OK, this is something I’ve had on my mind for a long time as someone who runs an improv group. And before I go too deep into things, I’ll just frame things by saying how much I love doing improv, working with others and the Extreme Improv community. This isn’t planned as a piece where I complain about others or just moan about the struggles and go all woe is me!
I’ll save that for a future blog…kidding.
But I am serious when I say that as a leader or improv, and I’m sure anyone who leads a project in many fields will relate to, you can end up feeling less like a leader and more like a servant.
From the context in which I’ve written this idea, it does sound like I’m framing it as a negative thing, and I guess I am, but it isn’t always a bad thing. Mostly this is just an observation, and this blog is my puzzling out how taking up a leadership role can quickly feel like you are just trying and often failing to meet the expectations of others.
To begin with, I think something that sets this scenario of being an improv leader apart from other things is how improv differs to other projects that people may take on.
Improv is very community focussed. There’s often very little money in it, and more often than not there may be no money or losses in pursuing it. Unlike a lot of performing arts based activities it also treads a fine line between a social activity and nothing more, and a professional performance gig. I have known that there are performers in the same show as one another who have a completely different perception of what the show or class is for. Some for just a fun activity and others who see doing it as a career goal. Neither are wrong, but if you are the leader of the group, it certainly can be useful to know what the goals and expectations are of the people you are putting into scenes.
I guess it’s also useful for the leader of an improv show, or team to think hard themselves about what their personal goals are with said improv group. Are you doing it just for fun, for a professional purpose, or a mixture of both.
Personally, my goals do sit within both sides. Improv initially appealed to me because it can be a lot of fun, but as a trained actor, I saw it as a way to take one of the most fun parts of my job and turn that into a business.
Then the reality hit that has hit actors who try to make a living out of improv for decades. It’s far from the easiest thing to do, especially when compared to other forms of the acting industry.
Some of the things that made improv so appealing to pursue from a professional sense can quickly become as much a curse as it is a blessing.
Improv can be performed with nothing more required than just the actors on stage themselves. You don’t need expensive costumes, or props or set, and as long as everyone involved has worked on the improv skillset, you don’t actually need anywhere near as many rehearsals as you would for a play or musical.
But therein are some of the problems. Yes, you don’t need to splash out on fancy props or costumes or set builders, but then what you are left with is a show where you have a bunch of people in their street clothes asking the audience to imagine elaborate worlds in their mind’s eye.
No one in improv has set characters and you don’t need set people to guarantee they’ll be there for every rehearsal or show. This inevitably means that the dropout rate for improv shows is much much higher than most other kinds of performances.
As a good improv leader, I’ll always do my best to show as much understanding that if a performer needs to drop off from a show that the show can go on regardless. Certainly, you may think if individuals make a continued habit of this that perhaps you may not eventually ask them back for future shows, but although the ability to offer unlimited flexibility can seem initially a good thing, it soon becomes a curse.
I’m not personally going to kick up a stink for a performer if they get a paid job opportunity and need to therefore drop out of a show that is profit share, and may not turn a profit anyway.
But this is where some of the problem arises where the leader can end up becoming the servant. If a performer drops out the day of the show, you end up questioning how far in advance they knew they weren’t going to attend. The spot they left is perhaps a spot that someone else with more notice could have filled. That performer that dropped out, is no also one less person in the room to perform on stage and also support and watch and laugh and help build the atmosphere in the room. As the organiser of the show you may have also hoped that every performer involved will have spread the word that they’d be performing and may invite friends and family and even just shared on their social media profiles that they’re excited to do the shows. If they drop out, there is a lot more at risk than what I’m sure they imagine.
Another way that the improv leader can end up feeling less like a leader is by not setting the boundary of a chain of authority for the creative direction of a show. Because it’s improvised, you can’t know exactly what the content of a scene or show is going to be until it’s on stage. In early days of running a show, you may find that different performers have different ideas about what should or shouldn’t be included as acceptable subject matter in your shows.
This is something you need to think about and communicate clearly to your cast. This can cover what level of swearing or adult or controversial themes is ok to touch upon within a show, or what should be avoided. If you’re not clear, or even if you are, you may find that because it’s improvised, there will be cast members who wish to input into the topics.
This is fine, and you should be willing and open to discuss any concerns about content and subject matter, and plan to have discussions about any manner of guidelines to make your team feel safe and comfortable and trusting to work with one another. Where things can go slightly awry is where you end up tailoring your show to the wants, ideas and demands of everyone in your company except yourself. Now you really will be a servant rather than a leader.
It’s important to listen to what your company thinks, but I’d suggest you decide what you want and what you find acceptable first, and communicate that to them first. You may find that some people aren’t ok with certain topics and you can decide if you want to negotiate or compromise on any of these. But for me, I’d say you have to be more willing to say to performers that XY and Z are your vision for how the show works, and if this isn’t something you’d want to do, this may not be the show for you.
This sounds harsh, but it doesn’t mean you’re a bad person, or that they’re not your friends anymore. It just means that you chose to be a leader for a reason, and if you can’t set out to others what you want your show to be, you’re most certainly going to end up just creating a show as what others tell you it should be.
This idea also extends to decisions on what formats and improv games you use. Some people will say they want to do this or that, or that they refuse to do certain games. Listen to what they have to say, of course, but ultimately, if it’s your show, you should set the agenda for what you want the show to look like and include.
You can get loads more improv articles in the improv section of the site, and don’t forget to check out all our Extreme Improv videos on the Extreme Improv Xstreamed YouTube Channel and see Extreme Improv live on stage with all details on the Tickets page
Want to learn improv skills? You should check out the range of improv books from David Pustansky, who is the author of the popular Extreme Improv Big Book of Improv Games series of books. Available worldwide on Amazon and Kindle, you can find links to the books here
