In-person improv is one of the things I miss the most with the pandemic. Fortunately a lot of enthusiasts have adapted with web technologies and have been streaming shows on Zoom- I joined a team recently that has actually never performed in person!
In NY's scene there's a surprising amount of software engineers who do improv as a creative outlet. I started taking classes at Magnet Theater about 1.5 years ago and it's been a great way to pull my brain out of work. More specifically, it's nice to enter a mental space where I need to empty out my mind, listen to what my scene partner is saying, and progress a situation that's presented to me- its close to the concept of mushin[1] but in an acting context.
Improv theaters in NYC have (for the most part) been suffering financially, and if you're in the area, once things are in a more normal state, I strongly advise checking out shows, whether it's UCB, Magnet, PIT, or any of the other theaters! Some places (namely Magnet) also do twitch streams if you're looking for something to watch on a random night.
The Squirrel Theater is a new one that I also recommend people check out. It's a non-profit founded by former UCB people, and has a strong commitment to diversity. They're completely online right now, but looking to get a physical space some time this year.
When I did UCB 201, 10 out of 16 members of the class were Software Developers. There is something uniquely appealing to such a face-to-face activity that can still benefit a tech worker professionally (by practicing public speaking and on-the-fly thinking)
It is disappointing that improv and all live-theaters perpetually struggle to stay afloat (even without COVID). It should not be a challenging model; a class just requires a teacher, students, and a clear performance space. Unfortunately, that space is a scarce commodity in the largest cities and finding enough students is impossible in a smaller city.
Hello fellow long form fan! If you're out of the Magnet, might you know some of the Honey folks? I'm in Phoenix and their shows at our improv fest were always a joy to behold.
My favorite quote about improv came from a stand-up comic I used to see around NYC: “The three best comedy shows I’ve ever seen have all been improv.. And so were the worst 498.”
They have a pretty interesting "Deprecated" section to document games that they no longer recommend. Some are because of changing cultural mores, but others are because of danger to self and property!
> Toilet Roll: This scene must be completed before a burning length of toilet paper reaches the player’s pants.
Thanks for pointing that out. It was interesting and a little disheartening to see the reasons (changing cultural mores) for some of these deprecations. I feel like humor is always going to be somewhat overlapped with lack of propriety, so it's unexpected to see a humor-focused site do that.
I guess you can say that improv is meant to teach you fast reactions rather than "funny" ones.
A few years ago I started a small side-project (https://improvtonight.app) to help find shows at local improv theatres. I stopped updating it at the beginning of the pandemic, but have started brushing the dust off again. Along with in-person shows, I'd like to include an area for virtual shows, as I suspect those will continue to be produced at least in some capacity.
If anyone has any theatres or virtual shows they recommend adding, please let me know either here or via email (found in my profile).
One of my favorite virtual shows is by a team here in Chicago called Cigarette Sandwich (https://www.twitch.tv/videos/931265538). I think they've adapted really well to the virtual medium.
I just joined a weekly improv class via Zoom. It's a blast! I can tell it would be even better in person, but it's still good on Zoom. I wish I'd started years ago. It's like a hack for skipping all the tedious aspects of meeting people and going straight to the part that's actually fun: letting your guard down and being spontaneous.
I've been impressed by how legitimately funny a group of total novices can be. Sure, there are plenty of misses, but also times where everything clicks together perfectly and the result gets me laughing as hard as I would at a professional comedy show. I'd recommend it to anyone who could use a pandemic pick-me-up.
Improv is fascinating to me. I've really enjoyed it as an audience member, and some part of me would love to try it as a participant. But I find it so nerve-wracking that even reading this site makes my hands sweat.
I could see some of the warmups used at parties, a few are fun to play with a sig fig or on a road trip.
Another game in the same vein : assign each player a unique alphabet letter. Starting clockwise, each player states a word starting with their letter.
