There are lots of performing arts here on High Point University’s campus, from the rhythmic perfectionism of dance to the spellbinding storytelling of plays. However, none are as spontaneous as Charcoal Pony Improv. Speaking as a member myself, creating a character, plot, and setting all while I’m acting is an incredibly unique experience that I think that everyone needs to try out at least once. Perceived difficulty ends up becoming what mostly turns people away from improv. Most people think improv is more difficult because of this on-the-spot thinking, and it can be, but not in the ways that you might think. If you’ve ever had a conversation before, that was improv. Conversations are never pre-planned, and each part of the conversation is a reaction to the previous part. All you need to do for improv is to hold a conversation as a different character. Once you have that down the rest is where the real difficulty lies. However, it is in the remaining points of focus where the conversation transforms into something more. Improv is deceptively simple to pick up, but hard to master. Putting in the effort to do so will help in more ways than just improv shows. In this blog post, I will provide library resources to show how to gain proficiency in improv, and how that proficiency can help in many different areas of life.
Starting off, I’d like to provide two resources that will help those wanting to get into improv for the sake of improving their improv skills, as it is a very fun form of self-expression. Improv is not only for large-scale performances in the Hayworth Fine Arts Center, or the Wanek Cinema. Improv shows can also be put together in your dorm room with your friends! Putting on a show like this is not only fun and entertaining to watch, but also performing with people you trust and enjoy being around goes a long way into making the entire experience better. The practices we do every week in Charcoal Pony are essentially small shows like these.
Getting Started with Improv
For those of you who just have simply no clue how to get started with improv, this book is for you. DIY Improv Show is a very simple, step-by-step guide on how to prepare and put on an improv show. This book includes many pictures and checklists to ensure that it is as simple as possible to help you set up your first show. This is a great way to create a community improv show with your friends or family. This can provide a space to hone in your skills, whether it’s an attempt to audition for Charcoal Pony or hone them for the reasons that will be listed later on in this blog post. These shows also provide a great alternative to Charcoal Pony practices, as it creates a much lower stakes environment with people that you are already familiar with.
If the previous book was too surface level for you and you already have some action experience under your belt, then Improv for Actors will be for you. This is a much more in-depth look into what improv is through the lens of a professional actor. While still being light, this book goes into a lot more detail and uses terminology that will be familiar to those who have performed before. So, if you’re a theater or even film actor who wants to dip their toes into something a bit more off the cuff, then this book can go a long way in helping you prepare and understand what makes good improv. I know that I personally will be checking this one out in the future.
Improv Skills in the Business World
Now that I’ve introduced you to resources that help with the acting and creative side of improv, I’d like to shift focus to some of the more practical applications of improv. The following resources will show why improv is so important in the professional world and how everything from the previous section applies to a future in the business world.
Diving right into it, Getting to “Yes and” : The Art of Business Improv will help anyone understand how to take challenges and improvise solutions on the fly. Written by Bob Kulhan, an improv performer turned CEO, this book delves both into his personal life and benefits he found from improv, as well as being a self-help book. Learning from improv has certainly helped me become more confident in my day-to-day life and I know that my quick mind will also help me in the professional field down the road. Utilizing improv skills taught in this book can help anyone stand out in the business world as someone who is ready to take challenges as they come.
Putting Improv to Work, which is based on a course utilized in business school, takes all of the basic ideas behind improv and tackles them in an engaging and informal manner, written in such a way that it is applicable to multiple different fields of study. Because of that, this book is a lot more general than the previous book; however it still goes out of its way to provide in-depth, detailed information and ideas where it can. Both of the books presented here will share enough to get you started on using improv to help yourself with landing that professional job. Because just like improv, the world is never scripted. Why should you be?
Improv to Improve Health
Next, I’d like to share some resources that provide new ideas about utilizing improv to help others. Many recent publications have shown proof that improv’s aid with communication can be a benefit to people around the world and can help with a variety of different issues. The simple human aspect of improv truly provides so much benefit to those touched by it.
Improv to Improve Healthcare focuses on utilizing improv as a healthcare tool. A significant part of improv is accomplishing goals, but this goal can change depending on the other actors within the scene. This book shows how healthcare providers can utilize the principles of improving order to listen to their patients. A large part of improv is also finding ways to allow the other people in the scene to contribute towards reaching that overarching goal.This mindset allows healthcare providers to create solutions that work alongside their patients, rather than just for them.
Written as a graduate research paper, Improv Theater as a Social Cognition Intervention for Autism focuses on utilizing improv to help improve social cognition within people diagnosed with autism. Research has proven that utilizing the structured spontaneity of improv helps “reduce anxiety and nervousness among individuals with ASD” (Wendler, 2019). This further exploration of the psychological benefits of improv expand beyond the neurotypical, further providing evidence that the acceptance that improv can provide can help anyone from any walk of life.
For this final resource, the topic grows far beyond all of my previous points. Improv for Democracy focuses on how improv can be utilized to create empathy across borders, and this book focuses on how improv can be used to help save democracy. Something that was touched upon in all of the previous sections but never fully explored was the innate empathy that comes from being in an improv scene. Improv is a very vulnerable form of art because in any moment things could derail, but everyone in the scene knows it. This provides a space where everyone understands each other, which is the essential building block of empathy and human connection.
Charcoal Pony Improv
As you can see, improv provides so much more than just entertainment. From helping yourself get ahead in business to helping others around the world, there’s so much more to improv than meets the eye. If you’re interested in getting some hands-on experience, follow Charcoal Pony Improv on Instagram to see when our open practices are, or join the improv club “Take 2 Improv” here on campus. No matter your skill level or reason for trying out, we all do our best to provide safe and fun spaces for anyone to come and have some fun. Improv is for everyone and can be used to help everyone that needs it.
-Blog post by McConnico Sharpe, Library Media Assistant
References
Wendler, D. (2019). Improv theater as a social cognition intervention for autism. George Fox University. https://libproxy.highpoint.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/improv-theater-as-social-cognition-intervention/docview/2212098233/se-2.
Autism heart image courtesy of www.freepik.com