You’re supposed to be “in the moment,” to react with authenticity and without judgment, but you also can’t just say or do anything that comes to mind—there are rules, structures, ways of making your scene work better or worse, and you have to abide by those rules and structures while still at the same time seeming (and hopefully being) present and living fully within the moment. You’re supposed to establish who you are and where you are and why you’re there, but you’re not supposed to be clunky or overly expository about it. You’re supposed to find “the game” but still “be present” and engaged.
Tag: relax
Relax. Don’t expect immediate results, and don’t get frustrated by it. So many people rush their improv experience, and try to get to it as quick as they can. Some people get it quicker than others. It took me a while to get game compared to other people. Once I got it, I couldn’t get rid of it.
I see a lot of people get on teams or whatever, and think ‘well, that’s it. I’ve got to get to this level. Now I’ve got to start telling these kind of jokes.’ Patience is key. Number one patience. Number two like I said about reading and ingesting as much information as you can, study all improv. Study with all teachers. Study as much as you can, so you can develop your own idea about what improv should be. Because until you’re comfortable with what you think improv is, you can’t do what you think other people is.
Billy Merritt on his advice for new improvisers. More in a great interview here.