Stop Lampshading
Stop lampshading. Stop it. Stop lampshading in your improv. Stop it.
Stop lampshading. Stop it. Stop lampshading in your improv. Stop it.
I sat down and wrote out 6 ways you can spot the best time to end. Hopefully, you spot these, then make a sweep before you become the person screaming at your own scene.
In my time doing improv, I have identified four communication styles. These styles translate to how folks work on stage (big surprise, right?). By no means is this a concrete list of how people function.
To break it into terms that I love, I split the four types of communication into Star Trek terms. Specifically, original series terms. The styles?
If you’re entertaining an audience, you must keep “the hot spot” hot. Engage the audience by doing something actively. It doesn’t matter what.
You must ask this question or else you are just doing warm-ups for no reason. If you’re doing warm-ups for no reason, you’re expending unnecessary energy and possibly irritating other improvisers because…what’s the point? If you’re ready to improvise and your partner(s) are, too, then don’t warm-up and just go do it. Reasons to do…
Get out your notebook. Put on your nicest clothes. Shut up. And, for the love of all things holy, shower. Here’s how to do better improv.
The Dangers of Going Meta Note: This is going to talk extensively about why I loooove the JUMP STREET series. I can tell you the exact moment that I fell in love with the meta-ness that is 21 JUMP STREET. The moment happens when Ice Cube comes out to explain to new Jump Street recruits Schmidt (Jonah…
Don’t play dumb in your improv scenes. Be as smart as you are in real life. That’s…pretty much it.
You don’t have to let the bastards get you down. Take a breath, look around, and figure out what you want to do. Here’s how.
At some point during your improv, you’re not going to know what to do next. So what do you do? It’s real simple: shut your mouth and act.