Being Your Best Improv Teacher – 101

Teaching improv can be one of the most rewarding teaching experiences but it can also be one of the most delicate. On the back of my two previous articles about marketing teachers for festivals and teacher selection for festivals, a few people got in touch asking about how to elevate their teaching game or becoming a teacher. There are very few opportunities across the improv world to learn how to teach improv, so I wrote this is one take on how to approach this topic.

I’ve always been a strong proponent of upping the game of teaching. It’s the reason why I often have people shadow my courses at no cost and had the New Teacher category for Improv Fest Ireland. A rising tide raises all ships but the flip side is if someone new takes an improv class with a teacher and has a bad experience, it could sour that person from taking any improv class in the future. Therefore, its important we insist on standards and help one another for the betterment of our students and art-form.

Firstly, a few myths to squash.

“Being a great improviser is necessary to be a great teacher”

This is nonsense. Teaching and performing are two very different skill sets. Del Close and Keith Johnstone weren’t known for the performance skills but no one is going to question their talents as teachers. While being an experienced performer definitely aids being a teacher, it doesnt guarantee someone to be a good teacher.

“More improv teachers in my city means more competition”

This gets thrown around a lot and its mostly untrue. Improv teachers are not in competition with one another. Instead, it means greater opportunities for students. Take Dublin for example, there are about 4 goto improv teacher/schools that teach courses and workshops on a regular and consistent basis. Each of those teachers/schools (myself included) have different approaches and styles of improv and teaching. Students often talk about how different teachers excel in different areas. And let’s be honest, as improv students we want to grow and develop learning from as many different teachers and styles as we can. It’s not like guitar players learn to play by focussing on one guitar player only. (Unless it’s Rory Gallagher, because he was the OG!)

However, problems arise when teachers try to silo and operate in a vacuum. As teachers we should be encouraging our students to take classes and courses elsewhere. Do not pretend you are the only gig in town, and do not poo poo other teachers unless there are safety concerns with a teacher/school.

“I’m not sure if I can use this exercise”

There is very little original in improv. Exercises aren’t copyrighted and most new exercises are a twist or variation of something that came before. Therefore, n the vast majority of cases its fair game with what exercises you chose to use. However, concepts, philosophies and teacher approaches are different. While not copyrighted, you do not want to just “copy and paste” what other teachers are doing. Put your own slant and philosophy on things. If you are taking inspiration of a concept or approach you learned from another teacher, be sure to credit that teacher.

“I can save the world with improv!”

No you can’t.

Ok so no one says this really but it’s definitely a perception that we come across at times. Remember, you are an improv teacher, not a therapist, counsellor or doctor. (Unless you actually are qualified one of those things). Your students will, at times, comment on how improv has helped them with mental health, deal with issues in their life etc. You did not do that for them though. You simply taught them improv. Any additional benefit they received was an indirect by-product of them taking improv. They did the work not you. And above all, do not include any additional benefits in any of your workshop blurbs or marketing unless you are a qualified practitioner in any of these areas.

Where do I start?

Your starting point is picking one or two workshops or courses that you want to focus on. Whether it’s a 101 course, a beginner workshop or a specific workshop, keep it simple to start.

A few questions to ask yourself when planning to teach:

• What is my improv philosophy?
• Do I know what my pedagogy is?
• Is there a course I can do to learn how to be a teacher or facilitator? (Many colleges run courses on teaching and faciliating)
• Is there a teacher who I can ask to be my mentor or will allow me shadow them?

Know thyself is the name of the game. As a teacher you don’t want to be recreating what others are doing, you need to find your thing.

The Improv Playground. Photo: Dean Ben Ayre

Workshop/Course Design

Your next step is to pick your topic and write what the key objective of the course/workshop is. What is the overarching goal? At this point, we are in the preparation stage and not writing this as document used for selling the workshop.

Write the workshop outline and get specific. Vague and cliched workshop blurbs are rife on the improv scene. Focus on detail. Use clear and practical language in the outline.

Write a list of sample topics that will be covered in bullet points. Again, be specific and clear

From there and most importantly, write out the learning outcomes. Again, these should be clear and practical as they serve as the guide for students to know what they will walk away it. Many improv workshop and course blurb miss out on this step.

Once you have this complete, read over it to ensure it makes sense. Even better if you can set it down, make yourself a cup of tea, and come back to review it later. Or better again, ask for feedback from a trusted improviser.

You will next want to identify your audience. What are the prerequisites and experience level necessary to attend the workshop/course? Be careful here and I recommend avoid using time as a measure. 2 years experience of someone who is performing or taking workshops regarularly is very different to 2 years experience of someone who performs or takes workshops occasionally. Its a good idea to use a different measure for people are clear.

Finally, what is the workshop minimum and maximum number of attendees and timing?

Lesson Planning

Your next step is to develop a lesson plan. There are plenty of sample templates online but a general guide is to use the following headlines. This is document just for you to use as a facilitator. List the learning outcomes at the top of the page.

1. Topic:  What are you going to cover in this section?
2. Description:  Link it back to the workshop objective and learning outcomes
3. Exercise:  What exercise(s) are you going to use to achieve this? List out potential areas and talking points that may arise. Tailor your exercise to achieve the goal.
4. Delivery Method:  Is this a group exercises, breakouts, scenes etc.
5. Duration:  How much time should this section take. Be sure to factor in the topic and exercise brief and the debrief afterward

A good lesson plan can make all the difference with a workshop. It allows you to really structure things and see the big picture with what you are trying to achieve. It’s also a document that you will tweak the more workshops you get under your belt. Do not underestimate the importance of the debriefing after an exercise. Reflection is an important part of the learning process.

Market your Workshop

You will find a more detailed article on this here, but a few pointers to re-visit.

• Revisit the workshop/course outline, and use that as your starting point for developing the blurb. Be sure to include learning outcomes.
• Add a section on your teaching style and what the workshop will look like
• Write your bio. It’s always a good idea to have a short and long bio in your repertoire. I always encourage people to write a little about your improv style and approach rather than just listing past experience.

It’s a lot of work, but it’s very beneficial to be methodical about preparing to teach. If there is interest, I will write an article about teaching in the classroom.