Improv Blog: Short Form vs Long Form

If you’re into improv as a performance type, you’ll probably be familiar with the terms ‘short form’ and ‘long form’. There are many different types of improv show, but when you start to break down the various forms improvised performance comes in, it will generally be categorised as either long or short.

Short form improv is can generally be classified as a series of individual scenes, sketches or games where the characters and storylines from one scene to the next are separate from each other. At a stretch, there may be some connective tissue such as a theme that connects them all.

Long form improv is generally speaking a form of improvisation where there is an ongoing story, recurring characters, and will tell a more detailed and fleshed out story than can be done in short form improv. That said, there are versions of long form improv which may feature an anthology of scenes that may only be linked by some connective tissue such as a theme. Unlike how I described this similar idea for what a short form show could be, the long form version would likely still have longer scenes, and the theme may have heavier emphasis.

To put things more simply, a short form improv show is an improvised sketch show, whilst a long form show is an improvised play/musical.

But which is better?

This initially may seem an impossible question to answer as everyone will have their personal preference. Each form also has strengths and weaknesses over the over depending what you’re looking for as either an audience member or as a performer. In this article, I won’t be able to give you the definitive answer as to which is better, but I’ll be able to give some food for thought which may help you decide for yourself.

More people know what short form improv is

Because of the success of the TV show Whose Line is it Anyway? more people know what short form improv is compared to long form improv. If you were to ask most members of the general public to name an improv show the first thing they would say is Whose Line. For many it would be all they could name, if they could name any at all.

Because Whose Line is the most famous improv show of all time, a lot of people think that improv is just the short form games. The odd thing is that a short form show should by all rights be the harder thing to explain to the public. To describe a short form improv show to someone who isn’t familiar with the concept may require you to explain that it is a sketch show, with a host and that each scene is played like a game where there are usually rules that limit or influence a performers use of language or physicality.

To describe a long form improv show can be as simple as a play that is made up by the performers who have no script. Simples.

Of course, these explanations are both simplistic, and there are many more things that may be required in an explanation of either to fully clue in an improv newbie. Regardless, as it is, because of Whose Line, or other TV shows that feature improv games like Just a Minute or Mock the Week, it’s easier for most people to get what short form is.

Improvising an entire play/musical is an impressive feat

Performers will debate if long form or short form takes more skill, and truthfully they can both be challenging to do at a high level. Either way, if you take on the challenge of improvising a full length play it is an achievement.

Challenges that exist for spontaneously creating a feature length story on stage include keeping track of characters, locations, relationships, and other plot points. Not always, but frequently you may also find that each performer is playing multiple characters, and that can create the challenge of making sure that the audience and even other performers can understand the difference between the characters that you play. You also have to make sure that multiple characters played by the same performer won’t need to interact with each other for the logical progression of a scene as that will just create some difficulties to over come.

If you have performed in a long form show, and by the end you feel it has gone at least reasonably well that is a truly great feeling. The sense of team work, and group creativity to walk out on stage and an hour or more later walk off having created a brand new full length and one off play that will never be repeated is a special thing.

Short form continually refreshes itself

If you’ve done improv, you’ll know that you don’t hit a winner every time when you do a scene. It’s to be expected. There’s always things you can take away and learn from any scene, but sometimes you just don’t feel that magic click. The great thing with short form improv is that it continually gives opportunities to start afresh with new characters and scenarios.

If you’re doing a short form show where you’re playing improv games you may find that you’re playing a new character every three minutes or so. If one doesn’t land, or you’re struggling to find the game or story of a scene you can rest easy knowing that in a couple of minutes you can throw this character away and take on a new challenge. On the flip side, you may find that you have a great character, or something is an instant hit, but bad news, in a couple of minutes you’ll still have to create a new character in a new improv game.

In long form you can sometimes find that you find yourself in a role or in a scenario that isn’t clicking and this can feel alarming if you’re only a couple of minutes into what will be an hour long story. The good news in this scenario is that long form will you time to explore and as long as you trust in yourself and the team you turn around any long form scenario to breathe life into it.

Long form is harder to follow for audiences

In what may be the biggest reason that long form improv isn’t usually done on television, long form is generally harder to follow than short form. It’s not something that you can as easily jump into watching halfway through. This is something you could say for a lot of films or dramas on TV, but I’d say this is mor ethe case with improv.

Improv usually has the aspect of setting the scene or explaining what is about to happen before it begins. This may be as simple as explaining the rules of a short form game, or just asking the audience for a suggestion to inspire the story that is about to be created. As an audience member, if you miss this part of the show you will have to be playing catch up to decipher what the scenario is and who the characters are that you are watching.

In a short form show, you’ll usually have someone acting as host to continually set up new scenes, explain game rules or take suggestions and as such it is easier to jump into a short form show. In this sense a short form show is easier for casual viewing because if you get distracted whilst watching a short form show and have missed what is going on in one scene, you’ll be able to pick things back up when the next game starts.

