Some improv teachers (including myself) will say over and over again “Don’t try to be funny.” That can be confusing.

A better approach is, “play the reality of the scene.” When improviser do that, especially when they are given a certain task, the funny will show up without them trying.

In improv, the more believable you are in an imaginary situation, the funnier it will be. That’s why before you can be funny you need to be real. Which means play the reality of the situation.

If the scene has you and your friend driving in a car to go the movies, be in the car, play like you would in real life and trust that funny will appear. Put your seat belt on, turn the engine on, get directions from your friend. All these details build trust and creditability with the audience, and if we do that, they will follow on this journey and pay us back in laughter.

When improvisers have a specific task to do in a scene, it can take their mind off of themselves, which can help them come up with dialogue more easily, because they are grounded in reality. This frees people up.

To help you understand how this works, I’ve explained an exercise you can try below that will demonstrate how easy it is to create a realistic scene and dialogue. When you do this exercise, you’ll be surprised that some of these scenes could easily go over seven minutes long, which in long form is an eternity. The amazing thing is the dialogue will be natural and effortless. Sometimes the scenes are so good that it’s like they are out of a movie or play.

Exercise: The Transaction Scene

Whenever improvisers here this is a transaction scene, the first words out of their mouths are: “We’re not supposed to do transaction scenes!”

I don’t agree with that. That is one of those dumb improv rules. However, it is important to make the scene about more about the relationship between the two characters than just about the transaction itself, which can be boring.

For example, a bad transaction scene would look like this:

Player A works in a coffee shop. Player B is the customer.

Player B: How much is the coffee?

Player A: Five bucks.

Player B: I don’t have five bucks. How about two bucks?

Player A: No, it’s five bucks.

Player B: How about four?

Place A: No, I said it’s five bucks. I could get in trouble. 

Player B: Can I see the manager?
Player A: I am the manger.

This is why people think transaction scenes don’t work because they get stuck on the transaction. How many times have you gone to the coffee shop and not paid what the charged? That is not playing the reality of the scene.

Unless it’s part of the character or game the scene, just pay for the price of the coffee, and make sure you have a way to pay for it (cash, credit, debit, gift card, etc). And get over with because it’s not the scene.

Or another one that drives me nuts:

Customer: How much is the coffee?

Coffee Shop Person: $20,000.

What the….? You have lost me. Twenty thousand dollars for a cup of coffee is not realistic in the slightest, and in my 30-plus years of experience doing improv, saying a ridiculous price for something rarely gets a laugh. And it can get even worse when the other player thinks they need to Yes, And it.

These are two good examples of how transaction scene get a bad reputation. However, there are ways to make transaction scenes really interesting. See below:

Transaction Scene Exercise

I have found that this exercise helps improvisers use the environment and the task to ground them in the scene. I can honestly say my students’ success rate with this exercise is very high, especially when the improvisers play the reality of the scene and focus on the task. The key to making this exercise work is that both players need to have a shared history. Theys should both know each other. Maybe they could recognize each other from high school or when they worked at the same company together two years ago or the one person could be the other person’s therapist.

And since they have a relationship and a task, all they have to do is play the reality of the scene and the rest will take care of itself.

To do this exercise, have people pair up and choose a business they are familiar with and create that environment. Then have them decide who is the customer and who is the worker. Then have them plan the environment.

Person A is going into to Subway for a sandwich. Person B is the customer.

Person A is a barista at Starbucks. Person B is the customer.

Person A is a teller at the bank. Person B is the customer coming in to cash a check.

After doing the initial transaction, the players will then recognize each other. From there, all they need to do is play it like they would in real life, and when they do, the funny will come out of the recognition of the situation, and the players’ dialogue will be natural, and in some cases, the scene can go on for up to five minutes.

Let me know how it goes.

Want to improve your success rate in improv? Don't miss Jimmy's next Advanced Virtual Class starting March 11!

Like many of you, I love to catch up on entertainment late at night before bed, and lately, I've seen some really great TV shows, movies, stand-up specials and documentaries that have reminded me of my own journey as an improviser. So if you're looking for a little creative inspiration, here are a few things I recommend you check out.

