Improv at a Distance

 Improv Distance


Like all creative endeavors, I find the judgment of one’s own performance can dampen the creative spirit. Creating requires letting go of our ego which is where our self-criticism lies. However, if you take time and take a step back from the creative process you can find insights to improve your performance. It’s why I like to be video recorded sometimes.


Also, when one takes an improv break, one collects more experiences from which to gather improv ideas for performing. While doing so it is helpful to think about how various activities, including your and others’ gestures and expressions or accents and voices sound. Check out yourself in a mirror. Listen to others’ conversations. Revisit your own conversations. Watch how people really do things, like washing dishes, putting on make-up, hanging laundry, walking around a room, etc. Remember we don’t use props except in the game props. Everything in improv is mimed. All these practices can be helpful to your improv acting.


When doing stage improv it is good to know how to mime walking or running in place. Important to not walk through an established piece of furniture. How to put something down as if it is being placed on a surface. This is one area of improv that I find lacking in online improv. Online or “Zoomprov” as I like to refer to it, our physical space needs to be suggested by looking around the space or reaching for or pointing at something. We forgive directions that people look due to our different presentations, as reflections, like mirrors, or as it would actually look to someone on the other side of the room from us. Try setting your video the opposite of what you see in a mirror or the opposite of how you usually have it set.


These are just a few suggestions for distancing ourselves from our improv practice to help our improv performance.

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