Performing Live Improv Again

I did it. Last weekend I actually did a live improv show in front of a live audience.

It had been over two years since I had been on stage, thanks to Covid. But here I was at the Laughing Academy in Glenview improvising again with some people I had known for years and some people I had just met.

It was strange to be back. Nothing had changed but the entire world.

I was more excited than nervous. I was more calm, than anxious. But the fear of being in a large crowd still lingered, thanks Covid.

But still, I was grateful to be there, to be with people again.

For me, the pandemic gave me more appreciation for human contact. I had taken for granted meeting friends at Starbucks or going over to someone’s house to watch the Oscars. And I have missed being with people so much. That’s why I was looking forward to improvising again in the flesh.

Yes, I was timid at the start of the show — rusty, as we like to say. Both my excitement and my control issues came out, causing me to edit way too much.

In spite of my mistakes, it was completely joyful experience. It was one of those nights that the air felt light, like you couldn’t do anything wrong. And it all went by too fast, which is a sign of a great show.

The audience agreed. I heard we got a standing ovation, but I don’t really remember because I was in an adrenaline blackout when I walked off stage.

The big takeaway for me was that I didn't realize how much I missed improvising. Not just performing in the show, but every part of it — hearing the audience laugh, hanging out with my fellow improvisers before and after the show.

When you improvise with someone you connect with them on a deeper level, though we never speak about it. It must be how people feel when they serve in the army together or play a sports team. Except we connect though play, by taking risks and by being vulnerable.

We don't talk about this much either: Improvising, the art of getting up in front of people and making things up, is vulnerable. One of most non-improv people's biggest fears is talking in public, which is why most people have to write down what they’re going to say in front of a crowd. We as improvisers are way past that. People both admire us and think we are insane.

When you are still doing improv shows in your 50s, you’re not doing them to get fame or fortunes or to prove anything to anyone. You are doing them simply for the joy of it, something we all need more of in this unpredictable world.

And performing live again really gave me that overwhelming sense of joy like I used to get when I first started improvising almost 40 years ago, thanks Covid.