  1. The Bear Season 2 (Hulu)
    For those of you who haven’t seen The Bear, the show is about a brilliant young chef named Carmy who returns home to Chicago to run his family’s beef sandwich shop. Season two opens with trying to open a fine dining restaurant where the beef stand used to be. What I loved about this season is that they go into the backstory of the characters who work at the restaurant. The show is so well written, acted and directed and deserved all of the Emmys it received. And if you are contemplating moving to Chicago to pursue improv, it’s going to make you fall in love with this city. I found this season's storyline of opening a new restaurant is similar to starting an improv group. We can create something wonderful if we all work together, but often in the process, creative tension runs high, and people sometimes struggle to find their roles in the project. I can’t recommend this show enough. It’s a masterpiece.
  2. The Greatest Night in Pop Music (Netflix)
    This documentary is about the recording of the smash hit of ’80s song “We Are The World,” which was used as a way to raise money and awareness about world hunger. The all-star lineup included Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Michael Jackson, Cyndi Lauper, Lionell Ritchie and Diana Ross, to name a few. What is so crazy is they got all these big-name musicians together and they had one night to record this song. I think the musicians in this show and improvisers have so much in common, and not because all comedians want to be rock stars. I have found that what bands go through personally and creatively is a lot like my experience in being in an improv group.  Improvisers will be able to relate to how they these famous recording artists had to "check their ego at the door" to be able to collaborate and create something truly memorable.

Always wanted to study with Jimmy but don't live in Chicago? Don't miss his next Advanced Virtual Improv Class, starting March 11!

A lot of times when people are improvising, people think they have to keep going no matter what. Oftentimes improvisers feel so much pressure to keep a scene going that they will muscle ahead in a scene even when they don’t know what’s going on. But confusion without clarity just leads to more confusion.

If you get lost in a scene, the best thing to do is to be honest so you can get more clarity.

For example, if you are improvising and your scene partner says something that you can’t hear, don’t pretend that you did. Instead, tell them you didn’t hear what they just said. Ask them to repeat it, just like you would in life.

Also, if your partner says something that is confusing and you don’t understand it, don’t try to “yes and it.” Instead, ask them to clarify it, just like you would in life, so you can be on the same page.

Remember, if you can’t hear something on stage or you are confused, so is the audience. They love that you are calling it out and will reward you with laughter.

Of course, when you do it, it always helps to stay in character.

Here’s is a great example:

I had a 20-something acting student in one of my classes recently who was a rather large group scene. He was playing a sibling and at one point one his sister said: “Go get some mittens.” 

He tentatively went to get the mittens.

When the scene was over, he admitted to the class he honestly did not know what mittens were.

So, we replayed that beat in the scene and this time he played he used his honest knowledge about mittens.

Sister: Go in the other room and get the mittens.

Brother: What are mittens?

Sister: They are like gloves, but they have no fingers. Go in your bedroom. They are in the bottom drawer. They were your mittens when you were a baby.

Brother: Now I’m even more confused.

Sister: Wait, you’ve never used oven mittens?

Brother: No.

This way, the scene was much more interesting and funny because it was coming from his truth, which he was taking from his life.

How many people do you know who don’t know what mittens are? Not many. That’s why it was so memorable.

It was a much more interesting choice to tell the truth in this situation, which led to a funnier scene.

I’m glad he had the courage to tell us, because getting to play the scene the second way, he got to tap into his own life experience, which helped him start to develop his unique comedic voice. He gave us all a gift.

Looking for more tips on how to develop your own comedic voice in improv? Sign up now for Jimmy's Advanced Virtual Class, starting March 11!

To be a master, you must remain the student.

We all want to master improv. But a true master accepts that he's never going to master what he's trying to master.

Shunryu Suzuki explains it better in his book Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind: “If your mind is empty… it is open to everything. In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s mind there are few.”

When we have been improvising for a while, we think we know everything, especially if we have success. We can let the rules of improv, or a certain style of play, or our status interfere with our progress. It can become even more difficult to have a beginner's mind if you start teaching, coaching or directing this crazy art form.

But to be a master, you have to remain a student. And as cliche as it sounds, even though I have been an improv teacher for more than 30 years, I do always try to learn from my students, regardless of what level they are at.

Yes, it's easier to be open-minded to a more experienced student, but if I’m truly using my “beginner's mind,” I should realize that a good idea can come from anyone. The hardest part is not to judge it.

I got a good reminder of this when I was teaching improv class the other night. I was teaching an exercise to help students learn more about creating an environment in their scenes.

