Jason Delplanque runs amazing improv workshops in cape town
Meditating in a cave can be a time consuming affair. Keeping one’s concentration while chanting for hours on end with bells and incense can be difficult after a couple of shots of the finest arabica. So, how then is your average city dweller going to experience the joys of presence, enlightenment and being in the here and now like the meditating monks of old? Enter Jason Delplanque, founder of Improv Cape Town! I landed in the first Improvisation class in Cape Town (think who’s line is it anyway?) completely by accident, it sounded like an interesting thing to do and there is a lot of improv in street performance so I thought it would be good for my street skills. I had no idea how much fun it was going to be and how much I would learn!
There is no doubt in my mind that improvising is a spiritual practice. One Lets go of the ego enough to make a complete fool of oneself and working in selfless service for the good of the show with the aim to make your fellow performers look good! The key is: listening, staying present and being willing to ditch any preconceived ideas in an instant in favour of the now! I think Eckhart Tolle and the dalai Lama would be great improvisors.
One night a week for 6 weeks Jason put the HA into buddha, with heroically fun games and warm-ups to bring us into the moment and sage advice on the dos and don’ts of improvising in a group. Whether you are a performer looking to deepen your skills of in-the-moment interaction or are just looking for something really fun to do of an evening, Jason’s improv course is a great way to open up, get rid of inhibitions and connect with a fantastically interesting group of people in a strange quasi-modern spiritual way.
Our course ended with a riot of a show at Ragazzi lounge on long street and our group (The Long Shots) got more than our fair share of belly laughs and a great time was had by audience and performers alike. So next time you are looking to sign yourself up for something awesome, ditch the yoga mat and come improvise!
It feels like years since last I did a real street show, the winter deepens and I wonder if I am still able to create a connection with random people on the fly. Now I talk a language of social media, invoices and margins. I remember a time when it was: “Hi, How are you? come watch the show, it’s good I promise, no really come watch a show…or the little one gets it…” aah yes, the friendships we make. If only for a moment, in a street show people of all colours and creeds come together in an experience of laughter, awe and fear for the safety of their children.
But winter is a time to reflect on what came before, perfect new moves, write new lines, and re-use tea bags one time too many. It’s a time to sew seeds in the mind for the new show that will burst out at the first sign of hatting season (Mating season is a different and far more costly season for someone on a juggler’s salary). No doubt winter does have it’s charms, but still my bags look at me from the corner of the room, waiting. I keep them packed with an extra set of clean clubs while I slowly sew the sail for my life-experience raft that will take me across the oceans to where there are more of my kind. Until then I patiently rehearse my one liners and silly moves in the mirror, chained to my cosy little flat just outside of cape town, waiting, desperately waiting, for telkom to give me some sort of smoke signal that they did indeed here my cry for a landline. I dare not move for fear that I will miss that precious chance to meet a representative from the tyrannical monopoly that holds the nation in it’s deadly grip of overpriced data and terrible customer service.
So here I wait, working on amazing new stuff for the summer and patiently sewing seeds and sails.
Trying to get ones technology synched is an endless journey/ challenge/all out war, depending on if you have a Mac/Mac or P.C/ P.C. At the moment I’m emailing my self because I’m writing this on my phone and that is the only way I know to synch my text documents. Reminds me of when I used to get valentines day cards…
Yesterday I thought I was being wise by synching my computer with my phone so I had a back up of my calendar and contacts. Amish people are wise, they don’t use technology. All the dates in my diary have disappeared, of course those dates will still come and go except I will only know what I was supposed to do when someone phones me to complain that I didn’t do it. The Amish don’t have this problem. I’m sure the Amish have also never thought of consolidating their social media profiles, this requires that you join ANOTHER platform and write ANOTHER profile, so you can link all your profiles to more effectively communicate with friends you don’t know and never see. I am now far too busy communicating to answer my phone and speak to people.
Social platform advertising media. Otherwise known as S.P.A.M.
Now I can organize my S.P.A.M. so i don’t have to do it everyday, I can S.P.A.M. all of my friends i’v never met for the whole week with only one day of active spamming! Watch this space!
So about juggling…yes I, still do that occasionally in between S.P.A.Ms. The current run of shows at Vaudeville @ The Fez club in cape town is a real treat! I’m working with amazingly talented performers in a super-funky expose of local and international acts. I have compiled a little video of my short practice sessions in the dressing room.
Every Thursday – saturday evening come have a drink or an amazing gourmet experience while soaking up the vibe of VAUDEVILLE!
For all those stuck in the big city and not able to enjoy the fresh spring water and mountain views of cape town, at least there is still something to feel good about!
The Anti-clockwise crew have just started fire dancing lessons at parkhurst recreation centre.
Tuesday @ 7pm.
Contact Marth on 072 269 1203 or Henn on 082 449 3321.
R100 per person per hour for a class.
Fun, meditative, creative and excellent for shaping up!!!
