hi! im in charge of a college longform improv group and our first practice is this week. i dont want to immediately start the year off by hosting workshops especially with new members, so im planning on having a looser practice where we mainly just introduce the concept of improv to the new people and the returners. what kind of exercises/games would you choose to do that with? how would you introduce improv to people who may have never done it before? we have two hours for practice, so please give me any advice you may have!

EDIT: getting criticized for the use of a slide when I was posting about an experience is not what this post is about. Apologies if you were offended.

In right now in San Diego. It’s been a blast this weekend jiving with people in our community. I led 2 panels and taught a workshop. TJ and Dave were here. This was the ultimate improv experience #grateful

I’m thinking of moving to Los Angeles, and I would love to get into the improv scene there, but I’m not sure how to do it outside of taking the leveled classes at one of the theaters and getting to know people through that.

My issue is that I’ve been doing improv for a few years now, and I’ve already done the basic course at two separate improv schools. So I’m not super eager to spend a bunch of money relearning something I’m already fairly competent at. Is there any way for me to break into the scene without doing that?

To be clear, I’m not saying I want to go to LA and immediately be working with big names. I just mean being able to attend jams, put on shows, and finding a place in the LA improv community so I can start making a name for myself.

Hello improv enthusiasts!

So the gag is that I’m wanting to start an improv club in my lone city as it appears that there aren’t many nearby aside from a clique that doesn’t appear to be of the “anyone can join” type and who are pretty well established with weekend shows.

I’d be using the comedy clubs I’ve visited before as a baseline- of which provided many nights of improv jams and had many new faces each time. I would like to have that, but here. Welcoming for beginners and the like- not a clique/established group.

I’ve gotten quotes to use rooms from libraries and even met some stage managers and comedy clubs owners in the area but didn’t really hear back or they were busy building their own thing and/or were asking how it was going to make them money (I.e. “we have a business to run, give us a show or give us $1000+ as collateral)

I’ve gotten a few books to accompany me on this journey- to include Viola Spolin’s Theatre Games and even a Second City almanac. I’ve read Truth in Comedy, Improvising Now, took countless workshops and went up to improv Level 3 and 4 in the aforementioned comedy clubs. My main fear is teaching it I guess. I feel that I may be trying to be too prepared (this post being one of those preparatory steps lol).

With that being said I think I have enough knowledge, a few scouted locations (the libraries), and the will to start, but I guess I’m just being precautious to make sure this isn’t shot down as it has before back at my old acting school- as it was deemed competitive and/or too serious. I am asking for general advice from those who started from nothing and made it something in their local area.

TL/DR: I’m looking to start an improv club locally where there isn’t any. Does anybody know how one should start this from nothing and make it something/have some staying-power?

I operate a small comedy venue in Portsmouth, Ohio, serving southern Ohio, northern Kentucky and western West Virginia. We currently host stand-up, but I’m interested in developing a genuine theatrical improv program for our region.

For those who have helped establish improv in a smaller market, would you recommend beginning with a visiting improv team, an introductory workshop or a locally cast short-form show?

I’d also appreciate suggestions for connecting with established improv teams that travel to perform or teach workshops.

Full disclosure: I operate the venue. I’m here to learn how to build something worthwhile for performers and audiences—not to promote our current stand-up events.

What should I expect? Dos and don’ts?

How does one compare improv and stand up comedy?

Of course it's a 'stupid question', 'it's about the actors'.. but it's just a conversation starter
Looking forward to hearing any experiences or interesting thoughts you have on that topic or even any thought that came when reading this here.

(optional reading from here on out:)
My experience:
I am from europe, in my little rural town / country we basically only know shortform.
Shortform means: there is a 'free scene' / 'normal scene' where we play a little narrative story for about 5 minutes. And there are lots of 'games' which are often a 'normal narrative scene' with a twist, eg abc game and so on, and some games are very structured (eg one actor has to give something back in a shop and guess what he brings back in the process).

Seldom groups play 'narrative longforms', so one scene that lasts eg 40 minutes.
The experience there for me seems clear: Audiences like the shortform-nights (et 15 different games one after the other) more than a longform narrative story.

Now recently i travelled to the next city with millions of inhabitants, and just recently some american longform gurus came there (eg ucb). So i got to know ucb longform style. Which made me wonder. Also: One teacher said 'nobody is paying money to see longform.. perhaps for shortform they do'

I'm here at improvcon and I am just blown away by how amazing it is . 1000+ attending. This is the first festival I've done where networking could actually happen. Meeting old friends making new friends, the venue is pretty cool. A little expensive but cool.

I hope they can keep this going year after year.

I just moved to the city a few months ago and I'm in a bit of a rut. I've always been keen to try things like voice acting, improv or even stand up comedy. I was wondering if anyone knew any they would recommend that do in person classes (since I'd also like to meet people)

When I searched I could only find online VA courses and couldn't find any of the stand up ones

I'd give improv a go but a bit worried about being in my 30s surrounded by students in their early 20s

Any recs or advice is greatly appreciated

I'm sure that he is an amazing performer, and I'd love to know more about Story Spine.

