I did my first Free Association course in late 2018, armed for the first time in my life with both the time and the money, and recklessly determined to spend both on something purely for me. I’d wanted to do improv for years but a less than stellar experience with a boy in my university’s improv society had put me off…
Read MoreAs part of our new blog series, Improv In Real Life, we chatted to Megan Blair, an improviser in the FA community and hospital pharmacist, about how taking an improv class has impacted on her life inside and outside the NHS.
Read MoreIt feels like the older I get, the more comfortable I become in my own skin. Or maybe I’m just becoming more comfortable feeling uncomfortable.
On a daily basis I’m present in body, but my mind is elsewhere. Staying present is difficult and for most of us it’s a Herculean task to stay present for any significant length of time.
Read MoreBeing funny on stage is such a strange dynamic.
You are stepping out in front of a room full of people you hope to make laugh as loudly as possible for as long as possible. To do that you want to show that you are comfortable, at ease and in control of the room, because if the audience feels that you are desperate for their laughter then they are less likely to give it to you.
Read MoreWhen you catch the dewy tears glistening in his brown fawn-like eyes, your anger evaporates. It’s not his fault his bum is a leaky spigot. It’s a physical reaction. He’s suffering a fight or flight response. He was scared. He got “The Fear.”…
Read MoreTwo-person scenes are the building blocks of great improv shows, especially two-person ones. In The Homunculus, with my twoprov castmate Tim Grewcock, we’ve performed around the world over the last decade. Here’s some tips we’ve picked up along the way…
Read MoreOh my god, Henry just played a lusty carpenter and no one laughed. NO ONE. Not even Dave who comes to every show and once guffawed at Ben’s spacework of emptying a bin. WHAT is going on?!’
Read MoreWe read disclaimers before TV shows and films all the time, and by and large we trust them. For the most part, we don’t need to question them, or suspect that the channels or the production companies are trying to pull the wool over our eyes…
Read MoreWhen you’re improvising you are constantly using a set of skills that are incredibly valuable to any employer. I know this because some of the biggest, most forward-thinking companies in the world bring The Free Association in to train their staff in business-specific improv skills!
Read MoreWhat can we learn about improv comedy - an art form that bubbles into existence entirely from the joy of building ideas through group connection and feeding off the reaction from the audience - in a situation where all of those things are made more difficult?
Read MoreAn improv stage is pretty basic - a patch of floor and a few chairs. But, if we own the space, we can create anything. Here’s some ways to get more from your scenes physically:
Read MoreI think that most of us at some point or another feel the devil’s paralysing presence, and I for one have struggled frequently. Let’s try to turn down the volume!
Read MoreTo some, a Car Scene can sound frustratingly restrictive. In fact, the beauty of the Car Scene is that you are trapped…
Read More
