There are a couple of things that come to mind when we hear of improv theatre. We obviously think of unscripted acting. Sometimes we think of people being totally goofy. We also unfortunately think of the TV show “Who’s Line is it anyway?”
Upon the recommendation of a friend, I joined an improv class back in November of 2006 and the following is what I took back. It might sound like a self-help audio tape, but please, bear with me, there is a point to this.
1. Improv is about creating a meaningful scene out of nothing. To do so takes positive energy and initiative. Such is life?
When you think about it, our lives are one big improv act. Not movies. There are no scripts, no rehearsals, no retakes, no editing. Just jump in and go. It just happens to be that when we are put in a position to intentionally create something out of nothing, our minds go blank. So how do you create a scene? From Wikipedia:
In order for an improvised scene to be successful, the actors involved must work together responsively to define the parameters and action of the scene, in a process of co-creation. With each spoken word or action in the scene, an actor makes an offer, meaning that he or she defines some element of the reality of the scene. This might include giving another character a name, identifying a relationship, location, or using mime to define the physical environment. These activities are also known as endowment. It is the responsibility of the other actors to accept the offers that their fellow performers make; to not do so is known as blocking, which usually prevents the scene from developing. Some performers may deliberately block (or otherwise break out of character) for comedic effect — this is known as gagging — but this generally prevents the scene from advancing and is frowned upon by many improvisers. Accepting an offer is usually accompanied by adding a new offer, often building on the earlier one; this is a process improvisers refer to as “Yes, And…” and is considered the cornerstone of improvisational technique. (improvisational theatre)
Lets say you are having a get-together at your house. Don’t you want to plan a party with people who will positively contribute to its success? “Yes and I will be in charge of the decorations. Yes and I will order the pizzas. Yes and I will be the DJ!” Thats how you throw a party. Not with negative energy folks who nit-pick at everything that could go possibly go awry. So it is important to be responsive and open to suggestions. Give your partner something to work with.
2. There is a strong emphasis to not only make your teammates look good, but better than you. Be humble and supportive.
A common misconception of improv acting is that you have to be naturally funny to participate. Not true. Its not about showing-off that you are funnier than your teammates, but that you are the most cooperative and accommodating to creating a scene. As a result, improv really conditions the mind to be natural and to be yourself. Its better to be obvious with your statements just like you would in a regular conversation. Giving your partner something to work with builds layer upon layer for a complete scene. Consider the two scenarios:
Mother: “Did you finish up all of your homework Milton?”
Son: fidgeting, eyes looking around nervously “Sure did mom.”
Mother: “Hmmm. Milton I got a call from your teacher Ms. Swansberg this afternoon and she said that you haven’t been in school for the past three days. Can you explain yourself young man?”
versus
Mother: “Did you finish up all of your homework Milton?”
Son: “Homework? There’s no time for homework! THERES AN ARMY OF MUTANT ZOMBIE PLATYPUS INVADING US FROM OUTER SPACE! RUN! RUN FOR YOU LIVES AHHHHHHHH!”
You could continue the scene, but its less obvious where to take it. No scene can be created by one character trying to be the stand-out actor/actress, so it is important that partners listen to each other, pay attention to body language, tone of voice, and be sensitive to emotional response. Just like you would work out problems with people in real life, all the above are important skills to do so. It is also a huge test of humility and self-restraint to not steal the show away from your teammates even if one thinks that his/her teammates are awful. (I’m speaking generally) You have to work together and take credit collectively.
3. It is so much fun! Balance is important.
Unraveling the mind and escaping from the norm of everyday life and being around people who want to just let loose and be totally nuts is very refreshing. I didn’t realize how rigid my mind had become until I took the class. The day-to-day drudgery of working life can become routine quickly, and that routine becomes a whirlpool really quickly if there is no break in the current. Just like any muscle in the human body, the mind has to be challenged and sharped regularly. Improv is a great exercise to stretch that creative muscle!
One of the last scenes I did in the class was with myself and two other people playing the role of 18th century Victorian women having tea. (I didn’t know this before but apparently I can be a very convincing 18th century Victorian woman.)
Partner 1: “Oh Gertrude! I am so exhausted after all the croquet!”
Me: “As am I! Goodness! So Jane, did you enjoy the croquet this afternoon?”
Partner 2: “Uhhh yes the croquet was delicious when you dunk it in the tea!”
Me and Partner 1 start laughing. Like 18th century Victorian women of course; we had to stay in character. Wrist slaps and everything.
Me: without thinking “Oh Jane dear, you are a riot! Its no wonder you are popular with the boys at the polo club. Yes, in fact the croquet WAS delicious! snickering to Partner 1 Although I prefer mine with a lemon squeeze.”
Partner 1: “Jane, some kidney pie? Poor thing, you’re so thin! Doesn’t Gertrude feed you?”
Me: “Perhaps she would like some more….croquet!” More laughing but now converted into a pompous and arrogant giggle
So instead of pointing out that Partner 2 made a mistake, I just went along with it, and we begin to see something new about the personality of characters Partner 1 and myself; that they are arrogant jerks. And Partner 2 might be an innocent, charming, Cinderella-eqsue girl. We had to be sensitive to what was going on to build on the scene further in order to pull it off. Then it looks like we were all in on the blunder (that croquet is not crumpets although it is amongst the Dutch) on purpose! So we all looked good. Nothing in the scene was historically accurate, (Croquet did not come until the 20th century) but we committed to it and stuck with it. Was definitely more fun this way.
I know this probably sounded like a very convincing advertisement to go join an improv class. Join one if you like, I just think that a lot of times we participate in activities and we only pay attention to the activity itself rather than their benefits for us. I could have said, “Yeah I took an improv class and I learned the following acting techniques.” I personally have no aspirations of becoming an actor, so naturally I went deeper to only discover what value I could extract from it. Indeed there is truth to be found in the most obscure places.
Posted by naveed 
Posted by naveed 
Posted by naveed 
