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When I was studying improv back in the ’80s in Chicago, things where simpler. In those days, most people would study at one place at time, and when they finished one program, they would sanely move onto the next.
Stage time was much harder to come by, which gave us hungry improvisers plenty of time to go see improv shows and the free improv sets at Second City.
Today, a lot has changed. There are so many more improv programs and people are studying at multiple theaters at time. We now have as many places to perform improv in the city as there are Starbucks. This means hungry improvisers starting out don't go out and see improv shows.
The reason is simple: Given the choice, most improvisers would rather be in a show than see one. You can't compete with this. But going to shows is an important part of learning, and something everyone should take the time to do once in a while.
The other night, I found myself at an improv show in the back of a really cool coffee house on the city's north side. The show was outside on a cement patio. The audience sat on wooden picnic tables. They created a stage area by rigging up two lights and directing them towards the back of a brick wall of the apartment building next store. It wasn’t ideal, but it worked.
I was there because I was coaching the group Improv Bus, and I wanted to watch their set and give them notes. They went up and did a great job. They had really accomplished everything we had been working on in the last couple of rehearsals. I was proud of them. Really proud.
Then the group that hosted the night, Moonsharks, hit the stage. I had never heard of them, shame on me. They blew me away. What impressed me was their scene work. They played grounded and emotionally react to each other in the scene. They edited the scenes with seamless transformations. When they needed to be silly, or to vary the energy, they did it with abandon and everyone jumped in. They had incredible chemistry -- the type you get only by enjoying playing with each other for a long time.
After the show, the cast of the Improv Bus and myself crowded around a picnic table to talk about our set. As I finished giving notes, I could tell by the sound in their voices that they had all been inspired by Moonsharks, including me. We spent more time talking about Moonsharks' set then our own.
This quickly reminded me why I encourage my students to go to improv shows. Sure, there's the obvious, the technical side -- you go and watch great players make great moves that you want to emulate and you get ideas for new forms. But what I forgot was the real reason we went to see improv shows in those early days was to get inspired. Today’s improvisers, whose over-committed-life includes taking three classes at the same time while performing with six teams at 14 different venues through the city -- have left no room for inspiration.
As artists, inspiration is what drives us. Keep us going. Gives us something to aspire to be. Great artists get inspired by other great artists. Improv is no different.
You may find yourself in a show that has inspired other people. That is the highest honor.
I can think of two improv shows I was a part of way back in the day, Jazz Freddy and Naked, that people said to me years later were shows that had inspired them. They got the chance to be inspired because they took a night off of bar-prov and went to see those shows.
I get it. Not all improv shows will inspire. Some will leave you angry because they are so fucking bad. So be picky, but go, because if improv is what you want to do, you will never be inspired by it unless you go to improv shows.
It’s important to always be looking to be inspired in your chosen art form by people in your chosen art form, because that is where the next big thing will come from and god willing it could be you.
And, please don't be like me and take inspiration for granted, because it’s like putting gas in your car -- it keeps it going and you don't want to run out of it during your millionth improv show of the week because you didn't check the light.
What shows have inspired you over the years? And by seeing them perform, what did they inspire you to create? I’d love to hear.
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Nick Armstong is the founder of Improv Utopia and the artistic director of West Side Comedy Theater in Los Angeles. He performs with King Ten, the longest-running Harold team in LA, at iO West. Jimmy talks to him about why you should have an improv coach, he gives Jimmy an exercise to learn how to be silly and he shares what it's really like to be an artistic director.
One of the greatest privileges of being an improviser is feeling like you are part of a community. That sense of belonging is actually what attracted me to improv in the first place, I just didn’t realize it at the time. In fact, many of the bonds that I formed with my fellow improvisers have turned into friendships that have lasted more than 25 years.
And one of the coolest things about being an improv teacher is being able to foster this sense of community for others. Over the years, sometimes the students in my Art of Slow comedy classes will decide after their performance that they want to form a group. Nothing makes me feel more proud than when students click so well together that they want to from their own independent group.
Recently, some of my students did just that. They are going by the name of Improv Bus. They have set up a regular rehearsal schedule and they have hustled to get a bunch of shows. They have brought me in to coach them for a couple of rehearsals. But the thing that impresses me the most is how supportive they are of one another. They make plans to go and see one member’s play or another person’s show at iO.
This reminds me of when I first started out, and we’d go to other people's shows and afterwards we’d hang out in late-night diners drinking coffee and eating stale pie, talking about how we were going to change improv forever.
Those were the best times in improv, just hanging out. There was hope in those days. There was fellowship. There was fun.
