Austin Improv

Why do you do improv?

Also, if applicable, why do you love improv?

The short answer: to meet hot creative chicks.

The long answer: to create stories, characters, etc...live in the moment and tap into the kind of playing I used to do when I was a kid but is now filtered thru my adult awareness.

I enjoy the hell out of scenes that surprise me. I enjoy scenes where I get lost in the scene and almost forget that I'm improvising. I enjoy being on the tightrope and then forget that I am even on one. Do I do it for the laughs? Not really. It's always nice to get positive feedback, but there's more of a payoff if my players and I surprise ourselves and the audience at the same time. My first big laugh in improv came totally by accident at my graduation show.

I was playing New Choice with Tara White. I was a waiter at a cafe and she was a customer. She asked me for a coffee and a glass of water. I stepped over to the "drink station" and filled a coffee mug--kept it in my left hand. Then, with my right hand, I grabbed a glass and scooped up some ice with it. Then I stood there perplexed: how was I going to get water into the cup? An image flashed in my mind of a water button. I set the cup down and pressed a button. The audience roared and I didn't understand why. Later I did. I had solved a problem in a very practical way...as if I were totally in that moment ACTUALLY DOING what my space work showed I was doing. Somehow the laughter got me out of my head and the scene became a scene because I was comfortable. I had solved a problem in front of an audience and they got it.

I DO improv to entertain an audience. I would say I do it "to make people laugh" but that doesn't always work. Plus I've been in quite a few scenes that got no laughs but were very fun to be in and fun to watch. (or so I'm told) I do all this because I NEED to. I'm an attention whore and the audience response is like a drug to me. It's what keeps me coming back for more.

I LOVE improv because of the exhilaration I get on stage and the amazing friends I've made since I got involved with it. I came looking for a hobby and ended up finding a community.

Oh yeah, meeting smart, funny chicks is a great perk too. (Ceej group mind!)

Jumping on the attention whore bandwagon...

I like to entertain people, making people happy makes me happy. Also improv has made me a quicker thinker, a nicer person, toned my abs, and introduced me to a whole score of people who will put up with me.

When I was a maybe ten years old, my brothers and I used to create characters and really get into them. We'd twist our faces and bodies and we'd just start telling stories, making stuff up. Our characters were loosely based on people we knew, like Hokey Joe and the Barn Boys, who were derived in part from our country cousins. We had our own mythology. We had no idea that we were doing improv.

I reconnected with this side of life a few years ago when I was trying to get ready for my oral exam and had to give a presentation at a conference. Taking an acting class or doing comedy sounded like a whole lot more fun than doing toastmasters. I did a stand-up class first, but that was a whole lot of work, and I was really needing something where I could play more, get me out of the office and be around other people more.

Improv has taught me invaluable lessons about teamwork and working with other people. And it never seems to get old...

I do improv because I want to keep chasing the magic.
And I love it because sometimes I find it.

I love the way it makes my brain feel. I feel like I'm playing again like a kid. I'm pretending but I'm not memorizing tons of line and I'm getting out of my head.

Honestly... I think the only time I really feel like myself is when I'm being goofy and playing with different body postures, voices and reactions. With improv I not only get to do that in an "acceptable" way, but I also get laughter and applause as a reward. it's a win win!!

Also I've been on stage since I was six years old. I sometimes feel more comfortable in front of a crowd than in one. Improv is the easiest way I know for me to be in my comfort zone without having to memorize lines.

Ok... one more reason I do improv: helping people to let go of their day, let loose and just laugh at silliness is what I believe to be the biggest gift I can give to the world. Seriously.

old school: http://forum.austinimprov.com/viewtopic.php?t=240&start

kbadr wrote:I do improv because I want to keep chasing the magic.
And I love it because sometimes I find it.

I could write a longer, or more personal response than this, but probably not a more accurate one.

I change my answer. I do it for the women, money, power.

Jon Bolden wrote:I change my answer. I do it for the women, money, power.

Me too. How's it working for you?

I do it for many of the reasons listed above. It's pure fun. And I enjoy having something in my life that is just for me and got me out of my head, out of the stress, out of the mundane. That's why I started doing it anyway. I don't have the ability or room in my current schedule to commit to scripted works, though I miss that very much.

I love narrative because it's creating amazing worlds with amazing people in them. I love musical improv cause it is such a fucking challenge.

I really like entertaining people and seeing them smile. I'd like to be able to do more of that but also challenge their ideas around art and culture and norms.

It's fun.

The rule of 80-20.

I find that 80% of the time I perform, I am successfull in either a strong scene, quick wit or just general "getting the audience and fellow players to laugh their asses off".

Then there is the 20% that I really enjoy...the failures. Why do I enjoy these more? Becuse that is when I learn and I LOVE to learn.

My body still shakes until this day when I get on stage because that 20% is staring right at me...what a RUSH!

I strive for the fleeting moments of theatrical genious but understand that they are just that...fleeting.

-Dav

Do it to learn about my brain (it does things other than think) and comedy.

and I love to learn.

Improv for me is like a therapy. I live a very routine, structured life (yay OCD!), so improv allows me step outside of that and be okay with not knowing what's going to happen next. I'm still pretty new and it's taking me a while to truly break out, but I love the improv community and even if I found that I really couldn't do improv, I'd still hang around as an improv groupie or something. I can't stay away from you guys!