Improv Tips

I’m Michael Bradt for The Bit Theater . I’m of the school of thinking that there are only happy mistakes in improv. Some of the most interesting scenes I’ve ever been in have come from a slip of the tongue or a misunderstanding. Remember, though, that everyone in the theater hears everything that has been said on stage just like you do. If something is ignored or brushed over, it...

I’m Michael Bradt for The Bit Theater . Kids make for the best improvisers on the planet. They don’t have the horrible self-consciousness that we humans eventually develop about looking dumb. I promise that you don’t look dumb. Like your mom used to say, if anyone thinks you look dumb, they’re just jealous that you’re so confident. There’s plenty of time to be s...

I’m Michael Bradt for The Bit Theater . It’s okay to use what you already know in a scene. If you’re creating a scene in a kitchen, it’s perfectly all right to imagine it as your kitchen. You’re inventing enough already with characters and dialog and relationships. There’s no need to invent a completely made-up space. Put your fridge where your fridge would norm...

I’m Michael Bradt for The Bit Theater . Take classes. If you can afford the time and the money necessary to take improv classes, take as many improv classes as you can. Seek out different theaters, different teaching methods, different improv forms, and different teachers. A big part of being a great improviser is getting variety in your experiences, so the more varied classes you can take,...

I’m Michael Bradt for The Bit Theater . Write things down. Even if your primary artistic expression is improvising, throughout your journey, you’re going to have great ideas for improv forms, team names, sketches, and jokes, and you never know when you’re going to need them. You may think that you’ll remember all of these things later, and you may be right. But just in case...

I’m Michael Bradt for The Bit Theater . Dress for success. In my career on stage I’ve been picked up, I’ve picked up others, I’ve given and received piggyback rides, I’ve stood on my head, I’ve done a full cardio workout, I’ve crawled around on all fours, and I’ve lain on all sorts of floors, chairs, and tables. Improv can take you to some strange pl...

I’m Michael Bradt for The Bit Theater . Use. Periods. At. The. Ends. Of. Your. Sentences. A lot of improvisers are uncomfortable with silence, so they tend to ramble on in their sentences and just when you think the sentence is going to end, there’s more sentence to that sentence, and it can be very difficult to figure out where the thought or the sentence ends so you just sit there in...

I’m Michael Bradt for The Bit Theater . No matter how much you love improv, there are likely going to be times that it’s going to feel like a bit of a chore. Whether it’s the thousandth time that you’ve warmed up with “Big Booty,” whether you always hit traffic coming home from your Friday afternoon class, or whether you feel like you’re spending more time...

I’m Michael Bradt for The Bit Theater . A student recently asked me how to handle a fellow improviser who is railroading him onstage. My strategy on those types of improvisers has been to kill them with “Yes, and.” If an improviser denies or ignores my reality, it’s no sweat. I’ll go with their reality. And if they change that up on me again, I’ll roll with what...

I’m Michael Bradt for The Bit Theater . A very wise improviser once told me, “If you satisfy an audience’s expectations, you’ve failed as an improviser.” As an improviser, it’s not your job to satisfy an audience’s expectations. It’s your job to subvert your audience’s expectations. Improvising is all about creating something new. Predictabilit...

I’m Michael Bradt for The Bit Theater . It’s okay to cry on stage. Improv is usually looked on as a funny, lighthearted performance art. But it doesn’t have to be. For a lot of improvisers, it’s not terribly hard to make an audience laugh. The real challenge comes in making the audience feel something. I remember scenes more when I get an “aww” from the audience...

I’m Michael Bradt for The Bit Theater . Stop waiting for your opportunity to come to you. The beautiful thing about improvising is that you’re creating something that didn’t exist until you made it exist. So do the same thing when it comes to creating opportunities for yourself. If you didn’t make a team, go make a team yourself. If you didn’t book a role, go write yo...

