Listening
Will Hines
A few weeks ago, I emailed Will Hines. He emailed me back and asked if he could use it in a Substack (link above). Since I asked this question, I feel like it's fair to repost my words here, but also, in fairness, I am going to leave Will's actual words on his Substack (which, if you are reading my words and not his, I really want to know why. Please continue to read me and reach out).
I asked:
A lot of improv instruction is centered on go! But a theme I have noticed when I have talked to more experienced improvisers is that much of the quality and magic seems to come from pause/rest/stop.
Sebastian Conelli (and probably others) talks about not playing every idea you have. Alex Berg’s hand thing includes resting the game. You mention the power of pausing as the secret to being the world’s greatest improviser. It’s attributed to Thelonious Monk that he said something like “Don’t play everything (or every time); let some things go by… What you don’t play can be more important than what you do.” A visual artist knows the value of negative space.
To phrase this as a question: I am offering something to every scene of every show I am in, even if that’s nothing. How do I hone the skill of offering nothing?
Will's response, "Active Listening," is good (you should go read it). The pauses are listening, and listening is a willingness to change. I think I'm good at listening and changing the scene I'm in, but I'm less good at listening and changing myself.
When I started doing improv and actually felt comfortable, I described that feeling as "being the other piece of bread in the sandwich." What I mean by that is that as long as my scene partner could hold up their end, I could achieve the technical objectives of the scene: Find a game, explore, and heighten. I remember being invited to a jam with some experienced players and realizing when I attempted to get into a scene that I didn't need to be the bread in a sandwich; someone else was already the bread. What the scene needed wasn't anything structural at all. It needed flavor.
When a chef seasons a dish, they taste it, and active listening is how an improviser tastes a scene. So, I need to develop my improv palate, work hard, focus, try, and try things.
