The following is an excerpt from our book, The 5 Elements of Improv Improvisation has the inherent advantage of not being time-bound; we can move freely backward and forward, leaping through the time stream in the wink of an eye. With this freedom comes the danger of losing the progressive aspect of our story; no […]
In this follow-up to “How Powerful Choices Beat Questions“, we explore when and how questions can be “not bad”. Re-reading an earlier post on this blog, How Powerful Choices Beat Questions, we may have left the reader with the impression that we believe all questions are to be avoided. “It cannot be said questions by nature are
How to keep your characters real The best comedies all have one thing in common: the characters who populate the story take everything that happens absolutely seriously. Whether they are busting Zuul, attempting to land a pilot-less airplane, or questing for the Holy Grail, they do so with a mindset of absolute sober sincerity. Whether
Whether or not attendees are there of their own volition, a facilitator has an uphill battle Having been a corporate trainer for 14 years, I can safely say my best advice is this: don’t bother with the “theatre-y” exercises. Most likely the attendees are not theatre people, and will only find them boring and pretentious.
Whose Line Is It, Anyway? has dominated the TV improv scene for decades… …but yes, Virginia, there are other improv TV shows available, some better, some worse. Here’s a list of some of the major ones: It’s interesting that while almost everyone’s heard about Whose Line, these other improv shows are relatively unknown. Check them
Improv is by its very nature a communal art form. For this reason it can be challenging for alone actor to get valuable practice and experience. Challenging, but not impossible for the motivated improviser. You can learn improv by yourself. We will first direct you to our answer to this question: How Do I Get Better At Improv? , as it
Extroversion for the Introvert As professional improvisers, Karen and I work with groups of kids from kindergarten through high school. Many are at-risk, and many have never experienced live theatre in any of its diverse forms. We take particular delight in seeing those children who are timid, hovering just beyond the threshold of participation, become
In this series of articles, we look at popular improv games and offer recommendations on the best ways to play them Note: In this post, “Whose Line?” refers to the game, not the TV show. We make every effort to attend performances by improv groups around the country and across the border (so much great
The importance of chivalry in improv simply cannot be emphasized strongly enough There are few things more annoying while working an improv scene than to craft a character or create a reality out of thin air only to have it bulldozed by a player who is either A) not playing attention, or B) not willing
How to figure out the “What” of improv. If you’re looking for a book to help you learn the “How” of improv, there are dozens of them out there. If you are, instead, looking for the “What” of improv, you’ll be hard pressed to find anything of any depth, at least anything specifically designed for
