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Posted by Johnnie Moore on November 15, 2007 06:46 PM
in About AIN
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Useful phrases for trip up to Canada
In the spirit of the useful phrases learnt in Helsinki, here are some of the same phrases translated for use in Canada.
I think you have a cute president.
Cold up here eh?
What time does the sun set this afternoon?
Got dark early didn’t it eh?
Well, how many of your uncles commited suicide this year?
Cold enough to freeze to death, eh?
I'm awfully sorry... was that your ferret?
What was that frozen thing I just stepped on, eh?
Is it OK if I bring my laptop in the sauna?
Where can I get warm and do some work,eh?
What is the price per night?
What's that in US Dollars, eh?
So, do you listen to a lot of black metal?
Has the cold frozen your ears off yet, eh?
Wait... let me shave it off.
This blade won’t hurt, eh?
See you in Banff, eh?
Posted by Alan Montague on November 2, 2007 09:53 AM
in Annual conference
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P.S. some Finnish phrases
By the way, here are a few useful phrases we learned during our stay in Helsinki. May be useful to you next time...
I think you have a cute president.
Mielestäni teillä on söpö presidentti.
What time does the sun set this afternoon?
Mihinkä aikaan aurinko laskee tänä iltapäivänä?
Well, how many of your uncles commited suicide this year?
No, moniko sinun sedistäsi on tehnyt itsemurhan tänä vuonna?
I'm awfully sorry... was that your ferret?
Oho! Tota noin.. Eihän se vaa ollu' sun ajokoira?
Is it OK if I bring my laptop in the sauna?
Käyhän että tuon kannettavani saunaan?
What is the price per night?
Mitä hinta on yöltä?
So, do you listen to a lot of black metal?
No, kuunteletkos paljon metallimusaa?
Wait... let me shave it off.
Odota, anna minun ajaa se pois.
Posted by Denzil Meyers on June 18, 2007 03:18 PM
in Local Communities
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Helsinki Reflections...2007
Terve! What a beautiful experience to be in Helsinki in June for the AIN EU 2007 conference! Part of my ethereal body is still lingering there — connections with the group are calling to me from across the seas, and now, back in San Francisco, if I close my eyes I can hear again the singing Nordic birds, feel the rhythms of our dances, recall the taste of reindeer meat...
About 40 participants visited from Finland, Sweden, France, Norway, Switzerland, Germany, Estonia, UK, The Netherlands, and 5 of us from the US — some old friends, some new ones we will cherish.
We were hosted by Simo Routarinne and Pia Serkamo at the Stadia Helsinki Polytechnic - a quiet and peaceful setting next to the water (suitable for an afternoon dip), with dance floor and nap room (very important)... our own little corner of the world.
A heat wave, combined with the peculiarities of Northern exposure meant that it was light and warm until 2:00 am every night, creating a feeling of the Longest Afternoon in the World. One evening, yes indeed we did visit a traditional Lapland restaurant where almost all the food served was reindeer meat - braised tongue, jerky, tenderloin, and stew. The Finns idea of "vegetarian" is to offer you fish.
Similar to the US conference last year, we had a few scheduled presenters, and then filled the other 80% + with Open Space sessions. Personally, I really enjoyed offering something called the Spontaneous Clown Explosion (in Extreme Slow Motion) on the last morning.
Also consistent with other conferences I've attended, I enjoyed most the AIN trademark yummy delicious experience of making deep and meaningful connections with other improvisers. I love us — we offer heartfelt service, we are lots of fun, and we think we can save the world with this stuff. I hope we succeed before it is too late.
Lastly, Rita Venturini and I went to Helsinki with a not-so-secret agenda — to increase the Body Quotient (BQ) of the AIN. We wanted to continue our efforts to promote movement, somatics, and dance as part of AIN, along with theatrical improvisation. I think we achieved our goal — we presented a 3 hour session on Day 1 of the conference, and with the help of others, started spontaneous contact improvisational dances on the metro/trams, at coffee breaks, and at evening events. More and more people kept jumping in (except on the tram) and by the end of the banquet evening we had a whole bunch of us bouncing off each other, rolling on the floor, lifting, flying, feeling.
