Like many of my generation, I grew up watching "Saturday Night Live" and "Second City Television." I've always thought it was brilliant, the way the comedians could interpret current events in a relatable, funny way. Some of my favorite actors — including funny ladies Tina Fey, Amy Poehler and Kristen Wiig — got their start in sketch comedy and improv troupes.
I've always admired the courage and skill that improv performers exhibit. There's a show business saying that "dying is easy; comedy is hard." It takes a special kind of intelligence to be able to get up in front of an audience and keep them engaged, especially if you are making it up as you go along. And it doesn't only apply to comedy. Thinking on your feet is a skill that applies to everyday life.
For insight, I talked to Jessica Taylor, the founder of Not Quite Right Comedy Improv Troupe. The group of 11 improvisers performs and teaches classes at the Derek Gores Gallery in the Eau Gallie Arts District.
Taylor is a regular on local stages, performing in plays and musicals around Brevard County. She discovered improv as a student at the University of Florida and found a real resonance with the craft. I asked her to describe her rules of improv comedy, and here's what she said.
1. Yes, and. This is the No. 1 rule of improv. If your partner enters and says, "Hey! I like your new hat!" and you respond, "I don't have a hat," you've just denied the reality your partner created, and your scene dies a horrible death. However, if you "yes, and" to everything created in a scene, you and your partner can go places. "Hey! I like your new hat!" "Thanks! Isn't aluminum foil awesome?" "You know it. I wish I had one. My last alien encounter went really badly." See? Now we're going somewhere. Imagine what could happen if we all started saying "yes" to more experiences. Oh, the places we could go.
2. No questions. The strongest scenes are made of strong statements. No one wants to be stuck in a scene with that guy who doesn't bring anything to the table. "Who are you? Where are we? What's going on? I'm too afraid to make a decision here, so I'm just going to put all the pressure on you." Instead, come into a scene with your own ideas. Those ideas may change through the course of the scene, but at least you brought something to the table. "Look out! Those goats are going crazy! Just load the milk and go!" Maybe those group brainstorming sessions at work wouldn't be so tedious if we were all a little less afraid to contribute.
3. Stay in the moment. Stop planning. Stop reliving the past. Stop thinking. Just stop. Be. Look around, listen and respond to what is going on around you right now. It's hard, isn't it? Our brains are always creating an inner dialogue. We spend most of our lives thinking about what we're going to do or say next, instead of really tuning into what is going on right now. If we do that in an improv scene, we miss what our partner just did and said. There's no way we can respond correctly. So get out of your head and look around. You're missing a lot of cool stuff.
4. Trust. Improv is not a one-man show. That's called stand-up. Improv takes two or more people working together to create amazing things. Good improvisers do not push their own agenda. They come in with strong ideas, accept those ideas and then work together to create great scenes. They trust that the other guy is going to hold up their end of the bargain. They relinquish control and just go where the scene takes them. It's a beautiful thing.
5. Take risks. Though improv has these "rules" to help make great scenes, there is no right or wrong. You can't do or say anything that isn't right. Every contribution is a good one. Improvisers use their own life experiences, their own truths to create characters, places, situations that entertain. So take a risk. That risk could be saying "yes" to something that terrifies you. That risk could be as big as parachuting from an airplane or as simple as speaking up in a meeting. You never know what wonderful things can happen until you take a leap of faith.
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Contact LaFortune via e-mail at clafortune@floridatoday.com
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