Having gone to a fair few international improv festivals at this point, I thought I’d make a quick list of recommendations (some serious, some tongue-in-cheek) for improvisers venturing to their first gathering of the improv faithful.
If you liked what they did, then totally go over and say so. Now is not the time to play it cool. They’re probably worried how it landed with the audience anyway, you can reassure them. It’s always nice to say something specific as well - I loved the bit where you played her eyebrows is much more gratifying than you were generically great in that show.
Critical feedback needs to be specifically requested and should never be offered unasked for (even if you think you’ve got some helpful advice). And FYI everyone knows that You look like you were having so much fun up there is code for Your show was awful.
There are some well-known teachers whose workshops sell out within minutes of the festival website being updated (we all know the names). BUT oftentimes the real workshop gold lies with improviser who are teaching something ultra-specific that they love and have a particular passion for. And no one gets well-known unless they get the chance to show the world what they can do. So take a chance on someone whose workshop description you vibe with.
It’s tempting to stay up all night and talk about improv until the sun comes up. And the FOMO is real if you try to gently excuse yourself early. But know your own body’s capabilities - don’t flame out in the first few days and leave your immune system open to whatever mutant festival flu has been created from all those far-flung improvisers coming together in one place.
Don’t be shy. Everyone wants to talk about improv. So if you hit it off with someone in a workshop, don’t leave that friendship at the classroom door. Go to dinner, sit next to each other at the main show in the evening, talk about what you might create together. I’ve made some of my best friends at festivals and all it took was the courage to talk to them in the first place.
ADDENDUM: Make sure that this energy is going both ways. I’m not advocating hanging around people who obviously need their own space or are just not (improv) into you. Exercise some judgement in this respect.
Oh but this one grinds my gears. Don’t turn up to a festival, stay for precisely the length of your show and then disappear again in a puff of smoke. You are not god’s gift to improv and community matters. No one is so talented that they can’t contribute to the festival in other ways too.
I need to follow this advice myself. I’ve been to just the most beautiful places and promptly ignored everything the city had to offer so I could sit in a bar and talk about improv instead. But I do think we could all take a break now and then and appreciate the awesome places to which improv has brought us. It sounds good in theory, right?
We all have opinions. But broadcasting them in a space where people involved with the show are almost definitely standing around is a recipe for disaster. Not everyone needs to hear your incisive improv opinions immediately. Save it for the train home/ your podcast.
<aside> 💡 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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