rock*u*bator updator and the catering to of skill sets

okay, this was the biggest rock*u*bator turnout so far. Fun as it may be to have this many excited players in one room, I'm still learning to wrangle the group as a whole, and keep myself focused. and keep everyone pretty much occupied. then on top of that there's dealing with all those different skill levels, keeping the old-heads into it while getting newjacks lined up and understanding the "rules". And this is tricky because we all know improv isn't so much about rules as it is about ... well i don't even -know-, but it sure as hell ain't rules.

this was the big topic around the table at the White Dog afterward: balance in accommodating everyone's skill levels. Incubator has to make it worthwhile for our players who perform weekly while simultaneously pulling along the beginners who have attention and public speaking issues. Kristen brought up a great point at the White Dog (which, rick if you're reading this, is our new afterbator haunt - no one ever wants to enter the Philthy Diner again) that it's crucial for all improv enthusiasts to see some good improv once in a while, and even some bad improv.

eureka moment.
sometimes you just have to ask the new kids to sit on down for a few minutes. Maybe "two people up" needs to be replaced. Maybe I should say, "okay shane and nick, get up there", then later on let new jacks play once or twice with a big kid. Wouldn't you love to see Nick and Shane hammer out a song together? I think that would be good for the newbs.

after just about the best round of Human Delay Pedal ever, we were really surprised to see one of our absolute beginners totally fucking kill us with a song about sexy jeans. That was a chorus exercise and next time i might do that one a little longer.

we also ran a round of Carpool of Emotions, and that's always a great game to get people agreeing w/ each other. A new player was in the back seat and denied the initial offer. After I side-coached him, he immediately and enthusiastically got in agreement with the rest of the car. Terrific.

Anyway, what the hell am I doing? I'm supposed to be moving in with another Scramble teammate in So.Phl and I haven't even thought about packing. Once I'm moved in I'll have web access and my updators will be more frequent.