Improv 6-24

I have my notes titled "Having Difficulty With A Small Object" and it certainly is an apt title. The main exercise at for this session was being paired with a partner who has to see an object, pick it up, have difficulty with it, then place it back down. At this point the other partner would pick up the item that they saw Partner A use, and have a different difficulty with it. I had a lot of trouble figuring out what my partner saw and what their difficulty was, and eventually got so far in my head that I had to wipe it away and just grab the first thing I saw. I made the mistake of looking directly at my object and indicating, when it was supposed to just exist near me.

After this we did an exercise where we all imagined a lighter and got used to the weight and feel of it. This seems like basic stuff but it's very important with all the green screen work that's out there. If there's an object present you have to know the weight, feel, color, texture, size, and how much pressure needed to hold it. Keep it simple and feel it, don't look at it or tell a story. Discover an issue with the object (don't make one up), and if you're having trouble just make it uninteresting so you don't try too hard.

Our homework this week was four days of object work.
Day 1: soft focus on an object for 5 minutes, move it away, close your eyes and see it, barely open your eyes and project it, zoom in on a detail, then zoom out
Day 2: reach and hold the object, try different grips until you find one you like, do that same grip 10 times without looking at it and examine how your body reacts to that grip, put the object away and do the same grip 10 times without holding the object
Day 3: pick up the object and look at it, put it down and wipe it away, pick up the projected object without looking at the object and with soft focus all the way
Day 4: get a sense of something complex about the object (the wheel on a lighter for example), find a mechanical element and work the object both with and without the physical object

To be honest I've been having a fair bit of trouble with this work over the past few days (haven't started day 4 just yet). The real world has gone out of its way to be a real pain in my butt this week so I've had some issues getting myself to a calm place to do good work. I feel like I can get my object in my mind pretty clearly but projecting it out and manipulating it has been hit or miss. I just need more practice and to remind myself to go slow and get myself centered. I think I did okay with the lighter in class but that was also after an hour+ or being in the work zone.

We’ll work a lot of it tonight and see if I can get it solid for you.