Helsinki AIN 2007 — what a fantastic way to experience ourselves in new ways, to become more than what we are...together. Onward, to Banff , Canada in November!
Posted by Denzil Meyers on June 18, 2007 11:40 AM
in Annual conference
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Del Close notes
Del Close was a giant among improv practitioners. (If you've not heard of him, check out this biography.)
Thanks to the efforts of Joey Novick and Kate Ritter, you can now get at least an idea of what it was like to work with him. Here are extensive notes of Del's workshops, mainly from 1960s San Francisco when he was forming the Harold improv form.
Download the notes (pdf, 5.4MB)
The Paradox of Planning an Improv group
I remember my first time attending an AIN session. It was the San Francisco conference in 2004 and Thiagi gave the keynote speech about paradoxes. I remember clearly having him say (somewhat tongue in cheek) how important it is to have a plan, if only so as then you can abandon it when the need arises.
And now we have the paradox of our own organization. How much planning or structure do we want or need? I’ve never been a great planner myself. However I count myself lucky that in certain areas I am fortunate enough to be around enough people who do plan to ensure that things get done. I attended the organizational meeting at the conference in November and thanks to Karen Dawson helping us through it we captured a lot of feeling about what the group is and what it wants from our organization. A question came out at that session about who leads the network and a phrase appeared that I love. It would seem that we are run by an ‘Open Inner Sanctum’. Inside the inner sanctum is where decisions are being made by some shadowy group who run things for us. All any of us need to do is step into there to join it.
So I took the step and decided to join the leadership. It was painless, at least until I got a phone call from Karen who asked me if I would like to help with some of the logistics for the Leadership Offsite that was identified at the meeting. With a view to maybe having Chicago host the 2008 conference it was decided to try and have the offsite here, and as one of the locals I called a few hotels, and we got a good deal. Unfortunately as you may have heard there was insufficient interest from others for the meeting so we have decided (we in this case being the whole organization) that this isn’t the way we want to organize and plan for the future. But it leaves me a little troubled as I think I want more than just a great conference every year. So with both feet firmly planted in the Open Inner Sanctum I have decided to ask a few questions of our group and try and see what the rest of the group feels we need to have and more importantly how we can get it.
To try and find out where you want us to give our energies I have created a survey using some free survey software (Zoomerang) and would invite you all to take a look at it and let us know your thoughts on what came out of that meeting. I see this as the first step to deciding where to go next. The survey could only take a few minutes but it does invite you to add comments a lot and it even gives you the chance to volunteer to help implement some of the ideas that were identified. As the software is free the survey can only remain open for 10 days after it’s made available (and it that time I have to get the answers off it). So please take some time over the next few days to complete it and tell us your thoughts.
The survey will close on Thursday February 15th.
So I invite you to dip your toe into the Open Inner Sanctum. You never know you might like it in there.
Click HERE for the Survey
Alan
Posted by Alan Montague on February 6, 2007 08:44 AM
in Events
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A new use for a wise old way...
Andy Burnham has sent us his article A new use for a wise old way of thinking (also available in word format). Andy explains:
Being in the moment is the mode where action can flourish and stress is absent. Creative responses are more likely when werein the moment. Authenticity and thinking on ones feet also come easily from this mode. When we are in the moment we are very powerful because we respond instead of react to challenging situations and people.The paper goes to look at how working with awareness and attention we can bring that power into our lives more.
Posted by Johnnie Moore on December 1, 2006 08:31 AM
in Articles
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Politics of performance
Nick Nissley has provided this pdf of his paper on The Politics of Performance in Organizational Theatre-Based Training and Interventions. He and his colleagues write in the abstract:
We examine the phenomenon of theatre-based training and interventions. However, we move beyond the practitioner-oriented 'how-to' understanding of theatre-based training, instead undertaking a more critical examination of the phenomenon. We analytically look 'behind the curtain', exposing the 'politics of performance' in theatre-based training and interventions by considering who controls the script and who controls the role in a performance. Lastly, we close with an 'offer' to the organization studies scholar - similar to the kind of 'offer' found in improvisational theatre.
Posted by Johnnie Moore on December 1, 2006 08:23 AM
in Articles
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