A Unifying Concept For Improv?

What one thing does any improv scene need despite the style?

First, a bit of personal news:
Next year, I’m taking on a huge challenge: I’m running to be a city councillor here in Nottingham, UK. I love creating change, so what better way of trying to do it, right? For the first five months of next year I won’t be able to take on any workshops, travel and I’ll be limited to teaching just one course (which I’ll also have to take a few weeks away from during the final stages of the campaign). However, for the remainder of this year, I would love to make the most of my time before campaign-mode sets in. I have some space in July and November to teach workshops in the UK or further afield, so if you would like me to work with a group or local community, I would love to talk. I’d love to get to spend time working with improvisers before the campaign steals me away.

A Universal Note?

I found myself wondering “what’s the most universal advice you can give in improv, not matter what the style of play is?”. I don’t know why I wondered this. Perhaps because I read people’s different opinions from different schools of thought quite a lot. I think that’s the likely reason. Some people like to stress narrative, some relationship, some game and none of them are right or wrong, they are just style choices folks have. I buy into pieces of most theories and find them useful. But I wondered, in all those different styles, what would be a unifying tool that everyone can use. Here is what I’ve come up with:

Add specific information (revolutionary, right?)

Fear often leads improvisers to being vague. There are some understandable reasons for this. Here are a few:
They don’t have much of an idea yet and are stalling
They don’t want to steamroller the other player

They don’t feel like they’ve achieved “group mind”

They are in their head about how they are playing (eg. They just had a note they are trying to integrate)

However, whether you are doing something narrative, wanting a game in your scene or wanting to create relationships or characters, you need information. Being specific allows the scene to build. The more vague you are, the more work you still have to do as your scene progresses.

I’m not suggesting this has to be a lot of information either. Just one specific thing when you add a line or action to the scene. A specific piece of dialogue or object / environment work adds something your scene partner can use.

Photo by Waldemar Brandt on Unsplash

But isn’t everything an offer? - Sure. It is. BUT, a vague offer still needs clarification, and that puts pressure on your scene partner. Personally, I don’t mind a vague offer from someone that I can clarify, however I’m then making most of the assumptions in the scene. I can play like that, but it’s fun when someone else brings in some specificity too. I like the surprise and discovery that goes with that.

Here’s an example of a vague scene start vs specific one:

Vague:

A: I can’t believe you finally did it.

B: Yeah. It was time.

A: Happy with your decision?

B: Think so.

A: What are you going to do next?

B: I guess I’ll figure it out as I go.

There’s information here.

Someone has done something. It was a significant decision. There’s uncertainty about the future but almost every line requires clarification.

Did they quit their job? Leave a relationship? Sell their house? Retire? Join a cult?

Specific:

A: I can’t believe you sold your ice cream van.

B: I know. Twenty-two years of playing Greensleeves at children.

A: You cried when someone scratched the bumper.

B: The van just became part of who I am. Any scratch seems personal.

Now we’ve only added a handful of details:

It’s an ice cream van.
They’ve owned it for ages.
The character is emotionally attached to it.

None of these details are huge but suddenly I can see the van, hear the music and most importantly, I have details I can respond to.

So that’s my thought this week, that specificity is useful no matter your playing style. Am I right? Did I miss something? Let me know in the comments.

Podcast Plug

I really love this week’s episode of the podcast I produce. Kornfeld and Andrews: The Radio Plays features Rick Andrews and Louis Kornfeld playing a different scene each week. This week is a Western-themed episode and it’s a real joy. Take a listen!

Have a great week!

Lloydie