One of the first and most glorious things you will do in an acting class is improvisation. You can’t act without having improv skills, so it only makes sense that it’s one of the first things you conquer. From as far back as I remember in my acting training, I learned the art of improv. I am definitely of the opinion that it made me a better actor. You never know what sort of thing you’re going to face onstage. Sometimes, things are going to catch you off guard and you have to just BS it. Without the improv training, that’s a hell of a lot harder.
The cool thing about improv is that it can have a form, or it can be completely formless. We all learned the basic improv games, such as “One in, one out, one stays”, but we were also thrown up in front of everyone, given a situation, and asked to play it out. It can definitely be a lot of fun, but also a major challenge. There’s absolutely nothing like being forced to think entirely on your feet, usually working with at least one other person whose brain you can’t pick. I’m the type of person that wants to really think about what I’m doing…with improv, you don’t necessarily get that time to think.
What’s the first rule of improv? Always say yes! I’m serious. When you’re in an improv, you have to just go with what your partner or partners throw at you. If you’re being told you’re tap dancing, you’d better start tap dancing. If you say, “No, I’m not.” you’re going to get called out on that. This is another big challenge. People will throw out the weirdest things to you, and you have to just do it. Of course, that’s also part of the fun. Nothing is stopping you from throwing things right back at them…
And they don’t even have to make any sense.
One of my favorite improv moments happened to me when I was 16 or 17. It was one of the most ridiculous things ever, which is probably why it’s stuck with me all these years. We were playing a basic game of two liners, where someone says something and the other person has to respond. Most pairs were trying desperately to make some sense in their two line dialogue, which was fun, but not how I wanted to play the game. By sheer luck (or the fact that even the Universe couldn’t separate me and Drew), I was paired with my best friend. Our dialogue went something like this:
Drew: Zoe, I can’t believe you blew up a Starbucks!
Me: Yeah, well, I can’t believe it’s not butter!
We definitely got a laugh. And our teacher thanked us for introducing the art of absurdity. I think improv definitely has ties to comedy, especially to people just watching. With shows like Whose Line Is It Anyway?, people really see the comic element of improv. And as hilarious as these shows are, I think most people don’t realize the other layers to improv, such as how it helps you onstage.
Anyone who has been onstage has forgotten a line. Hell, sometimes you’ve forgotten whole pages of the script. It throws everyone off, of course. That’s when improv training becomes more than comedy. That’s when you have to remember everything you’ve ever learned about improv and shows and fix things the best way you can. The thing is- the audience doesn’t know the script. They don’t know if you skipped pages or messed up lines. That means it’s up to the actors to keep a show going. Letting the audience in on your accidents is not an option.
Obviously, improv is important on many levels. As much as we laugh in classes with our friends as we put on ridiculous scenes, most of us know that this sort of thing could very well save our hides on stage some day. I’ve even been in situations when I’m running lights and sound and make a mistake and the actor has to make up for what I’ve done. There are so many aspects to theatre, and most of the time, they’re all happening at once. We all have to be in tune with each other and be aware of both ours and other’s mistakes.
Without improv training, I don’t think I would have been able to do everything I’ve done in shows, both onstage and off. I say off, because a lot of backstage people don’t have that sort of training, but I’ve found it helps me a lot with times when I’m up in the booth or on crew. Improv training has made me more creative, more able to think fast and fix mistakes. Things have happened to me up in the booth that I feel improv training helped with. It definitely is most important for actors, but that doesn’t mean the rest of us can’t benefit from it.
If the actors do it right, you’ll never know if something is going wrong onstage. You’ll never know if you’ve already experienced improv in a play. Just remember that improv is an invaluable tool that actors, and many others involved in theatre, keep in their belt. Of course it’s fun to laugh at it at the right moment, but don’t let that fool you…it can be a very serious craft when you least expect it.
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