Why Learn Improv?

Improvisational theater, also known as improv, is spontaneous ensemble theater. These unscripted, often comedic performances, require actors to come up with dialogue, characters, action, and storyline as they progress through the scene. Although spontaneity is essential to improv, some improv games may allow participants to decide on some parameters beforehand. This may include the setting or character but will exclude dialogue. 

Learning improv is a great way to work on your stage fright, become comfortable with failure, and express yourself. Here, you’ll learn more about the ways that you can benefit from learning improv and how it can enhance your life. Whether you’d like to learn improv as a casual skill or to benefit your professional life, learning improv can be a valuable and impressive skill to learn. 

What is Improv?

Improv has roots in ancient Rome, where the first documented improvisations took place in 391 BC. Street performers took up improv as a way to earn money, showing off their comedic chops and ability to think on their feet. 

By the 20th century, improv had become a part of professional theater and comedy performances. Improv games emerged taking short (improv games), long (improv scenes), and narrative (improvised plays) forms. In the mid-20th century, improv comedy clubs became established. These clubs continue to provide new and veteran performers the chance to improvise in front of an audience and work on their material. The popularity of improv even led to the broadcasting of several improvisational television shows that became a part of American pop culture. 

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Improv has remained a popular form of live entertainment. Its low barriers to entry have made it an enjoyable activity for groups to participate in and watch. There are no props or elaborate set pieces required to perform improv. Some of the best improvers are capable of getting the audience to buy into the scene just by their performance alone. 

Improv has become an important component of drama training curricula. Many commercial and theatrical auditions require or necessitate actors to use their improv skills to land the job. Drama schools also focus on training actors in improv to teach them the importance of spontaneity and creativity in acting. 

Benefits of Learning Improv?

Learning improv is an excellent way to improve your communication skills. Improv requires you to think on your feet and decide on an outcome with limited information. When performing an ensemble scene, you can’t predict how the other participants will respond. The more improv scenes you do, the more you’ll be able to outline a scene as your work through it in a way that will appeal most to your audience. This quick thinking can be applied to other areas of your life where you need to know how to communicate with someone effectively. 

Improv is an important skill if you’re an actor. Improv is considered by many to be a core acting skill. It can help prepare you for auditions that might require you to improvise, and it can help you know when to go off-script in a scene. If you’re looking for ways to nail your next audition, consider taking an improv class. There are classes offered that specifically cater to students who are looking for audition preparation.

There are several other benefits to learning improv in addition to enhancing communication skills. Learning improv can help those who experience stage fright or anxiety when speaking and performing in front of others by improving confidence and reducing their intolerance to uncertainty. It can also acquaint you and make you comfortable experiencing failure and provide an outlet for your creativity. 

Eliminate Stage Fright 

Learning improv is an effective way to get over your stage fright. It requires you to develop a storyline and a character in real-time in front of a live audience. If you get nervous speaking or performing in front of others, putting yourself in a situation where you must learn to make decisions on your feet can help you quickly overcome this problem. This can be nerve-wracking but gaining improv experience will help you reduce this fear over time. 

Improv requires an ensemble cast who’ll work together to create a cohesive and comedic scene. You can rely on your fellow actors to help you when you’re struggling with the scene and vice versa. Once you have the reassurance that you can rely on others during a scene, you should be able to work past any misgivings you have about acting in front of others. This can also help you work past the fear of embarrassment if that’s behind your stage fright. 

The more you engage in improv, the more comfortable you’ll become in front of others. Improv has been shown to reduce social anxiety and improve uncertainty tolerance. Actively engaging in improv for at least 20 minutes will make you more comfortable and fewer anxious. Uncertainty intolerance describes how comfortable you feel in uncertain situations. The more often you perform, the more your uncertainty will decrease. 

Improv classes can provide you with the tools you’ll need to keep your nerves at a minimum while working through an improv scene. They’ll teach you the fundamentals of improv and provide you with the chance to gain improv experience. There are also improv classes that teach you intermediate and advanced-level skills, like working through narrative form improv and improving characterization. 

You can find beginner-level improv classes that can help you work through your stage fright on CourseHorse. Brooklyn Comedy Collective, located in Williamsburg, holds a beginner-level improv class that will provide you with the foundations to becoming a fearless and bold performer. You’ll participate in improv games and exercises with partners to help you learn how to react emotionally and honestly. At the end of the class, participants will put on a public performance. 

The Miles Stroth Workshop in Hollywood, California offers a beginner-level improv class aimed at helping students become confident with performing. You’ll work on discovering your comedic voice and eliminate any fear you have about performing. The basics of improv will be covered in this class. However, what you learn will be as advanced as the skill level of the participants of the class requires.

