Improv is Great, Actually

Cult-like, sure, but in a good way

A few months back I took an improv class, which I was secretly using as a kind of teacher training. As you may have heard, I’m teaching a class in August on the subject of comfort zones, and improv is famously the ultimate “escape from the confines of your comfort zone” activity. My first day of class I felt so sick from nerves that I arrived late because I’d stopped for a ginger ale. But a few minutes in, I was hooked. When the eight week course ended, I was genuinely disappointed that I’d have to wait until fall to sign up for level 2.

Part of what made me wary of taking a class is that improv seemed cringe. When I told my friend Jeff I was taking a class, the first thing he did was make me promise not to invite him to my end-of-course showcase. (“I am very happy for you,” he said. “But I want entirely no part of this.”) And I was haunted by the episode of Bojack Horseman where Todd signs up for improv, which turns out to be a cult/metaphor for Scientology.

But being cringe is what makes improv kind of great. My classmates and I were all in a conference room playing make-believe, after all, so really there’s no place for egos.

Honesty > Being Funny

The most popular cartoon I’ve ever done is actually...not that funny. That is, it’s not NOT funny, but I think the reason that it got the attention it did is because I said something honest, and expressed it nicely.

And I found that to be the general starting point with improv. You don’t start a scene trying to say something hilarious. You start by saying something honest, and somehow the humor flows out of that. I’ve personally never felt less funny or clever than when I’m actively trying to be funny or clever, so a framework where you take that expectation completely off the table is reassuring.

Channeling my inner Chris Farley on stage. Jeff was not in attendance.

Being in the Moment is Hard

I’m one of those people who likes to draw while listening to audiobooks, and guided workouts when I run, or cook dinner with a podcast playing in the background. One of my favorite aspects of improv was just how unsuitable it was for that kind of multitasking. Usually “being in the moment” requires some sort of conscious effort, but improv forces you into a situation where you have no choice in the matter.

Ideas are Everywhere

You know how when you go to an improv show, one of the players asks the audience for a word? After that happens, here is what is supposed to go through the mind of the improvisers on stage (or at least, that’s how my class was taught—I’ve only taken Level 1, remember, so I’m not claiming to be an expert).

Okay word is, print cartridge. Which makes me think of paper. Which makes me think of paper jams. Which makes me think of that scene in Office Space where they beat up their shitty printer. Which makes me think of… etc. etc.

And then someone starts a scene based on something triggered from the suggestion, ideally not the second word that comes to mind, but the third (or fourth). The term for this is A to B to C thinking.

If your mind is completely blank and you can’t think of a single thing associated with the word that could lead to a scene—which is what happened to me about half the time—good news! You have scene partners. And if you follow their lead, you can come up with something together.

I’m sure there is another metaphor for art-making here, but my main takeaway was just how little it takes to get started.

Before You Go

Spots are still available for my Omega Institute workshop, “Roaming in and Out of Your Comfort Zone” this Aug 25th through 30th in Rhinebeck, New York. If you need a summer break in a serene environment with drop in yoga sessions (don’t we all?), this is the place. More on the amenities here.

You could be here in August.

I’ll be tabling at SPX this year! SPX the DC-area’s biggest independent comic festival, is happening September 14th and 15th. I’m going back to my roots and creating some mini-comics for the occasion, including one that’s a collaboration between me and another local cartoonist that I’m super excited about. More on that soon!