Some jobs actually ask for it
Shows built on improvisation and plenty of sitcoms specifically want actors with improv experience. That alone makes it a credit worth having, before any of the craft arguments start.
Why every actor should take an Improv class
Why improv is training for listening, adapting and confidence, and how it exposes the places your character work is thin.
10 Things Actors Should Know About Taking an Improv Class
Drawn from what is actually said on camera, so you can decide whether to spend the 9:32 watching it.
It makes anticipation impossible
You cannot prepare a response to a line nobody has written. Somebody will say something you did not see coming and you have to deal with it, which is the exact muscle that anticipation in scripted work leaves untrained.
Yes and is about not negating, not about agreeing
You may absolutely say no. What you may not do is deny what the other person established. If they call you their wife, you are their wife. Then you add something and move the story on.
Make statements, not questions
A question hands the entire weight of the scene to the other person and moves nothing. Where are you going does no work. I was heading to the DMV to pick up my pilot license does. The same instinct improves scripted scenes.
It is the same muscle as playing an action
Actions are about putting something in motion and carrying it forward, which is precisely what an improv scene demands every few seconds. Training one trains the other.
Actor improv and character improv are different things
Building funny characters can tip into caricature, which serves sketch comedy well and truthful talking-and-listening acting less well. Her studio works toward the actor-based kind, though she is clear that any improv is worth doing.
The only real failure is not being present
You will jump before you are ready, you will overshoot, and a joke will die. She hopes it does, because failing is how the skill arrives. The single thing that actually counts as failing is not listening.
It buys you adaptability you will need on set
An actor shooting a short in one continuous take was given the wrong line and simply answered it in character, because they were genuinely listening rather than searching for the scripted reply. That recovery is what improv training buys.
It exposes the holes in your scene work
A student improvising a scene went in circles on something irrelevant, and her diagnosis was that he did not know his objective. Lines can carry you through a scene while hiding that. Take the lines away and the gap is immediately visible.
It builds confidence, and you can turn up with nothing prepared
Actors cling to text because it feels safe, and losing it is frightening. People who are good at improv tend to be good actors, because they can roll with anything. It is also the class you can attend in a week you had no time to prepare, and still work.
Acting Craft is built by actor website tips worth reading.
Full transcript (1,356 words)
Join an improv class. Yes. And maybe it's at my studio. Yes. And it's super fun. Improv. Improv is so important as an actor. Not only are there more projects that might be improv based, shows like Curb Your Enthusiasm and some sitcoms really want actors who have improv experience, but improv is the most wonderful skill to have. It forces you, one of the many reasons that I enjoy it and enjoy when my actors do it. And we've got an improv class coming up at the studio. And I was actually thinking that maybe one of these days we'll interview some of the teachers that I have at the studio. So maybe you can get to know Jordan, our teacher who teaches improv.
Improv forces you to listen. You've got to pay attention to what's happening. You can't anticipate because maybe somebody's going to say something and you're going to have to deal with that. You can't pretend as if you haven't heard it. It will force you to of course the improv rule. I think even if you've never studied improv, you know. Yes. And it's about moving it forward. It's about going along and not negating what was said before. So in some ways you can say no and but you can't deny what the person said, right? They can ask you, you know, do will you marry me? You can say no, but you have to then continue it.
You can't The idea is you can't say um oh, it's so nice to see you, my wife, and it's like I'm not your wife. You can't say that. But yes, and you're going to add something to it. You're going to move the story forward. It forces you to collaborate and to move things forward. A lot of times as actors, one of the things that we work on and teach is actions. And actions are about putting something into motion and moving it forward. And a and improv will absolutely help with that. There's different types of improv. I think all of it is wonderful and useful for actors. And if you're a non-acctor, just dipping your toe in, improv is fantastic for you as well. It helps in business.
It helps in being present. It helps listening. It helps with all of that. But at the studio, we work more towards actor-based improv, meaning not so much in terms of creating characters and funny characters, which sometimes can be caricaturures, which are great for sketch comedy and things like that, but maybe not the best for truthful talking and listening acting. But that said, any improv, working that muscle is always great. The other thing I like about improv is that it forces you, as I said before, to move forward, to jump maybe before you're ready. You can't overthink anything. You might fail. I hope you do because failure is the only way you're going to get better at something. So, you mess up. So something a joke or doesn't land. The only way that I think you can truly fail is to not listen, to not be present.
And improv forces you to be present. It forces you to adapt. I had an actor uh the other day working on a project and in this project they were shooting it was a short film and they were doing trying to do it in one take. That's a lot of pressure. One take. you mess up, you're going back to one. And the other actor gave them the wrong line, but they were able to adapt to that because they were truly listening and they didn't have to like rack their brain for an answer to to what the question that had been posed. They just answered it as the character in the scene. So improv just helps you to be flexible, to adapt, to listen, to have fun, to be spontaneous. And I got given you enough reasons that I think that you should join an improv class. Super fun. If your improv classes are a nightmare, I wouldn't do that.
But I have no control over what other people teach. But almost all of the improv classes that people have told me that they've participated in, the ones that I've participated in, are so much fun. In improv, one of the important things is not to ask questions, but to make statements, to move things forward. Because when you're asking questions, you're putting all of the pressure on the other person. The weight of the scene. Oh, where are you going? What do you think is going to happen tomorrow? What? That doesn't move anything forward. You know, I was going to go to the DMV. Want to come with me? I need to get my new pilot license.
I don't know. I'm not really good at making the scenarios. So again, forcing you into this other creative space, the space of thinking and not just responding and not just shoving the the creative burden onto the other actor by making statements. Also, when you're in a scene, it just helps to help it move organically forward. I in one of my scene study classes, we focus on we do a week of improvising a scene. I do it for many reasons. One is to take away the pressure of the lines and yesterday I'm just thinking last night there was an improv of a scene and it wasn't moving forward at all. They were getting stuck on weird little things that they were improvising about. And I tell them I don't want them to necessarily try to follow the script of the scene. Follow the improvisation. See where it might take you. Might be somewhere very different than the scene.
And what I told that actor is I said, "Well, what I've discovered from this improv is you don't know your objective." Because he was going in circles about something that had absolutely nothing to do with his objective. When you've got your lines, you can say your lines and it's going to be right for the scene, but it's not going to be right as an actor. So, improv can really help you discover places that you're missing in your scenes, places that you're missing in your character work. And another wonderful benefit of improv is it can boost your confidence as an actor. Yes, it is terrifying. A lot of us just want those lines, that text to keep us safe and secure and we don't have to think too far outside the box and you're going to take away all of our lines and we have to just listen and react and move things forward. Ah, terrifying. But I tell you, people that are really good at improv, they are typically really good actors. It builds your confidence. It helps you to be able to move forward. You can roll with the punches. you can adapt.
It really helps with being adaptable. I just I cannot say enough good things about improv. And let's say you don't have a lot of time for scene study work. Hopefully, you do because you're an actor and you're going to put that time aside. But if you haven't been able to work on your scene or the lines that that week, you can just show up to an improv class. typically depending of course on the class but you can just show up at our studio. You just show up and you participate with an open heart, curiosity and open ears. Listening. Have I mentioned how important listening is for an actor. All right. I hope to see you next week. And if you're serious about studying acting, come and join us for a class online or in person.
Like and comment. Subscribe. Yes. And should I subscribe? Yes. And you should tell a friend. But should I comment? Yes. And let me know some ideas for [clears throat] other videos. I'll see you next week. It really helps with your adaptability. Then I forget.
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