I had a fabulous time in improv rehearsal last night. We worked with a great coach who kept us on task and helped us through some scenes which was a huge help. I did a scene with my friend, Suzy, where she was my granddaughter trying to shave my face and I was a belligerent, crotchety old man who refused to do anything she asked. After making my initial choice to be a negative, cranky man I started to acquiesce to her desires almost immediately. Brian, our coach, stopped me and said, "What was your first line?" I said, "I can't do it". He said, "Do the voice." I said in a rasping, gravelly, snappish voice, "I can't do it!" and he nodded saying, "Stick with that."
The more I stuck with that - not wanting her to touch me, not finding motivation in the things she presented - the funnier the scene got. In my head I was thinking, Don't fight, don't deny your scene partner, don't be too negative (which is ironic), instead of realizing that my first choice was being positive and supporting my scene partner. If I start off saying, "I can't do it!" then my partner should know that whatever she poses to me I will respond by saying "no" in my cranky way.
It's not a very complicated scene, and it certainly could go many more places, but it was funny. And it was SIMPLE. We were able to play with it and have fun knowing what the structure was and not having to worry.
After Suzy and I finished the scene, we returned to the "back line" (where we stand waiting to enter a scene) and she said, "You have a lot of old man in you" and laughed. It struck fear into my heart at first, thinking of my sometimes hateful father (on whom I based the character), and then decided it was okay to mimic what I've seen in my life and it doesn't necessarily mean I'm destined to the same fate.
Amazing what our minds do to us even in the small moments of success.
Then I went to UCB and saw another member of our team compete with her other improv team in an improv-off called "Cagematch". She was hilarious. I love working with her and was so happy to get to watch her make her choices. The audience loved her. It was thrilling to know her personally and see people shriek with laughter at what she was doing.
Today it's cleaning and organizing and packing as we get ready for our New England vacation next week. We leave tomorrow on my birthday to head to Boston to visit a dear friend of mine who moved there in May.
I have lived in Boston and have many memories there, not all of them ones I wish to revisit. But I think I will stay away from the parts where I lived and spend my time having margaritas with my husband and friend. Boston is not my favorite city. In general, I find the culture repulsive, but I also love certain parts of it. I hope to show them to my husband someday and explain what it was like to live there without acid in my voice. The city is not all responsible for what I don't like to remember. Although the annoying frat boys, classism, gay bashings, racism, and general chip-on-shoulder routines that seem all too prevalent in Massachusetts are tedious and stupid. There are great things about the city like the architecture, seafood, city parks, theatre, music, and academia.
Then we are on to Portland, ME to visit a few friends and I can't wait. I love visiting Portland and eating my body weight in lobster, soaking in the sea air and cool breezes while sipping a fabulous cocktail that costs a fraction of what it does in NYC. If it sounds like I'm a tourist, that's probably because I am. People ask me where I'm from and I often have a hard time answering. I have lived on both coasts of the US for about equal parts of my life and different cities for differing amounts of time. I like change and adventure in that way. I get bored easily and don't like to feel trapped in a small place where I know everyone and everything. I prefer to be a bit of a stranger while still having very close friends on whom I can rely. So traveling to me is fun and interesting. I like my anonymity and one of the alarming things about getting older is realizing exactly how small the world is. I like to think I can disappear at a moment's notice. The fact is, I think that would be much harder than it seems.
But I'm not going to disappear (I hope) on this trip. This trip is about seeing loved ones and celebrating the changes that happen in our lives as move forward. No matter where you live, once you're in the presence of a good friend it all feels familiar.
