Conscious Incompetence (and why it's your friend)

by Katy Schutte

Over years of teaching improv, I have begun to notice that many students at one point or another appear to have a crisis of confidence and dips in their skill sets.  There seems to be an ongoing cycle that starts with enthusiasm, becomes more of a serious work ethic and then turns into a mini freak-out.  I have always advised these students - based on observation - that a dip in confidence seems to come along at the same time or just before a big jump in skills.  I had no evidence or explanation for this apart from my own observations.  Until now.

I was working in Chantilly, France recently, coaching improvisational thinking with leaders and was struck by something one of the other coaches mentioned.  If you work in the corporate world, this is probably not news to you, but it really lit up a light bulb for me.  There is a scale that runs like this:
Unconscious incompetence
Conscious incompetence
Conscious competence
Unconscious competence

So: we don’t know that we can’t do something, then we know we aren’t doing it right, so we learn to do it, then we forget that we’re even doing it.  

For me, these are very clear levels within our improvisational learning.  The most important of which is conscious incompetence. 

When you are a total beginner in improv, you can often hugely enjoy performing; there are no nerves, no stress, you know you can do whatever you want and there’s nothing important riding on it.  You perform, you get LAUGHS - which is amazing - and then you’re done.  Fun.  After a while, you realise that you are maybe hitting on similar characters and gags because you know they work and because they feel easy and comfortable.  You begin to realise that there’s more to improv.  Where is the initial spark you had, why has it gotten harder?  There is more to learn.   You look at the people around you and see that they have skills you don’t, or that you’re not as good at.  So you work on those skills.  You increase your range, you take more risks, you are starting to enjoy the work again.  You get a lot better, then it’s easy, then you are slightly disconnected.  You’re maybe the best person in your company and you start to feel frustrated that others can’t keep up, or that the beginners class is too easy for you.  So you are consciously competent.  You join a more advanced class and really enjoy the scenes, they are rich, you are all listening to each other and the audience likes your shows.  You believe that this is the norm.  You are no longer stressing about your skill level because it is comfortable.  You have forgotten your struggle.  You are unconsciously competent.  You are GOOD.

Oh wait, another group came to town.  How the hell are they doing the improv they are doing?  What is long-form?  Is that monologue genuinely from real life?  Their physicality is incredible.  They sing!  Then here we go again.  Alexis Gallagher always maintains that it is best to be the second worst person in a company.  I think that’s a nice way to aspire to good improv.  That way, you are always consciously incompetent and trying to learn the skills you see around you.  But you’re not the worst, so you’re not going to feel like crap.  And confidence is a key part of successful improv.

This is by no means an experience that is only applicable to beginners.  I come across these blocks in my work every so often when I’m working with amazingly tight companies, strong singers and improvisers that never forget a name or drop a ball.  Just remember, whenever you know that you are terrible, that your improv is stale, that your work sucks, that you are the least funny/interesting person on stage; that is the point where you can go up a level.  That is the point where you’re challenging yourself and taking risks.  If you know you’re the most funny, interesting, talented, spontaneous person in the room, change rooms.  It’s important to feel good about conscious incompetence.  It’s the point where you’re most likely to surprise yourself, to take big risks and to push up your skill level.

Your degree of competence is important to different people in different ways:

The audience.  Audiences love to watch people that are at their ease, even if they are enjoying their own incompetence.  

Your peers.  Your fellow improvisers, employers and teachers; they all want you to be good.  They want you to step up and they want to help you achieve great things.  They also have your back.

Yourself.  No one is a harsher judge than yourself.  Enjoy it.  Let you be the harsh critic of you.  Just don’t let the critic get in there when you’re playing.  Love a show, get out of your head.  Then sit down after and watch the video, see what you did good and bad and set yourself some goals.  A side note on notes; I was shocked the first time I had two improv teachers contradict each other.  It’s not like maths, there is no absolute right.  Do what you think is more interesting.  Just make sure you’re not doing it because it’s safe.  Push your own boundaries and take advice when it speaks to you as the right advice.  Try everything you get taught and keep what works for you.  Always go in with an open mind, then jettison stuff afterwards if it doesn’t help.

