Lessons I Learned From Improvising, Part 2

When you start out, improvising is all about rules. Actually, a lot of it is about don’ts:

• Don’t deny
• Don’t ask questions
• Don’t go for the joke

Most people are so nervous starting out that you can actually see their brains working, trying to remember all the rules so that they can have a “successful scene.” Because of that, most of their scenes are not so successful, but hey, it’s a class, so it’s OK. (To be honest, all the side coaching from an instructor can sometimes make it worse, because you’re just waiting to be corrected. But that’s just my opinion – I’d rather get my notes after a scene, so we can go over it moment by moment.) As long as you follow the rules, you’re going to be successful, right? All of your scenes will be hilarious because you refrained from asking questions, said yes to everything, and never went for a joke! We’ve finally boiled comedy down to its mathematical essence! Sorry to say that this just isn’t so. I speak from experience. I’ve had terrible scenes where I followed the rules and transcendant scenes where I ignored them. Or did I?

The key to successful improvising lies not in the blind following of rules, but in the understanding of the purpose they serve. Don’t deny doesn’t mean “don’t ever say no”; it means that you should be open to any direction a scene takes, and go with premises rather than stopping them in their tracks so you can squeeze your ideas in.

You don’t have to avoid questions, but you need to understand that everything must add information, and questions tend to put the onus for information on the other party, so you might think about why you’re asking a question and purpose it serves to the overall scene. When you’re really in tune with the other players, questions cease just being questions, and instead become bridges, set-ups and even buttons to a scene.

Going for the joke is frowned upon in improv because it feels cheap and easy, and going for it right off the bat is definitely proof; improvisers earn their laughs from the unexpected twists and turns that come from nobody, not even the performers, knowing where the next moment is coming from. When someone tries to lead you down a path with their “schtick”, it’s boring and predictable. However, there are cases where you can earn the joke, making it a payoff to audience expectation rather than a predictable and hacky attempt to steal a laugh. The point is that the rule exist for a reason, and until you grasp the reason, you can neither truly abide by the rules or break them successfully.

Businesses using social media are given all sorts of guideposts, graphics and do’s & don’ts – we’ve even given a bunch of them here – but that doesn’t mean that your success or failure is dependent upon your following these “rules” to the letter. Instead, cultivating an ability to interpret and really understand why those steps are important can lead to bend, stretching or even breaking what are fast becoming the conventions of “social marketing” online. THAT’S how this medium will grow.

What do YOU think?

Tags: Comedy, Groups, Improvisation, Shiner, Social Media, Theatre