Losing your improv mojo
"Enjoy things even when you're screwing up" (Keith Johnstone)
Lately I experienced a crisis of confidence around my ability to improvise, which was unexpected given that I have been improvising for many years and in numerous high pressured settings. I’m not totally sure where this feeling came from. It may be because a couple of weird things occurred in shows earlier this year, or because I had one of those never ending flu-bugs, or because I’ve been plagued by migraines lately so have not quite been firing on all cylinders.
Whatever the reason, my inner critic has been LOUD, unhelpful and downright mean at times, during and after shows. So it was a tonic to perform These Folk in Bristol recently and to feel good about it before, during, and after the performance. These Folk is an improvised folk musical performed by myself and Justin Brett and accompanied by brilliant musicians. We don’t do it as often as we’d like, but Justin and I have worked together for years so we fit into each other’s grooves pretty easily. In a These Folk show prior to this one, I’d held on a bit too tightly to the narrative and forgot to have fun as a result. This time around I reminded myself to have fun, and hey presto it was way better and more enjoyable. We were joined by Dan Atfield on guitar for the first time and it was a treat to play with him. Dan is mega experienced (having played for Abandoman, Nina Conti and many others) and the three of us gelled well musically and (importantly!) in the van on the way home too. I love working with improv musicians and always feel grateful for being able to collaborate with artists in this very specific way to create live music together.
Bristol Improv Theatre, or BIT as it is known is a nice size and the audience are very close to the playing space so it feels intimate. There’s nothing worse than those venues where the gap between audience and stage is so big that there’s a laughter time-delay. No such problem here where the laughter and aahs could be heard immediately. The audience were fun and the story that unfolded wasn’t too confusing, so we were able to have fun exploring songs, characters and deepening relationships without having to make sense of complicated plot threads. Simplicity is usually my preference in narrative shows, but this is not the preferred choice for all improvisers. Some people love convoluted, clever plots. Different strokes for different folks I guess. Or rather, different plot threads for different improv heads…
These Folk aside it’s been a disorientating spring, so in an attempt to get my improv confidence back for good I’ve come up with some reminders for myself. If you are an improviser having a crisis of confidence I hope that they might help you. Or maybe you’ll even have some to add.
How to get your improv mojo back
Remember to have fun.
There’s literally no point in doing it otherwise because, as we know, no one goes into improv for the money. I reminded myself to have fun before my show at BIT and coincidentally my pal Pippa Evans reminded me of this too when we were doing Showstopper! The Improvised Musical for two nights at Leicester Curve Theatre. On the first night I was tasked with singing an explanation to resolve a complicated plot in the style of the musical “Kinky Boots”. This was a verrrry hard thing to do successfully, so inevitably I felt like a loser while doing it. But next time I’m in this kind of predicament I’m going to try and enjoy the sensation of crashing and burning! In other words, “Enjoy things even when you’re screwing up.” (Keith Johnson)
Be average, be obvious.
This is something I try to convey to beginner improv students. It may sound counterintuitive at first but the idea is that if you are too busy trying to find the perfect thing to say you’re not being present. In contrast if you simply say what’s obvious to you, (ie your first thought), you’ll be in a sense of flow and will able to build on the last idea more easily. I also remind students that everyone’s ‘obvious’ is different, because each of us is unique. Therefore simply because it is a thought belonging to you, it’ll be interesting to other people.
Be a tree.
If you’re feeling worried and self critical just get involved by supporting the scene in the background. It gets you out of your head, and makes the scene better, so everyone wins. Of course there isn’t this option in every show, but if it’s an improvised narrative then there probably will be numerous opportunities for this. During the 50 hour London Improvathon it was inspiring to watch many of my fellow improvisers doing just that. A particular master of this approach was improviser and comedian John Oakes who supported each and every scene with generous and swift background work, as well as playing his main character brilliantly. Next time I’m feeling self critical on stage mid-show I’m going to try to channel this.
Let it go.
I find this SO HARD. After my first gig at The Comedy Store I came off stage knowing that my lyrics in a song I improvised could have been better if I hadn’t been distracted by needing to cough. What a boring thought to have in my head!! I found it impossible not to beat myself up about this afterwards and not to replay all the things I could have sung. But there is literally no point. At some stage you just have to let it go. And now I absolutely have…..although if I’d just sung a verse before going back into the chorus I might have had time to clear my throat and - oh shut the f*** up brain!
To Film or not to Film
Improv aside, I’m continuing to work on my solo show. I tried out a new character, Liz Truss (you may have heard of her), at a comedy night last month. I also became her for a couple of hours in the London 50-hour Improvathon during which time she was given a lesson on public speaking by Ian McKellen, Jonathan Price and Laurence Olivier. I don’t think there’s any record (photographic or otherwise) of this happening, so I guess you literally had to be there.
Speaking of which, I’ve been thinking about recording gigs lately as it’s become a big part of being a comedian. It’s something I am trying to adjust to as currently I’m not very good at recording everything I do. Documenting my life is not in my (old) bones in the way that it is for members of Gen Z. I love the creative challenge of making comedy videos from scratch, but I don’t like recording myself doing live gigs as I find setting up a tripod at a gig where I’m only doing 5 minutes a bit stressful. Making sure I’ve got enough space on my phone and trying not to get in other people’s way is all just a bit of a faff. However not filming what I do can be disadvantageous. My favourite These Folk show is now lost in the ether, and the world will never know what great advice Jonathan Price gave Liz Truss, or how brilliant improviser Andrew Gentilli’s impression of him was... Clearly filming everything is something I need to get into the habit of doing, so I am going to try my best to adapt from hereon in. Stay tuned for badly filmed live clips! In the meantime here’s how I imagine Charlie Chaplin would have coped if he’d had to do all the stuff comedians have to do to provide online content nowadays.
Enjoy!
*waves silently at camera*
News
I’m doing my next WIP (work in progress) on Thursday 25th April at Hoopla where I’ll be sharing a double bill with Conor Jatter. Conor is a great improviser, clown and member of the RH Experience. I’m excited to see what material he’s cooking up and we would love it if you could come along.
Workshops
I’m looking to teach some more of my own improv workshops soon, so if you’re reading this and would like me to keep you informed of what I have coming up then do drop me a message!
Yes yes yes. I totally lost my improv mojo and am now delighted to have it back. If it's ok to add another tip mine would be to identify those people who give you the best, supportive improv energy and spend time with them. It's part of enjoying it, of knowing someone has your back and of finding the funny when it goes wrong.
Oh and the joy of your Bristol These Folks show was so far beyond words that can only be communicated non verbally through mime.
Solid advice.