About a year ago, I did something I’d been meaning to for a very long time.
I started improv classes.
I loved doing improv as a student in high school and college. But that was a really long time ago. As I’d been spending more time on stage, mostly talking about climate change and things, I wanted to make sure I wasn’t taking myself too seriously. My silly side really needed to play. And with the kids a bit older, I also wanted to make sure I was doing something for my inner child.
Signing up for those classes was an unambiguously good move. I started looking forward to my Wednesday nights as a high point of every week… a little bit of playtime! And I met some amazing people who’ve become real good friends. They make me thankful my start got put of for years so I could wind up meeting them.
While I’ve always been comfortable doing the things improv generally entails: getting on stage, thinking fast, etc., I wound up learning so much through the proper training and courses, and like most people who’ve gone through them, I’m now a pretty big advocate for them.
Here are some of the best things I’ve learned.
Bring a brick, not a cathedral
This was the first improv adage that we really focused on. One player does not need to come up with the entire scene or carry the entire weight for making it funny. In fact, more often than not, that creates awkward dynamics to watch on stage. Instead finding your contribution and letting it stack up alongside others’ bits is the way to go.
In my past improv experiences, I probably erred on the side of going a little to cathedral-ish. And I started to notice in my own ~life~ I often went this route, having a harder time easing up control over projects that I really cared deeply about.
Trust yourself as a performer
Okay, after a few months of doing improv classes, I felt a cold streak come on. I felt really stuck in my head, trying to follow all the new “rules” I was learning while still being playful and keeping it fun. But on the inside, I felt like I wasn’t bringing a whole lot of energy to the stage.
One thing my coach mentioned continues to stick with me.
Just keep up with the basics of good scene work. The funny will come. You’re here because you have a distinct sense of humor and style that got you this far. It’s just about trusting yourself and putting yourself in a position to let it out.
I love this tip! Not just as an improviser, but as a parent, a storyteller, and a broad-level creative. You won’t always feel like you’re doing all you’re capable of, but trust yourself. It’s in you.
Everything is anchored in emotion and relationships
Upon entering a scene, the two most important things to establish are the relationship between people in the scene and their emotional responses. Of course those two things are related. Our emotions and relationships really shape each other.
At one point in classes we were encouraged to only play with characters who’d known each other for a few years. Really? I see so many scenes set in restaurants and taxis between people who just met! That surprised me and made me think we’d get stuck playing parent-child relationships, lovers, or siblings over and over again. And in some ways we did, but there’s a wealth of material there.
Now sometimes, I’ll go into a scene only knowing one thing: the emotional response I want to play with. If I decide it’s going to be sadness, then I’ll choose sadness even when the other character said something that isn’t obviously sad. That sets us up to spend a whole scene exploring why.
Understanding the importance of relationships and emotion in improv have helped me better recognize their significance in my life off-stage as well. These are the things that color our lives, beyond the details.
Fall and figure it out along the way
Yes, the most basic thing about improv is that it’s being made up on the spot.
But, you’d be surprised how easy it is to get stuck in your head. To try and start scripting and problem solving from the side of the stage just before you go on. It’s especially tempting for me, since as a writer, I’m often thinking in terms of three act structure and plot resolution
But, you really do want to stay in your body, hear what your partner is saying, and most of all, get out of your head. Again, this doesn’t just apply to improv. Practicing this in real life helps you be present, responsive to the others around you, and mindful.
A great performer is a vulnerable performer
One of my coaches really encouraged vulnerability, noting how much vulnerability correlates with a strong performance. It completely checks out.
Doing just about anything on stage or in public, putting your work out there, is already a vulnerable act. If you’ve made it that far, you might as well see how much more vulnerable you can get without going a bit too far.
In improv, this manifests itself in mysterious ways. A tendency to play parents who are nothing like the kind of parent you want to be. A weird recurring theme you can’t shake, that you end up exploring again and again. In life, being vulnerable reminds us that we don’t connect with each other through our feats of strength. Our pains and anxieties are far more effective.
Elevate your C Game
Nothing beats the feeling of going into a theatre pumped, locked-in, and ready, then putting on a show and absolutely killing it. Bringing the peak performance you know you have in you, while also coming across a few gems you surprised yourself with!
If only it could always be this way. Do anything long enough and you’ll have the high from nights like that to keep you coming back for more. But you’ll also have nights when you aren’t feeling it quite as much. When you’re distracted by something that happened earlier that day. When your body’s energy level is that much lower.
I’ve realized that great athletes, artists, and performers thrive when they don’t just work on their A game, but also their C game. Learning how to raise the quality of their mid performances so they can still be meaningful and valuable until the next time your A game comes around.
My life at the improv theatre has been a real highlight for me over the past year, and I’m extremely thankful for it. Most of all, I’ve been reminded of how when you do what you love and you look for the others, you meet some of the coolest people. Even though I’ve only known my improv teammates for about a year, they’ve become lifelong friends.
Improv might not be for everybody, but I’d say it’s worth trying even if you’re just on the fence. It’s brought so much good to my life.