Want to shout out Brooklyn Comedy Collective for keeping their 8 week classes at $375! They have a free weekly improvised sketch show called Demon Time which is a delight. BCC also pays pretty well if performers can drum up a good audience (ticket prices around $8-17). I think the biggest innovation I’ve seen as an improviser there are performers wanting to round out their improv with skills from clown and mime. And a recognition that those three art forms are really useful to one another.
One overlooked recent innovation is AI-powered scene partners: https://ai4joy.org . It's no substitute for live-action improv but could expand the market to rural areas where people don't have access to improv classes or "digital natives" like Gen Z who are more comfortable playing in their own WiFi sandboxes or enthusiasts players who want more reps while they are waiting in the doctors' office.
Connor Ratliff talked about the change of the prices of improv shows in his episode of "Yes, Also." He said he wouldn't have been able to afford going to shows at the price they are now. Also the impact of having medium-price shows on improvisers--not allowing themselves to be as experimental because the audience bet a lot of money on this, etc.--and theaters going with safer-bet acts because of ticket sales
I think it was the episode with Tara Copeland where they talked about the price of classes now and how the $500/$550 price point increases the pressure students feel to be good and they tend to be much harder on themselves.
Is what you call “discovery” close to “slow comedy”?
At the last Improfest in Kraków, Stacey Smith led a workshop described like this:
“The race to find the funny in improv can often leave us exhausted and up in our heads. With grounded improv, we strive to find authenticity between characters and relationships. We learn how to slow things down. As improvisers, we become more honest. Characters become deeper and more meaningful. Relationships become more realistic and true to life. The narrative comes from the connection between the characters rather than created by the actors. All characters and scenes are grounded in reality and there are less space monkeys in the closet! In this course we learn to let go. We ditch the suggestions from the audience, we ditch conflict, we ditch the ‘who, what, where and when’. Instead we try to discover who our characters are and why they are in this scene. Learning Outcomes: perform organic scenes and characters through listening and reading our stage partners; build more realistic characters; display and utilise physical space to influence character and scene.”
It's different to me. Discovery (to me) is being reactive and letting the scene come to you.
Game of the Scene is a bit more like deliberately PUTTING unusual things in, and being open to being gifted a big unusual thing.
But Discovery as I describe it could be quite quick.
What it sounds like Stacey was working on would be in my opinion deeper listening and patience, which is a great skill but independent of focusing on DISCOVERY vs GAME.
Thanks for the clarification. There are so many different improv traditions that sometimes use different terms for practically the same techniques, and sometimes use the same terms to describe completely different approaches – it’s easy to get lost.
My initial understanding was that “Discovery” is a “slow comedy” style approach à la T. J. Jagodowski and David Pasquesi. On the other hand, I practiced a lil bit of Johnstonian improv and reacting to the emerging situations - letting them change you was one of the core practices.
I've noticed more 2prov Smothers Brothers-type musical improv acts. I love it! It's about time!
Want to shout out Brooklyn Comedy Collective for keeping their 8 week classes at $375! They have a free weekly improvised sketch show called Demon Time which is a delight. BCC also pays pretty well if performers can drum up a good audience (ticket prices around $8-17). I think the biggest innovation I’ve seen as an improviser there are performers wanting to round out their improv with skills from clown and mime. And a recognition that those three art forms are really useful to one another.
My old man side is starting to show whenever I physically get upset at wave offs.
One overlooked recent innovation is AI-powered scene partners: https://ai4joy.org . It's no substitute for live-action improv but could expand the market to rural areas where people don't have access to improv classes or "digital natives" like Gen Z who are more comfortable playing in their own WiFi sandboxes or enthusiasts players who want more reps while they are waiting in the doctors' office.
Connor Ratliff talked about the change of the prices of improv shows in his episode of "Yes, Also." He said he wouldn't have been able to afford going to shows at the price they are now. Also the impact of having medium-price shows on improvisers--not allowing themselves to be as experimental because the audience bet a lot of money on this, etc.--and theaters going with safer-bet acts because of ticket sales
I think it was the episode with Tara Copeland where they talked about the price of classes now and how the $500/$550 price point increases the pressure students feel to be good and they tend to be much harder on themselves.
I will die on this hill: tags should always be taps on everyone you need to tag out, unless absolutely inefficient, but even then!
👍super interesting
Is what you call “discovery” close to “slow comedy”?
At the last Improfest in Kraków, Stacey Smith led a workshop described like this:
“The race to find the funny in improv can often leave us exhausted and up in our heads. With grounded improv, we strive to find authenticity between characters and relationships. We learn how to slow things down. As improvisers, we become more honest. Characters become deeper and more meaningful. Relationships become more realistic and true to life. The narrative comes from the connection between the characters rather than created by the actors. All characters and scenes are grounded in reality and there are less space monkeys in the closet! In this course we learn to let go. We ditch the suggestions from the audience, we ditch conflict, we ditch the ‘who, what, where and when’. Instead we try to discover who our characters are and why they are in this scene. Learning Outcomes: perform organic scenes and characters through listening and reading our stage partners; build more realistic characters; display and utilise physical space to influence character and scene.”
Would “Discovery” be like this?
It's different to me. Discovery (to me) is being reactive and letting the scene come to you.
Game of the Scene is a bit more like deliberately PUTTING unusual things in, and being open to being gifted a big unusual thing.
But Discovery as I describe it could be quite quick.
What it sounds like Stacey was working on would be in my opinion deeper listening and patience, which is a great skill but independent of focusing on DISCOVERY vs GAME.
Thanks for the clarification. There are so many different improv traditions that sometimes use different terms for practically the same techniques, and sometimes use the same terms to describe completely different approaches – it’s easy to get lost.
My initial understanding was that “Discovery” is a “slow comedy” style approach à la T. J. Jagodowski and David Pasquesi. On the other hand, I practiced a lil bit of Johnstonian improv and reacting to the emerging situations - letting them change you was one of the core practices.