Yes-anding the Genre

My Capital District, New York-based improvisational theater company, The Mop & Bucket Company has been playing with genres a lot recently. Sometimes, that takes the form of the classic short-form improv game, "Genre Switch", in which the actors start a scene and then periodically switch into another style - of playwright, movie director, story form - suggested by the audience. In this kind of game, the genres act mostly as hoops for the actors to jump through, and the payoff is showing off one's knowledge and facility switching from one to another.

Sometimes, we simply solicit a single style, and improvising within that genre. This second form, although less impressive in a tour-de-force way, has proven especially delightful to those of us interested in creating rich, theatrical stories. Genres, by definition, are a bundle of offers ready-made. They contain types of characters, environments, narrative styles, plot conventions. What a treasure trove. Improvisers speak about "daring to be obvious" when creating. Genres give us a way to be obvious - simple, coherent - in broader ways. Think how differently a love scene would play in an Oscar Wilde play, a 1950's science fiction film, or a Disney fairy tale. By playing with genre we expand our range of storytelling. We break out of our habitual styles. We find ourselves telling different kinds of stories, with different kinds of morals when we give ourselves a genre to play in.

Individual and organizational cultures have preferred genres, too, and can benefit from identifying and stretching their ranges.

Start by asking some questions:

- What kind of stories am I drawn to recreationally?
- How do those kinds of stories relate to the kinds of stories you tell and hear at work? Are they different in tone and moral? Similar?
- What are the elements of the stories I find most inspiring?
- What are the rules of the standard genres I employ in my storytelling? What are the standards at work?

Then try the following:

- Watch, read, listen to some unfamiliar genres. I have a colleague buys a magazine once a month written for aficionados of something he knows nothing about to expand his awareness of the world.
- Relate an experience in different styles. What does that trip to the supermarket sound like as Film Noir, a Western, a Shakesperean tragedy?
- Got to http://www.getstoried.com/ Paul Costello. Michael Margolis hosts a podcast with Paul Costello which discusses genre as an important element of storytelling as a communication and culture-building tool. From there you can discover more about the work of these two inspiring practicioners.