Discovering Point Of View

It's been a long time since I've posted a note... being able to improvise more and seeing a lot more improv with the opening of Go Comedy! has got me back in the mood. So here goes.

Point of View is something that's difficult for a lot of improvisers to wrap their head around. A lot of times in our discussions about scenes POV gets lost. We tend to focus on scene heightening techniques, making bold choices, finding the game of a scene, or the simple act of establishing a who, what, where, and why. All of these things are important for the improviser, but establishing and maintaining a character's point of veiw gives you a bedrock for making all of those things come a little easier.

So what is this "Point Of View?" Let's start by noting that point of view is intrinsically linked to character and character development. Character, then, is a very good place to begin discussing point of view. Those of us who have been doing improv for years know that in a pinch we can go to "stock" charcters, pull them out and get by in a scene.

Character basics often enable us to get somewhere quickly in a scene. Big, bold characters often move a scene along quickly or provide immediate conflict. The conflict provides us with a "why" and the scene becomes about dealing with that issue through the character's eyes.

Young or inexperienced improvisers will often look to the styles of a character to get them through a scene or to establish a character.... this is my "French" guy, this is my "smoking" woman, this is my "loud obnoxious drunk"... These are mere sterotypes, launching points if you will for us to find a character style we like. We fail as improvsers when the substance of our characters fails to move beyond the physicality, doings, and voices of our chosen persona.

Think about it this way - who are you off the stage? Are you the "style?" Are you the "drunk guy," the "snob," the "bumbling English accent guy?" Some of you may be - but if you think about it, you'll realize that you're a lot more than that. There are reasons why you're the drunk, the snoot, the brit. Those reasons are the building blocks of finding your point of view.

Your character's point of view is directly related to asking the question, "why would I do this?" ... why am I angry? why do I hold my cigarette this way, why do I hate chocolate sprinkles on my sundae? These kind of things give you a good idea of where to find point of view. Both for YOU, and for your characters.

But finding a character on stage in an improv moment has to be done a little faster than thinking about why we do things ourselves. We don't have time to go through a litany of questions. We have moments, seconds if we're lucky, to know it. And that's where "World View" comes in.

World View is your character's point of view, but in a wider dynamic. Smoking Guy sees every conversation as a chance to find love. Homemaker Suzie wants to make everyone comfortable because she needs them to like her. Brit Guy thinks "fuck it" is the way to survive, etc etc etc. These kind of "World Views" give you an instant connection to whatever is given to you by your scene partners. It gives you a place and a view with which to react and influence your choices in scenes. And that helps give you a point of view. From that point of view, you are free to react and build. You can influence and direct your character's doings. Suddenly lighting up that cigarette has a meaning behind it, crossing downstage has purpose, yelling has a purpose.

Great improvisers pick this up quickly. They use it like second nature. The rest of us have to remember it, use it, and keep at it until it begins to dwell in us and it comes naturally.