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LEVEL 2

An analysis on Improv Asylum's Level 2 Curriculum.

Week 3: Emotions

Emotions is a super fun week, this is another option through which your character sees the world. Here are my thoughts on how to use emotions:

  • Emotion as a Lens: Think of emotion as a Point of View tool you choose at the start of a scene to color how you see the world, rather than just a feeling you have.

  • Show, Don't Tell: Aim to telegraph your internal state through your physicality and tone of voice rather than simply announcing to the audience how you feel.

  • Feelings Over States: Focus on choosing active, nuanced emotions from the Emotional Wheel instead of physical states like being tired or "funny" behaviors like being drunk.

  • Reaction and Heightening: Once you or your partner establishes an emotional response to a base reality, your job is to observe that choice and heighten the intensity as the scene progresses.

  • The Sound of Emotion: Use exercises like gibberish to practice conveying deep emotional meaning through sounds and gestures alone, proving that the "vibe" of a scene often matters more than the specific words spoken.