Improv 101: My teacher abandoned us for Pop-Tarts

As many of you know (especially since I mentioned it before in this blog), I’m taking Improv 101 through the Upright Citizens Brigade this summer. It’s an eight-week course, and we meet once a week for a three-hour class.

I was absolutely terrified before I started the class. I haven’t done any improv since high school, and that wasn’t even real improv. (We had time to prepare scenes. We don’t have those kind of luxuries at the UCB). But I wanted to do something fun for myself while I was in the city, and I wanted the chance to meet new people who actually live here. It turns out that taking Improv 101 was the best decision I made all summer.

I really was terrified at the first class. But guess what? They don’t plunge you into scene work right away. We do warm-up exercises at the beginning of each class that are meant to help us learn to trust and respond to each other. By the time you’re done doing warm-up exercises, you’re not nervous about jumping into a scene anymore. The first thing I had to do was to learn not to be embarrassed. If I don’t do well, I don’t do well. I don’t let it bother me.

Our original teacher abandoned us after two weeks to tour the East Coast to promote Pop-Tarts. I didn’t make that up. We like our new teacher, though, so it’s all good. We are NEVER bitter about it. Never.

Although I haven't eaten a Pop-Tart in years, the ones without frosting are my favorite.

I absolutely love the people in my class! I’m even Facebook friends with a few of them now (big step!). A lot of them studied theater in college, and some, like me, are just doing it for fun. All of them are a blast, and I love laughing at their scenes. I know a few of them are going to continue on to 201, and I wish I could do it with them. Whenever someone tells me that they don’t want me to leave New York, my heart breaks a little. I don’t want to leave either!

But before I do go, I must perform in my class’ show at the UCB Theatre next week — in front of people. Yikes! So far I’m bringing 15 people. We have been told that the more audience members we have, the better we will perform, especially since the audience is made up of friends and family who are there to love and support us. If you are attending my show, please laugh even if I am not funny. After seven weeks, I’m still a bit terrified.