Tami Sagher 7/26/06 Part 3
JF: How do you encourage that sense of teamwork in a group if you're coaching them?
TS: There's a excersize that I think Ed had us run in Georgia Pacific a lot. It was basically like a heightened mirroring game that he would side-coach. It would go on for like half an hour or forty minutes. It's getting a group to do something that they would never do on their own and creating these worlds together.
Once you do good work together, that is so much more of a bonding experience than going camping together. So I think it would be trying to do stuff like that?
JF: How do you get into character?
TS: Uh.
JF: Do you enjoy character work?
TS: I get scared of doing character work. [laughs] If I feel really uncomfortable doing it, it means I'm not committing, so I'll just commit harder to what it is, and just try to embody the character physically and vocally. If I'm really nervous, if I really feel false, then I'll shut my mouth, because I know my cop out is to talk. I think to really get into character even the way you listen is different.
JF: You listen as the character?
TS: You try to, yeah. It's weird. You have to listen with your improv mind too, as an improviser, keeping in mind the whole Harold. You're keeping the larger patterns intact. But yeah, you're listening as the character, and instead of reacting with what a funny thing would be, react with a truthful thing. You have to throw away that funny line, because it would sell out the scene or sell out your character.
JF: In your opinion, what makes a good improv coach?
TS: Somebody's who's really passionate, and really excited, and instead of trying to get you to improvise the way they improvise, takes what the team does and what the individuals do and makes them stretch. I've had teachers and coaches who have said 'this is what you should have said,' or 'this is what I would have done,' and I've never really felt that helpful.
JF: In your opinion, what makes a good initation? And how do you initiate typically? Or do you have an initiation style?
TS: A good initiation to me is one that is clear. The things that you want to say are clear enough. It depends. It depends what you're initiating. If you're initiating because the scene before needed an edit and all you have in your head is 'I want to change the tone, because we've had a bunch of relationship scenes and now it's time for a different genre or different route,' then that's its own kind of initiation and you have to make a strong [statement] there. I think it's clarity and intention, and it's also being keyed into how it comes out on stage with you. Because if you're not expressing that to your scene partner and that's not what you got, then that's not the scene anymore, and you need to let go of that idea in your head.
There's really nothing worse than a good initiation that's being shoved down somebody's throat.
JF: How do you initiate typically? Do you have a premise frequently or do you go out with an emotion or something physical?
TS: It really depends. I don't usually have a premise, unless we're well into the Harold or the piece Usually premise scenes for me are 'tag-out scenes' or 'cut to's.' Things where you don't need to stay in for too long. I think it needs to be a little bit more than an emotion. You want there to be something that somebody else that somebody can grab onto.
JF: What does the term 'yesand' mean to you? How would you define that?
TS: To me, that means accepting the reality that your partner puts out and adding to it. I think Dave Razowski once once did this workshop and he said when you're doing really good scenework, you're uncovering a beautiful painting that had been over with white. So, yesand is like someone is taking off one of those strips of white off of that painting. By yesanding you're agreeing on that painting and taking off another white strip, instead of going over to a different canvas and being like 'what's over here.' Or instead of making them do all the work. It's taking the journey with somebody.
JF: Has improv changed your personality at all?
TS: Absolutely. People who knew me in High School or who knew me in college before I started doing the improv group are all really surprised that this is what I did with my life.
JF: Were you shier before or something?
TS: I think I was. A bit more serious. I never did bits before [laughs]. I will always cherish Ed Herbstman who taught me how to do bits. I guess I probably did it with Off-Off-Campus, but Ed is really a maestro.
JF: Where would you like to see improv go in the future both artistically and commercially?
TS: When I was starting out, I got to see such amazing improv shows in Chicago. I would like to see that again in L.A. People doing it for the sake of doing it. I think the UCB out here is having that kind of effect, where it's just shows for the sake of shows; that's exciting, instead of shows for the sake of showcasing.
As far as commercially, I don't know. I think people are doing a fine job of harnessing improv. Like the Office, the US version, is not improvised. It's really expertly written. It has a very improvised feel to it. I think that's done with that kind of improviser's ear, of taking really natural moments and capturing them.
JF: Do you have anything to say to the improv community that we didn't get out in the interview?
TS: I would say to people starting out, go see shows and go get inspired. That was the key thing for me. When I took a break that was way too long, it was important for me to go see shows. Remember why you wanted to do this in the first place. I didn't start doing this in order to work in television. And I have to remind myself of that when I get frustrated, that that was not my ultimate goal.
