Everything is important

In improv, there are great scenes and not so great scenes. And, as young improvisers, we are constantly struggling to learn what makes bad scenes so we can steer clear of it and what makes great scenes so we can focus on it. Is a scene about a pirate who was cryogenically frozen and thawed in the year 2010 funnier than a scene about two people typing at a desk? The premise certainly sounds funnier to me. But here's the thing: No idea is ever really funnier than the next. You can take a hilarious premise and give it to bad improvisers and they will ruin it. Or, you can take a boring premise and give it to Cook County Social Club and they will turn it into the funniest thing you've ever seen. The reason is because the PLOT and the IDEA don't matter! What matters is listening to the last thing said, no matter how insignificant it may seem, and then responding. EVERY LINE IN IMPROV HAS THE POTENTIAL TO BE GOLD! Example...

I got a note from Cesar Jaime one time that completely changed my improv. I was in a scene with an Owl Farm teammate and we got the suggestion of "scientist". She initiated with "my bunsen burner is broken". I responded with "screw it, let's go to the beach". I thought it was a funny idea to see two scientists at the beach, but I completely disregarded my partner's initiation. We played the beach scene unsuccessfully for a minute before Cesar stopped it. Then he made us go back and play the scene again. But this time he told me not to try to make it funny, just listen and respond to what she said. It became a hilarious scene about two scientists who were more and more downtrodden by all their malfunctioning equipment. In my head (I'm embarrassed to admit) I had thought, "I'm funnier than her, we should just get away from her idea and get to my idea as quickly as possible". What a terrible way to think! Here's a better example of the same thing...

I have been addicted to The Sopranos lately. I've seen it before, but I always go back and start over at season one. The writing is amazing and James Gandolfini is perfect. Anyway, here's what I've noticed. In The Sopranos, there aren't any throw away lines. Nobody ever talks just to fill up space. Every single line is there for a reason. In improv, we should strive to perform the same way. Every line should be important. If somebody says that they burned the toast, you need to feel something about that! Take it personal! Are you mad because they burned the toast to spite you? Are you scared because they burned the last piece of toast in your underground WWII bunker? Do you feel redeemed because you've told them over and over again that the toaster is plotting against you? Here's the promise that I'm willing to make: If you decide that the words your scene partner says are important and worth FEELING something about, you will have a pretty good scene. On the other hand, if you simply try to be funny without reacting and responding to what your scene partner said, you'll fail. Maybe the untrained audience will think you are hilarious and your scene partner sucks, but the improvisers in the crowd (and most of our audience are students and improvisers) will recognize that you're more worried about being funny and less worried about supporting your teammates.

-Brett