3 Ways Improv Can Make You a Better Stand-Up
I have been doing stand-up comedy now for five years, and as I have been learning the craft, I am so grateful that I have had my improv background to fall back on.
Although stand-ups memorize their material and improvisers make it up on the spot, there are many skills that you can learn in improv that can apply to stand-up comedy.
That’s why, just as I think all improvisers should do stand-up, I also think all stand-ups should do improv. You don't have to become an improv nerd, but I think if stand-ups take even just a few improv classes, it will greatly improve their performances.
And for the most benefit, stand-ups should take several improv classes and workshops, because it takes a while to get comfortable at it.
Here are 3 ways improv can help with stand-up comedy.
1. Crowd Work
The most obvious way that improv helps improve stand-up comedy performance is with your crowd work, because dealing with the public is all about improvisation. Crowd work is when a comedian asks the audience members a question, such as, “Where are you from?” “Are you a couple?” “What do you do for a living?” If the audience member says “nurse,” then the comedian will riff off their profession. Crowd work is a form of improvisation, and if you want to have the chops to do it, I can’t think of better way of honing this skill than by taking an improv class.
2. When Things Go Wrong
If there’s one thing I’ve learned after more than 40 years doing comedy it’s this: Things are going to go wrong on stage. Expect it. The question is, when they do, are you going to freeze or use it as opportunity turn it into comedy? I have been only doing stand-up for five years, and things go wrong on a regular basis. Whether you hear noise from the bar, or people walk in late, or there is a technical issue, there is always something that can interrupt my flow and ruin my timing. In improv, we are taught to not ignore what is happening in the room, since the audience sees it as well, and instead, look at mistakes as gifts. My favorite thing that happened during a stand-up show was when I was a hosting a show and the cordless microphone was not working. I shouted up to guy in the light booth that it was not working, and he said, “The batteries must be dead. I should have checked them.” I said, “I wish you would have told me, I could have brought some from home.” I got the biggest laugh of the night. Thank you improv.
3. Improv gives you confidence to try out new material
In improv, you have to get out in front of an audience not knowing what you are going to say. In stand-up, at least you have the option to write it down, so you know what you are going to stay, you just don't know if it's going to work.
I tell stories in my stand-up and a lot of times I can't find the endings. But when I am trying out new material, improv gives me the confidence to try different endings in front of audiences to see which ones work. It usually takes a while, but because of my improv background, I trust that I will find the right way ending in front of the audience, and in the process I won't die.