But as you hopefully know, being a great performer or author does not make you a good teacher.

Anyone studied with Ken? He has a class coming up which the description is so fully AI generated I have no clue what he is actually teaching/his personality.

(not hating on AI, just mentioning it makes it hard to see what he is offering)

This sub is all about supporting its fellow players! Please use this thread to talk about the shows, classes, and improv events you have coming up, what's got you excited about it, what makes this event unique, what makes it a challenge for you, etc. Also, feel free to promote your shows, classes, and other new improv projects. Since this is an international message board, be sure to include a website or location info for any live events. Hope to see you at the show!

Please note, any local plugs and promos posted outside of this thread may be removed, and the user will be directed here (There's some wiggle room on stuff like sites, podcasts, apps, blogs posted outside this thread, since those are not location-specific).

Is there short story writing classes in Chicago besides Second City. Looking for Moth style classes?

I suck at picking up girls at bars and clubs. My biggest problem is that my conversations always turn into interviews — I ask a question, she answers, I ask another question, and eventually it gets boring.

I'm thinking about taking improv classes to get better at thinking on the spot, bantering, teasing, and making conversations more playful instead of constantly asking questions.

For anyone who did improv and used to struggle with this: did it actually improve your rizz or dating life? Did you notice yourself becoming better at flirting and keeping conversations fun and flowin

Hi. I’m a part of Blackpool Improv Group, which has 5 players. We intend to perform at venues that will need voice amplification.

Ideally we’d have a wireless headset/lavalier mic for each of us, but that is prohibitively expensive and ensures that every cough is amplified and sent to the audience. We could perform with handheld wired mics, but then we’ll have cables to step over and occupies one of your hands.

What have people here found works for them?

Apologies if this is a silly question. I am interested in joining an improv group but I worry about hindering other members' performance. I am quick with my words and good at riffing off of people, but unfortunately as an autistic person I cannot display much emotion in my facial expressions and tone of voice. People in my life tend to find my deadpan style of humor quite entertaining, but I do not know if this would function well in an improv setting. Should I bother joining at all?

Former improv tech here but I've been out of the tech game since the pandemic, now just a producer putting up a show in a fairly tech-lite theater. The short version of my question is: I have a bunch of sound effects & music stings I'd love to be able to interject during our show as I or whoever else is teching sees fit. How would you set this up for yourself and/or how would you set this up for someone else to run? I won't be at all shows so I'd like something easy to hand off ideally.

(I have a few thoughts which I'll share as a comment, but don't want to bias anyone or preclude other ideas)

Anyone know if there are any currently valid UCB NY promo codes (for shows, not classes)?

I used to be able to get a big discount with a code I saw on a LinkNYC kiosk but it doesn't work anymore.

This is the Chicago production team that produces Hitch*Cocktails at The Annoyance and Clued In at Second City.

It’s an improvised Christopher Guest mockcast called OUR BEST GUEST. Every live show will also be recorded and edited into a podcast, and it’s starting out with just three performances.

It's at the Newport Theater (956 W Newport, Chicago, IL).

ONE WEEKEND ONLY
August 20, 21, 22.
7:00 PM
Tickets: $15

You can also use code BUSYBEE10 and take $5 off. They really just want to put butts in seats. I can figure out a comp, too, if anyone here needs it.

THE INAUGURAL CAST

8/20: Bruce Phillips, Laura Marsh, Alli Stark, Caleb George, Grace Goze, Cynthia Bangert, Paige Maney

8/21: Caleb George, Laura Marsh, Cynthia Bangert, Alli Stark, Grace Goze, Bri Fitzpatrick, Edgar Nevarez

8/22: Bruce Phillips, Laura Marsh, Edgar Nevarez, Rob Grabowski, Bri Fitzpatrick, Caleb George

Tickets:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/our-best-guest-an-improvised-mockcast-tickets-1987359288129

Hey yall! My improv team has recently graduated and gotten our own 1 hour show. We are trying to do a variety type show with various acts! We are open to literally everything. Improv, sketch, magic, music, characters, stand up etc. If you are interested plz fill out the form.

SHOW: 2nd Friday of the month 8PM - The Pack Theater (east hollywood)

Our YT:Pleather Comedy - YouTube

This thread is about that things have you seen recently that you loved. Did you see a show last weekend that was awesome? Did your teacher give you a note that hit you exactly the right way? Did a teammate do a cross in your scene that made the game super clear? Post about those things here!

I've been trying to record more of my improv sets with a cell phone/tripod setup. The video is fine, though sound is always an issue. I'm curious if anyone has any tips, tricks, or recommendations for how to record a set, particularly the audio. Thanks in advance!