A Glace at Improv

This past Thursday (Oct. 24) was the IPoly Recruitment Night. Besides all of the grade presentations, parent presentations, club booths, and dance performances, I was up in Mr. Hogan's room with the rest of the improv team. We performed improv for 2 straight hours in front of big and small audiences. It was very tiring, but we all felt really great about how we performed afterwards. Our improv team did a spectacular job at the recruitment night performance. This performance made me want to make my extra blog post about some basics of improv.

Improv is simply acting without a script. It really forces you to use quick-thinking, movement, cooperation, and imagination/creativity. In a way, improv is like one big game of pretend with a couple of restrictions. Although it is a lot of fun, there are rules. Some basic rules are as follows:

• Don't ask questions
• This basically "skips your turn" to add more to the scene
• Don't deny
• This prevents any new ideas to be added to the scene
• Use the "Yes, and..." rule
• Actor 1: "Hey Jimmy! You're riding an elephant!"
• Actor 2: "Yes Jack, I am riding an elephant and I am taking a trip to the Grand Canyon!"
• Don't just stay in one spot
• Movement catches the audience's attention
• Make sure you contribute to the scene
• If you don't contribute, why even be on stage?
• Don't talk over each other
• If we can't hear what anyone is saying, then why there be a scene at all?

There are many forms of improv. These forms can range from basic scenes, to guessing games, to improv games. Some games are as follows:

• Guessing Games
• Late for Work
• Complaint Department
• Murder
• Dating Game
• Improv Games
• Emotional Party
• Advice Panel
• Superheroes
• Genre Replay
• New Choice
• Pocket Lines
• Freeze

Here is one example from "Whose Line is it Anyway", a show where all they do is improv. In this video, they play the improv game, superheroes.

Another form of improv is something like what "Improv Everywhere" does. It is more planned out, but it is still considered a sort of improv.

Improv is definitely a lot of fun. And not only can it be entertaining, but it boosts your confidence, volume, and public speaking skills. I think that improv is an essential thing for anyone going into theatre to experience. It can also be a great past time and an exercise for anyone who wants to improve on any skills improv has to offer.