If there’s a lot of new improvisers in a class, I often start by going through the three big benefits of improv that I’ve seen personally in my life. As I’m doing it, it makes me smile because many of these people have just come along for a much-needed laugh on a weekday evening. They’re not ready for a heart-felt paean to the life-changing effects of the art form just yet.
But I do it anyway because improv truly has changed my life. And I do see the benefits in every aspect of my current situation. I want to let people know that YES, improv is fun and silly and makes for hilarious comedy, BUT it can also teach as a lot about empathy and connection and human nature.
And you’re reading this article, so I can safely assume you’re invested in improv to some extent too.
So, for the record, here are my top 3 benefits of studying improv.
When I started doing improv regularly, I was still doing a full time office job. I had been involved in theatre my entire life, performing whenever I could and studying it to degree level, but by my late twenties I was safely ensconced in the charity sector - producing large scale comms projects for issues like the refugee crisis and climate change. I loved that job but I felt a big piece of my identity was atrophying.
Improv gave me the chance to be a performer again. It allowed me to express myself creatively as part of a cast of like-minded people. I had always loved being on stage and now I got to do that regularly again. And all without learning scripts or keeping to a punishing schedule of rehearsals.
The moment I started improv, I knew it was what I wanted to do it for the long run. It was a life’s work - something to slowly and painstakingly get better at as I grew older. It gave me something to strive for, something to improve on. But mostly, it gave me back the thrill of performing - standing in the dark beside the stage, waiting for the lights to come up.
The second benefit was slightly unexpected. Improv gave me a new friendship group.
I’m not originally from London and I had found the capital to be a little over-whelming. There was too much happening. I couldn’t get my arms around it, didn’t know how to make it feel like home.
Improv introduced me to a group of lovely, like-minded artists. Suddenly, I felt like I belonged again. And, as an added bonus, improvisers tend to be thoughtful, kind, funny people who know how to listen. It’s not a coincidence, that’s what earnestly practicing the art form does for you. It makes you more empathetic and connected. I’m not saying there are no assholes in improv, but I am saying that, in pursuing a career in improv, I have met hundreds of fascinating people. People who have enriched my life in ways too numerous to count.
Travelling internationally, I found it easy to start up conversations and find common ground. It’s like improv is our shared language (and it also helps that European improvisers in particular speak such impressive English). Almost all my close friends are improvisers - and, sure, we talk about improv a lot - but we also talk about movies and theatre and books we love and board games and all with a level of emotional support that I find truly astonishing.
Wherever you go, there’s your community ready to meet you.
Finally, improv makes you a better human being. I’ve already said why that’s true earlier in this piece. If you spend enough time learning how to listen well and champion other people’s ideas above your own - then you tend to continue to do that in the real world.
The improv skill set is useful for so many things besides just performing. Applied improv (improvising away from a stage) is incredibly powerful in its own right. Improv teaches us self-reliance, lateral thinking and confidence in the face of uncertainty. We learn emotional intelligence, calmness under pressure and to not let our mistakes define us.
As I approach my mid-forties, I really like the person I’m becoming. I think improv has allowed me to sand off some of my sharp edges - it’s obviously a work in progress and there’s still many times where I fall short of my ideals - but in general I’m really proud of the work that I’ve done and the person I am. That’s a great feeling. And so much of that fine-tuning has come about as a direct result of my continued engagement with improvisation.
So that’s my spiel - creatively, socially and just as a human being who wants to be the very best version of himself - improv has helped me more than any comparable training, study or philosophy.