What is blocking?
In improvisational theatre, "blocking" is a term used to describe the act of resisting an idea or suggestion offered by another actor in a scene or improv game. Blocking is a term used to describe the sapping of energy from a scene and is considered the mark of an inexperienced performer. Veteran professionals accept and adapt to everything suggested by the others in their team. They embrace the challenge and are unafraid to take the risk of putting their ideas out. Putting an idea into the mix leaves the actor vulnerable. The following paragraphs talk a bit about what blocking is, some ideas about keeping a scene alive, and lastly, how this concept fits into Digital Media Production.
Blocking is saying "no." "No" comes in many forms and can often deceive both the sender and the receiver of the block. The obvious block is something like the next exchange:
Bob: Hey let's fly a kite!
Bo: No.
Bob: Okay, then let's each a sandwich!
Bo: Nah.
In this short scene, Bo is blocking. Bob is putting all the energy into coming up with new ideas and pushing ahead and Bo is being a stick in the mud.
Let's look at another exchange:
Shan: Hey, let's fly a kite!
Dan: Ok
Shan: This is too hard, there's no wind!
Dan: You're right.
Shan: Look there's the ice cream truck! Let's get ice cream!
Dan: Ok
In this scene, Dan isn't overtly blocking, but he is forcing Shan to do all the work. By agreeing, but not offering any new information or taking a risk, Dan is blocking.
Last one,
Liz: What do you think of this sweater?
Leez: I prefer the blue one.
Liz: But this is the blue one, are you colour blind?
Leez: Ha! Hardly! You just have no taste!
Liz: No taste! I can taste just fine! You should really clean those glasses!
Leez: My glasses are fine, you should know, you bought them for me.
Liz: and don't make me regret it...
In this scene, both Liz and Leez are blocking. Leez accepts the existence of the sweater and suggests that there are others. Liz immediately blocks by insisting the sweater is blue, and suggests that Leez is colour blind. Leez blocks the colour blindness outright and passes an insult to Liz. Liz tries to cleverly block the insult by re-interpreting the insult as a literal statement not figurative. Liz then tries to suggest that Leez has something impairing her vision. Leez blocks the problem and extends it by suggesting that Liz is responsible for them. Liz tries to find some kind of funny moment by coming up with a witty Don Rickle-ism.
The last example is a sample of how complex blocking can be and how well it can disguise itself.
First rule of Improv: Accept EVERYTHING. Accepting is risky. It means you have to flex to fit the situation.
Second rule of Improv: Risk EVERYTHING. Risking is scary. It makes you vulnerable.
Everything else is BORING. If you aren't prepared to risk suggesting an idea, no matter how stupid, and accept whatever gets thrown at you, the audience will get bored.
Here is an example of two actors doing a scene without risking a thing:
Dev: Wow, look at that!
Rev: Ya, that's big!
Dev: It's huge!
Rev: So big!
Dev: And bright!
Rev: And shiny!
This scene is going absolutely nowhere. We have a couple of actors who are passing the buck back and forth. Neither wants to commit. The audience is bored.
Some more stuff to think about
Keep it moving! Add to the scene. Even if the idea is insane, it's still something which is better than boring. Tell don't ask. You are as important to the scene as every other person on stage. You need to keep the energy going.
Don't try to be funny! Improv is not about being funny. Improv humour emerges from people buying in and not blocking. If you pause to think, you are done. Audiences don't want to watch you think about what is the next funny line. For inspiration, watch Robin Williams. Watch how little he actually is trying to be funny. He spends most of his time being just this side of insane, but not for a moment does he think "oh, this is a funny thing to say." He just spews forth stuff. For more inspiration, watch any Christopher Guest movie ("Spinal Tap", "Best in Show", "Waiting for Guffman") Every single scene in these movies is unscripted. These are improvised scenes. What is incredible is the amount of non-funny dialogue that is going on. The best comedians aren't trying to be funny. They are trying to tell a story, make a point, vent, rant... whatever... What makes them funny is the obstacles that get in their way, the distractions they must overcome...
Get moving! Talking heads scenes are dull. If you talk about doing an action, DO THE ACTION. If it isn't working stop and do something else, don't just stand there. Flap your arms. Be a close talker. Hop on one foot. Do the pee-pee dance. ANYTHING will do.
Don't stall! This is something that some actors do. They will save their best idea for an opportunity to play it... You must play all your ideas as fast as you get them. The opportunity might never come up!
Do your best to make it make sense! I know this sounds contradictory to the previous idea about do or say anything rather than nothing. If you do something crazy, find a way to connect it back into the scene somehow. If you can explain it so that it makes sense later, the audience will have an "AH!" moment. If your partner does something insane, do what you can to make sense of it and help them out.
There is some insight into blocking, keeping the energy up, and making great scenes happen in Improv. Talent is only 10% of what it takes. The rest is skill. Listening, not blocking, thinking, risking... all these are learned skills that anyone can acquire.
Of all of these, the biggest one is... wait for it... RISK. Fear of risk is probably the single biggest hurdles people have to overcome. Risk makes you vulnerable. We all have a fear of risk. It has been ingrained in our heads since Kindergarten. We learn to colour between the lines, sit up straight, and raise our hand. Amusingly, even those who rebel against this are rebelling in a low-risk way. Skaters, punks, goths, and all the other pop culture antidisestablishmentarianism types do so in a way that makes them readily identifiable to others of their type. There aren't very many people wandering around in a clown wig and nose as a statement of their rebellion against the norm. THAT would be risky. So, the moment you accept that you fear risk, then you can move forward into working with that fear and using it as an asset and not a liability.
Now. How does this apply to Digital Media Production? Hopefully, you are seeing the connection. I think each of you have shared some of this in your emails to me. The trick is to get on top of making this happen in your actions. In the way you work with each other. Ask yourself? Am I blocking? How am I adding to this conversation? Am I saying yes to anything people say? Where's my risk factor?
I don't care if you are talking to people you trust, customers, clients, friends, foes, or strangers. You need to find a way to constantly analyze your own behaviour in meetings, presentations, written responses, phone calls. Things can get pretty heated and customer, team mates, and friends can drive you crazy with the seemingly never-ending revisions of your ideas. By embracing everything, you stand the chance of actually creating something unique and original. What's more, you also stand the chance of making something bigger than you.
