How to get Reps When You Can't-Be-Reppin'
It's to the chagrin of many students that ultimately reps are what stand between you and mastery of a skill, but the reps you need may be all around you.
Near the end of my core curriculum days, I was out with a teacher, and we got to talking about what we did for a living. I said that I was a "scrum master," and since people still might not know what that is, I clarified by saying that it's a project manager who prioritizes skills like active listening, and they said, "Oh, that's why you're good," meaning good at Improv, which also helped me understand why I was good. "Good" in this case isn't a word to get hung up on. All "good" means is that I have a certain set of skills I have developed that help me contribute to an improv scene. I still have to apply them just like anyone else.
Still, my point is that the while complete reps are needed to improve, you can get partial reps in things like listening, yes, anding, even character just out in life. I should note that I don't mean to encourage anyone to be unethical or dishonest or ruin their lives. Don't be weird with your boss, a police officer, your partner, don't be creepy or malicious or harmful in general.
- Talk to people - No, really. Go and talk and listen to people. These are little scenes. Instead of putting in your airpods, talk to your Lyft driver. I once told a Lyft driver that I did improv and she insisted that she and I do a two person scene that WENT OFF THE RAILS, talking about how she kept accidently eating spoiled food and ending up in the hospital. She wasn't trained which is part of the reason it was fun. She denied me all over the place, but since I could yes, and her and listen, I made it my goal to try and ground things and keep her choices justified in the base reality. It was a good exercise.
- Play yourself in a mood - Make the choice when you're waiting in line to buy a coffee to try and be positive and joyful. Figure out how to put that energy out there. Again, don't be a dick to people and pick your oppotunities with so forethought, but you are a character that you play and you can make choices about that character.
- Practice active listening - listen to people, be curious, ask questions. These are all reps.
- Play game with kids - If you're a parent, children are a goldmine for game.
- Hosting or Facilitiation work calls - If you're a project manager type who presents on zoom you're continually building the skills to host a live improv night or do zoomprov.
My over all point here is that while the reps part of getting good at improv can feel daunting you can reframe a lot of mondane things into reps so that you're can make progress even during times when you're not on stage.
