Improv Nonsense

Here’s something that improv made me do: ALWAYS HAVE AN OPINION on EVERYTHING in the show. Not as a comedy snob thinking about what it’s like to watch the show, but as a character in the show. Everything that is said, that happens — your character should notice it and be able to turn that into a strong point of view and attach it to the scene.

—Someone’s ironing? You have an opinion about domesticity.

—Someone’s buying a sandwich? You think about the ridiculousness of over-branding and that this person is making it worse.

—Someone says hi casually, and you think that saying hello is a brave act, and that the person saying hello is coming out of their shell.

When you do this, you are connecting with yourself.

I dabble just a tiny bit in stand-up but in the days before a set I’ll really be watching everything, trying to get ideas. And that will really work that muscle of me checking in with what I really think and feel about things.