Is anyone doing Improv?
 

I created an Improv troop in France last year, and this has been one of the most rewarding times of my life. We've played in theatres, and cafes. We've had Improv matches. I was wondering if anyone on the board did indeed do Improv?

I never started or joined a troupe, but I did performing arts all throughout high school and we would dabble in improv. We also had festivals we'd compete in where one of the categories was an improv tournament.

I would love to join/start one.

I've loved improv since the first day I saw "Who's Line", which was a very long time ago.

Well you need:

1 - A coach
2 - Motivated people
3 - A place to rehearse / train
4 - Contacts in the improv scene for tips on where to make your shows

I suggest you stick around impro events and don't hesitate to speak to actors after their performances.

I do improv as an assistant teacher for a high school troupe. I also play piano for the troupe--good old Hoe Down! It's fun.

One of my favorite games, which is good for both performance and chops-building rehersal, is "128". You get a topic from the audience and then everybody takes turns telling jokes in the format: "128 ______s walk into a bar. The bartender says, 'We don't serve ______s here!", and the ______s say: ____________".

So say it's... I dunno... shoes.

128 shoes walk into a bar. The bartender says, "we don't serve shoes here!" And the shoes say, "Hold your tongue!"

128 shoes walk into a bar. Bartender says, "We don't serve shoes here!" The shoes say, "Lace see about that!"

128 shoes walk into a bar. Bartender says, "We don't serve shoes here!" Shoes say, "Well, then adidas-os, muchacho!"

Goood tiiiiiimes.

Haha. Oh man, that totally reminds me of how bad I was at improv. When we'd just do a totally open-ended improv exercise, I'd freeze up so much. I always found it really sad because I like to think of myself as at least somewhat quick-witted, but I would constantly feel like a deer in headlights doing improv. I'm pretty sure it was just the added pressure of it being on the spot and being forced. It's a lot like if you can do a good impression or something along those lines, and you can rattle it off on your own in any situation. But, the second someone puts you on the spot and asks you to do it, the performance anxiety turns you into a deer in headlights, hah.

Yeah. I know it's tough. But this is what Improv is about, right? Fighting one's own fears.

I hope that you have experienced the true joy of communion with the audience. You are on the scene, alone or not. You have no text. Suddenly it all starts, you say something, it gets followed up, you go on for some time and then the audience just craks up, rolling on the floor laughing, and in some way, up to this point, it was all natural. These moments feel so good...

Oh, I wasn't always terrible, heh. I actually used to basically be in charge of a bi-monthly sketch show in high school, and I'd write and perform with my friends and we'd oftentimes find ourselves just winging it out there. Those are some of my most cherished memories, and it was definitely one of the best feelings I've experienced. I think the difference from those skits and from the improv exercises we'd do is the fact that with the scenes, I at least had the scene rolling and was in a zone where I could react and move things much easier. In the other situations it was basically a dead stop and then attempting to say the right thing to get all that momentum started.