Saturday, September 25, 2010

SMOKING DOWN at US HIGH SCHOOLS - BUT WHAT ABOUT POT?

I keep seeing all sorts of data talking about how less and less teens are smoking these days. YEAH!!!

BUT WAIT JUST A SEC.... Does this include POT?

Cigarettes in NYC are approaching prices of $14+ per pack. The $5 Newport guys now sell for $7. Inflation has been good for those buying cigs in Virginia and selling for profit in NYC. This month, whole driving down south, I noticed prices of $2-4/pack. If you were to buy packs by the carton and sell at $7/pack, you would be making 200% profit or more. Easy money.

Not being a smoker or drug user of any kind (unless food counts - that's my vice - shocking seeing my girth - but I digress), but is POT cheaper than tobacco in NYC these days.

I question all this because in recent months, while teaching Improv in high schools, many of the scenes and one liners jokes refer to POT in some way. And by the reaction of the class, all are very familiar, more than I, on the subject.

Very quickly, while I do not denounce it with fire, I personally have not touched any illegal substance since about 1992 and never saw a good value in its use. I never even saw drugs growing up. I was always a drinker. Drank too much too fast and I think i passed out before the "PARTY" crowd found a room to toke up. I was a theater major in college when I walked into the POT room at cast party. Again, already pretty drunk, I pissed off the others when I killed an entire bong with my Opera Lungs but did not hold the smoke in. "YOU JUST WASTED AN ENTIRE BONG!". For about 6 month I would participate. The only time I remember having big munchies was at a Opening Day NFL party watching Redskins v Cowboys. I remember eating about 8 plates of "TRASH" (Basically Nacho Chip piled on with taco fixings) and a 1/2 lb bag of M&Ms. But again i was always drunk.

I had just arrived to a New Years Eve party 12/31/1991. Although I think it was after midnight so lets call it 2002. I was unfashionable late to say the least. Making the rounds with plans of just passing through and driving home, I stumbled onto our Tech Director/Set Builder.He claimed the STUFF was the best I would ever have. Not know much i didn't argue. Claimed his brother grew it and it was very fresh and undiluted. So this moment was the first I ever tried POT sober. I took a big puff. It was a joint. I just did not get much in return. Did not feel anything exceptional.

Perhaps, thanks to acting training, I already know how to relax with a few basic breathing and stretching techniques. Perhaps I was always a rather happy-go-lucky type. Perhaps i just prefer red wine to any other vice. I dunno.... But Pot just does not do anything for me. So i am not a big fan of the drug.

As both producer and teacher and actor I have seen way to many bad results from POT users. I suppose if Apathy is your philosophy of choice, POT is your best friend. But way too many have shown me inconsistent results depending on how HIGH they are day to day. It seems POT and similar drugs can numb the pain, but it also numbs the wow factor. Except of course for really bad comedy shows and movies. I guess crap seems very funny on drugs. I think that explains 80-90% of TV programming these days.

I started to write this as a POT expose on MSNBC came on. A proponent for legalizing POT came on to make the argument that abuse of POT is far less dangerous than the illegal activity from its prohibition. The looked so baked - red eyes and extra BLAH!

All that being said, i am leaning more and more towards supporting legalizing the drug. I see way too many predatory creeps around the schools. POT is a gateway drug but no more than alcohol or smoking tobacco except that you have to develop that relationship with the dealer. But these days it is probably cheaper and easier for a young kids to get drugs than alcohol and cigarettes. So why not at least try to cut out the gun toting gang types and organized crime.

HOW TO PLAY SOME GREAT THEATER GAMES PART 1

HOW TO PLAY SOME GREAT
THEATER GAMES
PART 1 / PART 2
Many of these games appear weekly in
EIGHT IS NEVER ENOUGH
Watch great examples at

WARM-UP GAMES
Make eye contact with the players before and after you. It is very important to follow the story, listening and focusing on each player all around the circle.

