Have you ever been out with a friend–maybe you’re in a coffee shop, or on the street, or on a train– you fabricate a bit of fiction, your friend plays along, and for a few minutes you’re playing together inside an invented world? You know how that feels? It’s fun. It’s a bit magical. And then, it’s done. What if we could do that by design, not just by accident?
Jazz musicians do it. Sure, they rehearse, take lessons, perform for audiences; but they also get together and just jam. No audience. No instructors. Just a few musicians exploring a groove and discovering where the music wants to go. It’s relaxing. It’s invigorating. It’s easy and challenging at the same time.
But where do actors and improvisers get a chance to do that? If you’re an actor, you’re in a workshop with people watching and the instructor critiquing your work, or you’re rehearsing a scene to get it ready for an audition or a show. If you’re an improviser, you’re in a class or a rehearsal or a performance with people watching, a coach taking notes, and three or four other people waiting to jump in to the scene. Where do you get the time for a character live and a scene to breathe, to find the groove and enjoy the ride?
What if there was a way for it not to be about the audience, or the critique, or the funny, or the product? What if there was a way for it just about the work. Wouldn’t that be cool?
That’s what the Work is all about. It’s an chance for you to improvise with other performers, living as characters in spontaneous scenes that play out in a real-world environments. No directors, no audience, just performers getting together, finding a groove, honing their chops, and focusing on…the work.