TS: There's a excersize that I think Ed had us run in Georgia Pacific a lot. It was basically like a heightened mirroring game that he would side-coach. It would go on for like half an hour or forty minutes. It's getting a group to do something that they would never do on their own and creating these worlds together.
Once you do good work together, that is so much more of a bonding experience than going camping together. So I think it would be trying to do stuff like that?
JF: How do you get into character?
TS: Uh.
JF: Do you enjoy character work?
TS: I get scared of doing character work. [laughs] If I feel really uncomfortable doing it, it means I'm not committing, so I'll just commit harder to what it is, and just try to embody the character physically and vocally. If I'm really nervous, if I really feel false, then I'll shut my mouth, because I know my cop out is to talk. I think to really get into character even the way you listen is different.
JF: You listen as the character?
TS: You try to, yeah. It's weird. You have to listen with your improv mind too, as an improviser, keeping in mind the whole Harold. You're keeping the larger patterns intact. But yeah, you're listening as the character, and instead of reacting with what a funny thing would be, react with a truthful thing. You have to throw away that funny line, because it would sell out the scene or sell out your character.
JF: In your opinion, what makes a good improv coach?
TS: Somebody's who's really passionate, and really excited, and instead of trying to get you to improvise the way they improvise, takes what the team does and what the individuals do and makes them stretch. I've had teachers and coaches who have said 'this is what you should have said,' or 'this is what I would have done,' and I've never really felt that helpful.
JF: In your opinion, what makes a good initation? And how do you initiate typically? Or do you have an initiation style?
TS: A good initiation to me is one that is clear. The things that you want to say are clear enough. It depends. It depends what you're initiating. If you're initiating because the scene before needed an edit and all you have in your head is 'I want to change the tone, because we've had a bunch of relationship scenes and now it's time for a different genre or different route,' then that's its own kind of initiation and you have to make a strong [statement] there. I think it's clarity and intention, and it's also being keyed into how it comes out on stage with you. Because if you're not expressing that to your scene partner and that's not what you got, then that's not the scene anymore, and you need to let go of that idea in your head.
There's really nothing worse than a good initiation that's being shoved down somebody's throat.
JF: How do you initiate typically? Do you have a premise frequently or do you go out with an emotion or something physical?
TS: It really depends. I don't usually have a premise, unless we're well into the Harold or the piece Usually premise scenes for me are 'tag-out scenes' or 'cut to's.' Things where you don't need to stay in for too long. I think it needs to be a little bit more than an emotion. You want there to be something that somebody else that somebody can grab onto.
JF: What does the term 'yesand' mean to you? How would you define that?
TS: To me, that means accepting the reality that your partner puts out and adding to it. I think Dave Razowski once once did this workshop and he said when you're doing really good scenework, you're uncovering a beautiful painting that had been over with white. So, yesand is like someone is taking off one of those strips of white off of that painting. By yesanding you're agreeing on that painting and taking off another white strip, instead of going over to a different canvas and being like 'what's over here.' Or instead of making them do all the work. It's taking the journey with somebody.
JF: Has improv changed your personality at all?
TS: Absolutely. People who knew me in High School or who knew me in college before I started doing the improv group are all really surprised that this is what I did with my life.
JF: Were you shier before or something?
TS: I think I was. A bit more serious. I never did bits before [laughs]. I will always cherish Ed Herbstman who taught me how to do bits. I guess I probably did it with Off-Off-Campus, but Ed is really a maestro.
JF: Where would you like to see improv go in the future both artistically and commercially?
TS: When I was starting out, I got to see such amazing improv shows in Chicago. I would like to see that again in L.A. People doing it for the sake of doing it. I think the UCB out here is having that kind of effect, where it's just shows for the sake of shows; that's exciting, instead of shows for the sake of showcasing.
As far as commercially, I don't know. I think people are doing a fine job of harnessing improv. Like the Office, the US version, is not improvised. It's really expertly written. It has a very improvised feel to it. I think that's done with that kind of improviser's ear, of taking really natural moments and capturing them.
JF: Do you have anything to say to the improv community that we didn't get out in the interview?
TS: I would say to people starting out, go see shows and go get inspired. That was the key thing for me. When I took a break that was way too long, it was important for me to go see shows. Remember why you wanted to do this in the first place. I didn't start doing this in order to work in television. And I have to remind myself of that when I get frustrated, that that was not my ultimate goal.
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