FREE WORD ASSOCIATION
Speak one word at a time around the circle. Yell out the first word or phrase that comes to mind
ONE WORD STORY
Speak one word at a time to tell a story.
YES AND…
One player makes a statement. Next Player responds starting with “YES AND…” Fill up your statements with descriptive words (Adjectives) and actions (Active Verbs)
ZIP – ZAP – ZUP
Clap, point and make eye contact with any other player saying “ZIP”. That player says “ZAP. The next Say’s “ZUP” Eye contact will decide ties.

WORLD’s WORST
http://www.youtube.com/user/8classics#grid/user/FD109D1157F27D4B
MC ask Audience for a Job, Activity, Event etc. The players will present examples of the World’s Worst Doctor, Teacher, Plumber, etc. OR World’s worst person to go Skiing, Sky diving, Audition for a Play, etc. OR World’s Worst thing to hear, say or do at a wedding, birthday party, funeral etc. TIPS: Keep ideas short. Skip the set up and go right to the punch line. Make BIG choices. Use pantomime. Let the audiences imagination do the work for you. FRAME YOUR MOMENTS. Takes stage, present your idea and let ideas sink in with the audience before running away.

THREE HEADED EXPERT
Like the warm-up game, ONE WORD STORY, three players pretend to be the three heads of one expert. Audience ask questions on various subjects. Players answer question one word at a time. TIPS: Players should link up with hands behind each other. Outer players can use outer hands to gesture for team. VARIATION – All players have to talk at the same time.

FREEZE TAG
Players present a series of short scenarios. First two players start a basic scene. A third player (or MC) yells “FREEZE”. The new player taps out and replaces one of the first two in the exact same physical position. A new scene is started based. Repeat. This game can be played with a large group or just a few players. TIP: Make Physical connections (Shake Hands, High Five, Dance Poses etc). These lead to great funny freezes.

HITCH HIKING EMOTIONS
Four players, each assigned and emotion, enter a car one at a time. Player one is the driver. Driver, while displaying the given emotion, establishes type (Sporty, Van, Truck etc) and destination (Country, State, City, Neighborhood etc) of the vehicle. When player two enters, both players take on the new emotion - same for players three and four. Once all players they find reasons to leave - Last in first out (Player four is first one to go). AS each player leaves, the remaining players reverse back to previous emotion until driver is left alone. Find a quick way to wrap it up.



Improv Terms

GLOSSARY OF TERMS & CONCEPTS


IMPROVISATION requires actors spontaneously create a monologue, scene, or play without a script. In some cases, like Jazz improvisation, actors will take a theme or suggestion to develop new work. IN addition to being a performance art, Improv is also a great tool to develop original comedy, theater and music.

PLAYERS In Improv we call performers, “PLAYERS”. Improv is like a team sport. We rehearse moves but are always playing the game of WHAT IF.

MOVES Like a game, every statement is a player’s MOVE. A scene therefore becomes a series of MOVES.

OFFERS Details and/or actions that forward the scene.

YES AND… Rule Number One: “YES AND”. Rule Number Two: When in doubt refer to rule number one. Accept your scene partner’s offer and then advance the scene with your next response; Agree with every offer; then, respond with detailed offers that build and support your fellow players offers. Conceptual NOs and BUTs stop the action. Beginning students often go for the joke or sell out their partner by negating offers, thus bringing scenes to a screeching halt.

GIVE & TAKE Improvised dialogue going back and fourth between the players with a balance exchange of ideas. AVOID Questions, blocking.

IN THE MOMENT Be prepared, Listen and focus on the current moment. Listen and Respond to your scene partners. Planning ahead takes you out of the moment resulting in many missed opportunities and often leading to forcing your concept of the scene and negating or selling out your fellow players. Be flexible enough to move with the scene.

PANTOMIME – ALSO MIME WORK - Use your space and define your environments, characters and actions using physical gestures and committing to the scene head to toe. Avoid being a talking head. Physical activities and choices take us “out of our heads” and help keep us “IN THE MOMENT”. Endow imaginary objects with true weight and size. See it and breathe it and believe it. Your audience will play along.

