Austin Improv

I wonder what the average lifespan is for an improv troupe. The longest I've been in one is 6.5 years, followed by 5.5, and many more around a year.

How does size affect lifespan? What about the age of the performers? Experience levels?

my guess for average lifespan of all improv troupes, all time, worldwide is 7 months.

longest troupe lifespan for me...5.5 years with the Jury. 710 Split's been together almost three years, i think. Veritas was together for about a year and a half (with a couple of major line up changes during our run). Great Mundane only lasted that one summer. so my troupe lifespans have been rather varied.

i think you're probably right...the ones who manage to stick together seem to get a good amount of longevity, but the vast majority are probably under a year.

smaller groups are probably easier to keep together. 2-5 people are easier to wrangle than 9. age...i would think younger players wouldn't necessarily have the commitment to stay together for long, while older players have actual lives and responsibilities that might make it difficult. mid 20s to mid 30s would probably be optimal for longevity...you've learned more discipline but are still building your life, so you can build it around the prov. likewise, i would think a medium amount of experience would work best...not new enough to think "why am i committing so much time to this?" but not jaded enough to just not give a damn. lol!

i look at the Jury, and i look at other troupes, and i think what i always think...we were an anomaly. i think we stuck together so long because 1) we were friends and hanging out all the time anyway, 2) you had enough commitment and vision for the troupe to kick the rest of our asses into shape when we were slagging behind and 3) we were too young and stupid to know any better.

do you think there's a breaking point, for example any troupe that makes it past two years is likely to stay together for another few years? Or maybe something equivalent to the seven-year itch?

I think the troupes that stay together the longest are the ones where everyone's commitment level is equal. If it's someone's main activity, and some people are just doing it on the side for fun, there are going to be problems.

I also think most people have to be in a couple of troupes that last a year or so before they find the right combination of people that sticks.