6 Common Problems

Over the years, I've noticed common things improvisers do when they give up power in an improv scene. Improvisers are (more or less) human beings and human beings have behavioral patterns. Sometimes these patterns help in improvisation; sometimes they do not. 1 would like to discuss a few and you may decide whether they apply to you. These are not rules.

These are individual problems that sometimes show up in indi­vidual improvisers. Some of them may apply to you and some of them may not. If they apply to you, great. If they don't, think no more about them and have a good time improvising.

Too Much Exposition

At the top of the scene, an improviser spills the beans with a big line of exposition: "I'm glad you, my brother, are here because we must wash the car before mother and father arrive at the apartment here noon to discuss my getting fired from my factory job."

Some improvisers love to provide bulky exposition at the top of a scene. They think they need the safety of that construct to improvise the scene. A lot of this comes from being told at some point to "establish the who, what, and where in the first three lines of the scene." Nowadays, that fashion of exposition reads really stale to an audience and puts an unneeded burden on the scene. The audience knows that people don't talk like that, and it is dis­concerting to them.

If it is absolutely important to you to have exposition at the top of an improv scene, dole it out gracefully, a little at a time. If, how­ever, you make attacking the scene with a powerful declaration more important, you will find that the exposition you do provide will be backed up with a more substantial point of view and will be more deftly placed in the scene. It will be coming from a more powerful and organic place.

Talking Too Much

This is a problem I have, so I'm very aware of it. It's the "I will keep talking until 1 find something that works" thing. It's easy to fix once you're aware of it.

Quite often improvisers with this problem subconsciously use the words "I mean" to allow themselves to keep talking.

Improviser: I just don't think you should visit your brother, I mean, every time you visit him something bad happens, I mean, you remember the last time you visited him, I mean, when he started calling you names, I mean, I think you should just stay home.

When the words "I mean" show up often, it usually means that improvisers are searching for what they mean. They keep talking until they find it.

Here's how to find out if you talk too much when you improvise. Make a conscious choice, in a class or on stage, to say one short sentence at a time. Choose that context for yourself ahead of time. If, when you are improvising in that context, you have a need to talk more. or if you feel stifled by just saying a short sentence, there's a good chance that you've unconsciously conditioned yourself to talk more than you need to.

If you discover that you are one of these improvisers, practice improvising one sentence and not speaking until your partner responds. Put a period after your sentences and then shut the hell up. You will solve your problem quickly if you do this a few times. Then you will notice that when you do talk more, it is because of a choice and not a consequence of having conditioned yourself to keep talking.

It is interesting that people don't really know they are talking too much. They're too busy talking to realize how much they are talking. Ah, that I could give the gift of potential energy to improvisers who have multitudes of kinetic energy.

Imagine the above example this way:

I just don't think you should visit your brother.

Hold.

Hold.

Hold.

Feel the power.

Hold.

Wait.

Strong.

Hold.

Potential energy. Don't let the air out of creation by talking so much.