CONFLICT GOOD / ARGUING BAD The best comedy and drama both derive from great conflict. The worst (with rare exceptions) comes from bickering back and forth minute details. In Improvisational Theater, arguing details becomes petty. Rather than demanding “I’m Right” try and solve the conflict.

BIG CHOICES / BIG VOICES and MAKE BIG MISTAKES Mantras of EIGHT IS NEVER ENOUGH producer, Walt Frasier (www.waltfrasier.com). Take chances. Don’t wimp out. Don’t be afraid to fail. Big choices lead to forward moving scenes (AS long as they do not BLOCK your partner) Big mistakes lead to big rewards. Justified BIG MISTAKES lead to outrageous results. Big mistakes are noticed and learned from. Not being afraid to make BIG MISTAKES leads to many more successful choices. Fall seven times and get up eight. Soon enough you will realize there are no wrong answers or mistakes at all.

BLOCKING Rejecting information or ideas offered by another player. One of the most common problems experienced by new improvisers. Avoid words negative words – NO, DON’T, CAN’T, WON’T, BUT…. These words will get you in trouble and usually lead to blocks. Always think YES AND….

QUESTIONS Rephrase questions as a detailed statement (Answer your own question). Most questions are usually a sign of players overly relying on their scene partners to carry a scene. “What is that?” should be something like “That is a very exquisite flower you have there.” / “Where are we?” could be “It sure is cold in this apartment.”

ASK FOR is a question or statement posed to the audience looking for a suggestion for scene topic.

***********************************************************************************************************************

NOTE: Improv Theater and Comedy training is a must for every performer but also valuable to countless other professionals. EIGHT IS NEVER ENOUGH and other companies help numerous professionals develop better sales, service, communication, leadership and public speaking skills. Team Building workshops and shows have been performed for teachers, doctors, top corporate executives (Morgan Stanley, Johnson & Johnson, AMEX etc) and even insurance adjusters from Medicare. In every field, great ability to communicate, think creatively and think on one’s feet enhances your chances to succeed.

See some great Improv LIVE in NYC today http://www.eightimprov.biz/
VIDEO ARCHIVES http://www.youtube.com/user/eightimprov
More terms from http://www.improvcomedy.org/glossary.html

Accepting

Embracing the offers made by other performers in order to advance the scene.

Advancing

The process of moving the scene forwards.

Ask-for

The question asked of the audience in order to start a scene.



Beat

A unit of action in a scene. A scene is made up of a series of beats.



Blocking

Rejecting information or ideas offered by another player. One of the most common problems experienced by new improvisors. In conventional theatre, the term is used to mean something different (pre-planned stage movement).



Breaking the routine

Interrupting an action with another action in order to advance the scene.



Cancelling

Making previous action irrelevant. Once an action has been cancelled, it's as if it hadn't happened at all. Usually a bad idea.



Charm

The quality that makes an audience enjoy watching a performer.



Commenting

Stepping out of the reality of the scene by saying or doing something that refers to the fact that it's a scene being played. Also refers to "playing" an emotion rather than feeling it. Should be avoided, though used sparingly it can sometimes be effective.



Complementary offer

An offer that meshes well with what's already gone before (and usually enhances it in some way).



Conflict

Many (but not all!) scenes are about a conflict of some sort. If there's no conflict, the scene may still be truthful but somewhat dull.



Context

The broader setting for the scene (political, social, etc).



Corpse

To break up laughing while playing a scene. Usually not a good thing to do.



Denial

See "blocking".



Driving

Taking over a scene and not letting other performers influence its direction. Makes you an unpopular improvisor.



Endowing

Assigning attributes to another performer's character.



Explore and heighten

To take an idea and see where it leads, exploring its natrual consequences while simultaneously raising the stakes.



Extending

Taking an idea and letting it become the central theme of the scene.



Focus

The audience's attention should only be in one place at any given time; that place (or person) is the "focus" of the scene. If more than one thing is going on simultaneously, the focus is split. Experienced improvisors will smoothly share focus, less experienced improvisors often steal or reject focus.