I’m Michael Bradt for The Bit Theater . We should be supporting one another at all times, but we can also use it as a trick. I know it can be easy to get lost in worrying about what you should or should not be doing onstage at any time. But if you find yourself lost in a scene, a simple way to get back on track is to take a breath and lean hard into supporting the ideas of the other players...

I’m Michael Bradt for The Bit Theater . There’s a part of you in every character that you play. Even as you’re onstage playing an alien from another world or a character with a completely different background than yours, you’re playing that character through the lens of your experiences with characters like that. And that’s okay. Because that means that you’re n...

I’m Michael Bradt for The Bit Theater . This may be a little hard for some of you to hear, but being an improviser is not a personality trait, and improv shouldn’t be a cult. Improv is a fun, challenging, great thing that you do, and you should applaud yourself for having the courage to do it. But you don’t have to talk about it all the time. Believe me, your fellow improvisers m...

I’m Michael Bradt for The Bit Theater . It’s great to have friends. You are a wonderful person who probably has many friends. You’re going to make more friends during your improv journey, and that’s great. But remember not to have only improv friends. One of the things that makes for a great improviser is to have a wide breadth of experiences and perspectives, and you&rsquo...

I’m Michael Bradt for The Bit Theater . You’re never too old to be an improviser. You’re not trying to be a professional athlete, here. There’s nothing limiting you from going out there and doing it starting today. The improvisers I know are some of the most accepting, friendly, welcoming people in my life, and I bet you’ll be pleasantly surprised how accepting your c...

I’m Michael Bradt for The Bit Theater . It’s so important that you know what you want to get from improv. Some people want fame, some want to make a living from it, some want to develop social and career skills, and some just want a fun hobby. All of those things are okay to want. But take a moment today to define what you want your improv career to be, and to set a goal for your impro...

I’m Michael Bradt for The Bit Theater . You don’t have to be polite or sneaky in improv. If a character asks if you stole that money and you did, your human instinct is probably to deny it. In improv, it moves the scene along a lot more quickly if you’re brutally honest. “Yes, I stole the money, and I’m using it to start a thieves’ guild.” The more clear y...

I’m Michael Bradt for The Bit Theater . You are the all-powerful god of your improv world. You can create and destroy whatever your imagination can concoct, and so can your scene partner. Honor their choices as much as your own. Don’t fall back on the improv clichés of making it “all a dream” or waking up from a coma at the end of your scene. Give your world and your...

I’m Michael Bradt for The Bit Theater . There aren’t many bad choices in improv, but there’s one that’s universally bad, and that’s the choice to not make a choice. Only by making choices do you, your scene partner, and the audience learn more about these characters and this world that you’re creating before their very eyes. Don’t let yourself off the hook...

I’m Michael Bradt for The Bit Theater . Remember that you are not the character that you’re playing on stage. Just because you might be playing a villain and saying mean things up there, the audience understands that’s not you . You’re not saying those things to your scene partner, you’re saying them to their character. Don’t hesitate to say things that you, the...

I’m Michael Bradt for The Bit Theater . You are enough. There is only one of you on this planet, and you are the only person who has ever lived that has your unique perspective, experiences, thoughts, and emotions. It’s impossible for you not to bring something new or unique to that scene you find yourself in today. Embrace that, and leave that stamp that only you can provide on that s...

I’m Michael Bradt for The Bit Theater . It’s okay to be silly. Today, give yourself permission to be silly. Some of the happiest people I’ve ever met are the ones who aren’t afraid of looking dumb, and that goes double on stage. Do that silly voice you only do around your dog. Make up a silly name for your character. Tell a silly joke to a friend. That’s your improv t...

I’m Michael Bradt for The Bit Theater. <PAUSE> Do you see what I just did there? I kept my mouth shut. Today, I want to encourage you to listen more than you speak. We humans have a tendency to spend a lot of our time thinking about the next thing we want to say instead of listening to what’s being said to us. Today, take your time, take a moment, and really and truly listen . Th...