Emotion connects you to your scene partner, your character, and the audience. It gives a scene depth and grabs attention fast. And if you use it at the top of a scene, it can set the whole thing up in seconds.

In this episode I talk about using emotion as part of your base reality. Most scenes start grounded, and that's usually what we're taught. But sometimes breaking that rule and starting at a full level 10 emotional reaction to something completely mundane creates something you remember for years. I also get into alexithymia, which affects about 10% of the population, and what it means for improvisers who have difficulty processing or labelling emotions. There are workarounds for all of this, and I've never once had an improv teacher bring it up in class.

Two exercises in this one. The partner version, It's Tuesday, practises pairing a mundane statement with an extreme emotional reaction (and then flipping it). The solo version has you assigning emotions to sections of your room and launching into monologues at full intensity as you move between them.

This is part of a series on the top of the scene, initiations, and base reality.

Resources and downloads: https://improvupdate.com

Article for this episode: This episode is part of a four episode series available on YouTube and audio podcast. You can find an article for this episode, and links to the full series on both platforms, here.

Episodes about alexithymia and a big text-based overview here: 

https://improvupdate.com/emotional-processing-acting-and-improv-part-one-and-two/

YouTube version of this episode: https://youtu.be/rwgBDmUqHEo

Newsletter: https://improvupdate.com/newsletter

Chapters

00:00 Why emotion matters in scenes

01:29 Initiations and base reality series

01:35 Delayed emotional processing and alexithymia

03:24 Workarounds you can use yourself

03:54 Starting grounded vs. starting at a 10

04:53 The chair scene I still remember

05:22 Why big emotional starts are worth practising

05:52 Partner exercise: It's Tuesday

07:20 Flipping the exercise

07:48 Solo exercise: Emotion quadrants

08:50 Training without a scene partner

09:20 A note on alexithymia and having each other's backs

10:48 Wrap up

Downloadable content

Download the Free Post-Show Reflection Guide: Sent to your inbox when you subscribe to either newsletter (and added to the footer to each message if you're already subscribed).

NEW! Comprehensive guides all about getting notes as a student, or giving them as a teacher. Two guides, big discount if you get both! https://improvupdate.com/notes

Get a booklet with six exercises to help you get reps in challenging scenes called "Exercises to Ruin You"

Get more downloadable booklets here: https://improvupdate.com/downloads

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About

This podcast was created, written, and is hosted by Jen deHaan. Jen has certifications related to healthy communities (Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy), nervous system regulation and soon teacher training certification on community resilience. She has a BFA in teaching creative arts to adults. You can find her full bio here.

This episode was and edited and produced by StereoForest.com.

This podcast was made in British Columbia, Canada by StereoForest Podcasts.

Mentioned in this episode:

Student and Teacher/Coach Guides about NOTES in Improv

Find more information, Table of Contents and links to get the guides at https://improvupdate.com/notes

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