Improv, Revisited

So the last (and only) time I posted about improv in this space, I said:

It's a little irritating when you go into something thinking you're going to be great at it and you're just so-so.

Let me assure you that it's not a hell of a lot of fun to look back at a year and a half of working on something and feel about the same, or even feel that "so-so" might have been a generous self-assessment. 

I've done, by my very rough count, about 20-25 improv performances, and about 180 or so hours of classes, workshops, and practices in that time. A fair amount of work and, yet, generally speaking, I still wonder if I'm any good at this at all. 

I've worked with truly great coaches and teachers of the craft: Miles Stroth, Heather Campbell, Billy Merritt, Jeff Hawkins, et al. I've played with a great team of guys (Harvey Rocketship), all of whom I esteem greatly. 

And yet, after all that, I still don't know, when I'm out there, whether I'm inciting yawns or laughter. I know there are people who I think are pretty good who still strike out a lot, and I wonder uncomfortably about the math of that. I'm quite sure I'm not as good at this as X and here he is blowing it. If I blow it more often than he does in proportion to how good I think he is ... yeesh.

I think a lot of improv folks are probably reflecting on their progress over the last year and a half in the wake of Heather and Miles' unseating in the UCB Cagematch after 49 consecutive wins. It's a convenient era to measure against and, for anyone familiar with their work, it feels very significant.

Still, I did think I was going to be better at this than I feel, and I wish that feeling wasn't quite so familiar.

Improv 101

It's a little irritating when you go into something thinking you're going to be great at it and you're just so-so. That's what comes of taking a class with a bunch of talented people, I guess.

We had our fifth (of eight) session of Improv 101 with the Upright Citizens Brigade last night, and the above statement notwithstanding, I'm having a very good time. I'm also getting a serious appreciation for the people who get up there and do this in public several nights a week. It takes a hell of a lot of brainpower. It's one thing to toss out an unscripted line in a show every once in a while, but creating something entertaining out of nothing at all, on the fly, is a completely different animal.

I'm glad that taking the class also allows us to go to shows at the UCB Theatre for free. It's a good excuse to see some damn entertaining performances. So far, I've seen the comedy team "The Smokes" three times, and had a great time at every show.

Three more weeks (give or take) and then we get to put on our own "final exam" show and consider moving on to the next level of classes. I strongly suspect I'll be taking 201.