*I am proud of this title and like to think that the usage of cat is the same as the way people in the 70s used it, like “damn girl, she is one curious cat”.
I have improvised being a lot of different kinds of people on stage. Of course, I’ve played the classics - your waiters, your taxidermists, your people who own a spatula, every improviser worth their salt has played at least several dozen of those, but I’ve also inhabited quite the eclectic mix of other professions & creatures. Off the top of my head, I’ve essayed the role of:
Space Marine. King. Queen. Baker. Biker. Librarian. Comic store owner. Marine biologist. Robot. Tardigrade. Time Lord. Wizard. Vicar. Fisherman. Doctor. Carpenter. Taco van man. Cyborg. Chocolatier. Hacker. Hiker. Parent. Child. Poet. CEO. Postman. Actor. Director. Bodybuilder. Monkey. Mother. Maid. Martyr. Philanthropist. Bounty hunter. Hummus quality assessment officer. Improv teacher. Jedi. Accountant. Jedi accountant. Burger flipper. Jack the Ripper. Cargo shipper. Daytripper. Kipper. Astronomer. Astrologist. Economist. Weatherman. Weatherwoman. Weathergirl. Weather-beaten hermit on the hill.
I could go on but you get the idea.
Of course, it would be impossible for me to have a deep & wide-ranging knowledge of each and every one of these disciplines, vocations and animals. And the fear of saying something wrong often has improvisers circle the same few roles time and again. I could personally play a comic book store owner all day and never run out of things to talk about, but endow me as a choreographer and I’m going to blaze through any precise technical language I know pretty fast (Pas de chat?).
Luckily, there are two very distinct techniques available to you when you’re asked to become something that is far from your lived experience.
(and BTW I’m not talking about appropriating another culture or lifestyle here - that is a longer and more complex conversation - I’m talking about professions and hobbies with specialist knowledge - things that aren’t specifically attached to a cultural identity)
The easiest thing to do is make it up. Invent technical language, extemporise procedures - speak bollocks with confidence. Over-promoted men in middle management have been doing this for years. Folks, it works! It’s not even “fake it until you make it” because in improv whoever states something first has the luxury of forming the reality of the scene. If your doctor character announces that the best way to remove an appendix is by going in through the belly button because there’s “already a bit of a hole there” then that becomes the reality of that world. That’s how doctorin’ is done there. You can’t be wrong about it, there is no objective truth in improv. Only play. So project confidence and say whatever half-baked nonsense comes into your head. That way you can play everything from a nuclear physicist to a construction work foreman with ease. As long as your team are there to support and build on your ideas, you can’t go wrong.
This is the real point of this article. SURPRISE! One of the best things about getting serious about improv is allowing yourself to pick up handfuls of esoteric knowledge from all over the place. You never know when your interest in phrenology or wild rock doves might come in useful. I now actively seek out interesting snippets of information from all over the place. It feels amazing to really feed one’s curiosity, to leap into the unknown and bring back a treasure trove of facts to store away in a corner of my brain until it’s inevitably needed in a future improv scene. Here are some things you can try:
All these things will make you a better improviser but CRUCIALLY they’ll also make you a better human being. So there’s no downside.
You might even find yourself something new that lights YOU up on the inside too.