Now stand up and declare “I am consciously incompetent” and enjoy how much you can improve every time those words ring true. 

www.katyschutte.com
@katyschutte

#ChicaGoUK: Jenny Rowe

He goes, she goes, we go, they go, I go, you go, go go, Frodo, mojo, dojo, Aygo. Jen is going to Chicago. She's in The Maydays. Her pictures are funny.

Tell us a bit about yourself.

I’m Jen from the Maydays, in Brighton, but when I’m not Mayday-ing, I do other actor-ing. At the moment I’m playing a pregnant lady in ‘Future Development’ by impro theatre company Fluxx, then I start re-rehearsing for Twelfth Night and through all of this I’m doing street theatre with Dodgy Totty. In fact, two weeks ago I was an elderly dry-land synchronized swimmer being chased by a land-shark and this weekend I was puppeteering a mouse puppet acrobat in a World War II show at a sheep fair.

What's the best improv call-out you've ever heard?

Let’s put it this way, the reply from my colleague was "Sorry, we’ve already had ‘fisting’". This was directed at the teenage children (audience) of a mother who was in our student showcase.

Which improv course are you doing, and what made you choose that one?

I’m doing two because I’m greedy like that. Annoyance for one week (John Cremer and George from the Maydays did it before and said it was great, I’ve had Mick Napier’s book for ages and I haven’t read it properly so I thought the best way to find out what was in it was to ask him personally).
I’m also doing Second City’s Writing course and Improv workshop (I jammily got a scholarship for some of it). I talked Mark Brailsford of The Treason Show into running a sketch-writing course a couple of years ago for me and some of my students, but as I’ve barely written a thing since then, I realized I need another kick up the arse to get on with it, so this is it.

When/how did you start planning your trip?

About January I think – I had wanted to go for ages but didn’t think I could afford it. Then I realised you couldn’t let a little thing like money get in the way of something this big. People always say things like, ‘I could never afford kids’, but then they have kids and, yes, they drain your money away but you still end up with kids. Chicago’s like that, it will drain my money away but I’ll still have Chicago (only Chicago won’t hate me in 15yrs time or wish it had never been born).

What are you most excited about?

Everything, too much, I don’t know where to start - everything. Learning new stuff, doing wall to wall improv, seeing loads of shows – the shit and the good, seeing a new city, hanging out with improv chums.

Are there any shows you HAVE to see while you're over there?

Well, I’m going through NYC on the way there and back, so I desperately wanted to see Asssscat, but it seems I’m on the wrong bloody days! So in Chicago I want to see Whirled News, TJ and Dave, Too Much Water Makes the Baby Go Blind (not improv but highly recommended by friends), Timprovisation, Improvised Shakespeare, The Armando Diaz Experience. I also wanted to see The Reckoning but they’ve only gone and moved to LA.

What are you going to do in Chicago when you're not improvising?

I’m researching a female sci-fi writer who called herself James Tiptree Jr. (Alice B. Sheldon). I found out recently that she was born in Chicago so I may find myself in the City Library or visiting her previous homes or something. I only have 2 weeks so I’ll have to prioritise. The plan is I write a play about her – her parents were explorers, she became a CIA agent, fantastic painter, writer, married twice then shot herself and her husband in the head when he got past it.

Oh yeah, and the Thrift shops and second-hand bookstores.

And I have to buy ‘Butterfingers’, apparently.

How do you think the trip will change you?

I don’t think I’ll be a better improviser in a couple of weeks, but I think I’ll be a better teacher and I’ll have more sense of what I’m aiming for when I’m improvising. I think it’ll put some of the work we’ve done with visiting USA actors into context. I’ll also be poorer and fatter by the end, I should imagine.

Do you think you'll go back another time?

I certainly hope so. I’d also like to spend more time in NYC and maybe LA, but only for the improv, mind. I’ve put off going to the US because I’m terrified of flying (the nice calm bit where nothing happens is the worst – that’s when I imagine the horrors that may await me).

If you could name a new impro group anything you like, what would it be?

The Now People

Jen performs in The Maydays and Fluxx.
Follow all the UK improvisers going to Chicago at #ChicaGoUK.

#ChicaGoUK: Liz Peters

I tell you what, I'm getting pretty envious of all those folk heading off to Chicago this Summer. Luckily, one of them is me. Being envious of yourself is easily remedied.

Liz Peters is not me, though I am envious of her:

Tell us a bit about yourself..

