit's opinion of Impro: Improvisation and the Theatre?

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Great question! This is something that comes up in acting a lot. You, the actor, already know where the story is going, so how can you make it seem fresh for the character in the moment?

What works for me is to clear my head in the moment. When the PCs begin their interaction with the NPCs, I consciously shift focus into that character's head, imagining their life and backstory. I (try to) let everything else drop away and just let that character fill my head. It has to be a deliberate act.

A little improv practice can help with this a lot, particularly the idea of "narrowing and broadening the spotlight". Instead of focusing on the world or the situation, you narrow your attention to just the character. Keith Johnstone's book <em>Impro</em> goes into more on this as I recall.

It takes practice, though!

You might wanna try an improv class - this kind of theater acting lessons where you just say the first thing that comes into mind. There's a great book on it written by Keith Johnstone titled impro - improvisation and the theatre. It's well worth a read.

You could also create some fake social media profiles and experiment with it. Just say the first thing that comes into mind.

Girls got me a bit excited about comedy again. Then I went to a comedy show that turned out to be mostly improvised, which is so fascinating! Started watching some long form improv videos on YouTube (UCB, etc)... Then I bought the e-book of Keith Johnstone's <em>Impro</em>, which turned out to be a great, great book (and relevant to this forum if you ask me). Johnstone mentioned Kozintsev's King Lear, and I realized I haven't seen any Shakespeare plays except Romeo and Juliet (in Baz Luhrmann's version, which I admit to loving). Hamlet always attracted me—I had some suspicion that I might be something of a Hamlet type, i.e., moody, brooding, somewhat insane—so I decided to watch that first.

A quote from Impro:

> "I now feel that imagining should be as effortless as perceiving. In order to recognise someone my brain has to perform amazing feats of analysis: 'Shape ... dark ... swelling ... getting closer ... human ... nose type X15, eyes type E24B ... characteristic way of talking ... look under relative ...' and so on, in order to turn electromagnetic radiation into the image of my father, yet I don't experience myself as 'doing' anything at all! My brain creates a whole universe without my having the least sense of effort. [...] It's only when I believe my perceptions to be in error that I have to 'do' anything. It's the same with imagination. Imagination is as effortless as perception, unless we think it might be 'wrong,' which is what our education encourages us to believe."

I almost never speak in a funny voice. Mannerisms, eccentricities of speech (word choice, attitude, posture), and what you're saying are all far easier and more believable ways to make a character come alive.

Read the book Impro for some keys there. The status and mask sections help a lot.

Funny enough, FizzBuzz is an improv theatre technique for groups: "the loop" consists of the people on stage. It is mentioned in the book Impro

Read Impro: improvisation and the theater.

https://www.amazon.com/Impro-Improvisation-Theatre-Keith-Johnstone/dp/0878301178

It will really jumpstart your creativity.

Ya, I'll echo the "You are 18, calm down" responses, as much as your one response post says you don't like it.

Second, I see you had 5 goals laid out 1) Better social skils, 2) Lucid Dreaming 3) Meditation 4) Positive Thinking 5) Reality Trans-surfing (I googled the book but don't really know what this is, but it seems to have various buzz words I know in theory).

For the 1) "Social Learning" you need to:

• A) Get out in some sort of social setting that is uncomfortable and just... do stuff, meet people, and talk to them. Some people are naturally better at this, but you will not improve by reading books WITHOUT experience and

• B) accept you might just have something that makes you inherently socially awkward, at least to most people (in my case, I'm bipolar and so have intense moods that sometimes drive people away... keep at it and eventually you'll find people who fit with you and/or how to work around whatever issues you MAY have).

So I'm going to group 2-5 and since it seems like (sorta, I'm not sure?) you have some quasi Buddhist interest refer you to this lecture by Wes Cecil on Siddartha: Buddhism, at around 15:15 and 16:00 where he discusses the centrality of the 4 noble truths and the 8 fold path... especially common misconceptions about it ( The whole lecture is good too ) Basically, don't worry so much about all these esoteric things and focus on the 8 fold path... not tantra and dreams and such...

... also, keep in mind Siddhartha, and most monks, practice extreme acetic practices and meditation for like 7 years and lived as a wandering nomad, after being trained as a Priest. So like, you need to read a bunch of Philosophy and then meditate for a few years before you give up.

Which brings me to my second point:

You ARE right

School and most pop culture on TV and (I suppose, I grew up before it) Social Media are worthless for your development as a human-being. School is at best a sort of bare basic hurdle you need to get thru. Find something tangible that you have passion about. IF it is really philosophy and lucid dreaming and "Reality Trans-surfing" that's fine, but those seem like more solitary, dare I say borderline occult interests.

And if you want to get in contact with other people, find something that has a community around it. If it is Buddhism you need a Sangha... The community is one of the three jewels.

HOWEVER I'D REALLY SUGGEST MORE PEDESTRIAN HOBBIES! (Trust me, I was a Philosophy Major in College, most people don't REALLY care about the deep questions).

Especially if you want to improve your social skills, get some hobbies that other people can relate to and force you to meet people. The art of talking to people is not hard.

1) Read Dale Carnegie's - How to Win Friends and Influence People

2) Try Something like an Improv Class - it is an instant way to meet some new people and learn basic ways to keep conversations going and get outside your comfort zone. You will also get feedback on how you present yourself and techniques for improvement. If you are into reading I HIGHLY suggest the book &quot;Impro&quot; by Keith Johnston. It has some amazing discussion about the nature of status and the "subtle clues" in scenes that you will find helpful in everyday life.

3) Figure out some club or group you can meet once a week and go DO something. For speaking, Toastmasters is great--AND YOU WILL GET FEEDBACK. For just getting outside, find a Hiking group... maybe there is some sort of Lucid Dream Meetup group near you... whatever. That way you know at least there is a common interest you can start from and branch out.

Get used to not caring about being "rejected" by people, or being "awkward" when trying to talk to them. That's how you learn. The more you do it the better you will get, and there will always be new people to talk to. Eventually you are bound to find friends.

Hope that helps.

2 good books to help with improv/improv in games: Impro and Play Unsafe. Both far cheaper in kindle format:

http://www.amazon.com/Impro-Improvisation-Theatre-Keith-Johnstone/dp/0878301178

http://www.amazon.com/books/dp/1434824594

The instincts in dungeon world and fiasco also are a good place to look