Teachers: what do you do about students arriving late? You can lecture, punish, and mandate all you want: but many people are a little late, always. And a few are VERY late, always.
Here’s the best strategy I have found: start class exactly at the listed start time with warm ups.
I mean before you take attendance or do any class business.
If class starts at noon, then right at noon you say “Everybody up. Do zip zap zop.” And then wait for them to start.
Now of course, you will not have your full class there at the top. For a 16 person class, you’ll have about nine there at the start. Get those nine up doing warm-ups.
Then in the next ten minutes, as five more people wander in, they see that class has started and they are missing it.
They won’t be as late next week.
Then after warm-ups, sit them down and take attendance, discuss shows, etc.
This is FAR more effective (and less awkward) then lecturing a group of adults to be on time.
Class Starts When We Get Up
I started doing this back when I ran classes for UCB and I had to read every single student evaluation. A common complaint was “Class didn’t start until 15 minutes in.” At first I thought teachers were routinely 15 minutes late to class.
Then I realized “oh, these students don’t consider taking attendence or chatting at the top to be part of class.”
Class starts when we get up, they think.
Okay, so I’ll start right away.
For the first ten minutes, I let people join in as they come in. They can just jump on stage.
For students more than 10 minutes late, and I make them wait for the current exercise to end. I’ve already explained how to do it, and I’m not explaining it again, so they can jump in on the next one. A mild punishment, and one that most people will not argue.
More than 20 minutes late: I really make them wait. They have to wait until the next round of exercises starts which, if we’ve started a Harold, might mean they might not be starting until 50 minutes in. But I don’t lecture them. This is a controversial opinion but I don’t do anything to stop them from being late. I don’t like lecturing adults. And these folks tend to not be around the scene very long.
But don’t they hurt the quality of the class, you wonder? Sure, a bit. But not that much. And there’s really always someone who’s more than 20 minutes late. It’s not worth the fuss trying to fix.
Which Warm Ups?
I like to start with a simple warm-up that most of the class already knows so I don’t have to explain it. Zip Zap Zop or Five Things.
Zip Zap Zop - You know it. Class stands in a circle, one person claps and says “zip” to someone, who says “zap” to someone else, who says “zop” to someone, who says “zip”). People roll their eyes when you say “do Zip Zap Zop” but then it works. Fun varieties: walk around as you do it, or maybe copy the way it’s said to you when you pass it.
Five Things is a “take turns” warm-up where everyone has to accomplish a simple task. Everyone in a circle: someone gives a category to someone else (“Tell me 5 types of ice cream” “Tell me 5 excuses for getting out of going to a party”). As the person names 5 things, everyone counts of “1!” “2!” “3!” “4!” “5!” and then “These are five things!” A quick victory for everyone right away.
Other ones I like:
Thumper/Superheroes - Another nice “take turns” warm up that gives everyone an easy moment to shine and be funny. People relax after they get their first laugh in class and this gives it to them. To do it: everyone chooses a catch phrase and gesture for themselves. (Maybe “Dinner is served” as you lower a mimed tray). Someone does their own phrase/gesture, then someone else’s. They do theirs, then someone elses.
Character Mirror Circle - Class stands in a circle. Someone crosses to face someone else at random and speak in a character energy, anything will do. The second person responds, copying mannerisms and tone. After 4 lines max, the second person crosses the circle and starts a new one with someone else. Everyone smiles, good wake up.
Pointies - If you have over 10 students. Everyone raises their hand. Someone starts by pointing at somone else and naming a thing. “Horse.” First person keeps pointing at that person as they point at a third person and says “Cow.” Last person points at the first person. The idea is the terms should go together. Then everyone repeats their words in order, with or without pointing. That’s one “list.” Build 3 lists and do them all at once. Hard, but do able. Feels like a huge feat.
Stretch and Share - For hot days, or classes who seem shy. Go around the circle, everyone takes a turn doing a stretch and sharing something from their week.
Morph - Start in a circle. Everyone remember who is standing to your left. Scatter around the class. Everyone shut your eyes and strike a pose. Open your eyes, find the person who had been on your left, and morph your pose into theirs. Change as they change. Eventually everyone is doing the same pose — that’s the physical manifestation of the class’ group mind.
Hot Spot - A good challenge that reminds a class they are brave. Class in a circle. Someone goes in the middle and sings. Class sings along if they can. As soon as possible, someone tags them out to do a song that makes them think of. Pretend the center is a hot spot so you want to be switching a lot. No one has to sing well. Everyone has to go at least once. If someone claims to not know any songs at all, they can do the birthday song or any holiday song. Very fun variation: you do only made up songs.
Don’t Skip Warm-Ups
It’s tempting to skip warm-ups, but they really do work. Veteran improvisers rarely warm up before shows, but if they do it does help.
That’s it!
Plugs, Fresh
Hi(Nes)! I’m Prov To Meet You! - Livestream at UCB. We did a live (like, on stage) version of this podcast at UCB last Tuesday. It went great. I recommend buying the livestream and watching it. It’s only available until Tuesday. Or subscribe to Comedy Bang Bang World podcast network to hear the audio version.
Empathy and Point of View Class in London (CORRECTED EMAIL) — My improv cohort Jim Woods is teaming up with Mike OT (they are both co-founders of the awesome London improv theater the Free Association) to teach some intensives in London the first two weeks of July. It’s called “Empathy and Point of View” - four all-day sessions for 250 pounds. This will be an intense, challenging, and awesome course and I wish I could take it! There’s a weekday one (July 1 - July 4) and a weekend one (July 6, 7 and July 13, 14). Payment plans available. Email lorahri@gmail.com for info or to register. NOTE: This email is correct. I had the wrong one in earlier plugs for this class!
Plugs, Ongoing
High Functioning - Ian Roberts and I do an hour of improv EVERY SATURDAY 7pm at the UCB Annex. See this video for Ian and I showing you where the UCB Annex is.
Clubhouse Fridays - WGIS’ weekly improv show. Fridays 7pm at The Clubhouse. Free!
The World’s Greatest Improv School: The improv school I run with Jim Woods and Sarah Claspell. We’ve got classes online, in LA and even a few in NYC!
How to Be The Greatest Improviser On Earth - My improv book, available at Amazon. Kindle or print. It’s a hodge-podge of advice I wrote in 2016 about doing improv. If you’re broke and want a free PDF version just email me and I’ll send it over.
Screw It, We’re Just Gonna Talk About Comics - Comic book podcast, hosted by my brother Kevin and I. We are about to start coverage of the late 1990s iteration of Human Target by Peter Milligan. Subscribe for bonus episodes!
Screw It, We’re Just Gonna Talk About The Beatles - monthly deep dive on a little known indie band from Liverpool called The Beatles. We’re doing Mind Games re-release. Subscribe for access to back episodes!
I start right away and we all make the late ones sing. I had a few who worked on Broadway and folks always hoped they would be late. I had a couple who knew they were going to be late so they rehearsed a duet on the subway. I called it the entertainment game and everyone had to enforce it.
This worked well for me on audiences who routinely arrived for a weekly show I produced at at advertised start time but that’s when they all got in line to buy drinks. Most of the audience were college kids who depended on the last bus back to the campus so I had to end ON TIME or the my wouldn’t bother coming. I just started the show on time every night and they eventually learned to arrive earlier. The comics thought I was being unreasonable until a few weeks later when the room was completely full on time like clock work.