Most people know improv today as comedy – many of the performers and writers on SNL today have experience in improv comedy – but the original improv definition, as put forth by Viola Spolin in the early 20th century, was a way to help actors focus on their own emotions and get them prepared for the performance they were about to give. It was also excellent at helping actors establish relationships with each other before the show. Here are a couple ways these exercises worked.
Actors need to be in touch with their own emotional viewpoint in order to give a good performance on stage. However, emotions can be tough to guide and impossible to entirely control, so a big part of becoming a successful actor is learning how to be in touch with your inner thoughts and feelings. Improvising a scene is an excellent warmup for a performance, because it enables the actor to do just that. By not knowing what the other person is about to say, you’re required to listen carefully to them, actually process what they say, and respond in an honest way. It forces the actor to bring her emotions up to the forefront, which will make the play even better.
Many improv games are also great at making the performer build a solid connection to his fellow actor, and therefore form the relationship that will be built upon during the play, and result in an even more realistic production. One good way to do this is by bouncing a pattern back and forth. One actor says a word, and then the other actor says the first thing that he or she thinks of. This is then repeated as long as necessary. This process creates a kind of conversation, but on a non-rational level. Perfect, since it’s so easy for performers to get in their head. They’ve formed a bond that extends beyond what their brains are trying to think into existence, and this bond is very noticeable by any audience.
Improv was not always comedy. It started as a way for an actor to get more in touch with themselves, and ultimately to produce a well-rounded person, or character. By understanding this, we get a more complete definition of improv, and we can see how truly powerful it can be.