If someone pauses for more than 3 seconds (6 steps if playing while walking) another person may say a word for that letter. We keep score by how many words you helped with (stole from) others. Each word should be unique, you can’t state a word used before. Continue until at destination.
To increase difficulty: when the initial player is reached (after a full round), reverse the direction (if clockwise, go counterclockwise) of play. When a reversal occurs take the letter from the person who goes after you in the clockwise direction.
I've done a lot of improv with different TTRPGs. As long as the rules are simple and the focus is on the narrative rather than wargaming it's a perfect way to explore improv. My last group focused a lot on exploring relations between characters and NPCs and dug into the personalities of the characters. It's doable with most systems. Give the characters goals, beliefs, fears and motivations and dig into that. You get a totally different game. Really want to recommend Tales from the loop and running that with a lot of improv.
I'm in the process of building a virtual tabletop, www.fictionboard.com, that focuses on narrative driven games. I find other VTTs get more in the way and just doing games on Zoom or Discord doesn't provide enough tools for immersion.
For sure! I'm an SF-based software engineer who's also on an improv team that did monthly performances in the Before Times.
There are three "big" improv theaters in SF which I know of: Endgames Improv in the Mission, Leela in SoMa, and BATS Improv in the Marina. The show you might've heard of is "Your F'd Up Relationship", which is put on by Endgames Improv's main house team on Fridays at 9 and 10:30. That's a great one to start with. Speaking as an improviser, those performers are especially strong, and the format helps them be consistently funny.
You can also take classes from those theaters, or from a couple other spots, like Thunderbolt Comedy (who actually have a really neat online platform called Pineappl: a web app that's designed specifically for improv, so that performers can simulate being on stage, maintain consistent relative positions to each other, set custom backgrounds, etc. without wrangling any of the messy Zoom stuff like covering up your camera when you're "offscreen".)
Unfortunately the city's comedy scene has taken a massive hit due to the pandemic. I have to imagine that being locked in a crowded room with 50 strangers all laughing is just about the last thing that the city is going to allow to reopen. It seems like Endgames is in financial trouble, since they've put one of their theaters up for rent and the other one is running GoFundMe's. To me, watching Zoom improv really just isn't the same -- really, so much of the improv experience is sharing it with an audience. I really do hope the theaters survive the pandemic so we can have in person shows again when it's safe!
When Sketchfest becomes a thing again, that's improv heaven. My favorite was when UCB did their show where they improv off of an audience member's Facebook feed. And this woman had an old Facebook official pirate theme that changed all the words to pirate slang.
I went to a Secret Improv Society show at Shelton Theater on Sutter in SF. It was hilarious!
When the pandemic hit, I was involved in an improv musical-comedy team that was easily the best thing I'd done for my brain and mental wellbeing in a long time. The ability to be right in that moment right then was really difficult and yet so easy, and it was wonderful. I really miss it, and I'm so hopeful that with the vaccine in place we'll be able to find a way to make it work again safely.
[+] [-] murph-almighty|5 years ago|reply
In NY's scene there's a surprising amount of software engineers who do improv as a creative outlet. I started taking classes at Magnet Theater about 1.5 years ago and it's been a great way to pull my brain out of work. More specifically, it's nice to enter a mental space where I need to empty out my mind, listen to what my scene partner is saying, and progress a situation that's presented to me- its close to the concept of mushin[1] but in an acting context.
Improv theaters in NYC have (for the most part) been suffering financially, and if you're in the area, once things are in a more normal state, I strongly advise checking out shows, whether it's UCB, Magnet, PIT, or any of the other theaters! Some places (namely Magnet) also do twitch streams if you're looking for something to watch on a random night.
[1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mushin_(mental_state)
[+] [-] doomrobo|5 years ago|reply
https://www.thesquirrelnyc.com/
[+] [-] schnevets|5 years ago|reply
It is disappointing that improv and all live-theaters perpetually struggle to stay afloat (even without COVID). It should not be a challenging model; a class just requires a teacher, students, and a clear performance space. Unfortunately, that space is a scarce commodity in the largest cities and finding enough students is impossible in a smaller city.
