Don’t Make ’Em Laugh — The Case for Improv Comedy in Private
The room is full of applause. I just wrapped up another improv show. I outdid myself. Laughter before, during, and after scenes. Yet, while these raucous sounds of approval fill the theater, I’m lamenting the fact that this is all these spectators know about improv.
That it’s for up-and-coming comedians trying to breakout into the “real” comedy world.
That it’s for funny, talented people who crave validation.
That it’s not for them.
But that couldn’t be further from the truth.
What people think is improv is actually a carefully curated spontaneous comedy show. It’s designed to make the improvisers look quick-witted and for the audience to laugh.
What is improv then?
A Gym For Your Communication Muscle
Newly fit folks will say that it’s the little things that stand out to them. They find it easier to carry a few more bags of groceries or walk more flights of stairs.
The activity of modern life is eased by good muscles.
The conversations of modern life can be eased by good improv muscles.
This benefit flies under the radar, even among improvisers themselves! Improv, specifically by its most well-known variant, improv comedy, is seen too often as solely a medium of performance.
When people think of improv, they think of a group of people getting up on a stage, taking a suggestion, and maybe being funny for half an hour, maybe an hour? As a cherry on top, the audience just might laugh and enjoy themselves.
Improv (specifically, improv comedy) has long been relegated to nothing but a performance medium. When you think of improv, you think of laughing at spontaneous interactions — whether in person or while watching Whose Line Is It Anyway?
Rarely do we consider the reps of building a communication muscle. We don’t think of how it may grant us an abundance mindset, bolster trust among our peers, or help us in the workplace. Audience members don’t think of themselves as improvisers. They are there for a show — not to better themselves. If they have no interest in making people laugh, why should they consider taking an improv class? Isn’t it just a way to get plugged in to the World of Comedy?
Improvisation Station — Just a Stop on the Comedy Train
Some improvisers view improv as solely a means to an end. A way to get plugged in to the World of Comedy. It’s easy to build a network of positive, creative people by dropping into improv. It is literally designed to highlight positivity, openness, creativity, and to put improvisers through a crucible, thereby building a community. Auditions often desire improv as prior experience. Improv is a vehicle to get from point A (doing improv) to point B (getting cast on SNL, writing for a sitcom). Improv is just another stepping stone through the garden of comedy with comedians failing to stop and smell the roses as their eyes are locked on the Fountain of Desire.
But is this all improv is? A way for people to get ahead in the world of comedy and perhaps make a few drunk audience members laugh?
Yes.
Just kidding.
I hosted a Meetup for a few years where I would teach improv comedy to whomever showed up. I’d pass on my knowledge from eight years of performance. And nearly every single person who attended had no interest in performing publicly (at least when they started).
Nearly everyone who came came because: they’ve always wanted to try it or they heard it would help them in their non-comedic personal or even-less-comedic professional lives.
They were driven by curiosity or communication skills.
Getting Your Reps In
Soft skills have been relegated to being this set of tricks and tactics you build up over years of exposure or through tomes of self-help. Improv opens a world that is so much more than tricks, tips, and tactics. It’s a life skill through which you become a better listener, a better conversationalist, a better communicator.
And here’s the even better news! These skills aren’t built on the stage. There is plenty you can learn from the stage — but most of that is pertinent to the stage.
You can learn how to project your voice or “think on the laugh” during a performance. It may help you with getting up in front of people.
But I’m not focused on improv performance. I’m interested in improv practice.
What happens when improv is practiced routinely, in private or otherwise?
What happens when you start to build something with someone using just the words Yes And? What happens as you are forced to “lose” your idea and accept someone else’s? Are these skills available to practice in the real world outside of improv?
One could say Toastmasters, but again that’s more about the performance of giving a speech.
Improv is the practice of building and toning your communication muscles.
You hone adaptability by gracefully handling curveballs thrown out by someone who thinks different than you. You hone the ability to defer judgement and take a scenario or idea for what it is. You hone empathy by being able to step into a character’s shoes. You hone give-and-take by not steamrolling your ideas all over the scene. You hone your listening skills by picking up everything your partner is saying. You hone your trust in someone by allowing them to be the funnyman in the scene while you stand off to the side.
These are skills you can practice in private.
You can grab a couple of friends and have an improv night, just for each other. There will be laughs. There will be inside jokes for years to come.
But at the same time, you’re not creating just laughs and inside jokes — you’re creating yourselves. You’re creating a version of you who is better at communication than the previous version of you.
If you do want private performance, there are groups like Meetup where you can get a half-private half-public experience. You can learn the basics of improv and “perform” in front of an audience of improvisers — they are all in on the rules and mechanics of games. Moreover, they too understand how improv can benefit themselves. Some (maybe you!) may even learn more by observing the change in others than performing themselves on some nights.
But improv is like pushups. You can read about improv, the proper way to do it, the many forms, but you won’t get the benefit unless you do it.
Private improv is something no one sees. But many teams, theaters, and meetups are rehearsing all the time all around the globe. They are bettering their team and themselves by working on this private improv.
No one may see improv in private, but thousands of people are benefitting from it every day. Why not you?
This post was originally posted on https://www.gusvieweg.com.
