Weekly Improv Challenge: Listening

As I mentioned early in the life of this blog, I try to give myself goals for each improv class. I keep it simple – initiate at least 3 scenes, for example. Setting goals helps me to be mentally prepared before class and gives me a framework to think about my performance after.

My goal for this class was to listen to my scene partner(s). In improv this means basically the same thing as it does in life – focus on what the person in front of you is saying and don't get lost in your own thoughts, planning what you're going to say next. Have you had a conversation with someone you know isn't really listening? They're thinking about how they can one-up you, or say the most comforting thing, or provide the best advice. They end up missing your point because they're so caught up in their contribution. Inside and outside of improv, there is always room for improvement when it comes to listening to each other.

Monday's improv class was so much fun. In the previous class we had focused on finding the game of the scene – which basically means finding what's funny or strange in a scene and using it to find even funnier or strange ideas. In this class we further focused on finding the game and practiced more scene work. We did a short form game where we interviewed an audience member (in this case, a fellow classmate) about a day in their life, starting from when they first wake up. We did these in 3 groups and each run was amazing. Personally I felt it was easier to do these scenes because I knew what scene came next and I knew details about each character.

But back to listening! My focus on listening made it easier to get out of my head. I wasn't trying to direct the scene where I thought it should go, which lately I think I might be doing. I listened and reacted to my partner's suggestions. For example, in one scene we had an angry, elitist teacher and three students. As one of the students, I wasn't sure what to do or if I should do anything. The teacher was ranting about how students don't appreciate history and we are all cheats and so on. I decided to raise my hand and ask if the info from these rants would be on the final. He said, yes, everything he was saying was important. I stuck with my decision to make this a game and raised my hand two more times as his rants became more ridiculous. I think listening helped me to get the rhythm of the scene and I was able to repeat minor details of his rant when asking if they would be on the final. 

All in all, I feel pretty great about improv these days. I'm getting better, feeling more relaxed, and finally having fun. No more stressing out.