"Yes, And:" Improv Theatre and You, Wednesday, Period One

[furnaceface]

Back into the Danger Shop it was, mostly because Jono still hadn't gotten around to cleaning the broken glass off of the stage of the Boards.

It was entirely possible that since the mess was Hannibal's fault, he was going to make him do it when he was all healed up, as one last final hurrah to him being grounded.

//Welcome back, class,// he greeted, because it was a wonder anybody ever returned to his rambling classes, really. //This week we're going to leap right into the theatre sports. That's gonna be the format of this class; show up, play for an hour, and call it well enough. Grades are going to be based on participation, since I can hardly put a mark on creativity. It's too bloody subjective. Willingness to play along, though? That's half the battle, really.//

He clapped his hands. Once. Then kind of rubbed them together, expression amused.

//So, what to subject you all to this week? I have a bloody list, and we're not going to hit all of them by any stretch of the imagination before this semester is through. Repair shop, perhaps. Pair off. One of you will be a repairman in a repair shop, and the other will be a customer bringing something in for repairs. The catch is, only the repairman knows what that something is, and what's wrong with it. The person bringing it in will have to guess based on clues the repairman provides. And it doesn't have to be anything obvious. It might not even be something that makes sense to bring into a repair shop. Perhaps the repairman has just been handed an apple that tastes rather like a turnip. They'd have to give clues about what the object is while giving the diagnosis and effecting repairs. 'Well, it's still bright red, let's see if it's got any worms in it. Sometimes that'll do funny things with how it performs.' 'Sorry, there isn't much I can do with it. My best advice is to boil it up and mash it, I don't think it'll be very good for your pie, after all.'//

He snapped his fingers and then gestured to the stage.

//Pair off. If there are any of you without a partner, you can jump into a group of three, or I'll play a scene with you, if you like. Figure out which is going to be dropping hints, and which is going to be the customer who doesn't know what it is that needs repairing, and then repairmen, come check the list for items and issues that you need to fix.// He paused, and then added, //And congratulations, Shiemi. You get to be my TA for the semester. Mostly that just means helping me carry things to class so I don't need to make multiple trips, if there are actual props.//

[Open!]

What NOT To Do In A Fight / Wednesday, Period III / Week 2

[atreideslioness]

Today class met in the Danger Shop, which was set up like a church with high vaulted ceilings and crossbeams, shadows in the eves.

"Greetings, class," Ghanima said. "Today, we're going to discuss how over-reliance on a particular type of weapon can be hazardous to your health. Familiarity breeds contempt, as they say, and if you become too biased towards a particular form of combat, you open yourself for for more weaknesses than is sensible."

"For instance..." Ghanima moved in a blur of motion, appearing to teleport to the other side of the room, a curved knife in her hand. "In a fight, my natural tendency is to use my knives and the Weirding Way. If my opponent knows this, they can prepare accordingly. Better body armor, perhaps, or some method of warping probability to throw off my ability to use the Way. I also do not use firearms, as they are useless in my universe, and so they know not to be concerned about that method of long-range attack."

That didn't mean they could rest easy, but it was one less thing to be worried about.

"So should I be sparring with, for instance, my brother, it would be prudent to change up my tactics. Spears, perhaps, instead of knives. Swords. Poison darts." Ghanima dimpled in amusement. "Leto does so enjoy surprises, you see, and so I try to indulge him."

"Now, I'd like us to talk about your strengths and weaknesses in this regard. What is your default weapon, if you have one. What could you stand to work on?"

[OOC: OCD ready.]

Debate, Wednesday, September 7, 2016

[heroic_jawline]

Steve was up at the front of the room as usual, standing behind a star-spangled rostrum...which was new. "Hello, class."

He wore his spangles out of self defense, kids. It was purely out of self defense. Tony's version of that was a smile that leaned a little toward the plastic end of the sincerity spectrum. Which would be what he had going right now. Because apparently both of them were incapable of saying no to a challenging topic. "We're starting you off in the deep end of the debate pool now that introductions are over with."

Aren't you all lucky?

So lucky!

Steve squared his shoulders. "We decided who would argue each side through a coin flip," because a tickle fight was just undignified, "I am against. Tony is arguing pro. Today. As we mentioned before, arguing for a side you may not agree with can be helpful as well."

"It can cut down on some of the emotions involved when you feel strongly about a topic," Tony added. "It also prepares you for the ability to see an alternate point of view. You don't have to agree with it by the end of the class, but it can help you later on in formulating arguments."

Steve nodded. "We'll give you some time to get through the research on both sides, and then you get to debate with us. Should it be okay all the time? Some of the time? Only when the interrogation can't be traced back to you? How high would the stakes have to be on a scale of localized explosion to alien invasion?"

"Should there be rules? Is it a violation of international treaties? Does it work as a deterrent or encourage retaliation?" Tony chimed in. "We've provided tablets for you to do your research on. Please don't throw them at your teacher or anyone else you're debating, okay?"

Steve nodded. "We're starting with something important and controversial--" and painful for both teachers to talk about, honestly, "--because we think you can handle it. If it doesn't go well, we'll have to scale back to debating about the quality of food in the dorm fridges or something, and no one wants that."

Seriously, no one wanted to debate that.

"Keep it civil," Tony said because it hilarious without him realizing why.