Improv has gotten enormous since I started. I hate to sound like that grizzly old man sitting at the end of the bar who says shit like, "In the olds days in Chicago, if you wanted to be part of the improv community, all you needed to do was take a class." That has not only changed in Chicago, but elsewhere as well. I hear from people across the country about how they feel improv has become cliquey. Not inclusive. This makes me sad.
As a teacher, I want to give people that feeling of belonging that I got when I first started out. It’s harder for people to find that today, unfortunately. But it is there, and one way to find it, apparently, is to take the right people and put them on a bus.
Today, I want to give you three long forms that won't fail in class or rehearsals. These have been tested over and over again in my classes, workshops, intensives and rehearsals, and for the most part, seem to be a big hit with the students.
So here you go. I hope you try these long forms out in class and rehearsals and have as much success with them as I have had over the years. Let me know how it goes or if you have any modifications that work for you.
How to Play: Select a piece of furniture, such as a couch, bench or bed – something that is generic enough so it could be easily in multiple locations. For example, a couch could be in a living room, a fancy hotel lobby, the basement of a fraternity, in a department store, in a therapist’s office, in a doctor's waiting room, in an alley, etc. Once you select what type of furniture it is, have the improvisers do a series of scenes with the designated piece of furniture in different locations.
Teaching Tips: Improvisers will have a tendency to want to talk about the object, but it’s important that they not do that. Also, I have seen improvisers start out the form with a bench and then transform it into a car for the next scene. Be open to that because really the focus is to get them to ground themselves in the environment. The first time I run this long form, I give them the piece of furniture and then ask them where could it be. For example: “It's a desk. Where would you find a desk?” The answers could be a principal’s office, a kids’ room, a cubicle, NASA, a bank. This will get the improvisers to start thinking of different environments that the objects could be in, which hopefully will lead to different relationships.
How to Play: This form is simple do. Have the students do a montage, but at the top, have them do a series of very quick scenes -- between three to five lines each -- and have people edit fast, almost like they are doing a Second City-style Black Out. Have the group feel it out when the series of short scenes have reached a crescendo. Then they will go into slower, more grounded scenes. This form is great when the group is showing signs of low energy and if they are thinking too much. It also helps tremendously with editing, especially if the group/class is letting stuff go on too long.
Teaching Tips: Make sure they are editing quickly in the first half. I will side coach them by calling out "edit" until they understand how quickly they need to go. When the improvisers transform into the slower scenes, you may have to side coach them to give some of those scenes room to breathe.
How to Play: This is by far the most complicated of the three. I love this form and have been teaching it for over 20 years. I learned this from John Harizol and have modified it over the years. One player gets up and creates a fictitious apartment. Then the other improvisers get up one by one and "scene paint" by placing things in the apartment. For example, one person might say, "On this wall is a false screen TV." Then someone else might say, "The couch is broken and the Tiffany lamp has one light bulb in it," or "On the coffee table are old copies of Sports Illustrated with coffee stains on them.”
I have found it helpful to put chairs together to make a couch and have a couple of extra chairs, since the primary action will be taking place in a living room. After the improvisers have created the objects in the space, have a quarter to a third of the group start on stage with the instruction: "You are all friends from class and you’re meeting over at Colleen's apartment for Anthony's surprise party. Play yourself or versions of yourself. Play the reality of it. When someone comes in the door, greet them like you would at party. Start out conversationally."
Start the scene with a day and time. "It is 9 p.m. on a Saturday night. Anthony is coming at 9:30 p.m." Then they can begin the scene, except for the person whose birthday it is (Anthony), who can enter as the spirit moves them.
You will side coach the time by saying, “It is now 9:20 p.m.,” “It's 10 p.m.,” or “It’s now midnight.”
Usually people will be pretending to be drinking alcohol or getting high, and if that is the case, side coach them to heighten their drunk or high state. One or two improvisers may get obnoxiously drunk or high. Encourage that so the rest of the players have something to react to in the scene. Players can leave when they naturally feel like it.
Teaching Tip: In this exercise, it is ok to have several conversations going on at the same time; it’s supposed to feel like an actual party. When it’s over and players say, “I felt like I was really at a party,” then you have succeed. If players want to leave the scene because someone is getting uncomfortably drunk or high, encourage them to leave. The point is to get improvisers to react naturally and learn how to develop believable dialogue without thinking about it. Most players get lost in this exercise. The goal is to strip away the pressure to be funny or create anything, since they are too busy reacting to what is going on at the party.
