Robert Forget
September 24, 2009
Meredith was about 5’ 3” and you could tell she was a woman who enjoyed good food. Her hair was a wavy brown ocean with golden streaks swimming through it. Always with a smile on her face, she could make any situation turn into a better one. Meredith was always very personable and I was able to talk to her about almost anything. Her voice was lovely but if she had something important to say her voice could send shivers down your back. Considering her occupation, this was her best feature. See Meredith wasn't just my friend; she was my Acting teacher and director in high school.
I met Meredith, and yes we called her by her first name, on the first day of my junior year in high school. This day was also the first day of her new occupation. Meredith was a professional actress but she decided to give teaching a try. Unfortunately Meredith did not have a choice in where she taught and the classroom that we were in for our Acting I class was not really a classroom. Classes were taught here but they were not normal classes. The space that we called our own was full with electronic keyboards and a stand up piano. See we were in the Piano classroom. It was a square room with a shelf about four feet off the ground going around the entire room. On this shelf were the keyboards and a couple of computers. In front of every keyboard was a chair. In the middle of the room there was nothing and in one corner there was the stand up piano. On one wall was a whiteboard and next to this was the door to the band room. When we entered the classroom on the first day we had to use this space as our space. We didn’t have desks and we had to turn the chairs around to form a circle. We didn’t know it at the time but we had to improvise.
The first week went by just like any other class. We met Meredith, went over the syllabus, and introduced ourselves. We found out that not only was Meredith the new Acting teacher but she was also going to be the director for the upcoming fall play. After week one I decided that this could be a fun class and I kept it in my schedule. As the days went by the class had gotten into a usual routine. We would get to class, pull out the chairs, read a play, discuss what we thought, put the chairs back and leave. After every play we would act out a couple of scenes and then take a test on what the play was about and how we interpreted it. Even though the class was in a routine, this did not mean that it was boring. Meredith really wanted us to think in the characters shoes and not just read the play. She made every class extremely engaging.
Classes kept up like this for a couple of weeks until one day I came into class to find something a little different. We all sat down in our seats and when we were settled Meredith announced to the class “Today we are going to learn the art of improvisation!” Now I had heard of improvisation before by watching “Who’s Line Is It Anyway” on TV but I was always scarred of doing it myself. I was worried that I would not be able to think of anything to say and that I would just be standing up there like a bumbling idiot. So Meredith has us all face the same way in class and asks for three volunteers. For some reason, and I do not know why, my hand raised in the air even though my mind was saying “are you insane?” So I found myself in front of the class with two other people ready to do some improvisation. Meredith decided that it would be a good idea to pick an improv game to start with. She decides on the game “Alphabet”. Now let me quickly explain this game. There are three people in the space, a.k.a. the stage, then a place and conversation is chosen. For example it could be two straight men entering a gay bar and the conversation that takes place. The catch is that each sentence has to start with the next letter of the alphabet. So Meredith asked the rest of the class what the scene and conversation should be. They chose the husband walking in on his wife and another man. I was the husband. Meredith also decided that she wanted us to start with the letter “S” instead of “A”. “Begin,” she said. “So work was pretty shitty today but…” I sputtered while in the space. “Tom, I didn’t know you were coming home so early!” said Hallie. “Um, man I can explain this,” explained Kyle. The back in forth of the conversation continued on till we reached the letter “R”. When we finished, I realized that I actually did a pretty impressive job. For some reason the things I should say just came to me. I was never lost and the words just came out of my mouth. Meredith came over to me and told me that I did a fantastic job. She was surprised that I did so well on my first time. I told her I was also surprised. She asked me to come to class a little early the next day. So I did.
The next day I walked into the classroom and Meredith was sitting in a chair. She told me to grab one and pull it up next to her. We started to talk about yesterday’s exercise. She then told me that she wanted to do a Murder Mystery dinner and that she wanted me to be the lead role. I agreed but had some questions. When will I get a script? How does a murder mystery work? She told me that a Murder Mystery dinner ran just like a play, but it was all improv. I understood the concept but was confused on why she wanted me to be the lead. She told me that some people have a natural ability to improvise very quickly and that I was one of these people. Not only could I use this ability in acting but that I could use it in everyday life.
We held the Murder Mystery dinner and it was a huge success. I continued to work with Meredith on my improv skills for the rest of the school year. Over the summer I sold cars for my dad and was very successful. If it was not for Meredith helping me discover my talent, I do not think that I would have done as well as I did selling. See when you sell cars you are always put up against new challenges that seem to come out of nowhere. Learning to improvise helps you stay on your feet and think on your toes and overcome these challenges. What I learned about myself with the help from Meredith will help me for the rest of my life.
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