Become Comfortable with Failure

Nobody who performs improv is safe from failure–even the most veteran of performers. The spontaneity of improv ensures that at some point, whether it’s your first performance or your hundredth, you’ll get stuck. You might be unsure how your character would respond to your scene partner’s character; you may have forgotten the setting your ensemble cast established; or you might find your jokes falling flat. That’s expected. In fact, the failure you experience when performing improv will make you a better performer. 

The more improv scenes you take part in, the more your confidence will grow. You’ll have the chance to act as a variety of characters in a range of scenes. You can use past failures to improve future scenes as well. Once you understand why you failed in a scene, you can apply it to future scenes to make sure you don’t make the same mistake. 

Improv classes offer low-pressure environments for you to practice improv. In a classroom environment, you’ll be surrounded by other learners and guided by a professional. This will give you the chance to learn from others and experience failure not in front of a real audience but in front of other students. 

Brooklyn Comedy Collective’s drop-in improv class is limited to 14 students of all skill levels. In this small group setting, you’ll focus on a specific theme relating to performing great improv. You can attend a single drop-in class or all of them.

New York Improv Theatre, in Hell’s Kitchen, offers a class, Laughter Starts Here, that focuses on comedic improv. In this class, you'll become a creative, self-confident speaker who can utilize humor at the right time. Students will play games as they learn how to tell stories, create meaningful characters, and develop enriching worlds. 

Exercise Your Creativity 

Learning improv will provide you with a creative outlet. Research has shown that when you improvise, your brain relies on its creative side more than usual. The spontaneous environment requires you to come up with your character, dialogue, and setting. This will let your imagination run wild as you work to create a scene. You and your scene partners will be entirely responsible for crafting the scene and keeping your audience engaged and entertained. 

You can take online and in-person improv classes if you’re looking for a way to creatively express yourself. Actor’s Improv Studio holds a remote improv class for all skill levels. In this class, students will learn to trust their creative instincts and make strong, spontaneous choices. This class can prepare you for auditions on camera, in the voice-over booth, on stage, or on television. It’s also a useful class for those looking to access their creativity. 

CSz Seattle hosts a drop-in improv workshop known as The Improv Jam. Pop in and learn how to create comedic improvised scenes and characters. This workshop is welcoming to actors of all skill levels looking for a friendly environment to work on improv exercises and scene work with an improv veteran and other students. 

If creating characters is what interests you most about improv or if you think that’s a skill that you lack in, sign up for Brooklyn Comedy Collective’s Character Workshop. This intermediate-level class aims to help comedians improve their character skills. To take this class, you must have completed Brooklyn Comedy Collective’s beginner-level sketch comedy or improv class, taken a sketch/improv course at a major comedy theater, or have similar prior training/experience. 

How to Start Learning Improv

You can start learning improv by taking an in-person or online improv class. Classes are taught by professionals who will provide you with demonstrations and guidance. In-person classes offer hands-on training in improv alongside other students who share your interest in the theater. 

Most improv classes won’t require you to bring any materials to class. They typically recommend that you wear comfortable clothing and shoes as you’ll likely be moving around a lot when participating in improv games and exercises. Others may request that you bring a notebook and a writing utensil to take notes.

The Barrow Group Acting School offers an improv fundamentals class at their Hell’s Kitchen location in NYC. This class will help you become a more confident performer as you’re introduced to the fundamentals of improv through exercises and games. 

In CSz Seattle’s beginner-level improv comedy class, you’ll spend nine weeks learning the basics of improvisation and teamwork. Your instructor will help you work through any lingering stage fright so that you can commit to performing without fear. At the end of the course, you and your fellow students will put on a showcase performance for your friends and family. 

Online improv classes are taught remotely over an online video conferencing platform like Zoom. These classes provide expert instruction in a flexible format. You can take your class from virtually anywhere, so long as it’s an interruption-free environment with a stable internet connection. These classes are ideal for people who have busy schedules and those who can’t commute to an in-person class. If no in-person improv classes are being taught in your area, online classes are also an option available to you.

All skill levels are welcome to take Kissin’ Improv’s online improv class. This daytime class includes coaching by your expert instructor. Prior to the class, every student will receive 50 minutes of private or small group coaching in the fundamentals of improv. This 1-on-1 coaching will prepare you for your two-hour class. 

Key Takeaways

• Improvisational acting, or improv, requires spontaneity, as you work with other actors to create a scene on your feet. 
• Learning improv can help you get over stage fright, become more comfortable with the idea of failure, and explore your creativity. 
• You can learn improv by signing up for an in-person or online improv class on CourseHorse. 
• Contact CourseHorse to find more online or in-person training options, including private group sessions.