Ideas for the Isolated: Solo Improv Practice
/If you are reading this in the future, please note that it was written during The Great Pandemic Pause of 2020 when the novel coronavirus Covid-19 forced the entire world (except for select heroes) to isolate themselves via “social distancing”. Improvisers have been deprived of our IRL classes, our community of friends and teammates, and the laughter and applause we love from our live audiences.
But, that doesn’t mean that we can’t continue to grow as improvisers. By now, you know that every major improv theatre is doing classes/shows online via Zoom, Oozebear, and other platforms. You are truly missing out if you haven’t taken advantage of being taught by legends like Rich Talarico, Adam Cawley, and Will Hines. And while online improv shows are not a fraction of the real thing, there are now opportunities to see sets being done by impressive teams like Magnet Theatre’s Trike, and they’re being offered for a price that is truly affordable.
The #1 question that I receive from new students is “How can I practice at home without scene partners”? Honestly, improv is a team sport, and practicing alone is challenging. But, there are people who have perfected solo improv to the point where they have blurred the meaning of “team sport”. Andy Eninger defined the genre of solo improv with his form called “Sybil”. Jill Bernard’s “Drum Machine” and Stacey Smith’s Stacejam carried the genre forward and evolved the musical element.
I’ve listed a few ideas for solo improv below (thanks to Stacey Smith for contributing to ideas 5 and 6). You will also want to check out Jill Bernard’s article on the same subject. I hope you try some of these ideas during your quarantine. Let me know how it goes…
Mime Practice: One of the qualities that separate good improvisers from master improvisers is the strength of their skills at object work. The reason object work is so challenging is that the brains of new improvisers experience a creative dissonance when trying to mime objects while simultaneously improvising fictional dialogue. Often this dissonance is resolved by the improviser stopping their miming while they speak or starting their miming when they don’t speak. The best way to overcome the dissonance is to practice, practice, practice.
Grab an object, examine it, assess it’s weight, explore it visually and tangibly , and then repeat the experience with an imaginary version of the object. Once you have a “feel” for imaginary objects, try to have an actual conversation while miming an activity (maybe while you’re talking to someone on speaker phone if you want to be sneaky). Then, progress to miming an activity while telling a fictional improvised story — be mindful that you continue the activity while talking.
Scenework: The #1 thing you can do solo that will improve your scenes is to practice mindfulness. Grab one of the many apps, such as Insight Timer , Calm, or Sam Harris’ Waking Up, and just listen to the guided meditations. Scenes are infinitely better when you’re in the present moment actively listening. I can’t recommend this enough, and bonus, it will help your ever-anxious mind during the pandemic.
This might make you seem like an oddball, but it’s good practice having scenes with yourself (also who cares about being and oddball?). One tip, choose two characters with different points-of-view and/or opposite characteristics (like grandmother and grandson). Take your time improvising and allow for silence. Try to reset your brain with every new line of dialogue and continue to be in the moment even though you are playing both roles.
Character: This is the perfect time to be working on your characters. Study your face in the mirror and see how the changes in your facial features give you an altered persona.
Watch movies/shows with different types of voices like Tiger King and repeat how they talk (note: your family will hate you for this). Or visit the Dialects Archive and listen to the thousands of examples of available dialects and try to copy them.
Practice improvising a monologue but give yourself different emotions (perhaps from the wheel of emotions) as you go. Then start to combine emotions with different character archetypes. What does a proud farmer sound like? How about a curious soldier?
Finding Game: You will not find better examples of game/heightening than by watching sketches from Key & Peele. Pick a few of their sketches and see if you can spot the moment when something unusual happens and then how the scene heightens from that moment. As an added challenge, try to identify multiple games in a sketch because the best scenes have many playable dynamics that function as “game”. Once you have studied the masters, watch some improv sets on YouTube or Twitch and take notes on how well they are playing game. What would you have done differently?
Song Practice: Musical improv is near impossible on Zoom because of the lag in audio. It’s 2020, you would think we could fix that by now. In the meantime, how can you practice improvising songs when you don’t have a musical director as a roommate? One idea you might consider is to use an existing karaoke track, except don’t sing the song that the backing track is meant for. Instead, imagine a suggestion and make up the words for a new song. There are plenty of karaoke versions of songs on YouTube if you need them.
Rhyme Practice: There is something truly thrilling about the risk of total failure when rapping without a script. Anyone who thinks they’re a good improviser will push their own limits by attempting to freestyle. Feeling off-balance by risking failure is a good thing for continued growth. If you want to take your rhyme game to the next level, download the Rap Fame app. It’s not the most intuitive app, but once you learn how to navigate it, you can start laying down beats to rap over. The app also allows you to battle others and to record your attempts. It even has an algorithm to suggest potential rhymes.
I hope these ideas are helpful. If you have ideas of your own, please post them in the comments. Stay healthy and keep your spirits up!