Harold Night 2003 — 4 of 27

Part 2 - Teachers

A teacher is a kind of person.

A person can be warm or cold. People are usually warm. Teachers are usually cold. The player is cold.

A person can be smokable or unsmokable. People are usually smokable.

A person can be smoked or unsmoked. People are usually unsmoked.

a performer is a kind of person.

Before printing the name of a teacher, say "[bold type]".

After printing the name of a teacher, say "[roman type]".

A teacher has an object called a desired.

Every turn while player can see a cold teacher (called observer):

if player is holding desired of observer:

say "[observer] is eyeing something you're holding.".

Matt Besser is a male teacher. Understand "Besser" as Matt Besser. He is in the Box Office. The description of Besser is "Matt Besser is one of the four founders of this theater. He's tall, thin, and has a mop of black curly hair. His resting face is a skeptical gaze, and he's notoriously hard to impress. But he's also a true blue old-school improv nerd who ran one of the best workshops you've ever taken. Besser makes you feel that improv is serious business.".

The desired of Besser is the flyer.

Instead of showing flyer to Besser, try giving flyer to Besser.

Instead of giving flyer to Besser:

say "Besser looks at the flyer and is impressed. 'All right! Someone's promoting their show. I wish they were out there handing these out, but at least they've made them.' He smiles. You double-check. Yep, he's smiling.";

now Besser is warm;

try teaching premise;

now flyer is off-stage.

Ian Roberts is an unsmokable male teacher. Understand "Ian" and "Roberts" as Ian Roberts. He is in the MainSeats. The description of Ian is "Ian is one of the four founders of the theater. His manner is a combination of focused and deliberate with friendly and open --- like a kind of friendly machine. You took his class; he teaches in a way that's both confident and humble: in that he's impassioned about his approach but seems open to learning more. Ian makes improv seem like a practical craft that can be learned by memorizing rules. He's currently in the front row taking notes on the shows, all business and [if Ian is cold]his brow furrowed[else]happily intense[end if]. There's a ticket stub sticking out his shirt pocket.".

The desired of Ian is the mix CD.

Ticket Stub is scenery in MainSeats. Understand "stub" and "ticket" as ticket stub. The description of ticket stub is "The stub says 'Elvis Costello - Beacon Theatre'".

Instead of showing CD to Ian, try giving CD to Ian.

Instead of giving CD to Ian:

say "Ian happily takes the mix CD and slides it into his satchel. 'Thanks!' His mood seems brighter.";

now Ian is warm;

try teaching justifying;

now mix CD is off-stage.

Delaney is a male teacher. Delaney is in CouchesRoom. Understand "Michael" and "Delaney" as Delaney. The description of Delaney is "Delaney is an amiable guru of improv. You took his class. He talks forever during it, but during those long rambles were some of the most inspiring descriptions of what improv could be that you've ever heard. He is contently drumming his fingers on the couch. He's wearing a thick flannel shirt that wouldn't look out of place on a roadie. Delaney makes you feel that improv is a religion to be respected.".

fingers are scenery in CouchesRoom. The description of fingers is "They're fingers.".

The desired of Delaney is an SCTV tape.

Instead of showing SCTV to Delaney, try giving SCTV to Delaney.

Instead of giving SCTV to Delaney:

say "Delaney brightens, takes the tape and exclaims 'Thank you so much!' He offers you pot. To do it, type SMOKE POT.";

now SCTV is off-stage;

now Delaney is warm;

try teaching specificity.

Matt Walsh is a male teacher. Understand "Matt" and "Matt Walsh" as Matt Walsh. He is in Performer's Corner. The description of Walsh is "Walsh is one of the four founders of the theater. He's a very friendly person, who talks to everyone he meets like he already knows them. You took his class: he focused on people thinking of improv as disposable, in order for them to be more bold and have more fun. He's watching Harold Night, giving friendly nods to people as they pass. Walsh makes you feel like improv is fun, and that you are already good at it.".

The desired of Walsh is the figure.

Instead of showing figure to Walsh, try giving figure to Walsh.

Instead of giving figure to Walsh:

say "Walsh assumes an expression of total reverence and seriousness. He says 'I will treasure this forever.'";

now Walsh is warm;

try teaching if-this-then-what;

now figure is off-stage.

Amy Poehler is a female teacher. Understand "Amy" and "Poehler" as Amy Poehler. Amy is in the Chill-Out Room. The description of Amy is "Amy is one of the four founders of the theater. She is short and slight, but so full of energy that she dominates the room. You took her class. She focused on character development and committment. She laughed, seemingly genuinely, at everyone who did scenes. You always walked out of that class feeling that you were an amazingly interesting person.".

The desired of Amy is InsideVladimir.

