This article was taken from the April 2014 issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online. "People think of improv as just comedy, but really it's a way of doing things," says Patricia Ryan Madson, professor emerita at Stanford University and author of Improv Wisdom: Don't Prepare, Just Show Up (Bell Tower). Embrace unpreparedness...
Don't hesitate, pay attention
"The most important thing in improv is we allow ourselves to let the first thought come out," says Madson. Here's a game: in a group, stand in a circle. Say a random sound at another person; their job is to repeat the sound, then throw a different sound at someone else. Once you've got the hang of it, try multiple sounds at a time. "What happens is we have to pay attention to what's coming at us -- we don't have any time to prepare our response."
Always say yes
"Never block or negate," says Madson. "If one player says, 'Nice dog you've got there', and you say, 'That's not a dog, that's a cat, stupid', you might get a laugh, but then the scene is dead in the water. You want to shift your thinking from 'What can I come up with that's funny?' to 'How can I build upon this idea and make the person who said it look good?' You're constantly trying to raise the status of the people you're working with."
Always add something
"The first rule of improv is to say: 'Yes, and...' Agree and then add the first thing that you think of," says Madson. So if I say,
'Nice dog you've got there,' and you say, 'Thanks, I just stole it,' it's a great scene now." Try giving your character some backstory. Using statements rather than questions will add depth and propel the story forward. "You might say, 'The dog belonged to my cousin,'" says Madson. "It's not just being agreeable -- it's being developmental."
Don't be scared of silence
If you reach a dead end, hit pause. "Be silent for 20 seconds.
Silence allows the mind to let the next idea happen." It may be that your partner is taking the conversation somewhere unexpected. "Part of good improv is being willing to abandon the place where you want to go, in favour of where you're going together." Don't worry if you're faltering at first. "You're going to screw up," says Madson. "Improv is about trying something bold. Mistakes are part of it."
An extra character can bring a scene back to life. "A scene might be going really well, but we need a villain - somebody to come in and throw something on the fire," says Madson. "So in our scene in the park, we might realise that what we need is to bring in a policeman. Think what needs to be done to either advance the story or create conflict." Otherwise, try not to overcomplicate things. "There's an improv rule: don't just do something, stand there!"