Advice for Teachers, Pt. 1
as far as I know, in my opinion, etc
I’m very intimidated to write about teaching improv. Even though I’ve done it a long time, I’m still not 100% sure of what I do that is helpful versus less helpful. I’m far less confident about this then I am about how to initiate clearly!
But I’ve taken a shot at some advice below. I certainly don’t always do these things! But these are things I consciously think about when I’m trying to teach a class well.
I say Pt. 1 because I hope that by writing this out, I’ll think of more later. And maybe even have an overall point?
Okay, here we go.
It’s Less About You
It’s easy to assume that because you’re the teacher, that everything the student learn is your responsibility. But this is not true. It’s not the fault of the yoga teacher if students can’t execute Warrior 3. It’s not the fault of the piano teacher if the student can’t play Beethoven.
So my first piece of advice, which I try to remember: your primary job is to run the class, not give your wisdom. It is THEIR job to put in the work to get better. And they know that. You just need to have a plan. Call the exercises. Be fair about the rules. Be consistent with what you say you want, and what you note. Let them do as many reps as you can.
Your lectures and notes may inspire, but that is not the most important part of your teaching. The way you run the class is.
Structural Stuff
Start on time, or close to it.
Follow this order:
Warm-ups (right away, surprise them with how fast they are up)
Attendance, class business (AFTER warm-ups)
Structured simple exercises
Group work with more general goals (let’s play it real, let’s support a lot, etc)
First class stuff
First class: Go over how the logistics of how you want things to work. Address how you handle people showing up late, absences, going to the bathroom.
Code of conduct: Tell them your code of conduct, and what they should do if they think it’s been violated. Don’t rush by this, nor should you dwell too long. They’ll find you (or someone) if they need more details on it later.
Address if you’re gonna have a break during class and if so, when.
Warm-ups
Don’t skip warm-ups, even for veteran classes. Even a little zip-zap-zop has a positive effect on the class.
Make sure you can think of at least five different warm ups before class starts.
Think: physical, verbal, musical, silly. Make sure you have one of each in your mind to use.
My favorites: Zip Zap Zop, 5 things, Bunny Bunny, Thumper/Superheroes, Hot Spot, Follow the Follower
Let The Exercises Do The Work
They will remember the rules to your exercises more than the notes you give after. So pick (or make) exercises that illustrate a principle you like.
Like “Totally, Totally” — 2 person scenes. After the first line each person must start their response with “totally, totally.” Helps practice saying yes, and not being surprised by moves.
I also like ones that just require certain kinds of improv moves. “2 person scenes where each person has to at some point make a confession.”
“2 person scenes, where at some point each person must say ‘Can I be honest with you?” will have more impact than you saying “you need to speak your mind” in general notes.
It’s okay if they get ahead of the exercise and do things very narrowly that satisfy the exercise. Let them have success.
Giving Notes
About giving notes:
You can always note denials of facts: “He said you were a human resources person, then you called yourself the CEO.” No one will argue that.
But they will argue any time you tell them they were not really committed. So have evidence and examples if you want to say that. So they can see what YOU mean by “committed.” Like: “when you said X, it felt more like a joke to the audience than true thing the character felt.” Or “when you said X, it felt like you were trying to make the ‘right’ improv move but didn’t really believe in it.” Let them clarify what they felt and accept if you read the moment wrong.
Pay a lot of attention to the first five lines of every scene. This is where they are establishing trust with each other. Point out where they misunderstood each other or didn’t fully hear.
Call the foul: if someone is interrupted, misunderstood, denied. Do so without judgment — like a ref saying someone stepped out of bounds. It’s not personal. “You cut them off there.” “Quick heads up: They called you sis and you called them mom.” “They stepped out and were about to talk, and you weren’t looking.” If you do not point out these small “mistakes,” the class will resent each other and you. If you DO call it out, they will forgive each other and build trust.
Ideally, everyone wants an individual note after each set. That’s kind of all they’re listening for. “Adam, nice clear initiation.” “Bobby, you missed the name you were given.” “Cathy, great character.” etc. etc. You won’t always be able to do it for everyone, but just know that those are the notes that are gonna get heard.
Side Coaching versus Notes After
Side coaching is a powerful way to have a note stick. But a lot of people cannot take it — it frustrates them so much to have their scene interrupted that it’s not worth doing. Respect that and save notes for that person until after the scene.
The Student Who Won’t Take Notes
If someone argues every note or insists that they were about to do the thing you asked for, I do not argue them, but I stop giving them notes. I only address their play if they interrupt someone else or have an egregious case of not listening. When I do this (stop giving them notes), the person never seems to notice.
The Student Who Says “Be Hard On Me; Tell Me What I’m Doing Wrong”
If someone says “you can be hard on me, tell me what I’m doing wrong,” I don’t do too much differently. I already am being as hard as I think is helpful. A few times I have honestly tried to be hard on the student after they ask me for this and it just leaves them demoralized and confused.
People Not Stepping Off The Back Line
This bothers me way less than other coaches. I don’t mind a big pregnant pause at the top of a scene, especially if we’re trying new ideas. But if you want to note them to “get out there right away” — at least acknowledge that you’re willing to have the improv be a little worse at the start. You giving the class explicit permission to be a little “bad” helps their confidence.
Your Own Personal War Stories
One personal war story from you about you experience doing improv per class is okay! More than that is pushing it. I shatter this rule every class.
Be Clear About What You Want
Be clear about what you want from the class.
If you want lots of enthusiasm and don’t mind if play is a bit sloppy, say that.
If you want careful grounded scenework and don’t mind if they fail to heighten, say that.
If want lots of group support that heightens the scene, say that.
The students want to please you so be direct about what you’re looking for. Then if you want to note them on something different after, just acknowledge that you’re moving the goal posts in order to give a good note.
Take A Class
If you want to really improve your improv teaching, take a class in anything at all. Guitar, cooking, a second language, computers. The second you are a student again you will be fully in touch with all the insecurities and frustrations of that side of the dynamic and you will teach better because of it. The best thing I’ve done for my improv teaching in recent years: 1) started studying guitar and 2) started getting coached for my own improv.
Other General Policies
Be willing to say “I don’t know” when you don’t know. If you’re honest with yourself, there will be many times when you don’t really know, for sure, what went wrong or why something worked. Tell them to the best of your understanding.
Be an honest but generous audience. You don’t have to say a bad scene was good, but you also don’t need to address every little thing that went wrong. Be the healthy voice they should have in their heads.
Reward the positive, and credit them for addressing any note you’ve given that class. “I asked for grounded play, and I saw a lot of moments where we took time and gave real answers. Great work.”
Give credit for any gutsy move: like emotionally committed moves, truthful moments, or saying yes to unexpected moves.
You can always give them credit for: showing up, for trying, for being there. They have interest in the thing you love, and you can thank them for that.
You can always push them artistically. Everyone loves that. "I think we can be a lot more honest.” “We can make more surprising choices.” Or try a really hard exercise or form.
People are allowed to be bad. That’s why they’re in class. If someone is having a rough class, sometimes the best thing you can do is to back totally off. Let them do a scene without your commentary after.
When the class is a disaster, try just letting them do a few sets with almost no notes at all.
Okay maybe we’ll do more of this later!
Plugs, Fresh
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.
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.
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.