Improv Theater
Facts, tips and ideas about Improv Theater — and how to find people for it.
Did you know?
Modern improv theater was born in Chicago — Viola Spolin developed exercises for children's theater groups in the 1940s, and her son Paul Sills founded “The Second City” in 1959. Generations of Saturday Night Live greats came out of that ensemble.
Source: WikipediaThe first rule of improv is “Yes, and” — whatever your partner on stage says, you accept it, then add something. Whoever says “no” ends the scene. Whoever says “yes, and” keeps building. A life strategy too, really.
Source: Wikipedia
Tip
Be boring. First time doing stage improv: don't act funny, act real. The laughs come from real reactions, not punchlines — anyone straining to be funny comes across as strained, and the rest is silence.
A small challenge
For ten minutes every sentence starts with "Yes, and…". It is the first rule of improv and needs nothing but two people.
Break the ice
“Which scene have you played or seen that only worked because someone said “yes, and”?”
Not every line here is sourced. Where a source is named you can read it up; the rest is collected knowledge.