Instead of showing InsideVladimir to Amy, try giving InsideVladimir to Amy.

Instead of giving InsideVladimir to Amy:

say "She smiles and says 'Yes! I need this for an iO reunion I'm going to next week. Thanks!";

now Amy is warm;

try teaching committing;

now InsideVladimir is off-stage.

Kevin Mullaney is an unsmokable male teacher. Understand "Kevin" and "Mullaney" as Kevin Mullaney. Kevin is in Notes. The description of Kevin is "Mullaney is a teacher who is giving notes to the harold team Police Chief Rumble. He has a welcoming expression, equal parts resigned and amused. He taught your first ever improv class, and made everything feel simple and doable. He'd hang out with your class afterwards and tell stories about improv in Chicago. He is holding a book.".

The desired of Mullaney is pack of cards.

Instead of showing cards to Mullaney, try giving cards to Mullaney.

Instead of giving cards to Mullaney:

say "Kevin takes the cards, smiles and says 'Hey, you play poker?' He invites you to the weekly tournament he holds in the offices.";

now cards are off-stage;

now Mullaney is warm;

try teaching simplicity.

Mullaney is holding a book. The description of book is "It's called 'Guide To Competitive Poker.'"

Billy Merritt is a male teacher. Understand "Billy" and "Merritt" as Billy Merritt. Billy is in The Bar. The description of Billy is "Billy is one of the most popular teachers at the theater. He is a big, friendly guy who has one of these big full laughs which somehow makes you believe that you are indeed funny. His class focused on bringing more theatricality into your play: stage pictures, monologues, genres, better object work. Tonight, he's here to promote his improv wrestling show 'Piledriver' where he plays a character called The American Dream. He is in fact still dressed as an American Flag.".

The desired of Billy is the sword.

Instead of showing the sword to Billy, try giving sword to Billy.

Instead of giving the sword to Billy:

say "Billy takes the sword and says 'Ah, for my Ninja Improv class. Nice.'";

now sword is off-stage;

now Billy is warm;

try teaching YesAnding.

Christina Gausas is an unsmokable female teacher. Understand "Christina" and "Xtina" and "Gausas" as Christina Gausas. Christina is in Vestibule. The description of Christina is "Christina is a one of the most talented actors among the UCB teachers. She possess a tremendous amount of energy, rarely sitting still. She laughs loudly and enthusastically when her students are on stage. In class, she's able to infuse students with her vibrant energy. Her classes are where students can find their inner voices and feel great.[if cold] She looks nervous, pacing around in a circle with a worried expression.[end if]".

The desired of Christina is the soothing tea.

Instead of showing the tea to Christina, try giving tea to Christina.

Instead of giving tea to Christina:

say "Christina takes the tea and gulps it down. 'Oh thank you, that is just what I needed.' Thanks for yes-anding me.";

now tea is off-stage;

now Christina is warm;

try teaching confidence.

Teaching is an action applying to one thing.

Understand "Teach [something]" and "Teaching [something]" as teaching.

Before teaching:

if noun is not held by the player, now the player holds the noun.

Check teaching:

If noun is not an improv move:

say "That is not an improv move." instead;

else if noun is known:

say "You re-learn [b][noun][/b]. Always good to reinforce fundamentals." instead;

else if noun is unknown:

now the player is holding noun.

Carry out teaching:

now the noun is known;

increase the score by 1;

now the player is holding the noun;

Report teaching:

say "As thanks for that gift, [He-She] [one of]makes a fist and opens it, revealing [or]waves [his-her] hands in the air, and suddenly there appears [or]snaps [his-her] fingers, creating [or]blinks [his-her] eyes sharply, and in front of you appears [or]reaches above [his-her] head, and plucks out of thin air [cycling] a sphere of light which floats towards you and enters your soul. This sphere of light was an improv lesson -- the lesson of [b][noun][/b]. [description of noun][para]";

if number of known improv moves is:

-- 1:

if tutorial mode is false:

say "All right, that's your first improv lesson!";

-- 2:

say "Two lessons. Good. Of course you know all these lessons already, but by getting them again tonight, you are reinforcing them so that you can do a great show.";

-- 3:

say "Three lessons down. You're feeling more and more ready.";

-- 4:

say "Four lessons. You're halfway to getting all you need to know.";

-- 5:

say "Five lessons. You're getting really excited to do this!";

-- 6:

say "Six lessons. Just two more and you can do the show!";

-- 7:

say "Seven lesssons. Just one more! Oh man!";

-- 8:

say "Eighth lesson. That's all you need. Find your team The Lament backstage, and do the show.";

continue the action.

Every turn when Beat is not happening:

if player can see a warm unbitted teacher (called guru):

say "[guru] looks like [he-she] wants to do another bit[if guru is Besser]. Really[end if].".