When the Upright Citizens Brigade announced that it was closing its training center and theater in Manhattan last week, it illustrated the challenges of keeping improv and sketch alive during a pandemic shutdown. But for several institutions and individual instructors, Zooming over to the online world has opened up some new possibilities and also allowed them to keep an income stream coming in as their stages remain dark.
Yet only a couple weeks into the process of teaching online, Carrane says he can already see the benefits. “My method of improv is the art of slow comedy,” he says. “So it’s really about slowing down. You don’t have to do crazy scenes. It’s more relationship based.” One of the games that Carrane has been teaching for years, which he calls “Documentary,” even starts out with two people addressing an invisible camera and introducing themselves and then improvising a story about how they met. “When you use stuff like that online, it really works because—well, it’s improv, right? You use what you’ve got, so you’re embracing what is already there.”
Given that few of them had any training in improv at the start, it went surprisingly well, and I found myself wondering how much of that was enhanced by the fact that the technology required them to focus closely on each other onscreen to keep the thread going. “Don’t plan on what you’re saying next,” cautioned Nelson. “As humans, our brains want to plan and plan. Slow it down, listen, and absorb.” In a time of uncertainty and social distancing, learning to be here now and just stay in the moment seems especially useful.
Meantime, he says he’s trying to adapt the material to the current reality. “A big part of the being creative and unblocking class is talking about how you spend your time, being accountable, and stuff like that. So being able to mention ‘Hey, I know time passes really weirdly right now, so what are the unique properties of our days and how can we engage with them?’ seems useful. I don’t have any answers for that, but staying open to it is at least something I’m mindful of.”
Carrane offers six-week online improv courses, as well as storytelling coaching. Jimmycarrane.com
iO
