Laura: Izzy, what is the difference between Improv Theater and Applied Improv?
Izzy: Great question! The main difference is in the function and the goal. Improv Theater is about entertainment. People go to the theater, and they watch the improv groups. The audience is engaged because we’re playing along with what’s happening on stage.
But Improv Theater is really an entertainment activity. And it’s funny. The humor comes out of the reality of the situation, the unexpectedness, the surprises. And then at the end of the show, we get up and we leave and that’s the improv theater experience.
Applied improv goes to the practice of how those Improv Theater people get to be so spontaneous, confident, creative, and surprising. How are they able to think on their feet and move quickly back and forth from things they don’t expect and things they do expect?
And so in Applied Improv, you play improv games just like you see in the theater. The addition is after the game, you examine the behavior that you had or other people had on how they made the choices that evolved through the game.
Do you try to control things you can’t control? Do you want to have a story in mind, even though you can’t really predict where the story is going?
So Applied improv is looking at how we process and play the games. And then the question is, what does that show us about ourselves? And how can we learn something if we want to?
The way we play is very similar to the way we are in real life. So Applied improv is looking at these practices, and applying them to real life outside the theater and improv theater is going in and being entertained, and then not connecting it to our real life.
Laura: I love it. When you do improv, you can do it just for fun, like they do in the theater. And in Applied Improv, you can do it, have fun, and have this really insightful experience.