3 Ways to Improve Your Improv Game
AUDIO VERSION
As you’re getting started in improv, there’s a good chance you’ve noticed it can be downright hard to do! Unlike more traditional acting roles in which you have a script to follow with lines to memorize, improv is a special art form that requires quick, on-the-spot thinking skills in addition to all of the must-haves for those who are successful actors. As intimidating as it may seem, fear not! Here are a few ways you can quickly and easily improve your improv game.
Here is the first way to improve your improv game.
Improv is all about being in the moment. If you want to really get good at doing this, practice keeping your thoughts in the present whenever you’re off the set. The more you practice this way of thinking, the easier it will get. It may not be intuitive, however, for many people to just be present without thinking into the future or reminiscing about the past. It also may sound simple, but it can be a challenge. Be patient with yourself as it can take time and it can be frustrating. Just like any other aspect of acting, it will be hard work. Think of building up your mindfulness skills as par for the course and one more way to make it to the top.
Here is the second way to improve your improv game.
Instead of staying in the mindset of believing that improv is hard, and there is no way you’re ever going to grasp it – remind yourself that in actuality, you do it all the time, without thinking, in everyday conversation. While you might get a chance to rehearse what you’re going to say to someone every once in a while, this is more uncommon than simply responding on the spot. Thinking of improv in this way should relieve some of the pressure that can leave you lost for words when it really counts. Of course, you’ll more than likely deliver your lines with more flare than you might when you’re just shooting the breeze with a friend. But once you can take your mind off of what to say next and concentrate on body language and hand gestures instead of those verbal cues, it can make performing much easier.
Here is the third way to improve your improv game.
If you’re concerned that you’ll respond too much like you do in day-to-day conversation and forget that you’re actually acting, go ahead and give the next few convos you have a little more enthusiasm than usual. If you’re more comfortable doing so, you can give the individuals you engage with a heads up that you’re hoping to practice a bit off stage. Chances are no one will care, and this will give you extra time to prepare so you can have a much-needed confidence boost the next time around.
Being an excellent improv actor is all about believing you’re an excellent improv actor. In other words, it has a lot to do with mindset more than anything else. Once you’re able to let go of some of the unneeded stress that’s holding you back, you’ll be able to volunteer to give it a go more often, with no problems at all! Now get out there and improv your heart out!
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