Improv Obsession

Here’s a nicer answer to the question. And a new improv blog. Oh joy!

improv-is-easy:

improvnonsense:

Be smarter?

Remember everything?

Enjoy it so you remember it like you remember your favorite movie/tv show? 

I don’t know. Just do it. Remember stuff or don’t do improv.

How to remember stuff… Repeat it to yourself, maybe? “She just said ‘Pineapple Man.’ I like that.” Someone told me she ticks off a finger each time she hears something she likes. Then she can be like, “OK, pointer finger was… grandma’s funeral.”

(Also, side note coming from a guy who did Sound & Motions for years - it’s much easier to remember physical/emotional things than just words, so if you attach them to your openings instead of standing there saying words at each other, it’s MUCH easier to remember.)

The parts that you like - the parts that make you laugh - those are the things to remember. If you find yourself smiling and liking it, then it’s worth remembering and using in the set.

Unfortunately, many openings are exercises in misery and pain, and we wanna forget the experience as soon as it’s over. What a paradox!

It might also help if you think of your opening - should you even choose to do one, as Chris Scott said - as an idea generator. Or, if that term is too heady (it is for me), as an inspirer. And since that’s not a real word, as an… inspiration thing.

But, like, real inspiration.

What does the suggestion inspire in you, personally?

No, really.

What do you think about it? Not in terms of what makes a good show or a funny premise or whatever. What do you want to say about pineapples?

Share your unique take. If the suggestion is, say, “class reunion”, don’t waste your time on the tropes that you’ve seen on TV. Let us know about your own experience with class reunions- what it was like if you’ve been to one, what you’re afraid of if you haven’t, who you might see, etc.

It’s easier to remember truthful things (dare I even say Truth in Comedy? Ugh, I do.) than a list of vocab words that fall under “pineapple” (Hawaii! Fruits! Boring!).

So, yeah, if you personalize, something you say will strike a chord in another member of the group. And then… remember that chord. 

Also, If you can’t remember stuff, don’t worry about it too much. I can remember some things (our 3x3 set took place in Morocco, not Monaco), but always forget other stuff (my scene partner’s name).

This is an easy problem to have, really, so keep doing improv!