How To Practice Without A Coach
4 min read
Practising improv without a coach or a teacher is a great way to loosen up, get to know other people, and get your reps in. But, how do you run a practice session?
I’m a big fan of practice sessions where you don’t have a coach or a teacher. A lot of people I still perform with today I met through doing coach-free practices back when we all first started improv - they were fun, often chaotic, and we got better just by doing tons of reps.
I wanted to talk about some recommendations for best ways to run these sorts of practice sessions. If there’s no-one ‘in charge’ of how the improv goes, how do you make sure everyone has a nice time?
Why Practice Without A Coach?
Practicing improv outside of a class, coached rehearsal, or show is a great way to get reps in and loosen up your performance. It also helps you get to know your fellow teammates and other improvisers in the community.
It can also help bed in some of the skills you’ve been working on in a situation where the pressure couldn’t be lower. Some players are more nervous in front of a teacher or a coach, so a chance to just play without having to worry about learning something specific can be really rewarding.
Practices should be all about having fun and getting reps, so with that in mind, here are some guidelines that I reckon are helpful.
Giving Notes
When I say notes here, I’m talking specifically about feedback on people’s improv performance. So, who gives notes in a practice session without a coach?
Here is my very clear rule on: If there is no coach, no-one gives notes.
When rehearsing, either you’ve paid someone to be there to give you direction, or this isn’t a note-giving session. These practices are a chance to get up and play, have fun, get more confident.
Even if you are desperate just to point out this one little thing that you’d like your fellow player to take on board... please don’t. If it’s a big enough deal, take it to your coach. If this is simply a one-off session of players who aren’t in teams together, let it go.
And the reverse is true too! If you desperately want to ask people for feedback on what they thought of your own performance... please please try not to. Firstly, try to keep each other as equals and not force a dynamic of someone being a higher authority on what is good, and secondly your fellow improvisers are not in a position to give you notes, they’re just here to practice too!
Boundaries
Avoiding giving notes doesn’t mean you can’t be clear about boundaries for the practice session. It’s useful to set some expectations and comfort levels for the group before you start (even if you feel like you know everyone really well).
Broadly, you’re all going to agree to be positive and support each other on stage and off. You’re all going to agree that you will be respectful of each other’s personal space and consent when performing.
But you may also want to open it out to the group for people to share things they would like to add. The question is always “what would help everyone have a fun and safe practice?” There might be some topics that are off limits for some people at the moment, or some physical contact points they want to be clear on.
However detailed or broad the chat is at the top, it’ll help everyone to check in before they start.
Exercises
If you want to run some exercises in the session, my recommendation is make them easy, quick, and fun. Practice sessions are all about vibes over theory or content. It’s about bonding and loosening up, not drilling a specific skill.
Try to avoid anything that requires a lot of thought and requires people to do it the ‘right’ way. The goal is to get people on their feet feeling positive about performing.
Exercises with easy set-ups work well: like quick “yes and” three line scenes, moving into 5-line scenes. Or a scenes which must all start with 15 seconds of space work before anyone says anything.
Keep them simple and fun.
Scenes
When it comes to scenes, you can go as big or as small as you like. You could do a practice session of only two-person scenes, or you could immediately start running Harolds. It’s up to you!
But again, keep the focus on play rather than considering what worked or didn’t work.
After Practice
After the practice, you’re not going to believe this, but I’m gong to recommend keeping your chat focussed on the positives.
Things you can talk about:
- What that made you laugh
- Favourite moments
- Scenes that were fun to play in
- Ideas for future shows / practices / rehearsals
Things to avoid:
- Apologising for a scene / move / choice you made
- Asking what everyone thought of your scene / move / choice
Who do you practice with?
It can be anyone. People you’ve been in class with, people you’ve met at other practice sessions or jams. Try and invite a mix of people that you’d like to play with. Anyone you’ve enjoyed watching or performing with before is a great bet to invite.
Just remember, whoever you end playing with, your goal is keep it fun and friendly and get in some low pressure reps!
