Improv in Focus
My improv team Crawlspace Eviction does a warm-up called “Pass The Clap” (very unfortunate name, I agree). The rules are very simple: 1)...
Focusing on the Moment
There is a lot to think about in an improv scene. Who is my character? What location are we in? What is the ‘game’ in this scene? Am I...
Exercise: Shared Drawing
Shared Drawing is great exercise for exploring group dynamics. Participants take turns - in silence - contributing to a drawing. The...
Not What You Were Expecting
One of our favorite exercises in the communication workshops we facilitate involves no speaking at all. It’s called Shared Drawing and...
Don't Be a Name Dropper
Here’s a great way to kill an improv scene: call a character by a wrong name once their name has already been established in a scene. ...
Make It Stick with Experiential Training
Chalk-talk has its place, certainly. But make no mistake, any coach who preps his or her team solely with speeches and diagrams is in...
12 Reasons Experiential Training Works
At Improv Effects, we're big proponents of getting people on their feet and having them learn by doing. Fortunately, we're not the only...
The Prisms of Risk Taking
What scares you? More importantly, why does it scare you? Recently, we facilitated a few workshops on taking risks. In those types of...
Applied Improv Exercise: Describe the Painting
This exercise is a workshop favorite. A group works together to create a shared vision of something that doesn't exist . . . yet. Great...
Applied Improv Exercise: Censor
A lot of people approach Improv Effects having only one conception of what improv entails. “You guys have to think on your feet, right?”...