My name is Liz Peters and I am in The Maydays. I trained as an actor at Mountview and have enjoyed working in lots of performance jobs in the UK and abroad on stage and screen. A few years ago I decided to focus more on comedy as it has always been my favourite. I knuckled down and wrote a sitcom, which was an epic feat at the time, so I took some improv classes to help get over writer’s block. What a discovery! It literally changed my life, my approach to working and the way I spend my time. Now, as well as The Maydays, I write and perform in shows like Newsrevue and create sketches and songs about things I find funny – which are invariably rude or quite dark.

What's the best improv call-out you've ever heard?

I was teaching a class and asked for an emotion as stimulus for a scene. Someone joyfully called out ‘swimming!’ and we were in bits. That led to their troupe name being ‘Swimming Is An Emotion’ so it proves the old improv mantra that there are no mistakes, only gifts. (Turns out he thought I’d asked for ‘a motion’ if you’re trying to join up the mental dots)

Which improv course are you doing, and what made you choose that one?

I’m doing the five week course at iO. I suppose the main reason is that if I’m going to go that far and spend all that dosh I may as well do it in a big way. I get to live in Chicago for longer. Maybe there should be a better reason than that but there you go.

When/how did you start planning your trip?

We worked with Jason Chin from iO in February and he invited us to perform in Whirled News Tonight which is a massive honour. I’ve always heard how amazing Chicago was for improv and I started to realise that what I had considered to a financially impossible pipe dream was actually a viable career investment.

What are you most excited about?

I am very excited to have the chance to immerse myself fully in improv for a good few weeks. I’m looking forward to working with lots of different tutors and improvisers and absorbing little bits from all of them. And, of course, watching the shows. The improv scene in England is so small, I’m looking forward to seeing all the different things that the troupes are doing out there and having my mind blown.

Are there any shows you HAVE to see while you're over there?

I definitely want to get to see ‘TJ and Dave’ but on the whole I’m very open-minded and I’m up for everything. I’m imagining it’ll be like being in an improv sweetshop so I don’t want to make too many plans – just see what looks tasty!

What are you going to do in chicago when you're not improvising?

Seeing as many shows as I can primarily. I’ve heard that the Mexican food is pretty special in Chicago and I’ll probably try and get to a cubs game. I might try and find an open mic night or something and do some non-improv stuff. I also fantasise about taking a road trip and finding a hidden cabin by a lake one weekend, cos America is tiny and everything is really close together isn’t it?!

How do you think the trip will change you?

Hopefully I’ll come back as a better improviser! Even planning the trip has shifted my attitude up a gear towards making this my full time job. So I want to arm myself with the tools to do that.

Do you think you'll go back another time?

Ask me afterwards. It might be a dump and everyone could be lying!

If you could name a new impro group anything you like, what would it be?

It would have to be something that organically came from the group. A random line in a scene or something personal and specific to them. Let’s be honest, if it was me it would probably be rude.


Liz plays in The Maydays and has her own website.
Follow all the improvisers at #ChicaGoUK

#ChicaGoUK: Jason Blackwater

This summer something close to a metric tonne of improvisers from the UK descend on Chicago, Illinois to check out the improv scene and study at one (or more) of the improv schools.
We at London Improv think that's quite a notable thing, so we decided to interview as many of those folk as we could. First up - Jason Blackwater. Yes, he might sound like a character from Game of Thrones, but he's also a jolly nice man. And a giant.

Tell us a bit about yourself..

I'm Jason Blackwater. I'm in The Maydays and Silly String Theory.
I started performing improv at drama school under the brief tutorship of Ken Campbell, Sean McCann and Adam Megiddo where I toured improvised musicals for just over a week. To finally realise that it was possible to be a professional improviser was a revelation and I intended to find a way, once I graduated, to perform improv as a sideline to my acting. I even had my own troupe for a while, Improv's Dog, doing all of my favourite short form games. I then put the idea to the side for a while until I moved to brighton and immediately joined The Maydays and it's been like that ever since. Acting is now my sideline to the improv and shall remain so for the foreseeable.

What's the best improv call-out you've ever heard?

