<aside> 💡 Back to answering questions from fellow improvisers.

This week, Tom asks: What do you keep in your improv Batbelt? Have you Marie Kondo'd anything out of it? Do you find yourself using it at the side or in the scene?

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Wow, Tom. Comics and improv? It’s like you know me.

Ok, before we start this one, I’m giving myself some ground rules.

  1. Items in the improv Batbelt must be performance-grade as Craig Cackowski would say - in other words, it must be a tool you can deploy in a scene, not a generalised behaviour or habit (this is, to some extent, an erroneous boundary - as any improv tool can become a habit - but I’m going to concentrate on things you can consciously activate mid-scene in order to have a specific impact on the outcome).
  2. I’m going to limit myself to SEVEN items - otherwise, it’s not so much a belt as a backpack.
  3. This will be my general Batbelt for everyday carry - I’d obviously swap certain items out in specific situations, like going to the Arctic or appearing in improvised Chekhov. As DC themselves note:

The Caped Crusader is continuously updating and improving the contents of the utility belt, so the accompanying illustration shows merely an average sampling of its contents.

Right, enough stalling, TO THE IMPROV CAVE!

My improv Batbelt (click on links for exercises)

  1. I know - don’t ask questions of your scene partner, assume you already know the answers. Whenever I feel a scene floundering, I reach for this technique.
  2. Guest list, Calendar, Manifesto - think about the people, places, events and concepts that you’ve created though your improv. I find making a conscious effort to notice and remember these things really helps when it’s time to draw everything together at the end.
  3. Emotional listening - come on with a blank mind and find the scene in the other person. Look for something real between you. Use that as your jumping off point.
  4. Seven words (or under) - don’t fill your scenes with needless dialogue. Offer one new idea and then stop and see how your scene partner responds.
  5. The elastic thread - find a way to connect without using words. You can negotiate all sorts of proximate intimacy and interesting physicality as long as you find ways to seek consent in the moment.
  6. Truth tellers - speak your truth. As an improviser or a character and ideally both.
  7. Shark Repellent Bat-Spray I never do an improv show without this.

<aside> 💡 Got an opinion on this? Of course you do, you’re an improviser. Feel free to let me know at [email protected] OR you could just reply to the newsletter in your inbox.

Hey, my name’s Chris Mead. I write an article about improv almost every week. You can get the latest in your inbox by subscribing to my newsletter. Or check out the archive.

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