Characteristics of a Solid Improviser
Several Tools Used by Advanced Improvisational Actors
Feb 10, 2009
An adage in improvisation is "it is always more interesting to start in the middle." It applies heavily to this article as it will speak most of all to improvisational performers looking to take the next step from a casual performer to a performer serious about furthering themselves in their craft. These are things to realize within yourself, to take a self-critical at one's best and worst qualities and to decide honestly for themselves where they most need to improve.
A Knowledge of the Fundamentals
Just as with any other learned skill, a foundation must be established. This is the academic aspect of improvisation. It is reading, understanding, and comprehending how each game works internally, what a performer is meant to accomplish in every scene, and the ebb and flow of each performance. This foundation serves as a guide. In order to break the rules, one must first know what they are.
A Willingness to Learn and Grow
The improviser, like the philosopher, must first accept that he is ignorant. He has to accept that he will always be learning and always be improving. A solid, strong improviser is not one who does not make a mistake, but one who realizes they have made one and can learn from it and understand why it is a mistake. Observing college level improvisation provides one of the most insightful views into this. Often, this is the main quality that separates players who stay on that team for a year and those who stay on the team for four years.
An Appreciation of Others’ Work
The solid improviser, particularly in the rehearsal environment, must be willing to find something positive in all attempts at improv. To continue to be part of a team, an improviser must always be supportive and helpful, slow to frustration, and quick to build others up. This can be especially hard when a team's level of skills is extremely disparate. Faster learners, better adapters, and quicker thinkers are easily frustrated by juvenile mistakes but these can also be taken as lessons and can serve as examples for everyone.
An Ability to Listen and Re-Focus
Improvisation happens on the spur of the moment, yet surprisingly, the most difficult hurdle for amateur improvisers to overcome is adaptation. An improviser is continually confronted with new situations. They must be able to take what is given in scenes and continue ever forward keeping their personal agenda at bay. They must be open to what new people bring to scenes and constantly find new ways through those scenes.
A Trust in Your Teammates
An ideal improviser is unselfish. They are willing to sacrifice themselves for the sake of the team and for the sake of the show and they allow others control. A solid improviser will do his or her best to find a way to work with every other member of an ensemble. Like in the previous item, they must learn let go of their own predispositions and enter a scene with a blank slate that the entire team will fill together.
An X-Factor
Every improviser has an unexplainable, unique element brought to the table that sets them apart from everyone else. Improvisation is not about being the best; it is about being uniquely compelling. The X-Factor of each performer makes an ensemble dynamic and diverse. One performer's X-Factor is their ability to handle various types of audiences, whether big, small, intoxicated, elderly, or children; another may possess a unique handling of strong characters or a strong sense of plot. A unique X-Factor seen and heard of occasionally is a player's ability to "think outside of the box" which simply means they often find unique ways through their given scene or situation.
A Sense of Humor
While it may be a given, humor is purely secondary to unselfishness, co-operation and teamwork. Having a sense of humor not only means being funny, but appreciating all aspects of humor, a mix of which is always present on a good team: physical comedy, verbal wit, puns, irony, mime, dirty (blue) comedy, insults, and deadpan. A sense of humor also means understanding how all of these kinds of humor work as well as the ability to set up opportunities for them to manifest themselves.
The realization and honing of these qualities is a lifelong process but understanding them and knowing how to observe them and improve them within yourself is the most important part; the journey itself is what makes it worthwhile, not just the destination.