In a long form show even if the audience are watching from the tippity top there is the challenge to keep their attention and make sure things are continually clear because a distracted audience member may lose the thread of who characters are and what is happening in the plot.

Unlike a film that you may jump into on television, or even if you turn up late to a play, a long form improv show doesn’t have the benefit of sets, and props and costumes. It’ll be the task of the performer to make sure that the world being built is clear and that the audience can always keep track of a character’s aims, relationships and where things have been/are going.

It’s also the case that improv frequently lends itself to absurd or outlandish ideas the likes of which you’d never see on film, TV or even elsewhere in theatre. As such if you’re dealing with unusual concepts that could in themselves act as a barrier to audience members understanding what is going on, it is the challenge of the performers to make sure the story being created is a journey that anyone watching is able to keep up with.

Short form shows give you less improv

An impressive thing when you see a long form improv show may be that the initial request for a suggestion from the audience may be over in a few seconds before the rest of the show takes over. A performer walks out and may say ‘We’re going to create a whole story based on an audience suggestion. Can I get a suggestion of a word?’ That may be all that is required. Other times there may be a longer explanation of the format or there may be a more detailed exploration of getting the initial suggestions. Some shows will ask for several suggestions or have an interview like segment with an audience member at the beginning if that is how inspiration for the story is gathered before it begins. Whatever the case may be, once the suggestions are got, the performers usually get on with things.

In a short form show, the scenes or games may last between one to five minutes and in between this the emcee will explain the next game, it’s rules and get some audience suggestions. And this will happen again and again throughout the entire show. This isn’t a bad thing as clueing in the audience into the context of what they’re watching and especially making sure they understand the rules of an improv game can be vital to the audience’s enjoyment of that game.

However, there are no two ways about it, with this approach it’s likely that at least 20-30% of the overall run time of your show may be the emcee explaining what is going on. This means that as a performer who isn’t the emcee you will be waiting for this part of a short form show’s structure to allow you the next opportunity for stage time.

Of course, depending on the format a long form show may limit a performer’s potential for stage time as well. If for example you’re doing a format such as a La Ronde where only two performers are in a scene at a time. Other formats may not have a set structure that limits when you can jump into a scene and it will be based on your own judgment of not all going into a scene and overcrowding things.   

Short form and long form improv can appeal to different people

Everyone will have their preferences and some people may like both equally, or have a phase where they like one more and then like the other more. Improv isn’t like Marmite in that some will love it and others will hate it, and in that sense nor is the long or short varieties.

You can get great improv shows that are short form and you can get great improv shows that are long form. More people seem to understand what short form is because of TV, but more and more people are gaining the understanding of long form and its appeal.

A belief I’ve encountered several times seems to be that audiences prefer short form and performers prefer long form. This is far from true for many people as I say this as someone who prefers doing short form, but enjoy doing both. I believe that short form is more accessible due to it’s sketch like nature. Short form improv was TikTok decades before TikTok existed.

Some people will prefer one or the other, but my feeling is that anyone could enjoy both. I think accessibility is important to the growth of improv. Being able to enjoy short form in small bursts such as on YouTube clips or on Facebook or TikTok can bring improv to the masses, but sharing a scene from a long form show in the same online format is trickier. Just as a short form game will need explanation before its played to ensure as many as the audience as possible understand the rules of what they’re about to watch, a scene from a long form show may require the explanation that what you are watching is improv and comes from a longer story than just the scene you are watching.

It may be that long form will thrive best in the theatre whereas short form lends itself to work on stage or on TV or on the aforementioned video platforms.

It may be that as a performer your personality type and experience level means you like to deep dive into a single story or perform as a single character for longer stretches of time. If this is the case I would imagine that long form would be your cup of tea. If on the other hand you prefer to jump form character to character and play things more for laughs than for storytelling it would be that short form is your bag.

I think it’s possible that more audiences would enjoy or prefer long form, but for that to happen it will require more work from the improvisers to strip away any barriers from the audience being able to engage with a long form show. In short form we generally explain every game before its played. In long form we trust that the audience will understand things like sweeps and tags and other scene transitions.

Part of the appeal of improv to audiences is the experience of seeing the performers make up things on the spot. This shouldn’t be separated from the stories that are created on stage, as in my opinion it wouldn’t be fair to do so. If you were to judge a story which is made up on the spot in comparison to a scripted show that has been worked on for weeks or months that also has the benefit of set, costumes and props to enhance it the improv show would be at a disadvantage.

If we as improvisers can continue to develop our skill set and the formats of the shows and also continue to educate audiences on the different types of improv shows we’ll be able to reach a point where any and every type of improv show, long or short, can appeal to a wider audience.

You can get loads more Improv articles and videos in the improv section of the site, and don’t forget to check out the Extreme Improv XStreamed shows every week on the Extreme Improv XStreamed YouTube Channel