Macbeth
First Post
Some of my best school realted stories come from my years in Odessy of the Mind/Destinatio Imagination, which are creative problem solving competitions. The competition consists of a longterm problem which is prepared before the tournament, and an instant challenge, which is given at the tournament and solved in a matter of minutes (5-10, usually). My team kicked butt at instant. for instance:
One year the instant involved using a bunch of every day materiels (TV remote, soda bottle, etc.) in a way other then they were intended. My team quickly throws together a story about some kind of 'savage' ritual, complete with using the soda bottle to tell the future, using a toy wrench for ceremonial tatoos, etc. one of the team members played an outsider observing the ceremony. Just as we were running out of time, our improvisation took an interesting turn: the 'outsider' refused to particpate in the 'ceremony' all the 'savages' rushed her. One big mob of savages, rushing her, which we had not pland for. That produced some great acting, mostly because here suprised reaction wasn't acting.
Another year, our instant was a story to be told in rhyme. My team wrote a short script, acted it out, and when the script was finished, I realized we still had time left. Instead of leaving us with unused time, I jump in and start rhyming. Off the top of my head. With no plan at all. And (this is why my team is so great) everybody else jumps in. We started improvising in rhyme. No plan, no rhymes prepared ahead of time, just freeflow improvisation. And we managed to keep our coupletes going for another couple of minutes, using all of our time, and earning a special award from the judges.
And a short one: as part of a improvisation excersize, I am trying to get food for another person. For some reason, I decide I'm getting him a hotdog. I ask him: "Twelve inch or footlong" (no, it dosen't make sense). And he responds, without missing a beat: "I don't mean to brag..."
One year the instant involved using a bunch of every day materiels (TV remote, soda bottle, etc.) in a way other then they were intended. My team quickly throws together a story about some kind of 'savage' ritual, complete with using the soda bottle to tell the future, using a toy wrench for ceremonial tatoos, etc. one of the team members played an outsider observing the ceremony. Just as we were running out of time, our improvisation took an interesting turn: the 'outsider' refused to particpate in the 'ceremony' all the 'savages' rushed her. One big mob of savages, rushing her, which we had not pland for. That produced some great acting, mostly because here suprised reaction wasn't acting.
Another year, our instant was a story to be told in rhyme. My team wrote a short script, acted it out, and when the script was finished, I realized we still had time left. Instead of leaving us with unused time, I jump in and start rhyming. Off the top of my head. With no plan at all. And (this is why my team is so great) everybody else jumps in. We started improvising in rhyme. No plan, no rhymes prepared ahead of time, just freeflow improvisation. And we managed to keep our coupletes going for another couple of minutes, using all of our time, and earning a special award from the judges.
And a short one: as part of a improvisation excersize, I am trying to get food for another person. For some reason, I decide I'm getting him a hotdog. I ask him: "Twelve inch or footlong" (no, it dosen't make sense). And he responds, without missing a beat: "I don't mean to brag..."
