why
Why Imporv? As answered by Frankie Sanchez
Why improv? I have not been improvising for that long and thus my input might not be that great, but nonetheless, I will share my perspective. I recently saw that question (Why do you improvise?) posted to Twitter by The Improv Student. I felt compelled to reply and immediately wrote the following within minutes.
Why, in the name of everything holy, do I do improv? In a lot of ways I think improv chose me. Much like a really bad episode of Lost. Not to say that I’m the chosen one, because I am far (so far) from it. I have an incredible amount to learn. I started taking classes as a tool to invigorate my writing abilities, and then suddenly it was as if a spark went off somewhere in the back of my head. Improvising allowed me to explore worlds and opportunities that may never arise anywhere else, ever.
The essence of improv, for me, is that when it is done well it is inspirational, circular and complete, and it misses no beats. After witnessing a piece of improvisational theater, an audience should almost have to ask themselves if any fraction of what they just witnessed was scripted and should find it hard to believe that it was all in fact made-up on the spot.
The thought processes, the circular storytelling, the exploration of ideas; all of it is a form of communication that embraces wholeheartedly the probability of possibility, it accepts that all things are relative, that anything can happen, it is exploratory and cognitive, it revels in the world of discovery, trusts that the universe is pregnant with gifts and most importantly it never negates anything that is pronounced as truth. Improv, at its finest, justifies everything without pause. And at the same time it gets to be funny.
Most importantly, the reason I keep doing improv is simple: there is no other shared experience like it. The first long-form improvised Harold I ever saw was at I.O. in Chicago. The suggestion was “revolver.” I will never forget it. As an audience member I was struck dumb with awe. The audience, as with any theatrical production, is essential; however, with improv you have the gift of knowing that what happens on that stage, in that room, is a moment of discovery that you are sharing specifically with that audience. Every audience is different, every night is different and every suggestion births another universe of possibilities. Much like a really good episode of Lost. (See what I did there?)
