What makes improv stay funny for you?

[CoreyBrown]

Just wondering. Almost all the people who frequent this board, and watch our shows are students or improvisors of various sorts. After learning the art and tricks of the "how to's" in improvisation I would think that overtime the magic would be lost. That feeling of 'How did they make that up' (which reappeared when I saw Dillinger) should dwindle, but it doesn't.

Now that people have been involved with DSI or improv in general, what is it that keeps you coming back. What is it during the shows that keeps you laughing?

I think this is a good thing to talk about and hear what others have to say.

[Porter Mason]

It's still interesting to see people open up on stage and show a little bit about themselves. When they're really doing improv well, you get that little nugget of truth on stage, and you know that in that moment, only that one person or two people or whatever could've said and done what they did just exactly like they did. You're seeing something truly unique and wonderful.

One-liners, references that I relate to, weird logic, I can grow a thick skin to all that stuff over time. But seeing someone put a little bit of themself on stage, a little bit of truth, that's continually exciting, and (I hope) always will be.

[EthanK]

I haven't worked with improv enough for it to stop being funny to me. Going back to my sketch days I loved seeing an audience react to something that I did. I could have written the sketch, directed it, starred in it and was watching from the side of the stage and still laughed at it because the audience was with me on that. I guess that if improv stops being funny to me I'll start looking at the audience again like I did back then.

But I appreciate a good joke as much as anyone, that's why I buy movies that I thought were funny - they're still funny, especially if you watch them with other people. The good thing about improv is it doesn't get stale, it's always the first, last and only time you see it.

[PT]

Looking back to my junior year of high school this question was posed, I don't know how many times by my parents. The answer I gave then, is the same answer today. The people. I love working with people and performing with people. The truth (As Porter said) I see from being in a scene with that person. Working with other improvisors and such is a really great way to meet new people.

And other than that, yes the unrolling of a scene, to see of how the scene unfolds and of what it turns into. For me, other than the communication I get on stage, it is the hilarity I see. I love being an audience member, but I enjoy the experience more when I give someone the gift of laughter. It makes me feel warm inside, that, or I have to go to the bathroom............gotta go!

[Kit's Alter Ego]

In my drama class today, after an improvisational storytelling exercise, we were commenting on everyone's strengths and weaknesses, and this thread popped into my mind and wouldn't leave.

As each person threw in their two cents about how others were successful, it dawned on me that this was what I love about improv: the chance to pull normal people into a situation that they haven't thought about and to have an audience that appreciates what the players are doing.

When I watch improv, I'm not watching the people or what they come up with; those are the backdrop to the process. What I see most in the improvisational stagework is the rebalanced finished product, the newly minted characters and situations that we as audience members can only dream of and we as improvisers can only hope to have dawn on us organically.

--Kit

[Dave Ries]

What keeps me coming back...what keeps me laughing? Good question, Corey. The thousands of possibilities. Seriously. One scene can go down hundreds of different roads depending on who you're playing with and the wit will be different ALMOST every time. Sure, you may recycle a joke now and again as a safety net, but then you have some new stuff, new characters, new development that makes it more interesting. I still will finish a scene and walk to the side and say, "Where did I come up with that?" Or better is trying to hold the laughter until the scene is done because your partner took something that you offered and turned it into gold. Because it's not prethought, it just happens, and it could be the funniest shit in the world and you have no idea how your brain clicked and you did or said the thing that was so funny......
And as God is my witness, I shall never be hungry again!

....sorry, all of these thought questions always seem to be answered in philosophical oscar award winning answers. Ok, more like After School special answers.

[jesstah]

I watch it mainly because I am looking for something to steal. As long as you constantly strive to rip off other people's shit, you will always be paying attention.

While that is a little toungue in cheek, some of it is serious. I watch to learn and see how people play and what makes them have fun on stage and the audience have fun with them. And the magic of improv is that everyone can suck at one point, and everyone can shine at another. Helps put things in perspective.

-Jesster

[Bill Cochran]

This has always been sort of a maxim of mine, but I think that the hippest thing that can happen during an improv show is that I'll forget that what I'm seeing is people on stage making shit up and get totally caught up in the moment. It's rare, but it happens. If I can get catch a whiff of emotional honesty or realism... then I'm completely hooked.

Also, when I get surpised by connections or moves that happen a couple of steps before I can process them as an audience member (and it's way easier to see things develop when you're not in a scene) then I'll come back again and again. At this point I consider myself to be fairly savvy and if you can see things that I can't, i'll love you forever. Four Square in Chicago is one of those shows.

Emotionless, talking-heads scenes are kind of boring to me now, no matter how witty they are. Being witty is kind of like a party trick to me at this point.