After taking improvisation theater courses and watching Keith Johnstone, the father of modern impro, for 6 days, some principles stand out to me:
Establish scenes quickly
A common mistake is to shy away from the specific. The improvisers often wait for suggestions. Instead, be specific. Establish time and location for the scene quickly. Establish relationships between characters early.
Be normal, obvious and boring
As Johnstone put it: Let the scene be nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, something.
If you introduce conflict without a solid platform then the scene will be less dramatic. The audience need something normal to start with. So be boring in the beginning, even if you feel uncomfortable about it.
Then create a conflict, internal or external
Raise the conflict and increase the stakes.
Let characters be changed. Scenes where characters change are interesting.
Inspire your partners on stage.
If you try to be funny or smart, you often destroy the story. After the laugh you may be stuck with a broken story.
Instead, if you inspire the other actors, then the scene gets better, and that will make you look good.