I am often get asked the question what can improvisers do in between shows and class to get better? One thing I found that helps is to write, or more specifically to journal.
You can work out a lot of stuff on the page that can help you get out of your own way. I have also found writing on regular basis helps me to articulate my ideas, which is a plus if you’re someone who needs to think on your feet on a regular basis.
So, when I heard improviser Matthew Beard was creating an improv journal, I got excited. His new book is called “The Yes And Journal,” and he is currently doing a KickStarter through Aug. 31 to raise money to publish it.
So, this week I asked Matthew if he’d be willing to share his thoughts on how journaling can make you a better improviser. Enjoy!
Billy Merritt is one of UCB's most respected improv teachers and performers and a member of the legendary improv team The Stepfathers. I was fortunate enough to get to improvise with him for an episode of Improv Nerd at The Omaha Improv Festival a couple of years ago. I love how he improvises and his philosophy on improv and teaching.
The other day I came across a great post he wrote on Facebook about how he deals with those improv students who get defensive when he gives a note in class by saying, "But my other teacher told me to do it this way." I have had many similar experiences as a teacher and probably said this same thing a couple of times myself as a student starting out.
Anyway, I thought this would make a great guest blog, and I want thank Billy for letting print this in entirely.
ALL YOUR TEACHERS ARE WRONG!
One of the more aggravating questions I get in class is when I give a note or want a student to play a certain way at that moment in class, and the student will tell me another teacher told them not to do that, or another improv teacher gave me the opposite note.
What am I supposed to do with that information? Am I supposed to back down and say I was wrong, or am I supposed tell you the teacher is wrong and doesn't know what they're talking about? (That's what I tend to say anyways).
Improv teachers and coaches should all teach differently. They should all have different philosophies as to how to play game, do the Harold, and interpret what funny is. Don't waste time focusing on "but this teacher said that." Instead be fascinated as to how many different approaches there are to achieve the funny you want to achieve.
Yes, some teachers and coaches give notes in the “absolute.” I feel these people are still learning, still unsure if their approach is the right approach. Comedy is territorial, and we become threatened when someone finds a different way to be funny. (I, for example, still think puns are stupid).
Your job is to take it all in. “Yes And” everything that is given you, then make your own decision as to how you want to play. I have gotten notes that were polar opposites in the same class taught by two teachers. The deal is, split the difference, find the middle ground.
If a teacher is saying “I like this comedy, I can't stand this comedy,” smile, take it in, develop your own opinion. If a teacher spends any time dissing other schools or comedic techniques, or an entire city's comedy structure, GET OUT.
The point is, every improv teacher has great stuff to give you, and also, stuff you don't need. Treat the great stuff as precious, and let the other stuff go. Study with different teachers, rotate your coaches, learn different styles. Except puns, nothing good ever came from a pun.
Ready to take your improv to the next level? There are still a few spots available in Jimmy's Art of Slow Comedy Summer Intensive Aug. 19-20. The Early Bird deadline ends Aug. 1. Sign up today!
When we think of the people who are in the improv community, performers, teachers, directors and even the people who run the theaters come to mind. But there are other people who may not possess those same talents who also have a special place in the community.
Ken Manthey was one of those people. Ken died this week.
When Ken first showed up at The Annoyance Theater’s dingy, original theater on Broadway back in the late ’80s, he was at least ten years older than all of us and he had real, adult day job, booking Disney films into movie theaters.
He would show up on the weekends and watch shows, sometimes four in one night. He sat in the first row on the aisle. That was Ken's seat and he was so protective of that shitty yellow plastic folding chair that he put his jacket on it to save it. He was proud of being the Annoyance’s Number One Fan. After the show he would go down to the bar with the rest of us derelicts. Sometimes he would drink too much and end up sleeping on the couch in theater.
Then after watching Co-ed Prison Sluts close to a million times and working the box office, he became an actor in that show. In those days, you got cast by hanging out and being a nice person. Ken did both. He played the Warden, which was a thankless part. He only had a couple of lines at the top of the show and a couple of lines at the end and an hour-and-a-half to kill in between, during which he would sit at Mick's wooden desk and count the money from that night's box office.
As my friend Gary Rudoren reminded me in his Facebook post this week, Ken “would go from working the box office right into playing the Warden in ‘Co-ed Prison Sluts,’ and I realized he was probably the only actor to be on stage with hundreds upon hundreds of dollars in his pocket.”
Ken was not much of an actor. He was stiff. His delivery was always the same -- flat and self-conscious. When he did get a laugh, you were never really sure how. Susan Messing called him "our Larry Bud Melman." She was right. But he was not there to become a star, or to be in a hit show, or to get more stage time. Like most of us, he was there to feel like he belonged, to have a sense of community, to be part of something. He found his family at The Annoyance.