It's a simple exercise. I put two people on stage and give them an activity, like driving a car. They remain silent, miming the activity of driving the car. During the scene, I will change what type of car or vehicle they are driving. For example, I will yell out: "Minivan. Show me you are driving a minivan."

Sometimes the players may change characters. We now may see a mother and father in the front seat who are handing juice boxes to their imaginary kids in the back seat. Then I will then yell out, "Bicycle. Show me you are on bike.” Then, “Amazon truck. Show me you are on an Amazon Truck." This is all done in silence with miming. 

When I was finished explaining the exercise, one of my students who is taking his first improv class says, "Can we yell out the changes to the environment?"

Can you believe that in the 25 years that I have been teaching this exercise I have never thought of this? I can.

I thought about it, and we tried the student’s idea, and guess what? It was a better exercise. The suggestions the students gave were far more creative and inspiring than my old, tired ones and the students were more involved in the exercise, and I was excited to try something new.

When the class was over, I was really happy that my mind had been open enough to hear my student’s idea. It confirmed to me that in order to master something, I must remain the student, even when I am the teacher.

Want to be open to more learning in improv? Don't miss Jimmy's Long Form Tune-Up on Saturday, March 9!

Kim Greene is the owner of The Laughing Academy in Glenview, and she’s someone I have known in the improv scene in Chicago since the ’90s. We first met doing a business theater gig for Second City, and today, I teach classes for her at her theater.

What I love about Kim is that not only is she a wonderful teacher, but also she is one of the biggest supporters of the arts that I know. She is always going to shows at venues all over Chicago, in addition to seeing the many shows she produces at her own theater. 

She gets the artist’s journey because she is one herself.

A few days ago, she wrote this post on her Facebook page, and I wanted to share it with you because I think it’s something all of us in the performing arts should hear. (She uses the word “comedian” in it, but it really applies to improvisers and actors as well). It really spoke to me, and I hope it inspires you as well.

***
To my comedian friends, maybe one of you needs to hear this today. I think what you do is wizardry, it’s alchemy, it’s an art.

You’re allowed to have a bad day or an off night, and it does not diminish you, it doesn’t define you. We need you out there, being vulnerable, telling secrets, opening eyes, sharing your unique view of the world, which can make us laugh at the scariest things and thereby diffuse their power.

And whenever I come see you perform outside my club, I’ll always do the best I can to get front row. In part to diminish my own distractions, but mostly because I want the easiest face for you to see to be the one that truly sees you and is revelling in your moment, who is laughing even at the jokes I’ve heard before because we’re here now, fully present, and each moment is new and different.

So grateful for all your resilience and hard work, the hours that go behind each minute you make us laugh. For what it's worth, I see you. (That’s my empty seat in the front row as I’m taking this pic).

Kim Greene

Want to improv your improve game? Don't miss Jimmy's next Long Form Tune-Up Workshop, taking place on Saturday, March 9!

When we watch an improv team or a person on stage who loves improvising, it can be contagious. If we are having fun, the audience is having fun.

But often, I forget to bring the joy and bring the love to what I am doing, both on stage and in life.

In my improv classes and workshops, we will be doing a round of scenes to warm up, and I’ll find that my students will play characters who are argumentative, dark and snarky. I will side coach and say, "Find the love," and something will change.

I cannot explain how it does, but the scenes become lighter, more compelling and, yes, funnier. (Isn't that why you read this blog? That’s why I write it.)

I recently watched a documentary about a famous acting teacher named Roy London who had worked with Sharon Stone, Gina Davis, Gary Shandling and Forest Whitaker and other famous actors. When he was on his death bed dying of AIDS in 1980s, weighing only 70 pounds, he wanted to get out of his bed to teach, because he realized that all scenes are love scenes.

I have heard that all scenes are love scenes before, but what does that really mean?

To me, it doesn't mean all the characters are playing nicey-nice, which would be boring to watch. I still think characters can be sarcastic, afraid or even angry, but they behave that way because they want to be loved or because that’s how the show their love.

As a parent, sometimes I get angry with my 7-year-old daughter if she does something that might put her in danger. One time her friend and her went to the playground without our permission. She had been warned not to go and she went anyway. Both Lauren and I were angry at her when she came home, but our anger was coming from a place of love, and of course, fear.

Improv can feel competitive and scary because going on stage not knowing what you are going to say is unnatural. But when I remember to let go of fear and choose love, things can change. I have seen this over and over as both a teacher and a performer. It's magical. It cannot be explained, but it works.

