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| Del Close (cofounder of ImprovOlympic) was an influential improv instructor who helped develop what long-form improv is today. |
improv since August 2013. I have been fortunate enough to have had great teachers, coaches, classmates, and partners in New York City. Like many people, I started at The Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB), but I have also ventured out to The Annoyance, The Magnet, and The People's Improv Theater (PIT). I have thoroughly enjoyed this journey, although it has been a slow one. At least for me, my development as an improviser has been very gradual, but I am quite certain I enjoyed every moment of it. Improvising scenes rejuvenated my interest in performing and has even given me significant peace of mind with what happens onstage and in life.
I often contemplate on how to improve as an improviser. Here are some thoughts on my research into what makes someone a good improviser. I find that these are good to reflect upon when there are often different philosophies on what makes improvised scenes work.
WHEN YOU ARE IN A SCENE:
1. Listen. Listen to your scene partner. Listen to yourself. Listen. Listen. Listen. This is probably the best skill you'll develop as an improviser. Pay attention to the words, the inflections, facial expressions, posture, body language. Be aware of everything that's going on in your scene, including your own self. Eye contact is great for this.
2. Be present. That sounds like meditation instruction because improv is arguably a form of meditation. Don't think so much about what is going to happen two minutes from now and where you think the scene will go. That's when you can get too caught up in your own head and get weighed down with useless thoughts.
3. Be active. Show, don't tell. Do object work. Talking heads can be fun to watch but don't forget that you can be doing the activity instead of talking about it.
4. Commit hard. You are making up scenes so make what you do and say believable by committing hard to whatever you do. Good acting will often go a long way in improv.
5. Make strong choices. Strong emotional, character choices can help you a long way here. There is no "wrong" choice so don't be afraid to make one.
6. Give and receive gifts. Christina (Gausas) phrased this well when she told me that your gift is only a gift if your scene partner receives it. Too often, gifts are dropped by not listening or not accepting them.
7. Agree. No one likes it when a scene partner denies the reality you help to establish. Agreeing will help move your scenes along a lot more smoothly. Argument scenes between characters can work as long as the improvisers are in agreement about what is going on in the scene. That said, beginners should usually avoid argument scenes since they often still need to practice agreement.
8. Have fun. This may be the best advice. After all, why else would you be doing any of this?
MORE GENERALLY:
1. Find good teachers. A good teacher will inspire you and can lead you in a good path for you to develop. Reputation can help but you will ultimately have to find out for yourself which teachers' teachings resonate with you.
2. Be nice. It is somewhat of a small community and it is full of great, kind people. Let's keep the vibes positive. Improvising is so much more enjoyable when we all like each other's company.
3. Practice a lot. There's the 10,000-Hour Rule. You'll get there if you practice 20 hours a week every week of the year for ten years.
4. Learn as much as you can. Know how to just play yourself. Know how to play characters very different from yourself. Can you do a 30-minute scene in one location with only one scene partner? How about a one-hour form with group games, walk-ons, tag-outs, edits, split-scenes, call-backs, and time-dashes? Can you play organic? Premise-based? You can always have preferences and what works best for you, but I think having some range at least initially can help you. Also, the more you try, then the more you know what you do enjoy and don't.
5. Live life. We each have our own unique life experiences from which we can draw. The knowledge we acquire from them fuel our improvisations and help us find our own voices as artists.