I am lucky to be in Chicago where there are lot of people who contribute to this community in their own way. I think of Jerry Schulman who photographs every important comedy event and improv show that is going on in the city. And Tom Vencill who has come to countless Improv Nerd shows and holds the record for attending Messing With a Friend the most number of times. There is Adam Jacobs who audio record shows live improv shows. These people are often taken for granted, but they are as much a part of the community as the performers, teachers and directors.
We need all sorts of talents in our community, and sometimes we only place value on what happens on stage, but when I heard about Ken’s passing, I was reminded that we also should be grateful for all of the people who contribute to the community in their own way.
(By the way, the Annoyance will be holding a memorial for Ken on Sunday, July 30 at 3 p.m. for all of those who wish to attend.)
Who in your community makes contributions that go unnoticed? We'd love to hear about them.
I am always happy to hear from people across the world about how much Improv Nerd has helped them with their improv, especially in remote countries that have little or no exposure to formal improv training. I am really humbled by how much of an impact Improv Nerd has had on so many improvisers.
Now, after almost six years of doing this tiny podcast, we want to continue to inspire and educate not only improvisers, but also improv teachers. I especially want to share with you some things I have learned along the way – such as various games, exercises and improv teaching tips that have been road-tested in the classroom over that last 25 years -- that can make you an even more effective improviser and teacher.
So how are we going to do this? By creating original video content on a platform called Patreon.
We have over 100 hours of never-before-seen video footage from our live Improv Nerd shows and interviews that have never been released. So once a month, we are going to release a full video episode of an Improv Nerd live show or an interview that we have recorded on Patreon. These videos have great improv tips and advice from some of the biggest names in improv, including Rachel Dratch, Jane Lynch, Scott Adsit, Dave Koechner and many, many more.
Also, each month I am going to record a mini improv training video with a game or exercise that I use in my Art of Slow Comedy classes and workshops that you can use in your rehearsals, or if you’re a teacher, in your own classes and workshops. My goal with this is to make people better improviser and better improv teachers.
So how can support us? Just head over to Patreon and become an Improv Nerd supporter. We wanted to make this improv-affordable, so by donating just $5 per month, you will have access to our video archive of never-before-seen Improv Nerd episodes, and at $10 per month, you can also get our monthly improv video tutorials, plus more!
We would really appreciate your support in getting this off the ground. And, as always, thank you for listening!
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In this special bonus episode, "The World According to Jimmy," Jimmy sits down with his producer, Dan Schiffmacher, and answers questions about improv, career and life submitted by our listeners and some of Jimmy's students.
In an ideal world, you always want to improvise with people who are better and more experienced than you because they make you better. But realistically, that doesn’t always happen. And sometimes improvising with people who aren't as experienced can not only help with your confidence, it can also be fun, and a great learning experience providing you have the right mind set.
That’s what John Hildreth and I did in our last Jimmy and Johnnie show at Second City. Typically, we hand pick an experienced improviser to play with us as our special guest. This time we decided to do something a little more risky. We asked the audience to put their names in a bucket and we picked four people to play with us in two 20 minute sets. In both sets, we ended up playing with people who had either little to no experience or people who had taken a couple of classes at Second City.
As John said to me before the show, "There should be no expectations," which is always a good thing with doing improv. That’s when you usually have your best shows.
When you’ve been doing a show a certain way for several years, trying something completely new can be both exciting and scary. And most importantly, it puts the emphasis back on the process, which allows you start to learn again.
I forgot how much fun it is to be in that place. This is what still makes me excited about doing improv — when I am knee-deep in the process.
Both sets were a success and a learning experience. Playing with less experienced improvisers made John and me rely on each other more and focus more on our craft. It made me less tentative and forced me to make stronger choices, to be less judgmental and to agree more aggressively. John and I did a great job of giving our special guests gifts – some of which they used and some of which they never opened. We worked tirelessly to include them and make them look good.
When it was over, John and I where both exhausted. We had worked our improv asses off. But even though it was hard work, I had a complete blast helping these newer improvisers shine.
I am not saying go out and find people who have less experience to play with. I think it’s always better to play with people who are more seasoned when you can. But the next time you have to play with people who are less experienced, instead of grumbling about it, use it as an opportunity to grow. See how often you can set someone else up to look good. Do your best to let someone else get the laughs. By simply changing your mind set, you’ll be amazed at how it will increase your confidence and at how much fun it will be.