Applied Improv for Pixels and Polygons

I left the field of game development and animation about eight years ago. A lot has happened in those eight years, to me and that industry. I still am connected to friends in those areas. I’ve been thinking of volunteering to help folks who are working in animation, or are trying to break in. I can’t really comfortably teach animation any longer, as it’s been so long. You know, nothing has really changed, but everything is different. That kind of thing.

Anyway, I've been thinking of what related or relatable things can I do as a volunteer? I’ve been studying and performing improv for a long while. A couple years ago I started using the mindset, tactics, and games of improv at my day job as a facilitator. This is generally referred to as Applied Improv. As in applying Improv to the workplace or classroom.

I know that animation is acting and Improv is acting. So I thought there would be a nice fit here. I reached out to Anthony Marquette who runs Pixels and Polygons: School of Digital Art & Animation. He and I go way back, and it was good to see the great work he’s doing at his school.

We had a couple meetings, and set a plan in place for me to run an Applied Improv workshop for the students. We wanted to focus on communication, collaboration, and creativity. Improv is a perfect way to explore and strengthen those things. 

Also, there are clear psychological benefits to Improv comedy as made evident by this article:

• Brain-scan studies have shown that improv activates creative brain centers and can help with brain connectivity
• Psychological studies have shown that improv generally boosts creativity and confidence
• Studies also show that improv generally decreases stress, anxiety, and uncertainty intolerance (being more OK with the unknown)

You can’t do one Improv workshop and be a master of those things, of course. But participating in an Improv workshop is a small nudge in those directions. And embodied and immersive participation literally opens new pathways in your mind. Which is rad.

We set an Agenda

I communicated to all participants that the Agenda below subject to change based on what emerges in the workshop. Since you can't control the unscripted.

1. Introductions and what to expect [10 minutes]
2. Warmups [20 minutes]
   1. We started with games that were designed to 'shake off the day' and prepare us for the rest of the workshop. We then built to games to establish silliness, and break down some self consciousness. We concluded with some games to help with rapid idea generation. To work from abundance.
3. A selection of communication and creativity based improv games [30 minutes]
   1. I chose a selection of storytelling games. Each with different and all with escalating constraints. Constraints help build creativity. These games also introduce deep listening, one of the hallmarks of good communication.
4. Break [15 minutes]
5. A selection of storytelling based improv games [30 minutes]
   1. We continued with storytelling based games and escalated to multi-layer storytelling games. These are games where all participants play but in different, interconnected ways.
6. A selection of scene based improv games [45 minutes]
   1. We dove deep into scene-based games and kept character top of mind. I was surprised that the participants were so engaged in the classic "three line scene" game. Usually people have to warm up to that one. All participants jumped into that straight away, and we kept playing that game longer than I anticipated. Goes to show that you never know what will emerge.
7. Backline games [15 minutes]
   1. We started closing down the workshop with backline games. This is where all player are in a line towards the back of the performance space or stage. Ahead of time you take some one word suggestions. Then you provide a prompt. Like "worlds worst ... " and you fill in the blank with on of the one word suggestions. World's worst plumber as an example. Then folks from the backline step up, one at a time and act like the world's worst plumber. Since this was a group of aspiring animators, we had a lot of fun with "animating with me is like ...".
8. Q/A and Closeout [15 minutes]
   1. I took a couple questions, shared some tips and resources, and we all said our goodbyes.

Feedback

Anthony was kind enough to ask the participants for some feedback and he shared it with me. One participant asked:

When can we do it again?

That's the best kind of feedback I could have hoped for. This kind of workshop is arguably not directly tied to outcomes. It's tied to communication and (not to get too woo-woo) it's tied to being. Presence. Being human. Making mistakes, and taking them as an offer to build on.

Emergence and Complexity

On the stage, improvisors do not know what is going to happen next. They have to listen to their partners. Really listen to them, then add something to heighten the stakes. That's the "Yes, and". Whatever they do on stage, together, can't be recreated exactly later.

The performance is unique and can only be influenced, not controlled. Things emerge. Performers can "Yes, and" in ways to influence. Trying to control it makes it fall apart.

I'm just beginning to associate improv to complex systems, but I'm already seeing a lot of overlap. I'm speaking to some people who feel the same way. I'll keep thinking and writing about it.

Humans, and human systems are complex. Telling stories is how we share what we did in the midst of all the complexity.

File this under "I have no idea if this will work" but I was wondering if I could host a conversation or two with a professional improviser and a complexity scientist. I wonder what would emerge in those conversations. Maybe I'll try it.

Want to do some Improv together?

If this was interesting to you and you'd like to talk about how I can do this for your team, email me and let me know. I'd love to talk about it some more.