[+] [-] ricopags|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] miiiiiike|5 years ago|reply
Here’s a thing a guy did about the death of UCB New York: https://youtu.be/rObi3xZTQUk
Comedy that isn’t about politics, memes, or the pandemic is the one frivolous thing that I miss about the before times.
[+] [-] jeffgreco|5 years ago|reply
> Toilet Roll: This scene must be completed before a burning length of toilet paper reaches the player’s pants.
https://www.learnimprov.com/teaching/deprecated/
[+] [-] xyzelement|5 years ago|reply
I guess you can say that improv is meant to teach you fast reactions rather than "funny" ones.
[+] [-] NewHatMatt|5 years ago|reply
If anyone has any theatres or virtual shows they recommend adding, please let me know either here or via email (found in my profile).
One of my favorite virtual shows is by a team here in Chicago called Cigarette Sandwich (https://www.twitch.tv/videos/931265538). I think they've adapted really well to the virtual medium.
[+] [-] mrkurt|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] danenania|5 years ago|reply
I've been impressed by how legitimately funny a group of total novices can be. Sure, there are plenty of misses, but also times where everything clicks together perfectly and the result gets me laughing as hard as I would at a professional comedy show. I'd recommend it to anyone who could use a pandemic pick-me-up.
[+] [-] aantix|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] munificent|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] germinalphrase|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ionforce|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] tmpmov|5 years ago|reply
Another game in the same vein : assign each player a unique alphabet letter. Starting clockwise, each player states a word starting with their letter.
If someone pauses for more than 3 seconds (6 steps if playing while walking) another person may say a word for that letter. We keep score by how many words you helped with (stole from) others. Each word should be unique, you can’t state a word used before. Continue until at destination.
To increase difficulty: when the initial player is reached (after a full round), reverse the direction (if clockwise, go counterclockwise) of play. When a reversal occurs take the letter from the person who goes after you in the clockwise direction.
[+] [-] JackMorgan|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] privatemonkey|5 years ago|reply
I'm in the process of building a virtual tabletop, www.fictionboard.com, that focuses on narrative driven games. I find other VTTs get more in the way and just doing games on Zoom or Discord doesn't provide enough tools for immersion.
[+] [-] jamcohen|5 years ago|reply
Pre-pandemic I would go to the 11am text message show at UCB Franklin in LA and it was consistently amazing.
[+] [-] logandavis|5 years ago|reply
There are three "big" improv theaters in SF which I know of: Endgames Improv in the Mission, Leela in SoMa, and BATS Improv in the Marina. The show you might've heard of is "Your F'd Up Relationship", which is put on by Endgames Improv's main house team on Fridays at 9 and 10:30. That's a great one to start with. Speaking as an improviser, those performers are especially strong, and the format helps them be consistently funny.
You can also take classes from those theaters, or from a couple other spots, like Thunderbolt Comedy (who actually have a really neat online platform called Pineappl: a web app that's designed specifically for improv, so that performers can simulate being on stage, maintain consistent relative positions to each other, set custom backgrounds, etc. without wrangling any of the messy Zoom stuff like covering up your camera when you're "offscreen".)
Unfortunately the city's comedy scene has taken a massive hit due to the pandemic. I have to imagine that being locked in a crowded room with 50 strangers all laughing is just about the last thing that the city is going to allow to reopen. It seems like Endgames is in financial trouble, since they've put one of their theaters up for rent and the other one is running GoFundMe's. To me, watching Zoom improv really just isn't the same -- really, so much of the improv experience is sharing it with an audience. I really do hope the theaters survive the pandemic so we can have in person shows again when it's safe!
[+] [-] ngokevin|5 years ago|reply
I went to a Secret Improv Society show at Shelton Theater on Sutter in SF. It was hilarious!
[+] [-] castillar76|5 years ago|reply