i'm a standup comic and i have some experience doing improv in college, taking improv classes and workshops, and doing improvised standup shows (like "setlist") pretty frequently, as well as doing a lot of riffing and improvising on stage to create standup material.
i agree with you that spending more time working on standup will probably make you better at standup than taking an improv class, and i also think that ANYTHING we do as humans in life can make us better at standup. taking an improv class, going to a museum, listening to music, engaging in conversation with a stranger on a train. pretty much everything we do can fuel the standup engine, i feel, whether it offers new joke ingredients or a new paradigm that can shift our artistic perspective. just knowing or learning that things outside of our previous experience exist can plant seeds that help lead to growth in our standup, or our lives in general, which can be good for our standup also.
maybe watching great improvisors or other artists can have the same effect, but i feel like learning new skills and practicing different art forms can expand the brain and offer more possibility for creation in the future, so as long as we're making choices and doing things intentionally, i guess learning improv or doing something else can be equally helpful.
and if anyone wants to take my improv commenty course where i teach you to leave improvised comments on the internet, i cannot guarantee it will help your standup.
sincerely thanks for sharing your thoughts! love your writing,
Thanks so much for this comment, I'll be first in line for you commentary class! Killer point that it can all help. You need a life to write about after all.
Oh no, I've signed up to a clown workshop and now I'm scared
Good luck! 🤪
dear caroline,
thanks for writing this thoughtful piece!
i'm a standup comic and i have some experience doing improv in college, taking improv classes and workshops, and doing improvised standup shows (like "setlist") pretty frequently, as well as doing a lot of riffing and improvising on stage to create standup material.
i agree with you that spending more time working on standup will probably make you better at standup than taking an improv class, and i also think that ANYTHING we do as humans in life can make us better at standup. taking an improv class, going to a museum, listening to music, engaging in conversation with a stranger on a train. pretty much everything we do can fuel the standup engine, i feel, whether it offers new joke ingredients or a new paradigm that can shift our artistic perspective. just knowing or learning that things outside of our previous experience exist can plant seeds that help lead to growth in our standup, or our lives in general, which can be good for our standup also.
maybe watching great improvisors or other artists can have the same effect, but i feel like learning new skills and practicing different art forms can expand the brain and offer more possibility for creation in the future, so as long as we're making choices and doing things intentionally, i guess learning improv or doing something else can be equally helpful.
and if anyone wants to take my improv commenty course where i teach you to leave improvised comments on the internet, i cannot guarantee it will help your standup.
sincerely thanks for sharing your thoughts! love your writing,
myq
Thanks so much for this comment, I'll be first in line for you commentary class! Killer point that it can all help. You need a life to write about after all.