In one of The Maydays' student showcases recently, upon a request of a topic of study someone yelled "Speleology". I played the old, "Well, of course I know what speleology is, and of course the cast know what speleolgy is but for the benefit of the one or two people in the audience who don't know..." routine. The audience member DID know and it is, as you will of course realise, the study of caves.

Which improv course are you doing, and what made you choose that one?

iO summer intensive [5 weeks]. The Maydays learn through the skills from the iO school of thought and thought I'd go and learn from the source.

When/how did you start planning your trip?

It had been in the back of my mind to go since I'd been with The Maydays for a few months.. so 2010? I never really knew how I was going to afford it but at the beginning of this year I just thought about this summer more seriously. Then Jason Chin came to Brighton and agreed that if enough Maydays got over there he'd allow us to do the second half of Whirled News Tonight [Chicago's longest running improv show] and it was set. by hook or by crook I was going this summer and I just booked it.

What are you most excited about?

The shows. seeing more improv than I can imagine and seeing people I've only seen before on YouTube, on stage.

Are there any shows you HAVE to see while you're over there?

TJ & Dave, Assscat 3000 (I've got a few days in NY too), Baby Wants Candy (again), Improvised Shakespeare, Too Much Sun Will Make Baby Go Blind

What are you going to do in chicago when you're not improvising?

I've resolved to find a steakhouse with a steak big enough to win a t-shirt. Mainly, though, I'll be meeting up with new people and the dozen or so British improvisers who'll be out there too.

How do you think the trip will change you?

I'm hoping to go up a gear in my improv. 5 weeks away from my usual crutch of singing will really improve my scene work, and with a bit of luck bring back some understanding of what I'm doing beyond the instinctual. Plus any adventure will change you in unexpected ways and I'm looking forward to those too

Do you think you'll go back another time?

My original plan in 2010 was to do the year at Second City and I'd still like to do that. I also want to go to LA and Austin and check out the scenes there as well

If you could name a new impro group anything you like, what would it be?

I don't know. I think improv companies need to arrive at their name organically. There's a common feeling in the company and a sense of ownership but a wonderful opportunity was missed in a beginners class I was witness to. They'd hit upon the idea that the really whacky and ungrounded thoughts came from the Big Banana Place and wished they'd gone for that as their name but it wasn't to be. Still my favourite and it's up for grabs!


Jason Blackwater appears regularly in The Maydays and Silly String Theory.
His Twitter name is @jblackwater
Follow all the improvisers at #ChicaGoUk

Long Form Improv? Jason Chin FTW!

Neil Curran is founder and chairman of No Drama Theatre and Laughalot Improv in Dublin, a movie lover, Tinnitus sufferer and misunderstood genius.

I spent last weekend braving the Siberian weather in the UK and attending a Long Form improvisation weekend of workshops with Jason Chin. Jason hails from the infamous iO Theatre in Chicago where he has been involved with improv for over 15 years. He has held the positions of the iO Associate Artistic Director, as well as the Director of their Training Center. Jason created the improvised news satire, Whirled News Tonight, which has been running for over 8 years. He is the author of "Long-form Improvisation and the Art of Zen", Jason was in the UK as a guest of The Maydays.

Or in short, he has the credentials!

My inability to read emails correctly resulted in me arriving in the UK on a Thursday night, for a course that would not kick off until Saturday morning. I spent the Thursday night and Friday taking in the local offerings in Cambridge. Those offerings consisted mostly of snow and cold though. And a search for a scarf.

But I digress. So after a miserable night’s sleep I rose from the dead early on Saturday morning to take a train to London. My destination was “The Nursery” in Southwark. (Note to Irish readers, it is not pronounced South Wark!) An upbeat Jason greeted us at the door and in total there was about 16 of us ready to get stuck in! There were a couple of familiar faces from my previous improv adventure with the Maydays in Leela as blogged about here.

But lets talk about the venue, The Nursery. It was as if the room was built under a railway bridge, with the walls filled in cement and a door added. No, this is not a metaphor, the room really was under a railway bridge! The room was cool and quirky. But, it had no heating. And it was freezing! Thanks to the brainwaves of one of the participants, a few phone calls later we had a flurry of portable heaters which helped to stave off some of the cold by lunchtime. Every little helps!