Gagging

Trying to make a joke or do something funny that doesn't flow naturally from the scene. Always a bad idea.



Gibberish

A nonsense language.



Gossip

Talking about things instead of doing them. Also, talking about things that are offstage or in the past or future.



Handle

The premise for a scene or game.



Hedging

Making smalltalk instead of engaging in action.



Information overload

Introducing too much information into the scene, making it difficult or impossible to ever find a satisfying ending that resolves everything.



Instant trouble

Making an offer that introduces a problem or conflict but that doesn't relate to the narrative of the scene prior to that point (see "Offer from space").



Interactive Theatre

Any form of theatre in which the audience is not a passive performer. Encompasses a range of different styles, ranging from "spot" improv to loosely-scripted stories such as murder mysteries or faux events (e.g. Tony and Tina's Wedding).



Masking

Standing in a place where you can't be seen properly, or in such a way that you're hiding someone else or some important action. Should be avoided.



Mugging

Making silly faces instead of reacting truthfully. Generally frowned upon.



Naming

Identifying characters, objects, places and so forth in the scene.



Narrative

The story told by a scene. Scenes should have a clear beginning, middle and end.



Objective

The thing that a character in a scene is trying to achieve.



Offer

Any dialog or action which advances the scene. Offers should be accepted.



Offer from space

Dialog or action that is bizarre and that appears to come from nowhere.



Physicalization

Turning intent into action and movement.



Point of Concentration

What the scene is about.



Post-show

Discussion of the show by the performers and crew after the performance, in order to identify problem areas that may have arisen as well as things that worked particularly well.



Plateau

A period during which a scene is not advancing. Usually a bad thing.



Platform

The who, what and where of a scene. The success of a scene often depends on having a solid platform.



Playlist

The list of handles and/or ask-fors to be used in a show. Also called a "running order".



Pimping

Playfully getting another performer to do something difficult or unpleasant which you probably wouldn't do yourself. Used sparingly, can be quite entertaining. Best strategry is to choose things the other performer does well.



Raising the stakes

Making the events of the scene have greater consequences for the characters. One technique for advancing.



Reincorporation

Bringing back an idea from earlier in the scene, or from a previous scene in the show, or even from a previous performance. Stand-up comedians refer to this as a "callback". Always fun, but not something to over-do.



Running order

See "Playlist".



Setup

Explaining the handle of the scene to the audience before the scene starts. Also involves doing an ask-for. The performer who does the setup usually shouldn't start off on stage in the scene.



Shelving

Acknowledging an offer but not doing anything with it, with the intent of using it later. Of course, later never comes.



Space-object

An object that's used in the scene but which doesn't really exist. A mimed object. In general, anything that doesn't support weight (like a chair) should be a space object.



Status

A character's sense of self-worth. Many scenes are built around status transfers, in which one character's status drops while another's rises. Physical environments and objects also have status.



Stepping out

Breaking the reality of the scene. See "Commenting".



Synthesis

Combining two dissimilar ideas into one, such as hearing two suggestions from the audience and combining them into a single idea that gets used in the scene. Can be fun.



Talking heads

A scene that involves a lot of standing (or worse yet, sitting) around talking rather than engaging in physical action.



Transformation

Turning something into something else (one character into another, one object into another, one environment into another).



Tummeling

Bantering with the audience during setups.



Uber-mime

Overly elaborate mime that's so detailed as to be hard to follow.



Waffling

Failing to make decisions. Talking about what you're going to do instead of doing it.



Walk-on (or Walk-through)

The act of entering a scene, making a strong offer that advances the scene, and then exiting. Use sparingly.



Wanking

Doing something cute and silly that makes the audience laugh but doesn't do anything to advance the scene. Very annoying for the other improvisors.



Wimping

Accepting an offer but failing to act on it.
 

