Where do you start?
Starting an improv group stars with four words: First, Make The Poster.
I’ve taught this course several times and eventually I got it down to that simple four word phrase.
Starting an improv group workshop
In the workshop I had poster paper, markers and other crafty materials. The results were inspiring… and concrete.
Here is an example of this approach in action.
My friend and colleague Rebecca Stockley teaches improv for an animation company in Emeryville California. [Yep, she’s lucky, she has been teaching improvisation at this business for several years!]
One of the groups she was teaching decided to put on an improv show. Rebecca used my 4-word approach.
Here is the list of questions they needed to answer in order to make the poster.
- Name of group _______.
- What will the group be doing _________
- Where will the performance be held _____
- What time _______
- What will it cost _______
Any graphic choice you make will reflect the energy of the group.
Here is the poster they created:
Okay… to be fair, they did have a couple of visual artists in the group. So the poster is… Incredible.
But it doesn’t have to be that polished.
For inspiration you can do a Google image search for ‘improv poster.’
Here’s how to do it:
- Go to Google.com
- Type in “improv poster” (put the phrase in quotes)
- When you get the results, go to the top of the browser window and click ‘images’
How does this help with starting an improv group?
I have seen this technique work even if you don’t have a cast yet. Once you get a performance date and venue you will find that people are more willing to come forward and participate. This is very different from the ‘I-am-putting-together-a-group-to-work-out-and-eventually-do-some-shows’ approach. And everyone will have a sense of purpose: Putting on the show.
What kind of improv are you going to perform?