Every performer wants to get better at improv comedy. Maybe you’ve learned lots of improv tips, but still don’t feel you’re advancing.
Most improv teaching leaves out the most important step!
The secret to getting better at improv is to practice shifting your in-scene awareness to incorporate the skills you want to use.
The best improvisers have a “third eye” for their performance. They can read the current scene situation and actively choose the best skills to respond with.
For example, a skilled improviser can sense when their scene has become static and talky. With that awareness, they can consciously choose to be more physical to create more visual interest.
If you haven’t been very physical in the past, it’s hard to develop this awareness because your brain has adapted to the way you currently improvise (i.e., with little physicality).
Even though you want to be more physical, in the “fog of war” of an improv scene, you will often miss opportunities to move around more, use object work, etc.
You get better at improv by deliberately forcing yourself to use your weaker skills. This trains your awareness to use those skills in future scenes.
The questions we have to answer are: How do you identify the skills you need to work on, and then create the conditions to practice them in front of a crowd?
Well, there’s a simple process that performers of any experience level can follow to assess your skills and learn from your experience.
Over my 25 year career, I’ve become a better performer and gotten more enjoyment from improv using this process. Read on for the full story!
I’ve also created a free template you can download to help you put this article into practice. Scroll down to the bottom to get it!
Table of Contents
- What does it mean to “get better at improv comedy?”
- The myth of no preparation
- A simple process to get better at improv comedy
- Picking better improv classes
- Prompts for note-making
- Get better at improv comedy with this free template
Learning the Improv Illusion
A free series introducing the techniques of Physical Improv.
What does it mean to “get better at improv comedy?”
Many blogs suggest the usual improv tips: listen and observe, focus on your scene partner, go for the truth instead of the laugh, and so on. Others suggest targeted classes or exercises to round out your skills in acting, movement, singing, etc. And of course, there are always books to read and podcasts to listen to.
No doubt about it, these are all good tips. But how do you put them into practice, consistently and reliably, so that you actually grow your skills?
While you can pick up tips from books and blogs, the only actual way to learn improv is to do it. You have to perform in front of an audience to experience feedback, understand what works for you, and develop that improviser’s “third eye.”
The fastest way to improve any skill is through deliberate practice. Identifying and working on your weak spots will raise your game quickly.
These two ideas together make it clear: you get better by deliberately practicing your weaker skills in front of an audience.
This is what you do in classes, of course (assuming you choose them for skills development and not other reasons — more on that later). Your instructor will set exercises, coach you through scenes, and give you feedback.
But live shows are where you make the biggest leaps in experience. And when you’re doing shows, you may not have someone to help you prepare, or to review your performance with afterward.
The myth of no preparation
Improvisers — including myself — often buy into the belief that we shouldn’t prepare. We turn up at shows without a plan for games to play, or themes to explore, or anything at all. We often talk about “being lazy” as if it’s the expected behaviour of a top performer.
There’s nothing wrong with wanting a show to unfold spontaneously. But without goals in mind, you miss chances to practice in live performance. Wanting to please the audience, you’ll rely on your strongest skills and best tricks. That might make for an entertaining show, but it won’t help you get better at improv comedy. It’s also an easy way to fall into a rut where all your shows become similar.
Planning improv objectives in advance isn’t cheating or limiting your creativity. It’s choosing specific skills or games to practice deliberately in front of an audience. It also helps you inject variety into your shows.
Okay then, if planning is important, how do you know what to plan? Practice goals reveal themselves when you learn to understand your strengths and weaknesses. And you do that through a regular process of making and reviewing notes.
A simple process to get better at improv comedy
- Make notes on your improv.
- Review your notes for patterns, connections, and future ideas.
- Set your objective(s) for the next show.
This takes a bit of your time away from the stage. But the more you work this cycle, the faster you’ll grow.
Let’s break these steps down…
Making notes on your improv
Get a notebook and bring it everywhere — shows, workshops, rehearsals, planning meetings. A hardback, spiral-bound notebook works best. It’s got a built-in writing surface. It opens flat so you can easily look at it while you’re working (for set lists, suggestion prompts, etc.). You can tear pages out if your team needs spare paper. And the spiral is a perfect place to store a pen.
Improv scenes have only a brief existence, and when you’re really “in the zone” it’s often hard to remember what happened. You should make notes as soon as possible after an event. Believe me, I know it’s a hassle when you’d rather hit the bar or go home to sleep. But a few minutes’ work, while your memory and impressions are fresh, will pay off.
What notes should you make? They should be a mix of details about the scenes you played and your immediate thoughts about how successful they were. In the last section of this article, I’ve listed several prompts to help.
I’ve also created a handy template you can download and stick in your notebook for reference. Scroll down to the bottom to get it!
Use point-form for speed, but include enough detail to help you make sense of it later. Write as if your future self will be reading for the first time.