So Jason gave us an introduction and we got stuck in. After a couple of warm up exercises, we spent most of the day (and the following day) in a variety of open scenes. It was quickly obvious that most people in attendance were experienced improvisers and some people perform regularly. The talent on display was excellent and equally hilarious! But Jason brought an additional edge to the proceedings. He is a fantastic teacher, very attentive and offers great insight into improvisation with his thoughts and feedback. His ability to plants seeds in your head brought out very fruitful results on stage. Jason put much emphasis on emotional reaction and the +1 and it was as if everything just ‘made sense’!

I personally find performing improv, especially long form, very liberating. The concept of “Group Mind” during a scene creates a strong bond between performers and the experience and energy becomes shared. There were many hugs, claps and back pats after each scene which only serves to highlight the enjoyment and bond that performing together brings. While you become used to it with your own troupe, its rejuvenating to experience it with new people.

There were so many great scenes over the 2 days (and probably even more during the showcase on the final day which due to my flight home, I missed), many colourful characters and hilarious quotes. Moments like when during a scene Jesus cries, “If I can’t repair a rusty hinge how am I expected to perform miracles!” Or after a scene involving a character receiving a banana on his birthday, Jason asked Andrew how he felt in the scene and Andrew replied, “Was that before banana or after banana?” All classic spontaneous moments!

I met some great people over the 2 days and I’m looking forward to meeting again, be it on stage or viewing from the audience. I’m also looking forward to my US trip in 2013 when Chicago is on the agenda!

Every time I attend or partake in anything improv related in the UK, I am inevitably filled at some point with jealousy at how large and cohesive the improv scene is there compared with Ireland. Its not that we don’t have great improvisers in Ireland, we have some great talent too. But we need more troupes, more venues willing to open their doors to improv and we need to raise the profile of improvisation in Ireland to a higher level.
To quote a friend who used to perform with me in improv shows, “I told people in work that I have done improv before, and thoroughly explained exactly what this entails. Despite this, many a conversation has been started with the line: ‘Did you know Dave did stand-up?’”

But lets not end on a downer. A fantastic weekend of improv with great people and great tutoring was had. If you have a chance to train with Jason in Chicago or indeed The Maydays in the UK, just do it!

You can follow Jason’s blog here

You can visit the Mayday’s website here

You can get in touch with Neil here

How Do You Do Dat Zen?

For the last 10 days, zen-improv master Jason Chin has been in the country working with The Maydays and a load of other awesome improvisers. On Sunday, everyone above collaborates for one amazing showcase.

Join The Maydays and The Chinnites for FREE at the newest improv venue in town: The Nursery.

A student of Del Close, Jason Chin has been performing, directing, and teaching improvisation in Chicago since 1995. He was Director of the Training Center and Associate Artistic Director to the iO Theater for eight years and is the author of "Longform Improvisation & the Art of Zen". His creation, Whirled News Tonight, an improvised news satire, recently celebrated eight years of continuous performances.

Sunday 12th February
Time: Doors 6pm, Show 6:30pm - 8:30pm with interval.
Cost: FREE
Where: Arch 61, Ewer Street, SE1 0NR


LONDONIMPROV: A REVOLUTION IN COMEDY & THEATRE

Sign up to email updates at
LondonImprov@gmail.com

Old and New: This Week at the London Improv Comedy Club

Tuesday 31st January

ARTHUR
and THE MAYDAYS

Deep in Hoopla's secret underground bunker, a team of improvisers have been working on dangerous new short-form games, with the help of director Steve Roe.

These games are now ready for public viewing. New games, re-invented games, long lost forgotten games, new short-form.

Then the multiple award winning Brighton group The Maydays bring their vast experience to our wee stage. Mmm.. yum yum. (Yum).

Tuesday 31st January
Time: Doors 7:45pm, Show 8pm - 10pm with interval.
Cost: £5 on the door
Where: The Miller, 96 Snowsfields Road, London, SE1 3SS.

Wednesday 1st February
8BIT IMPROV
and AUSTENTATIOUS

8Bit do their improvised thing to welcome in February, the grumpiest month - and this year, there's Valentine's AND loads of women proposing! How annoying. Don't fret though, we'll set you up all right, preparing you for this month of 'love' (pleurf), 'special someones' (gargh) and 'buy this, it's got a heart on it' (fnar) by creating some amusing memories to last you through until March.

