Bringing More Love To Your Improv
Want to know how to become a better improviser, or at least have more fun when you’re improvising? Learn how to improvise with love.
Love is the glue. It's the thing that holds a team, a show and even a scene together.
It's why the audience is there, even though they don't know it.
It's simple: When you love what you are doing, when you are enjoying being there, your improv will be effortless and everyone will feed off of the joy that you feel.
Sometimes this is easy when you’re having a good day. But when you’re having a bad day, that’s when you need to try your best to leave everything else at the door and just focus on enjoying doing improv. When you can try to focus on the love you have for improv, doing a show will actually help your mental health and you’ll feel better afterwards.
We are in a selfless art form. We’re supposed to "make your partner look good," say "Yes and...,” and avoid judging yourself and others.
That’s not always easy to do. But when you’re playing with joy, you will lose your self-consciousness and be able to give to others freely.
Playing with joy puts us in an altered state. It suspends everything, in including time and space (have you ever been having so much fun you forget how long you’ve been doing something?) We are in "the flow," we are "in the zone" — which really means we’re in the moment. And in that moment lies the love.
Our job is to collect as many of those moments on stage as possible.
When you can play with love, you won’t give a shit about being perfect. You won’t be so hard on yourself after the show.
Love does not compete.
Love does not count laughs.
Love makes a bad show good and a good show great.
Being able to play with love is the holy grail in improv, and it’s what has been missing from my performing for years. I always end up turning improv into work, like I a unpaid internship in coal mine.
But lately I’ve been working my ass off in my regular Jimmy and Johnnie show and my stand-up performances to try to enjoy them more, and when I perform with more joy in my heart, it keeps me out of my head, which is the last place anyone wants to be when he or she is on stage.
Here’s hoping I can continue to bring more love to everything I do.
Love. Perfection! Thanks, Jimmy!
I have a much easier time bringing the love to my scene partners than to myself. If I ever talked to a scene partner the way I talk to myself, they would lock me up and throw away the key! Or at least ask me to come back never!
I love what you said about leading with love and being in the moment of joy. That only happens when I can give myself a break.
I love this!
Craig, thanks I am glad you like the blog. So good to hear from you.
LOVE this advice!
Before a show I always say, "let's have fun", which is essentially a form of joy/love. Do it for each other!