Lord Help Me - I'm an Improv Person
I know. I was as shocked as you are.
Like most of you (I’m guessing), I have spent most of my life making fun of improv. There’s always been a ‘please laugh at me!’ neediness to it that turned me right off. Plus, I have always been allergic to anything that has a “yay for us!” quality to it. A capella, ren faires, democracy - I mistrust all of it. At my nature, I coil from enthusiasm and am a baseline scoffer. Improv comedy was a ripe target for ridicule and ridicule it I did. So what changed?
Honestly, it started simply. As an underemployed creative, I wanted to do something with my Thursday afternoons. It was either improv or decoupage classes. But also - as a screenwriter, I am used to creativity being a solitary experience. Aside from collaboration on a film set (which I love), I mostly write by myself. I thought an improv class might be a useful way to loosen up my brain and also plug myself into the LA creative community. But I was skeptical. I didn’t imagine myself as an improv person.
Full disclosure: this was not my first attempt at improv. I took an improv class back in my hotshot early 20s. I went into it full of spunk and vinegar. I was going to show these motherfuckers what edgy comedy was all about! They didn’t know what they were in for!
Of course, I hated it. I struggled with connecting with the other members of the class, didn’t trust the teacher, and by all accounts “failed” the class. “Improv is lame!” I thought to myself. “They don’t understand my offbeat comedy genius!” In reality, I was of course the problem. My ego was in no shape to be able to handle being that vulnerable. My identity was (and still is) firmly tied to being funny. Also - as a gifted student in school, I was accustomed to things coming easily. So when I struggled with improv comedy (as everyone does at first) I couldn’t handle it. I got surly and rejected the entire art form. Fuck improv! It was for oversensitive weenies who just needed to be told how great they were. They weren’t tough like me!
Luckily, I have grown a little in the last few decades. I am much more comfortable being vulnerable and I don’t feel the need to be good at something right away. I embrace failure in a way that young pre-therapy Brendan could never do. Still, going into my first improv class, I wondered - am I going to be able to put my ego in check and fully embrace this process?
I’m not going to lie - it was tough. The first exercise - a silly warmup where we gave ourselves a superhero name with some absurd physicality - tested me right away. “This is so lame!” my inner Bostonian said, “Why are you here?” But I pushed through my discomfort and quieted the voice in my head. I embraced the awkwardness and gave in to the process.
And I found something really unexpected: joy. Like, genuine serious joy. By the end of my first class, I was buzzing. I felt lighter. I was connected with my classmates, all of whom were very kind and open and vulnerable. I was able to manage not being immediately good at something. The voice certainly came up but I quickly re-centered myself. I ended the session with a dopey, unironic smile on my face. Since then, I’ve been addicted. I look forward all week to my class and have spent hours seeking out open improv jams to get time on stage. “Getting really into improv” is a very weird, unexpected turn for late season Brendan.
When people get into the ‘cult of improv,’ this is what they’re talking about. I didn’t expect to be so taken by the whole thing. It is really fun and can be a real high. I love improv. Moreover, improv is really good for me. And that inner scoffer can go fuck himself.
That being said - I wouldn’t subject an audience to it. I haven’t lost my mind. Doing bad improv is glorious. But watching bad improv is the fucking worst. So no - you are not invited to my class show on Sunday Mar 3 at noon at the UCB space on Sunset. For the love of God, let a needy attention seeker suck in privacy! Please!
Boogie Writes is a completely independent endeavor by one hard-working funnyman trying to make his way in the world today (which takes everything you’ve got.) If you like what you read, please subscribe, support, and tell a friend! Also - do you need advice? Of course you do! Send your queries to brendan@brendanboogie.com with “Dear Boogie” in the subject and get some solid or at least passable advice!