When To Ignore The Rules in Improv Class

My approach to improv keeps changing. That’s a good thing.

When I was younger, I wanted to try to do improv “right.” I wanted to follow all of the rules that my teachers taught me, and when I became the teacher, I wanted my students to “get it” as well.

But today, I realize that that there are no hard and fast rules in improv, and that trying to play by them, especially to please the teacher who is teaching them to you, can hurt you more than it can help you.

The more I teach, the more I realize that the directions I give before a game, exercise or a long form are a jumping off point and not a rule. There is no right and wrong.

Today, I try to stress that improv is about getting improvisers to trust their impulses, even if that means overriding a direction I just gave.

A good example of this is before I have my students improvise a long form, I may say, “This time, I don't want any walk-ons.” Sure enough, we will get plenty of walk-ons, and usually some strong ones.

Afterwards some of my students will say, “I felt like doing a walk on, but I thought you said we couldn't do them."

They are 100% right, but my direction did not serve them in the moment they were up there, so it’s up to them to override me and trust their instincts.

I get it. I’ve been there as a student, too when I wanted to do it right. I wanted the approval of the teacher. I wanted to avoid making a mistake. Blah, blah, blah. I am not saying don't listen to your teacher; I am saying when the exercise or scene starts, you need to give yourself the freedom to rely on your instincts, because that’s where the learning lies.

Too many of us have gone through grade school, high school and college so focused on getting good grades that we missed the point that we were just supposed to be there to learn things. Learning is always more important than doing something right, and in improv, that means following the rules should never be more important than being creative.

Want to study with Jimmy Carrane? Don't miss his next Long Form Tune-Up on Oct. 14 or Improv for Actors on Nov. 11!