So, this happened on Twitter yesterday:
I think those of us who are already “plugged in” take for granted how hard it is for someone new to the scene to get a group together. If I want to, I’m spoiled for choice, but it took some time to get here. Most of the people I started practicing with were not classmates. You would likely never have heard of me if I hadn’t been a regular at Improdome. I never would have been a regular if I didn’t used to live so close to the PIT; I had a day job.
If “interviewing” isn’t acceptable, what’s the right way to do it? Sitting in for a practice is great, if you can afford to spend the time and money. What’s wrong with wanting to talk to the person first, to get an idea if you get along or not?
I know it’s just Twitter, where the goal is to fit as much snark as you can in 140 characters or fewer. But it’s unfair pass judgment on interviewing, or any idea, if you don’t have a better idea to offer.
Because an interview - by its nature - involves judgment. Not the “comfort-level” judgment involved with seeing how you feel playing with someone but a cold, calculated, impersonal judgment born from a created situation that bears almost NO resemblance to what the improv experience is like.
I miss the sloppy, inclusive, coming-of-age, coming-into-our-own that should automatically come with PRACTICE groups. You’re not forming a team. You’re leaning together. Not cool.
I suspect lots of new students simply don’t know the norms. I think interviewing people is silly, but I’m sure it’s not silly to someone who knows literally nothing about how practice groups are formed.
I didn’t even know about practice groups until 401. My first “practice group” was more like open practice sessions: everyone could invite anyone, all our classes got open invitations, and we assumed most people would show up sporadically. And nobody knew that wasn’t the norm. When some of us talked about starting a “real” group and maybe performing someday, it seemed like a HUGE step— like it was time to stop dicking around and start taking things seriously.
There’s no handbook. Interviews would be obnoxious coming from people who know better, but if they don’t, I guess it’s as good a guess as any.