Reviewing your notes
The best way to review is at home, away from the stage, and feeling relaxed. You can be more reflective when you’re not influenced by the chaotic energy of a show.
Look for patterns. Do you play the same scenes and games often? Are there characters or personality traits that reoccur? Anything from your “bag of tricks” that you regularly turn to? These can be positive or negative. You can spot bad habits, but also get a sense of what strengths you bring to your team.
Patterns also show what’s most meaningful to you and ideas that repeatedly bubble up from your subconscious mind. Good notes can help you write sketches or plan long-form sets around a theme. (Players at The Second City, one of the most famous improv/sketch theatres in the world, generate a lot of material this way.)
Look at your reactions. When and where do you feel most/least confident? Are there situations or games that you resist? These notes point out your best qualities to lean into and weaknesses to work on.
Connecting notes together can also give you ideas for future use. Suppose you recently discovered a great office boss character and want to develop it. Looking through your notes, you recall a funny premise from a restaurant scene. You might see a way to transform your boss into a kitchen chef, giving you a good foundation to explore a new scene. If the restaurant premise hadn’t been in your notes, you might never have remembered it to put those ideas together.
Creating objectives
To get better at improv comedy, you need to set objectives and goals for yourself. Every show gives you experience, but you can rarely control what types of experience you’ll get. Having an aim in mind helps you work deliberately on skills you want to improve.
When you review your notes, finish by making a list of possible future objectives. These could be general reminders (“Talk less, listen more”) or skills to practice (“Have a strong emotional reaction to a surprise”). You can also make lists of previous things to bring back and explore: scenes, characters, premises, or ideas.
Try to make your objectives specific. “Be more physical” is okay, but it doesn’t give you anything to latch onto. It’s better to have a more concrete goal, like “Do one scene where I play with object work.” Or “Do an outdoors scene and try to involve all five senses.”
If your aim is to avoid a negative pattern (“Stop asking so many blind questions”), try to have a positive goal to go with it. Even better, try to frame negative goals as positive (“Make more assumptions”).
Keep your running list of objectives on a separate page so you can scan through it for your next performance.
Setting objectives for your next show
Before heading out to the theatre, look at your list of objectives and choose one or two to work on in your set. Deciding in advance will make them easier to remember during the show.
I don’t recommend more than two objectives. Packing too many goals may push you to steamroll scenes and not work with your ensemble. Look for just one or two moments where you can work with a clear objective.
Sometimes you won’t find those moments. That’s okay! Simply keeping your goals in mind trains your brain to look for opportunities. It’s this instinct that you want to build. Keep the goal in mind for next time.
But if you do get to work a skill, celebrate it! Then make notes on how it worked out.
Picking better improv classes
As your list of objectives grows, you’ll probably find some that are similar or aligned. These indicators of your strengths and weaknesses can help you make better decisions about your improv training.
It’s important to know what you want to get out of an improv class, especially if there are limits on your time and money. Working with that rock star improv teacher you admire may seem like a great opportunity. But if they only teach skills you’re already good at, or if they don’t help with your learning objectives, how much will you really learn?
Good notes help you understand yourself well enough to choose the classes and teachers that will broaden your skills.
Prompts for note-making
Making and reviewing good notes is the best way to get better at improv comedy quickly. Here are several prompts you can use at various stages of the process.
I’ve also created a printable template you can stick in your notebook for easy reference. Scroll down to the bottom to get it.
Notes after a show/class
You don’t have to list everything that happened. Just note any standout or interesting moments (positive or negative).
- Scene premises and situations (sketch ideas?)
- Characters, personality traits, or attitudes
- Locations, environment, object work, physicality
- Lines of dialogue (including what you could have said differently)
- Scenes/Games that succeeded/failed
- Audience reactions (What did they laugh at? What were they transfixed by? What didn’t they like?)
- Post-show notes from director/instructor
- Players you worked with
- Goals achieved
- Personal feelings about the show
- SAFETY ISSUES (physical or emotional) — These are very important. Report any to your producer or theatre company.
Reviewing notes
Look through recent entries for:
- Patterns – What ideas, elements, notes, or feelings keep recurring?
- Connections – Can you connect notes together to create new ideas?
- Reactions – Where do you feel most/least confident or satisfied?
- Future Development – Are there any skills that you might benefit from taking a class?
Setting objectives
What goals can you set based on your review? Be as specific as you can.
- Specific skills to work on (e.g. “Do one scene with object work.”)
- Reminders (e.g. “Listen more, talk less.”)
- Characters, premises, locations, or other scene elements to bring back and explore
- Bad habits to watch for, but try to express positively (e.g. “Make more assumptions” instead of “Stop asking so many blind questions”)
THEN CHOOSE ONE OR TWO OBJECTIVES FOR YOUR NEXT SHOW/CLASS.
Get better at improv comedy with this free template
No opt-in required! It’s free for you to use and share with your fellow improvisers. Just click the button below to get to the download page.