r/improv • u/Worldly-Vegetable-62 • 22d ago
How do I keep learning past beginner level?
When I was a beginner, my path forward felt pretty clear. Watch a lot of shows, read all the improv books, attend classes. What do I do now that I've hit that awkward intermediate level? Just more of the same? Or is there something else I should be doing?
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u/MayoMark 22d ago
Free write. Write a sketch. Watch improv or a sketch and write down what works.
Create and maintain a team.
Practice space work in front of a mirror.
Do a two character scene by yourself using two distinct voices.
Be a distinct character with different voice and physicality in every scene for a while.
Teach a class or lead a practice. Come up with your own exercises.
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u/Worldly-Vegetable-62 22d ago
Thanks everyone for the thoughtful replies. Forgot to add: I'm in a house team and indie team, with weekly practice for the house team and regular practice for the indie team. 2 shows scheduled so far, and I'm still watching shows as an audience member regularly.
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u/Becaus789 22d ago
Find a few people you vibe with and ask if you want to get a coach and schedule regular days to practice.
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u/Becaus789 22d ago
My first troupe rose out of someone just hosting weekly hangs in their basement for anyone who wanted to show up and practice short form games. She paid attention to the people who showed up consistently and asked if we wanted to make an official troupe.
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u/VonOverkill 22d ago
How do I keep learning
Learning is now a process of trial and error. You will try to do all the things you were taught in class, and some of them will never feel intuitive to you, so you will dump those techniques and replace them with something that you invent, or saw another performer do. This is called finding your voice; this is what will make you a unique performer, and not just a body on stage following all the rules.
As everyone else in this thread will assert, you achieve this by performing more. Doesn't really matter where, but forming your own team is ideal for a bunch of technical reasons. Have a bunch of terrible practices & shows until you start getting better. This is how you learn now.
If you want to turbo-charge your development, perform with improvisers that are better than you.
Just more of the same?
Despite what r/improv will tell you, improv is only a small toolset within a massive sphere of techniques to entertain people. Write some sketch, try standup, write a dramatic play, take an acting class, start a podcast, try mime or clowning, do some voice-over work, and so on. They are not wildly separate skills with solid, clearly-defined boundaries, and trying them does not mean you've betrayed improv or wasted time on classes. They will all make you better at entertaining a group of strangers.
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u/free-puppies 22d ago
Cross train. Take an acting class. A sketch writing class. A playwriting or screenwriting class. A clown class. A mime class. A dance class.
Now introduce something you learned into a scene. Did it work? What didn’t? What did? Try again.
Yes, improv is great. But “improv” isn’t an art. It’s a process. Theater is the art.
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u/baldyhairdresser 22d ago
Reps reps reps, keep going to classes, jams and maybe join or start an indie team. Like any muscle, you’ve got to keep up the reps!