13. Improv
Laughter really is a tonic. And in an improv class, you’re guaranteed to laugh. A lot.
You’d laugh if you saw me with Nico, an Improv classmate, pretending we were in a library discussing the merits of self-help books. You might laugh at me rather than with me, but you’d definitely laugh.
With Joyce, happy after laughing for an hour and a half
My friend Joyce and I participated in Improv Boston’s free introductory drop-in class, which they hold from 12:00 to 2:30 every Saturday. We arrived a bit early and met Luba, a young woman who was taking the class to push herself out of her comfort zone. We wondered if anyone else would show up, but no need to worry; many people, it seems, want to bump up against the boundaries of their own comfort zones, and our class filled with a diverse group of thirteen.
Sadly, I can’t show you any video clips. I don’t mind making a fool of myself on the Internet (after all, I actually posted a video of myself singing for all to see), but no one else wants to be filmed getting silly with over-the-top gestures and dramatic displays of emotion - at least not during their first crack at it.
With Mina, our kind and enthusiastic instructor
Our enthusiastic young instructor, Mina, started with a name game. Standing in a circle, we each had to say our name while making a physical gesture, then mirror others doing the same.
Mina talked about how in improv, every emotion becomes amplified. We practiced demonstrations of big emotions with another game, where one person sighed with longing, or rolled her eyes in disgust, or pumped his fist with excitement. Then each person in the circle, one after another, acted out the same emotion. The emotion grew as it went around the circle, until reaching an over-the-top crescendo: All right! … YAY! Way to go! … YES! YES! FANTASTIC!!!
Improv also requires deep, focused listening. Players work off of each other and if your mind wanders the back-and-forth collaboration unravels. We worked with partners, listening intently and offering affirming words and body language as they described their perfect day and the people and things they love (now I know all about Portlandia and Fred Armisen …). This is a practice I can bring into my day-to-day life: remembering to stay present with people and to listen deeply.
We also learned about “object work.” Improv players use no props except chairs, so they employ gestures instead. Mina set up four chairs - two representing the front seat of a car and two for the back. We had to pretend we were opening and closing the car door, buckling the seat belt, and handling the steering wheel, while at the same time playing a game where a person gets into the car and expresses an emotion, and the three people already in the car have to mirror that emotion. Doing all of this at once proved a lot harder than it sounds.
Finally, we had to actually act, in front of the whole group. I went in thinking this would feel scary, but it didn’t. Two of us at a time got up in front of the group. One person took on the role of listener/responder, while the other answered a question such as “What was your first job?” or “What is your favorite kind of book?” The group also assigned us a location - the beach, for example, or the library.
My partner, Nico, was the listener. Self-help is not my favorite kind of book, but seemed funnier than historical biography. We riffed about the power of positive thinking, then Nico, playing off of my enthusiasm, pretended to get so excited about a book called Guru that he went to steal it.
“Don’t do that,” I said in a stage whisper - we were in the library, after all. “It could help someone else.”
“Oh, I’m such a bad person!” Nico responded.
“Well here’s a great self-help book to make you better!”
And more such silliness …
Joyce was much better at this than I was, especially at the physical object work. I wish I had a video of her demonstrating ice-cream scooping while riding the T!
We both thought the class was fun and offered a great intro to the world of improv, and we agreed that laughter feels good and reduces stress.
Maybe I should add laughing yoga to my adventure list …
