What is improv comedy?

Improv Comedy is comedy that is not pre-planned. In other words, when a comedian is on stage, he or she is not reading from a script or does not have a joke in mind. Instead, the comedian begins by stating something from the news or other noteworthy event and sees what the audience laughs to.

If people in the audience laugh or ask a question, the comedian plays on this by responding in kind with another joke. This pattern continues through out the show. Like jazz music as a form, improvisation is a method by which the artist makes up the act or randomly makes changes to existing planned comic arrangements.

Many famous comedians, such as the late Bernie Mac, often gave improv comedy performances. As an art form, the energy generated from thinking on the feet is phenomenal.

Improv Comedy is a form of theatre that is created without being scripted or pre-planned. The golden rule of Improv is "Yes, And". Everything is built upon this principle.

With improvisation, you build something out of nothing: characters, location, and situation. The improvisers are able to do this by "Yes And"-ing what their partner gives them. The beauty of improvisation is that not even the improvisers know what is going to happen next and the excitement of discovering.

There are many theatres around the world that you can study improv at but many people flee to the hub of improv, Chicago, to study Improv at famous theatres and training centers like The Second City and iO (formerly ImprovOlympic) where an impressive lineage of comedic talent has been breeding from for years. Talent that has come out of the Chicago scene includes the likes of Harold Ramis, John Belushi, Bill Murray, Tina Fey, Stephen Colbert, Steve Carrell, and the list goes on to include many comedians- both performers and writers. Improv training influences regular performance and writing abilities.

Just this year, 4 improvisers from Chicago were hired at Saturday Night Live as writers and/or performers. One being Vanessa Bayer who is best known for her rendition of Miley Cyrus. Many people take improv classes because no matter what you do, there is a high chance that you will benefit from it in some way.

While I studied improv and comedy writing in Chicago, I found that a high percentage of people studying improv were studying it to improve their interpersonal skills, to think quicker, to not be so uptight and be able to go with the flow. Many training centers do corporate sessions to help business improve their team management, allowing everyone to work better together and essentially "Yes And" eachother. Some essential improv texts are "Improvisation for the Theater" by Viola Spolin, "Something Wonderful Right Away" by Jeffrey Sweet.

The most contemporary text is "Truth in Comedy" by the founders of iO, Del Close and Charna Halpern with Howard "Kim" Johnson.

Improv is short for improvisation. To improvise is to create something on the fly, without having pre-written text to work form. In rap music, it's called free style and on the stage it's called ad-lib.In comedy shows it is called improv.

People appreciate the different routines that are given by those who are astute enough to improvise their personal skits and comedy jokes. Many contests and events encourage improvisation.It takes a very clever person with a quick wit to come up with funny lines based on situations that are thrown out at them from audience members, or by the draw of a hat. It is possible, however, some probably prepare a little bit by practicing different comedy skits in front of the mirror.

They may open a book to a page and find a phrase that they can expand on, or they may have family or friends help them out. Comedians are pretty good at learning from the classic greats, and spend a lot of time watching comedy movies and other situations that they may be able to use as material.

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