Practice it. Next time you’re in that seems dark or argumentative, tell yourself to find the love. Your character may get vulnerable and reveal something. For example, the character may say, “I have always been jealous of you, and I feel awful telling you that." Who knows what will come up. All I know is when I play with love, I make different choices. I have more options. Try it in rehearsal, in class or in a show and tell me how it works. I'll be waiting.

Want to practice finding the love in your scenes? Sign up now for Jimmy's Advanced Virtual Improv Class, starting Jan. 22!

As we come to the end of this year, I have 3 wishes I'd like to make for all improvisers in 2024.

1. Slow Down

Slow down on stage and in life. When we slow down, we feel our feelings. Feeling leads to more creativity and a deeper connection with the improvisers on stage and the audience. We are told in improv to be in the moment, and I can tell you from experience that it is easier to be in the moment when you are going slow.

I re-learn this every time I go on a walk with my 7-year-old daughter. Usually, it takes us 10 minutes to walk one block. She will stop on the way to study a stick on the ground, and it becomes the most important thing in her life. She has no agenda, she is making discoveries. My wish for you is that you, too, will be able to show down in your improv and your life to make discoveries like a 7-year-old.

2. Fail More

You cannot have success without lots and lots of failure. Bombing is the best way to learn comedy, in stand-up, in sketch and improv. Bombing makes you a stronger performer. So, next year, take more risks on stage, make bolder choices. If you don't do characters, try doing some characters. If you are afraid to edit, edit more. Whatever you have not done last year, let's see it this year. And even if you bomb, and I hope some of the time you do, you will be getting stronger regardless of audience’s response. Here's to more bombing, which means even more success in 2024.

3. Be More Generous

In 2024, my hope for you is that you will try to be more generous, both on stage and off. When I started doing improv, I was so insecure I just wanted to get laughs. Today, yes, I still want to get laughs, but I’ve also realized how important it is to do good scene work, so my teammates can play, too. And sometimes that means being generous to others and letting them get the laugh.

Off stage, try to be more generous to others with compliments and be kind to people even if you don't want something from them. You don’t necessarily have to overdo it – sometimes giving too much to other people can drain us of our own energy and resources. But being a bit more generous, especially in ways that don’t cost money, can make you feel better about yourself.

One tip I like to use when I am giving of my time or money is to ask myself if I do it, will I have a resentment? If the answer is no, then do it. If the answer is yes, then don’t.

So, in 2024, ask yourself, how can you be a little more generous, both on stage and off?

What wishes do you have for yourself for the coming year? I'd love to hear about them in the comments below.

Want to jumpstart your improv in the new year? Sign up now for Jimmy's Two-Person Scene Tune-Up in Aurora on Jan. 6!

Want to become a better improviser? Sometimes, making a simple adjustment is all you need to do to make your improv scenes really work.

Here are three long form hacks that can make an okay improviser good, and make a good improviser great. They are simple, but not always easy to do. But with a little patience and a lot of discipline, they can really help increase your success rate with your scene work.

  1. Improvise Only One or Two Lines at a Time
    This first hack is the most important. Learning how to improvise only one or two lines as a time is the single most effective thing you can do to improve your scene work.

    It doesn’t matter who I am teaching, what country they are from, or if they are a seasoned improviser or new to improv. Not taking time to improvise one line at a time is the number one issue I see in scenic improv today. "Monologuing" in scenes has become a very bad habit. It's like you're spraying a fire hose and hoping your partner can hold on to it.

    But when students start improvising one or two lines at a time, the results in their work is immediate. It's not only easy to improvise this way; it’s also a lot more fun. Comedy is about surprise, and that doesn't only include the audience, it also includes you and your partners on stage. And you can’t be surprised if you’re the only one doing the talking.

    A simple exercise I use to help students improvise one line at a time is to have two people come out and do three-line scenes. Person A comes out and makes a strong initiation, Person B builds off that and says the second line and then Person A builds off of that and says the last line. I typically do this for 10 minutes, depending on the size of the group.
  2. Over-React: Take things personally
    Overreacting to moments in an improv scene can very quickly heighten the comedy in your scenes. I have also seen it help students get out of their head and have more fun.

    The easiest way to do this is to have a strong, heightened emotional response to something your partner just said. 