Sesame Gate Uncovered - Katy Perry & Elmo Video



CLICK LINK to view if player does not show http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHClYF_qDV8
Here is the original



CLICK LINK to view if player does not show http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHROHJlU_Ng
Get tickets now for EIGHT IS NEVER ENOUGH Off-Broadway
https://www.ovationtix.com/trs/pr/718535/prm/eight20
Saturdays & Syndaus at 8p,
Saturdays at 3pm 10/2, 10/16, 10/30

More info
http://www.eightimprov.biz/
http://www.improv4kids.com/
http://www.fpny.org/
http://www.lmao-nyc.com/
http://www.waltfrasier.com/

Medical Information you can't live without

I have suffered for years with this horrible devastating and embarassing condition. But it is time I told the world so that others like me can laugh at the situation.

Can't see video cause you are reading this on crappy FB click here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YerybmHt3UI



READ THIS BEFORE YOU LAUGH AT ME AND MY ONE NUT!!! LMAO
If you call me NONPALPABLE, I will appreciate the effort to be cerebral in your name calling (READ ON TO UNDERSTAND THIS)
http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/men/reproductive/637.html
Testicles are part of the male body. They make male hormones and sperm. Usually both testicles are inside the scrotum. While male babies are still growing inside the uterus, their testicles are inside their abdomen. The testicles usually move down into the scrotum just before or just after birth. An undescended testicle is one that did not move down into the scrotum.

Undescended testicles are common in male babies. Up to 30 percent of boys born early and 3 to 5 percent of boys born on time have at least one undescended testicle. If your newborn baby has an undescended testicle, it will usually move down on its own in the first few months of life. If this doesn't happen after 3 or 4 months, it may need to be treated by a doctor.

Your doctor can tell whether your baby has an undescended testicle by checking the baby's scrotum. If your doctor can't feel the testicle inside the scrotum, it's called a "nonpalpable" testicle. A nonpalpable testicle might be inside the abdomen, too small to feel or not there at all. It's important to find out which one is the reason. Your doctor may perform an X-ray or ultrasound to locate an undescended testicle.

There are several reasons to treat an undescended testicle. First, undescended testicles

may not make sperm. Testicles are in the scrotum because the temperature there is cooler than it is inside the body. A coole

r temperature helps the testicles make sperm. A man's ability to make sperm can be lost in early childhood if the testicle doesn't drop down into the scrotum. A baby boy with an undescended testicle can start to lose the ability to make sperm by 12 months of age. Getting the testicle down into the scrotum early in life can help him have a better chance of having children when he grows up.


Second, an undescended testicle is more likely to develop a tumor. Testicular cancer affects one of every 2,000 men with undescended testicles. This rate of testicular cancer is higher than the rate in men whose testicles have dropped naturally. When the testicle is inside the scrotum, a man can easily feel his testicles to check for a tumor, or he can be checked by his doctor. This way, any tumor can be found early, when the cancer is easier to cure.

Undescended testicle more common in atopic men. (German Study).(Brief Article): An article from: Skin & Allergy News

Monday, September 20, 2010

ANOTHER GREAT NEW CASTING

Hi there,


Lisa & Debbie Ganz here-Twins Talent.

We have ANOTHER GREAT NEW CASTING-

- Looking for 21-25 YEAR OLDS 4 A FUN PAID ADVENTURE OF A LIFETIME.

MUST BE VERY OPINIONATED & OUTSPOKEN!!

Spread the word to all of your Facebook & other friends!



PLEASE EMAIL:TWINSWORLD1@AOL.COM IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN AUDITIONING.



NOW CASTING

21-25 YEAR OLDS WHO ARE OUTSPOKEN, OPINIONATED and looking for the ADVENTURE OF A LIFETIME!

IF ANY OF THESE QUESTIONS BELOW APPLY, CONTACT US IMMEDIATELY

You must live in the Greater NY, NJ, LA AREA,



DO YOU HAVE VERY STRONG OPINIONS ABOUT EVERYTHING IN YOUR LIFE?

DO YOU THINK SOME PEOPLE TAKE LIFE TOO SERIOUSLY?

