Thank you for sticking around for stuff about improv!Stuff is wild out there, for sure. It’s good to have some community around us in these times.
*virtual fist bump*
On that note. Loneliness sure is a thing. Oof. And is true these days for so many human beings.
If your improv group or community decides to get off social media, or something similar, I totally understand why. Believe me. It’s chaotic!
If you drop your online as a group/community/etc, one small consideration to make is to check in if any humans connected to online is relying on virtual connection. Maybe you haven’t seen them for awhile, but they’re commenting or checking in or following you there. Sometimes quietly.
If so, see if offering a non-social-media option to connect is possible (say, discord or other private community option, newsletter, email/chat group, etc). Nowadays there are so many easy and affordable or free options to set these things up. It’s inclusive and just… a decent thing to do, if you can. Check in! Especially the ones without in-person access to the community, because it can truly heighten the importance of even the smallest interaction.
One Thing to Think About: Honesty and Character Creation
Who you really are impacts your improv. How can it not? Improv, regardless of style/form/region, involves connecting with other people… and with yourself to enable that connection. After all, you connect with yourself in some way in order to understand how you connect with others. And that ends up in your characters and personas no matter what.
Heck, I learnt about neurodivergent reactions I had through improv, and that’s can be a bit of a mindf*ck sometimes.
“Not everyone does that thing?” WHAT?!
“So… my verbatim childhood story from lived experience is not grounded enough to believe.” Huh… interesting!
Anyway.
Connecting with yourself in improv scenes, understanding yourself, in some way, leads to honesty. Truth. And being truthful and honest in a scene often leads to a better performance. You can use it to ground a wild character or wild scene. But what are some ways to practice this?
Figuring out who we really are is a lifelong project for many!
So this week’s solo improv practice is maybe part journalling project, but you’ll still get to practice some solo improv. And thinking about these elements of your practice could help elevate, and ground, a future scene.
Create a character and do that character
Most of our characters have some “real” humanity in them, even if you are playing someone fantastical, misguided, or a talking carton of oat milk. We still answer that “why are they doing this” through our actions in a scene. This helps humanize the action… at least a bit… for the audience.
Humanizing and making “it real” isn’t only for dramatic or narrative. I’d say this is even more important to practice if you are doing silly comedy because it helps ground every scene. It lets you heighten to even MORE-wild as a result!
So with that in mind:
- Drop into a character — even if you are by yourself. Think as your character while you are doing an activity. Cleaning the house, or starting your seedlings in the greenhouse.
- Once you have a good idea of who this person is, talk to yourself as this character.
- Make observations as this person
- Storytell as them…. explain some things that happened in the past, good or “bad”, and justify why they reacted that way.
Now lets analyze what you did
Ask yourself some, or all, of these questions. They can reveal a bit about how honesty is revealing itself in your “scene”.
- When you justified your character’s actions and reactions, where did they come from? You and something you felt? Or something you saw/read/thought up?
- What has your character learnt from these events in their life? Did if affect any of the other events you story… told?
- How do you feel you (the real you!) would connect with that character you created? How would they (you!) respond to what you said?
Now, notice:
- How did these stories and explanations connect to your own truth?
- What was based on some element of truth, and what wasn’t – and check in about what you liked or disliked.
- What are some growth opportunities connecting truthfully with your characters? What could you practice?
And if you don’t want to monologue to yourself while preparing dinner or whatever, ask these questions after a show or something.
Connecting you as a human to your character can help improve your practice and in turn help you relate with the audience. You don’t need to reveal the whole story in a scene of course, but it helps inform realistic reactions when you know who your character is.
Practicing just noticing how we use our own story in our character development can help your audience relate to that character. Even if they are the “very unusual one” or “a squirrel” in a scene.
And the best thing here? No notes. And no wrong answers.
Oh by the way, when you live on a farm out on an island, talking to yourself is such a natural thing. Join me. DO IT! It’s fun. Or so I tell myself, by myself. 🙂
And if you are interested in the neurodivergent side of comedy, subscribe to my other newsletter or youtube here. Neurodivergent representation in writing and shows, and maybe get in a show yourself in super low effort ways? Subscribe to StereoForest (also free).
Discuss this topic with improvisers
This link will take you directly to the forum for this newsletter on the Improv Update Discord.The discord also contains a bunch of channels for improv nerds. Nice.
Improv & Comedy Livestreams
Comedy Livestreams that I think look pretty cool that happen to be coming up soon or available right now (no affiliation):
- Perpetually avail recent show: Holy Shit Improv with Lauren Lapkus, Echo Kellum , Andrew Dismukes, Carl Tart, Ben Marshall & Casey Feigh️️️️️[Livestream Link]
- Jan 20-27: The Armando [Livestream Link]
- Feb 3: Connor Ratliff presents The Acting Class [Livestream Link]
Do you have a stage show that’s livestreamed and want it added? Or a FREE jam or workshop I should add? Reach out or comment on the website for the next newsletter (every two weeks).
Fact or Word of the Week
As per usual, here’s yet another fact or word of the week…. this week we have a word. Heck yeah, WORDS RULE!
Word: Nudiustertian.It means the day before yesterday. Latin nudius tertius means today is the third day.
Do you have a cool fact or word I should add to this section? I know you do. Let us know in the comments for this post! (Click the button above or below)
That’s it, improvisers!
A real human wrote this. Not AI! And a real human makes these following things too. It’s getting more and more difficult to find real human creations online, so I’ll help you access some more things that are. Check these real human made things below!
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Enjoy some improv, Improvise with me?
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Warmest regards and solid salutations from my cold and damp forest domicile,
Sauce person,
Jen deHaan
BONUS SONG SHARE: Now What? Connor Price
Connor Price - NOW WHAT? (Official Video)
Hey… I haven’t heard about any songs — what do you like? ARE YOU READING THIS?
Holy crap. hi. Tim bit or donut hole?