    So if your partner says, “I am going to Starbucks to get a Frappuccino,” you might respond sadly: “You’re breaking up me with me! You’re not really coming back.”

    Or you might respond frightened: “I have to go with you! It will look suspicious if it’s just you.”

    Or you might say flirtatiously: “Just like when we were dating. I’ll meet you in the bed when you get back.”

    Before you say anything, take a second to decide how that may you feel and start with emotions and let the words follow and then heighten the crap out of it. I have seen one strong reaction fuel a scene and I have also worked with advanced improvisers who can make several strong emotional reactions throughout a scene.
  3. Start with a secret
    You hear this all the time: "Start in the middle of the scene," and for some of us, that can be confusing. A great hack I found is make your initiation a secret that you have been holding on to for six months or so that you are revealing to your partner. The higher the stakes of your secret, the more mileage you will get out of it. Here are a few examples:

I hope you’ll try some of these hacks in your next improv class or show and let me know how they go. Good luck!

Want to improve your improv in 2024? Don't miss Jimmy's Two-Person Scene Tune-Up in Aurora on Jan. 6!

Music is the space between the notes.

Claude Debussy

When people first start working with me and they begin to slow down in their improv, they notice the pauses or the space between dialogue. This can seem strange at first to people who are used to improvising very quickly, but I try to teach my students that the space between the words is as important as the words themselves.

Leaving a little space between the dialogue creates tension, and comedy needs tension. When we release that tension, we usually get laughter. We like laughter – that’s why most of do improv in the first place.

Be aware that the space between the dialogue is where the magic lies. It is the improvisers vein of gold. They just need to learn how to be comfortable with it on stage and in life. It’s part of the whole, just like the melody and the lyrics together make up a song. It's the gateway to creativity.

Besides creating tension, allowing space between the lines of dialogue reinforces the emotional connection between you and your scene partner(s). In those moments of silence, we can learn information about our character, the other character and the situation. And this new information will cause us to say things and react in a surprising way.

The space between the dialogue also creates room to feel -- about your character, the other character and the situation – and by feeling those emotions, we will react in emotional ways to what is being said, which adds variety to our scene work.

When there is a three-to-five second gap between dialogue, I look at it as a form of mediation. Through mediation comes ideas that are inspired from a deeper place. That is your inner genius. When you can slow yourself down, you’ll find that you’ll do things that you won’t how you came up with them, and sometimes, you won’t even be able to remember what you said. It will feel more like channeling than improvising. And that is what I for you and for me.

So the next time you are improvising, don’t rush to say something every second, and don’t talk over what your scene partner says. Let their words sink in a bit before you say something next. I think you’ll be amazed at how much your improv will change.

Want to learn how to slow down your improv? Check out Jimmy's next Advanced Online Improv Class, starting Jan. 22!

An improviser is a true artist. And to be a true artist, it takes true humility. It takes more humility to be on stage than ego.

When I improvise from my ego, and I still do sometimes, it's “Get out of the way, I am the best." And "I am the best" never leads to getting better.

It's lonely on the pedestal.

When I improvise from a place of humility, I have more fun, because learning is fun, and I tend not to be as hard on myself. 

And it takes just as much humility to do a bad show where you think you bombed as it does a good show where you think you killed. 

In a bad show, you learn so much that it's equal to taking six two-hour classes. It especially takes humility to do a show in front of your friends and family while you are not a letter-perfect improviser. It takes humility to thank them for coming and to take in their love and support, even though you don't think you deserve it.

The hardest part for me is realizing they love you even when you are not letter perfect, regardless of negative messages in your head.

It takes a different kind of humility to do a good show. There have been times when I have come off stage after crushing it and have been humbled by my own performance, because it feels like someone was speaking through me, that I was channeling my muse, God, The Universe, something outside myself.

It usually happens when I embrace the fear, rely on my years of experience and trust my instincts. It’s part magical and part years developing my craft. Thank God it does not come every time, or I wouldn't be writing about humility, I'd be writing about how great I am.

I want to leave you with this one thought — the good thing about improv is you will never stop learning, and the bad thing is you will never stop learning. No one will master it, kind of like relationships, but if we come with an open heart and beginner's mind we have a chance to stay humble.

Want to keep learning? Don't miss Jimmy's Advanced Virtual Improv Class, starting Tuesday, Nov. 7. Sign up today!