Then Austentatious will unearth another of Jane Austen's lost novels (how do you lose a novel? Bad filing, that's how) for your delight. Austentatious have been selling out shows at The Compass in Angel, made merry with New Year revellers at the Royal Festival Hall and now return to The Miller to do their costumed thing. Do come, they have fans.

Wednesday 1st February
Time: Doors 7:45pm, Show 8pm - 10pm with interval.
Cost: £5 on the door, FREE to NUS/NHS card holders
Where: The Miller, 96 Snowsfields Road, London, SE1 3SS.


LONDONIMPROV: A REVOLUTION IN COMEDY & THEATRE

Sign up to email updates at
LondonImprov@gmail.com

The Maydays and a Catch 23 Hallowe'en Special - This Week at the London Improv Comedy Club

Tuesday 25th October
DO NOT ADJUST YOUR STAGE
and THE MAYDAYS
"TV is dead, long live TV!"
Do Not Adjust Your Stage encourage you to take their name literally as they jump up and improvise a full evening's television schedule, right there in front of your face. Will you see a documentary about penguin wrappers/rappers? Will a soap opera be set in a log cabin in Birmingham? Will singing? Could be.
They are funny. Watch them.

Then follow their delicious TV soup with a sweet sweet impro-veteran dessert. The highly respected Maydays trek all the way Up North from their home town of Brighton.. all the way to London Bridge to treat us to themselves. The Maydays have been at it for years, making laugh happen where no-laugh existed before. Well done them. And well done you, for turning up.

"...one of the best improvised shows out there, and you get the feeling that any of these actors could easily hold their own with the likes of Merton, Frost and Jupitus...a must see"
★★★★ - Chortle
Tuesday 25th October
Time: Doors 7:30pm, Show 8pm - 10pm with interval.
Cost: £5
Where: The Miller, 96 Snowsfields Road, London, SE1 3SS.

Wednesday 26th October
CATCH 23:
HALLOWE'EN SPECIAL!
It's the London Improv Improv League, where teams of improvisers compete to be given high acclaim and snogs from passing streetwalkers. It's a shot at (local) fame. It's an excuse for drinking and laughing in the same room. It's the final struggle between human and void. It's CATCH 23!

And this 'ere week, it's only blummin' hallowe'en 'n that. 'n.
So prepare yourself for ghoulish goings on, sinister competitive backstabbing, evil giggles and sabotage. Bring your best monstrous suggestions for the performers and prepare for bloodshed.

[insert laugh sound effect from Michael Jackson's Thriller here]

Wednesday 26th October
Time: Doors 7:30pm, Show 8pm - 10pm with interval.
Cost: £5
Where: The Miller, 96 Snowsfields Road, London, SE1 3SS.

LONDONIMPROV: A REVOLUTION IN COMEDY & THEATRE

Sign up to email updates at
LondonImprov@gmail.com

How to get Better at Improvising

by Heather Urquhart, from The Maydays

I was teaching the Maydays Drop in class recently and two of the students who are recent converts to improv and now completely obsessed with the form cornered me afterwards to ask me,“How do we get to be good?!”
I gave them my best answer but came away thinking about it; How does one get good at improv? (barr experience and time) and here’s what I came up with.

Heather’s top 10 tips for how to be a better improviser:

1. Do a lot – There can be no denying that experience is everything. I’m not saying new improvisers can’t be good but everyone experiences those wobble moments on stage and the more you do, the more you learn how to navigate your way out of them. Consistently the best show I’ve ever seen is the Armando in Chicago. Almost every player is 40 plus and the weight of experience is palpable. The audience knows they’re going to have a great time because they know they’re in safe hands. I think improvising is a bit like muscle memory in dance training so I’m sure the act of practising as much as you can helps you improve faster.

2. See a lot – Go and see as many shows as you can. Good and Bad. When you’re doing bad improv, you don’t necessarily know it. When you’re watching it, you do. Seeing those sticky moments from the outside is massively helpful in identifying how you can improve your own practice. Watching good improv is equally helpful, thrilling and inspiring. Like Katy and Rach say – like watching people fly.

3. Get a director – I absolutely believe that no matter how much improv you do, you’ll never get significantly better without someone kicking your arse. Without feedback you’re likely to keep the same bad habits all your improv life. A good director should identify your strengths and develop your weaknesses, like being a human top trump. Maybe your speed (let’s call that object work in this scenario) is 100 but your stamina (character work) is only 40. Your director should be working to get everything to 100.

