Improv: The Great Ideas Generator

When we think of improvisation we often picture comedians on stage creating hilarious jokes on the spot which clearly demonstrate their comic genius.

We picture Hollywood method actors like Robert De Niro inventing iconic moments in film. Improvisation in that sense has been associated with great happenings and creative inventions executed with a loud confidence.

In reality, there are other ways of creating those magical moments.? ?

Improvisation is about receptivity. It is not about how funny and inventive one actor can be but how the actor listens to the choices made by other cast members. The actor who is not receptive to others will alienate herself from both the story and the audience. This receptivity comes from awareness and listening. If the actor gets up in the rehearsal room or stage and tries to stake her claim straight away then she is isolating herself from everything around her. If she is to be at her most creative and truthful she must first take in the space and people around her.

The choices made through improvisation this way may be more subtle than the gags we see on Whose Line is it Anyway? but it does not render them less pertinent. To be creative is to be receptive and receptivity allows you to adapt to change and therein lies the definition of improvisation; making a truthful decision in accordance to change.

Improvisation opens you up to a whole new creative perspective that you would not be able to find by yourself. We can see how this understanding of improvisation is transferable to the sciences and business as it is synonymous to the notion of discovery. In adapting to change and making a decision you will stumble across something brand new.?

Therefore the more common understanding of the term is concerned with an immediate result and we can see this on the stage when actors have to create something straight away. But if we think of improvisation as the development of ideas then results may not be as flashy and immediate but rather develop through an ebb and flow of communication. Receptivity allows for this ebb and flow and concepts will grow organically even though at first they don’t look like anything special.

In business, when you are working with others to conceive new ideas, improvising and workshopping ideas without worrying about the delivery or application can be a freeing and productive exercise. The key is to create an environment where all ideas are encouraged. In this space team members can build on one another's ideas and create something no one individual could have done alone.

The good news is that building those improv muscles has a lasting effect. Across the board, whether you are a dance choreographer or a Human Resources professional, that receptivity and openness to ideas in a group setting is what keeps us inspired and receptive to new possibilities.

Talk to us about running a bespoke in-house and external improv workshop for your team. Past clients include Ebay, Google, LinkedIn, and Pearson and Zipcar. Call us on 020 7042 8833 or email [email protected] .

Scott Sparrow is an award-winning actor and director originally from Zimbabwe. After completing his BA Honours in Drama at the prestigious Rhodes University in South Africa, Scott co-founded ‘The Mechanicals’,?a theatre company which re-introduced?repertory theatre back into the country. Performance credits include?Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream?and?Women Beware Women.

Scott has also written his own work which he has performed around Southern Africa and London. In television, he has acted?in programmes for ITV, BBC and SKY1. His notable films include ‘Dredd 3D’ and ‘Safehouse’. On moving to London he completed a 6 month run on The West End with Barbara Broccoli’s ‘Strangers on a Train’ and worked on SKY1’s medical drama: ‘Critical’. Scott has also performed in David Mamet’s Glengarry Glenross?(2017) and alongside Sir Ian McKellan in the West End transfer of?King Lear?(2018).

Scott says, “What are the questions you need to ask as an actor and how do we implement these questions in the rehearsal room? Class is not about how talented we are but how we engage with the practical, explorative, non-judgemental, and creative elements of acting.”