ARE YOU READY FOR THE ADVENTURE OF A LIFETIME?

DO YOUR PARENTS/GRANDPARENTS JUST "NOT GET IT"????

DO YOU THINK YOU HAVE BEEN MISUNDERSTOOD BY ADULTS AND SENIOR CITIZENS?

HAS YOUR OPINIONS EVER GOTTEN YOU IN TROUBLE?

DO YOU LIVE FOR YOUR iPHONE AND iPOD?

DO YOU HAVE ALL THE NEWEST, HOTTEST GADGETS, VIDEO GAMES, ETC?

ARE YOU ALWAYS DEFENDING YOUR CURRENT LIFESTYLE CHOICES?

ARE YOU THE LEADER IN YOUR GROUP OF FRIENDS?

DO YOU LIKE TO PARTY AND HAVE A GOOD TIME?

DO YOU THINK TODAY'S GENERATION HAS THE BEST LIFE COMPARED TO OTHERS?



WE ARE LOOKING FOR ALL TYPES AS LONG AS YOU ARE OUTSPOKEN AND OPINIONATED:

Whether you are a Gamer, Divas, Jock, Self Titled Nerd, Technology Geek, Spoiled Brat, Big Partier, Just too fun and crazy for words, frat or sorority type, Thespian, or WHATEVER TYPE...ALL WELCOME TO APPLY ...



IF INTERESTED, PLEASE EMAIL IMMEDIATELY:

Twinsworld1@aol.com

PUT "YOUNG AND OPINIONATED" IN SUBJECT TITLE

EMAIL: NAME, CONTACT INFO, WHERE YOU LIVE, PHOTO, DESCRIPTION of yourself, Some info about your life, tell as about being opinionated and outspoken(ANSWER SOME OF THE QUESTIONS ABOVE OR GIVE US EXAMPLES), why you think you would be a great addition to the show...and what America could learn from yourself or your generation?







Lisa & Debbie Ganz

To Stay connected to us:

http://www.linkedin.com/in/twinstalent

http://www.facebook.com/GANZTWINS?ref=ts

http://twitter.com/castrealitytv

www.twinstalent.tv

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?ref=profile&id=100000580943306#/pages/Ganz-Twins/231476046932?ref=ts

Sunday, September 19, 2010

COMEDY HALL OF FAME



More at http://comedyhalloffame.com/foundation/

IMPROV 4 KIDS REVIEW - TIME OUT NEW YORK

IMPROV 4 KIDS REVIEW - MENDON MA

See the full article at http://www.towncrier.us/crierdetail.php?smenu=1&twindow&sdetail=17860&mad&wpage=1&skeyword&sidate&recID=466

Taft Summer Program Ends With a Class Act

By Michelle Sanford Staff Reporter/Columnist · September 09, 2010
Typically, the Taft Public Library's Summer Reading programs are well-planned presentations which have been performed over and over again by the headliner. However, the same cannot be said about the Library's last show of the summer, which instead gave a much unscripted performance by the cast of Improv 4Kids. The evening performance took place at Clough Elementary School on August 16 and marked the end of yet another successful summer of reading and fun for Mendon kids.

Improv 4Kids is a professional improv troupe consisting of four actors, who to the delight of their young audience, put on skits and musical numbers based on whatever the audience would throw at them. The cast included actors Walt Frasier, Laurice Fattal, Spero Chumas, and Tyler Fisher.

Whether it was about starting school, sports, Disney World, or a guinea pig, the four talented and quick-witted actors could act out or sing on any topic in a moment's notice and with loads of energy.

At one point in the show, a youngster threw out the name of a crazy, made up book title called, The Acorn that Falls on Your Head That Went Bopp, and without any hesitation, the actors began to act out a humorous story related to the title.

Based in New York City, Improv 4Kids has played for hundreds of audiences across the country but plays exclusively to kids. In addition to playing for libraries, the group also performs nationwide for schools, charity fundraisers, festivals, churches and other special events and has been featured on ABC News.