4. Improvise with the same people a lot – Group mind is invaluable in improv. When there is trust on stage you can do magical things. A crude example of this is being physical. Us English lot aren’t very good at getting in each other’s personal space so when you’re working with a group you know really well it’s easier to do things like make people fly, become one being, play an intimate love or sex scene. It shouldn’t matter if you’re with strangers but it really helps when there’s an unspoken level of communication between your whole troupe.

5. Improvise with different people a lot – Equally, it’s great to get out of your comfort zone and improvise with people whose behaviour patterns you don’t know. Maybe you’re the dominant player in your troupe – go to an open workshop and maybe you’ll be forced into the role of supporter or any other role you don’t normally fall into.

6. Be authentic – Whole heartedly bring your life into your improv. There are two ways of doing this practically. One is to see the world as a scene, if someone calls out “Butcher” – don’t be generic, be your local Butcher Stan or a guy you were standing next to at the bus stop that day. Notice everything, use the real language of whichever profession you’re portraying in that show, do some research. “5 things a _____ would say” is a great game for this and you can play it on your own. Alternatively – experiment with putting yourself into the scene, if you’re feeling scared bring it into your character. If you’re feeling randy – hump everyone! It’s great to be imaginative but if you can start from a place of being real it can add a whole new level to your performance.

7. Learn stagecraft – II know some amazing amazing improvisers who are not so hot when it comes to improvising on a stage for an audience. Get an outside eye or take an acting class if you need to. If people can’t see you, people can’t hear you or your stage pictures look dull and sloppy, it doesn’t matter how good your scene idea was or how naturally hilarious you are.

8. Serve the scene and not yourself – Speaks for itself. Don’t plough into scenes or bulldoze other people. Make it your mission to make everyone else look good and you’ll look good. As Charna Halpern says “ Treat others as if they are geniuses, artists and poets and they will be.”

9. Read some improv books or blogs and talk about it exhaustively and obsessively – Well it can’t hurt.

10. Have a secret – This is my favourite thing to do. Pick something just for you to take into a scene, that no-one needs to know about. Have happy hands, be a lizard if a lizard was a human, decide to always stay 2 feet away from whoever you’re onstage with. Whatever you do, bring something to the table. It might never come out, it might get toned down and you should always be prepared to drop it if there’s a cross initiation but aswell as adding some depth – it’s fun!

Heather started acting from a young age with the National Youth Theatre and went on to train in physical theatre. She has spent the last ten years acting in all it's forms including TIE, site specific, street theatre, classical theatre and film, but can mostly be found treading the boards and making people laugh with the Maydays in Brighton. In the last fours years she has also been a regular performer and contributor with BAFTA nominated sketch show the Treason Show. She is also lead vocalist in Bluegrass band the Whisky Whores as well as a regular backing vocalsit with Thomas White (Electric Soft Parade, Brakes) However her first love is Improvisation and she is a director, performer, teacher and trainer with the Maydays aswell as co-author of musical comedy improvisation book "Turn off your Brain, Open your Mouth and Sing." The Maydays have a monthly residency in London and Brighton aswell as offering performances and training across the UK.

The Maydays are auditioning for a new company member

ARE YOU PASSIONATE ABOUT IMPROVISATION?

The Maydays are looking for performers to join their award-winning improv comedy company.

We're looking for someone able to work (and with experience of working) within a range of improv styles including long form, short form and improvised singing.

We are seeking one or more improvisers, preferably living in the Brighton area, who have solid improvisation experience and a willingness to develop. A good singing voice and the confidence to use it are essential, as are a collaborative positive attitude, availability for shows (usually on weekend nights) and rehearsals (Monday evenings in Brighton).

Once a member of the company there are various (paid) possibilities through teaching improv and corporate performance work. If you'd like to apply, we need a brief performance/training CV, and a short covering email to tell us why you would like to join us, what you feel you can bring to the troupe, and what kind of past experience you have with improv.

Please email applications to: mayday@themaydays.co.uk

*Deadline for applications is 12 noon on Friday 6th May 2011.*
Successful applicants will be invited to an audition to be held on the evening of Monday 16th May 2011.