There’s No Such Thing As Community In Improv?

Picture the scene. Up the snowy mountains, a bunch of settlers named John and Mary arrive and set up camp. They want to share their love for the art of camping and survival with those who want to learn. They forage in the forest, and chop down wood to build a fire.

Other nomads notice the fire and come for the warmth and to learn. Everyday, John and Mary take turns to chop wood and keep the fire going. Sometimes the visiting nomads will sing songs, tell stories. Some become close friends, and some even fall in love.

“What a wonderful community we have”, agrees the settlers and nomads.

One day, a nomad mind starts to drift. Because around the fire is getting full, and they don’t always get a chance to sing a song. John and Mary have also started to look for help chopping up the wood which isn’t as much fun as telling stories by the fire. So, the nomad starts to take longer walks scoping out the forest. One day, they return from their walk and tell their fellow nomads of an another camp-fire from another settlement nearby. The other settlement has free marshmallows too, although the free marshmallows are for those who the settlement owner gets on best with.

The beginning and the end

This is the problem with community. Community is often a term misappropriated in the arts. It is used to describe a bunch of people who have varying degrees of love or passion for what they do. However, the framework of community is delicate and requires resources, which in the arts is people who will do the heavy lifting and money.

Improv usually only has one of these things. (Hint: It’s not money). Therefore, the burden of building the framework of community is often hanging together via goodwill and dedication.

There is of course an antagonist to community, and that is business. Many theatres and schools are fundamentally businesses at heart with varying degrees of community surrounding them. At a bare minimum in the absence of funding, every improv show, theatre and festival needs to break even to survive. If people’s livelihoods are involved, then breaking even is not enough to be sustainable.

I grew to dislike the word community over the years. It often felt like either a dishonest word, or a weaponised word to assert one group of people’s favouring over another.

So, what is my point and why does it matter?

I’m just returning from a lovely improv retreat in Ireland called Gather which was high on community and improv despite the weather challenges of Storm Amy which fell Friday. Jessica and organisers work hard to pull the event off and it shows in the participant feedback. A job done well!

However beyond that the improv landscape has changed dramatically since the pandemic and Europe is no exception. I have only too often heard of people leaving improv entirely for all sorts of reasons, from bullying to exclusion due to favouritism, or cliques, to a lack of transparency and fairness in governance. Activities that while not illegal, it does broader harm to the art form outright which affects us all. Improv like many art forms, has no governing body, no mechanism for accountability or standardised best practices that can be benchmarked from theatre to festival. Therefore, self-governance is the only option.

What can we do differently?

• Seek out Resources

Firstly, learn and understand how to build a transparent, sustainable and inclusive community. There are plenty of resources online and books such as The Business of Belonging by David Sprinks and The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker.

There are also plenty of communities doing good things in improv; Improv Utopia, RISE Comedy, and the British Improv Project are good examples of where community is done well.

• Define and Share Values Openly

Regardless of whether it’s a business or hobby, transparency is key. Be clear, visible, and ensure it’s a vision you are aligned with. When building a community remember you cant be everything to everyone. So don’t try to be.

• Draft the community rules, vision, code of conduct and a What We Stand For statement.

By now every theatre/festival/event should have a code of conduct in the improv scene. If not, borrow from someone’s else’s. However, we can be a little slower in defining vision and a “What We Stand For” statement. It’s important to take time out to do that, really reflect on what is important for you first, then improv next. You also have to be able to follow through on those words.

• Don’t do it alone, but don’t do it by way of committee either

Find your tribe – the people who share similar values who you can work with. Having a small team with clearly defined responsibilities is important and eases the workload. But if they are your best friends, then it can lead to problems.

• Improv Is Your Master

I love this statement from Josh Nicols, “Improv is my master, not the other way around”. You may be the person doing the heavy lifting, but you are not improv. Even if you are considered a guru by your peers, you are still not improv. Do not let your ego become the gatekeeper of community.

• Design access points that are fair and transparent

This can be where the cracks will show, and you need to hold yourself to account. If you are going to preach about community and take people’s money, then you lead with community first.

• Create an inclusive space.

That means:

• Actions not words. It’s not enough to say you are inclusive. What are you doing to demonstrate that?
• Don’t show favouritism to your friends even if they are great improvisers too. (That means online too)
• Give an extra helping hand even if it’s not asked for. If your community is predominantly people in their 20s with a few people who are 50+, what are you doing to make sure that minority is included?
• The “odd characters”. Every community has them. They may not be the person you’d invite around for tea and cake, but if they are in your community, you have a responsibility to them too.
• Break up the cliques.
• Stop running Improv Ponzi schemes. Medical Colleges and Universities give subject exemptions to students who have prior relevant qualifications, yet we often find improv schools around the world are making improvisers start in their 101 class regardless of their experience elsewhere.
• Nip any breaches of the code of conduct in the bud immediately. This may be hard and uncomfortable, but it’s necessary.

• Delegate and Rotate Power

Make sure your team have decision making power. That doesn’t mean at the expense of the vision and values of the community, they can still operate within that framework. Take the viewpoints and perspectives of your team onboard.

• Plan for care and continuity

Set up structures to avoid mental stress and burnout. Also consider the future and succession planning. Set up the community in a way where it can survive without you.

• Be Wary the Wolves in Sheep’s clothing.

If one of the first descriptions you have of a community leader or a team member is that they are charismatic, then run a mile. This is an instant red flag.

Watch out for guru-ism or individuals operating like they are a necessity for the improv community. There are many, many talented and inspiring improvisers who teach and perform while creating community. The good ones are the ones who raise others, raise the art-form and remain humble (and professional) throughout.

• Take Breaks for your own Well-Being

Especially if you improv forms part of your livelihood. No matter how much you love it, take a break every year.

Other potential red flags to look out for:

• Communities/theatres/festivals where it’s always the same people/acts/teachers performing
• Pay-to-play house teams where tickets are sold and there is no transparency on the finances from shows
• Communities/theatres/festivals where everyone is white
• Communities/theatres/festivals where everyone is male

In Closing…

Sounds like work right? That’s because it is. It’s hard at times, thankless, but if you truly believe in building a platform and space for others then it’s worth it. You may not get invited to perform or be part of other organiser’s events and shows but you are contributing to the developing and nurturing of the art-form as well as setting example for those who will follow in your footsteps.